Starlink by SpaceX
We couldn't have asked for clearer skies for the Monday night #SpaceX #Starlink #Falcon9 launch. I've never framed a shot with the out-to-sea entry burn in mind, but the clear skies (and Declan Murphy's prediction -- more on that in a moment) made me think it would be visible. But 6-ish minutes after launch, there it was, the bright light of the first stage, descending through the atmosphere.
That's my favorite part about this photo -- the thin line above the green post in the water. There's also a bird standing on the green post, just hanging out.
I was in Titusville for this shot, looking across the Indian River at the A. Max Brewer Bridge. There was a significant crowd gathered on the bridge, and it was fun to hear the excited reaction to the launch.
My last trip to this location was back in 2017 for the SpaceX Echostar launch. This was pre-flightclub.io, and I had misjudged the trajectory generally, so I failed to realize (until I saw my shot) that the Echostar launch trajectory was basically due east, which meant my streak was just a short line, straight up. I was not pleased. But, all that was avoided with this launch. And, flightclub well-predicted the location of the entry burn, which was ultimately why I chose this location.
In terms of the anatomy of this photo, there's the first stage (the big streak), the second stage (the faint reddish streaks low on the horizon), the entry burn and 24-minutes of star trails as they spun around the sky before the launch. (The final image is a composite of 52 frames.)
And, thanks again to my We Report Space colleagues, who well-covered the launch up-close.
Starlink by SpaceX
We couldn't have asked for clearer skies for the Monday night #SpaceX #Starlink #Falcon9 launch. I've never framed a shot with the out-to-sea entry burn in mind, but the clear skies (and Declan Murphy's prediction -- more on that in a moment) made me think it would be visible. But 6-ish minutes after launch, there it was, the bright light of the first stage, descending through the atmosphere.
That's my favorite part about this photo -- the thin line above the green post in the water. There's also a bird standing on the green post, just hanging out.
I was in Titusville for this shot, looking across the Indian River at the A. Max Brewer Bridge. There was a significant crowd gathered on the bridge, and it was fun to hear the excited reaction to the launch.
My last trip to this location was back in 2017 for the SpaceX Echostar launch. This was pre-flightclub.io, and I had misjudged the trajectory generally, so I failed to realize (until I saw my shot) that the Echostar launch trajectory was basically due east, which meant my streak was just a short line, straight up. I was not pleased. But, all that was avoided with this launch. And, flightclub well-predicted the location of the entry burn, which was ultimately why I chose this location.
In terms of the anatomy of this photo, there's the first stage (the big streak), the second stage (the faint reddish streaks low on the horizon), the entry burn and 24-minutes of star trails as they spun around the sky before the launch. (The final image is a composite of 52 frames.)
And, thanks again to my We Report Space colleagues, who well-covered the launch up-close.