Back in September 1998, colorful space-launch aficionado Robert "Ozzie" Osband proposed a novel idea during a Florida Public Service Commission meeting in Orlando: Give Brevard County a 321 area code to mimic NASA's countdown sequence.
“It was finally my time to speak. And I explained to them: Cape Canaveral — the countdown capital of the world. The number we want is going to be 3-2-1," Osband recalled last October during an American Space Museum "Stay Curious" video podcast.
PSC officials agreed. And the Space Coast's signature phone prefix debuted in November 1999, splitting from Orlando's 407 area code.
Osband even successfully requested and received the phone number 321-LIFTOFF for his cell phone.
Osband, a Titusville resident since 1987, spent decades greeting and educating countless thousands of Space View Park tourists as one of Brevard's most prominent launch spectators. He died Sunday in his sleep at his home at age 72, museumofficials announced. Arrangements are pending.
"The countdown has been synonymous with Brevard County and the Space Coast since the dawn of space travel. Connecting it via the area code truly cemented the area as America's Launchpad," the Space Coast Office of Tourism said in a statement.
"Ozzie's legacy will live on and he will be missed," the organization said.
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A fixture at Space View Park, Osband served as a quirky launch-expert liaison. He was a ham radio operator who lugged along a microphone and amplifier to "broadcast" countdown coverage to those within earshot.
“Not all the time did his 10-9-8 countdown always end with the rocket launch. Many times, we’d get to zero — and the rocket would still be on the pad. And he would be three or four seconds off, because it’s hard to time it with all of the communication delays going," said Mark Marquette, American Space Museum community liaison and host-producer of "Stay Curious."
Osband also sold "Rocket Hobo" collectible patches for $5, and wore green shirts to launches "because green is for go." The patch features an embroidered guy in a red-and-white striped lounge chair with a portable radio beneath palm trees, kicking back and watching a rocket lift off from across a body of water.
“Ozzie’s the kind of person that tourists talk about. You'd go to Space View Park, and he's there. He's the character that you're going to remember. He was informative. He was funny. And he looked the part: Rocket Hobo, sitting out there just giving you a little insight about what the launch is all about," Marquette said.
Museumofficials are planning a memorial in Osband's honor at Space View Park, he said. Details remain pending.
Growing up in Rochester, New York, Osband said he “kind of became a phone freak around age 12.”
"I was just interested in telephones, how they worked, would hang around with the telephone man when he was in the neighborhood. And just generally enjoyed playing with them, and hooking them up, and doing strange things with them," Osband said during the "Stay Curious" podcast.
Decades later, Osband would sit alongside Kennedy Space Center Deputy Director James Jennings inside a teleconference room as Jennings received the first phone call placed to Brevard's new 321 area code.
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Osband was featured by the New York Times and Wall Street Journal for hatching the idea. The 321 area code also extends into bordering portions of Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia counties.
On July 8, 1999, the game show "Jeopardy!" featured this Final Jeopardy question: "In 1999 several counties around Cape Canaveral, Florida were assigned this new telephone area code."
"That's his claim to fame. And he's always been very proud of that. It's such a fun story, too," said Jamie Draper, director of the Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum.
Osband volunteered at the American Space Museum, Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum and Sands Space History Center.
“Ozzie was passionate about the space program, to the extent that he wanted everybody to experience a rocket launch. He was a very eclectic guy. And he embraced that," Marquette said.
"You’d say, ‘Hey, Ozzie, how you doing?’ And Ozzie would say, ‘Strange as normal,' " he said.
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A former vice president of the Titusville Amateur Radio Club, Osband typically delivered Space View Park public lectures about 30 minutes before launches, explaining mission details and answering questions from tourists.
Draper said Osband served as a docent and led group tours and briefings since 2012 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum, and he also volunteered at Sands Space History Center. Draper said his passion for space and spirit of volunteerism were "just off the charts."
“He was always very unique. He's one of those guys that thought outside the box, and acted in that manner as well," Draper said.
"That’s what really made him stand out as a true space launch enthusiast in our volunteer ranks. He had the knowledge and enthusiasm to really draw people into the subject," he said.
"It was always a treat being around him. And we will all miss him here at the museum," he said.
Rick Nealeis the South Brevard Watchdog Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories,click here.) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 orrneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter:@RickNeale1
