SpaceX launched another 54 Starlink satellites to orbit this morning as they continue to build out their constellation to provide ubiquitous Internet connectivity anywhere in the world.
The launch represented the fastest turnaround and launch from a single launch pad — five days — and is their tenth launch of 2023.
SpaceX launched the Amazonas Nexus satellite tonight from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The payload is owned by the Spanish company Hispasat. Amazonus Nexus will connect trans-Atlantic airline passengers, maritime traffic, and rural communities across the Americas.
In the wee hours, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 carried Starlink 5-2 above the clouds behind a boat sitting anchored on the Banana River
Light showers were around the Cape this morning with a low cloud deck — this rocket more or less disappeared after about 15-20 seconds.
Photo was taken at the Banana Creek bridge on FL 528 near Port Canaveral.
I’ve been playing around with making videos the past year or so, mainly as an aside to creating still photographs of launches around the Cape.
Honestly, results have been mixed: video requires a somewhat different skillset, even when you are using the same equipment, and it certainly requires your full attention to great anything close to what I’d label as “good.” As far as skills go, I am improving, but have a ways to go. I personally hate the sound of my own voice on a recording, but I need to get over that and start narrating my videos, and I also probably need to put myself on video as well to personalize the experience. I plan to do that with my next video and from there out.
Anyways, here’s my latest attempt at recording the event of a space launch from the viewpoint of being a visitor. I had tickets to the LC-39 gantry, which is the closest place the general public can get to a launch from SpaceX’s SLC-40 complex, and I made video from the gate to Kennedy Space Center Visitors Center onward.
On a hazy, warm morning, SpaceX got right back to work after the holidays by sending Falcon9 towards a southerly polar orbit from Cape Canaveral. This was the view looking southwards and into bright sunlight. Here are photos and a link to a video of the launch:
SpaceX launched 54 Starlink satellites this morning from Cape Canaveral, closing out the 2022 launch schedule for Florida. It was yet another picture-perfect launch.
Skies were clear enough this morning to where we could see the second stage for six-ish minutes. There’s a small gap between the end of the first stage’s powered ascent and the ignition of the second stage. My aim in this photo was to capture as much as possible of the second stage, and it succeeded from that perspective.
I’ve been rather busy of late, mostly on my professional side. Some fun projects, a hurricane, some travel and so forth…and as a result I haven’t posted much to this blog lately.
That said, I have been busy taking photographs. Here’s a gallery of the launch photos:
After five days of weather-related delays SpaceX launched its forty-second Falcon 9 mission of the year from Pad SLC-40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Booster 1067 was being used for its sixth flight, which concluded with a successful touchdown on a drone ship platform off the shore of the Carolinas several minutes after launching.
SpaceX Starlink launch tonight. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station occurred at 10:09PM local time on September 4th, 2022. This was SpaceX’s fortieth launch of the year. The first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched Arabsat-6A, STP-2, COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation FM2, KPLO, and two Starlink missions. In addition to the fifty-one Starlink satellites, Sherpa-LTC, an orbital transfer vehicle for customer Spaceflight Inc, a Seattle-based spacecraft developer was placed into orbit on a test mission for the company.
It was a pretty late summer night tonight, with thunderstorms to the northeast and southeast, and a nice breeze blowing off of the Indian River while we waited for liftoff. As is the usual case, we met some nice people who were seeing the first launch as well as some locals like us.
On Thursday, July 7 at 9:11 a.m. ET, SpaceX launched 53 Starlink satellites from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
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