Some sights and sounds of the tourist’s view of a rocket launch here on the Space Coast. While we were dripping sweat by the end, I think a good time was had by all.
SpaceX, Euclid Telescope, 07-01-2023 VIDEO
SpaceX, Falcon9, Euclid Telescope Launch, 07-01-2023
There is a right side (sun behind you) and a wrong side (sun in your face) to photograph a launch. I was on the wrong side today, but that was okay: I met some really nice people, and got to enjoy watching a young fellow who had made the trip from Texas setting up his camera gear for liftoff. He and his mother were delightful.
That’s part of the joy of watching launches from one of the public spots: you never know who you’re going to meet, and it is nice to help them out when I can. I’ve met folks from England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Germany, The Czech Republic, Russia and most all of the states. To a single one, they were nice people who were really excited to see SpaceX launch a rocket. I hope they all had fun, and I hope they want to come back here again.
Photographically, by no means my best day, but as I mentioned, I was in the wrong place to get great photos in simmering air and a thick, hazy sky. And so it goes…I don’t mind. I had fun anyway. Besides, the video came out better.
Still Photos of SpaceX, Falcon 9, SATRIA-1, 06-18-2023
The view of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch carrying the SATRIA-1 satellite for Indonesia on June 18, 2023. Shot with a Nikon Z8, using a Nikkor 200-500mm telephoto lens.
The launch was the twelfth flight of Booster 1067, which successfully touched down on the drone ship “A Shortfall of Gravitas” which was pre-positioned offshore prior to the launch. Another ship was out to sea to capture the payload fairings that surrounded the satellite at launch to protect it from atmospheric forces as it ascended towards orbit. Like Booster 1067, SpaceX plans to return the fairings to land for refurbishment and reuse at some point in the future.
SpaceX, Falcon 9, SATRIA-1, 06-18-2023
The view of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch carrying the SATRIA-1 satellite for Indonesia on June 18, 2023.
SpaceX CRS-28 Launch, 06-05-2023, from Rotary Park, Titusville
At 11:47 EDT on June 5, 2023, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 carrying Cargo Dragon to the International Space Station on the CRS-28 mission. It was a breezy, warm Florida day, with a lot of haze between us and the launch site.
SpaceX, Falcon9, Starlink 6-4, 06/04/2023
SpaceX launched Falcon9 carrying Starlink 604 mission from SLC-40 in Cape Canaveral on June 4, 2023. This spot on the Bennett Causeway just on Merritt Island would be utterly photogenic if the wires draping across the scene weren’t there. I could remove them in Photoshop but that’s not what was there, soooooo…..anyway.
This was a secondary objective photograph and was made actually as a test. It turned out okay. I may shoot this one again a few times in different light.
SpaceX Axiom 2 Launch, May 21, 2023
Falcon 9 rocket lifted of at 5:37:09 p.m. EDT (2137:09 UTC) on May 21, 2023 when Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center was aligned correctly beneath the orbital path of the International Space Station.
SpaceX Falcon9, Starlink 6-3, May 19 2023
Video of the lilftoff and early flight of the SpaceX Falcon9 Starlink 6-3 mission from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on May 19, 2023.
SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink 5-9, 05-14-2023 : Highlights
Rather than just capturing yet another streak shot of a night launch, I recorded video of it from the Bennett Causeway off of FL-528 in Cape Canaveral. Turns out video is hard and I have a lot to learn. That’s okay, it’s fun to learn and improve.
Falcon Heavy Launch – 30 April 2023 – Mosquito Lagoon, MINWR
Falcon Heavy launches from Kennedy Space Center’s LC-39A on April 30, 2023. This was the view from the perfectly Mosquito Lagoon in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge near Titusville, Florida. From there, it is possible to get an unobstructed view of the launch pad and from a relatively close distance.
This video is more what it is like to watch a rocket launch in person, and what kind of terrain you can find yourself in when you do.
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