We had a rocket launch right here in fabulous Southern California and I missed it. It was visible from all over what only TV news anchors and meteorologists call “The Southland,” but I was engaged in a High-Powered Hollywood Lunch Meeting — you know, like on “Entourage,” except without the celebrities and expense accounts and glamour, but with circling the block for 20 minutes trying to find a 2-hour metered parking slot so I could avoid the $30 valet — and the rocket took off without me. It took off from Vandenberg Air Force Base up north of Santa Barbara and is the largest rocket in service in the U.S., carrying a mystery payload that is probably a spy satellite. The trail could be seen as far away as Orange County, which is a long way away.

While it’s not the same as seeing it live, here it is, from KNBC-TV (NBC 4), after the obligatory pre-roll ad: