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Reprocessed, with apologies if you're tired of seeing images from the launch.
30 seconds of stars + 163 seconds of rocket: It was an amazing night for a rocket launch.
Seen here is the United Launch Alliance #SBIRSGEO3 satellite, launched tonight at 7:42pm (ET) atop an #AtlasV rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station with great support form the 45th Space Wing at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla.
With a nod to the always great Ben Cooper, this is a non-star trail look at how clear the sky was as the rocket laucnhed. It's really amazing watching the rocket fade into the night sky against a sea of stars, and this image (very similar to Ben's) comes only semi-close to representing the view. I can identify at least one constellation: Ursa Minor, which is barely visible through the xenon spotlights at the pad.
Specs: One 30-second exposure frames shot at ISO500 and f5.6, captured 4 minutes before liftoff and then the streak is a single, 163-second exposure, all shot through an 11-24mm lens (at 11mm) on a full-frame body. Initial processing done in Lightroom, stacking done in Photoshop, with final edits done in Lightroom.
30 minutes of stars + 163 seconds of rocket: It was an amazing night for a rocket launch.
Seen here is the United Launch Alliance #SBIRSGEO3 satellite, launched tonight at 7:42pm (ET) atop an #AtlasV rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station with great support form the 45th Space Wing at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla.
I had the streak ready within a few minutes, but this stack of star trails proved to be a bit more time consuming to process. The camera was running for nearly an hour, but a few early clouds and my own carelessness junked up a few of the frames, which of course I didn't notice until I started stacking. So this is the last half of the series, with a 4 mid-series frames removed.
Congratulations to the ULA team on their first launch of the year and for completing the first launch of the year from CCAFS.
Specs: 56x30-second exposure frames shot at ISO500 and f5.6 (trails) and then the streak is a single, 163-second exposure, all shot through an 11-24mm lens (at 11mm) on a full-frame body. Initial processing done in Lightroom, stacking done in Photoshop, with final edits done in Lightroom.
"Imagine how much nicer this would look with a rocket streak" or "Anti-aircraft system wanted" (alternate title)
This is the view from the LC39 Gantry, run by Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex as a (ticketed) viewing area for certain launches, such as the one scheduled for last night.
United Launch Alliance had a comfortable 45 minute window to work with, and they even resolved an issue with a sensor that was misbehaving, but a "fouled range" would prevent the launch of the #SBIRSGEO3 #AtlasV rocket. It was an airplane that flew into protected airspace that caused the hold near the end of the launch window.
The next attempt is set for tonight (Friday) and the window opens at 7:42pm.
The image shown is a star-trail stack of of 129 6-second exposures, looking toward the pad and the path the rocket would have taken, were it not for the plane.
The next satellite of the U.S. Air Force’s Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) at Lockheed Martin’s Sunnyvale, California, satellite manufacturing facility prior to its scheduled 2016 launch. SBIRS GEO Flight 3 is the latest addition to a family of satellites that delivers timely, reliable and accurate missile warning and infrared surveillance information to the President of the United States, the Secretary of Defense, combatant commanders, the intelligence community and other key decision makers. More: www.lockheedmartin.com/sbirs
SBIRS GEO Flight 3, the next satellite scheduled to join the U.S. Air Force’s Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS), in final assembly and test at Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale, California. More: www.lockheedmartin.com/sbirs
SBIRS GEO Flight 4, the next Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) satellite to join the U.S. Air Force’s Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) during assembly and test at Lockheed Martin’s satellite manufacturing facility in Sunnyvale, California. More at: www.lockheedmartin.com\sbirs
SBIRS GEO Flight 4, the next Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) satellite to join the U.S. Air Force’s Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) during assembly and test at Lockheed Martin’s satellite manufacturing facility in Sunnyvale, California. More at: www.lockheedmartin.com\sbirs
SBIRS GEO Flight 4, the next Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) satellite to join the U.S. Air Force’s Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) during assembly and test at Lockheed Martin’s satellite manufacturing facility in Sunnyvale, California. More at: www.lockheedmartin.com\sbirs
The U.S. Air Force successfully launched the third Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous Earth Orbit satellite on an United Launch Alliance Atlas V Evolved Expendable launch Vehicle from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., Jan. 20, 2017. The SBIRS program is managed by the Remote Sensing Systems Directorate at the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base, California. Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Sunnyvale, California, is the SBIRS prime contractor, and Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, Azusa, California, is the payload developer. (U.S. Air Force photo by Sarah Corrice/RELEASED.)
The U.S. Air Force successfully launched the third Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous Earth Orbit satellite on an United Launch Alliance Atlas V Evolved Expendable launch Vehicle from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., Jan. 20, 2017. The SBIRS program is managed by the Remote Sensing Systems Directorate at the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base, California. Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Sunnyvale, California, is the SBIRS prime contractor, and Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, Azusa, California, is the payload developer. (U.S. Air Force photo by Sarah Corrice/RELEASED.)