Cape Canaveral

Summer thunderstorms have yet to arrive on the Space Coast this year, but there were rumbles and roars a-plenty yesterday on the Eastern Range. First, in the wee hours, SpaceX launched CRS-32 from KSC, and its booster landed at Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Then, after sunset, the company completed another RTLS Falcon 9 launch, this time from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Liftoff was at 8:48 PM ET.

Eight minutes and seven seconds after liftoff, Booster B1090 completed its third flight successfully at Landing Zone 2 on the site of the former Launch Complex 13.

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SpaceX completed a doubleheader today; not that many people close to the launch site saw it.

At 6:13 PM, Falcon 9 lifted off out of a gloopy fog at Launch Complex 39A and lofted the Maxar 4 / WorldView 5 and WorldView 6 satellites into orbit on the second successful mission of the day for the company. The rising rocket was seen up the east coast as far as New York City, but here locally, fleeting glimpses was the order of the day.

After staging, Booster B1076 begins its descent maneuvers (top) while Falcon 9’s second stage continues its ascent (bottom)
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Blue Origin NG-1 Liftoff

In a milestone for space exploration and commercial spaceflight, Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket successfully lifted off from Launch Complex 36 at Kennedy Space Center on Thursday. 

At 2:03 a.m. EST, the 320-foot-tall New Glenn finally roared to life after two holds and was propelled by seven Blue Origin BE-4 engines fueled by liquid oxygen and methane.

Spectators crowded the beaches and riverfront to witness the spectacle, as the rocket ascended gracefully into a cloudy sky obscuring a nearly full moon.

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SpaceX sent another batch of Starlink satellites to orbit this morning from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral. Liftoff was at 11:07 AM EST into seasonably cool (~65ºF) and crystal blue skies over Florida.

Beautiful SKies, But Launch Bad Photography Weather

The cooler air over warmer water meant different air densities were mixing, creating perfect conditions for something I call “shimmer” but is more properly called “heat distortion.” Given that 8-9 miles is as close as almost anyone can view some launches (Starlink, especially) these are a real PITA for photographers. The stars twinkle in the night sky because of the same principles.

So, that meant taking the picture the situation allows. This is about as good a launch photo as anyone got from this launch location.

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November 18, 2024, Cape Canaveral SpaceX kept up their torrid pace of launches this afternoon when it launched the GSAT-20 for New Space India Ltd. (NSIL) from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Liftoff was at 1:31 PM ET under a nearly completely overcast sky.

This is a very busy time SpaceX. It has launched three Falcon 9 missions over the past two days, and also plans to launch Starship Heavy on its sixth test flight from Texas tomorrow.

About 8.5 minutes after liftoff, Booster B1073 successfully touched down on the SpaceX droneship ASDS ‘Just Read The Instructions’, completing its part of the mission. At roughly the same time as the first stage touchdown, Falcon 9’s second stage achieved orbit.

At 2:06 PM ET, SpaceX confirmed the successful deployment of the payload, concluding another successful Falcon 9 mission for the company. Today marked the 114th successful Falcon 9 mission in 2024.

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