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NASA Launch Commentator Joshua Santora: I'm now here with Launch Director NASA Launch Manager Omar Baez. Omar, congrats.

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Baez: Thank you.
Santora: Does this one have any - does this one

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feel special or is this just like
another great launch for Launch Services

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Program? Baez: It's another great launch
for the Launch Services Program, but an

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awesome and great one. This one's been a long time

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coming. We had some setbacks early on,
middle last year and and I'm glad that

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we were able to get this payload up in
orbit and in a safe condition. We did

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confirm separation through the
spacecraft TDRS link. The orbits look

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fantastic and currently they're power
positive, so everything looks fantastic

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for us. And wonderful Pegasus launch and like always a when your launch pad is

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moving at five, six hundred miles an hour,
things happen, and this time the first

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attempt got us because we lost positive
communication with the aircraft and the

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ground and and our rule is to abort the
flight, go back around and try it again.

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And we did this once before during the
HESSI mission back in 2003 and we were able

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to execute it flawlessly today. Santora: Does that cause any additional anxiety among the

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team when you kinda have to racetrack
like that? Baez: I don't know about anxiety.

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This is a fun launch. It's for it - in my
operational function, this is about

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as good as it gets and we enjoy it. The anxiety level is higher, the

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adrenaline's flowing, but what a cool way
to fly. Santora: Yeah absolutely. So thinking about

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Launch Services Program, obviously this
is the name of the game for you guys.

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What's next, what's coming up? Baez: The next mission for us is the Solar Orbiter

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mission, or SolO. It's a
cooperative with our partners from the

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European Space Agency
and it's another Helio mission. So,

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interested in looking at the Sun with
that one, and we hope to launch it in

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early February. Santora: Awesome will you be the launch manager for that one? Baez: That will be

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Tim Dunn. Santora: Okay, and your next mission is? Baez: And I will be working Mars 2020 this

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summer. Santora: Which is also super high-profile. Obviously we'll get there when we get

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there. Baez: Yep. Santora: We've got SolO to go first. Baez: Yep. Santora: But again a big congratulations to

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you, Omar, to the entire team. Thanks for
joining me.

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Appreciate you. Also big thanks to
Malcolm Boston for joining me and riding