I observed the launch of the Lewis spacecraft from Vandenberg AFB from Newport Beach, about 180 miles southeast. Without binoculars or a stopwatch, it's hard to give details, but the first stage burn seemed to go normally. After burnout, however, the thing disappeared for about 30 seconds. The sky seemed quite clear, although there were clouds to the southeast of me, around the moon. The booster appeared again, around 30 seconds later and perhaps 20 degrees farther south than when it disappeared. The VAFB launch hotline (805-734-8232, x6-1857) said the launch was successful, although I haven't seen anything in the local news today. Stu Huston