Rocket Launches

I love a photography challenge. Rockets!

The first time I witnessed a rocket launch was September 7, 2013 in Chincoteague Virginia. I drove my family several hours to see the launch of the LADEE mission from the MidAtlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) in Virginia. It was a nighttime launch that could not have been more amazing. Launches were still a new event there, so the town directed the hundreds of visitors to park at the school and provided buses to take people to the circle on Maddox Blvd. From there it was a short walk to the causeway that links Chincoteague and Assateague Island. It was a beautiful night, with no wind. From the causeway there is a clear view of the launch pad, looking over the marsh. We watched the rocket light the sky up and rise, followed by the noise that arrived about 20 seconds later. I was hooked.

Over the years I've made several more trips to watch launches from MARS. Launches are now a routine event and the town no longer requires parking at the school. I've been able to park on the causeway several times for Antares launches, which are missions that resupplied the International Space Station. Daytime launches are still cool to see, but are unexpectedly harder to shoot than night launches. Heat haze is bad, even on cold days. The shot below shows a launch on November 2, 2019, with lots of distortion.

Antares Launch: CRS NG-12

After that rocket climbed, it was clearer, but of course also farther away, making for disappointing photos.

CRS NG-12

We got super-lucky with that first trip to Chincoteague because the launch actually happened. We've made about a dozen trips for launches; about half the time they get scrubbed because of technical problems, weather, or boats in the prohibited area.

I've gotten better gear and now I've had some practice. I was able to watch the Artemis 1 launch from the Kennedy Space Center on November 16, 2022. I did a ton of homework about how to set my camera up ahead of time; I couldn't afford to be fooling with settings during the launch because I had only one chance to get it right. This one was incredible as the rocket lit the sky and flew downrange, visible for a LONG time. The sound was incredible. The ground shaking below the stands was incredible. This was an amazing experience.

Artemis 1 Launch

My wife and I happened to be in California when the SpaceX Transporter 17 mission launched from Vandenburg Space Force Base in July 20206. This was another incredible night launch. The cloud ceiling was low so we had only a few seconds to watch before it disappeared.

SpaceX Falcon 9 Launch

And it's usually a good idea to photograph the pad after the rocket is gone.

After the Launch

So, like anything worth doing, it's difficult and rewarding when it works. Now I'm always looking for chances to do this again.

Artemis Launch Attempt #3: Third Try Was The Charm

Finally, it launched! This trip was unlike the previous two, in lots of ways.

After the previous two scrubs, two hurricanes delayed the launch attempt from September all the way into the middle of November. My wife couldn’t go this time because she had a work conflict. So I made the trip alone, this time flying. Because the launch window opened at 1:04 AM, I didn’t even bother with a hotel. I took an airline flight to Orlando, got a rental car, drove to Titusville, and with several hours to kill, visited several parks looking for birds. I explored the Titusville and Cocoa areas. Finally, it was time to go.

For the previous two attempts, parking was at Space Coast Regional Airport. This time it was at a warehouse. I drove up, parked, waited because I was early, and finally boarded the bus for the ride to the Banana Creek viewing location. I didn’t bother taking any shots on the pad: it looked the same as it did for the previous attempts.

Artemis 1 on the pad during tanking

It was a long wait, several hours in fact. Then there was a series of problems that the launch team addressed, leading to a long countdown hold. I wondered if there would be yet another scrub.

Finally the countdown restarted. The NASA team dimmed the lights on the bleachers. The countdown got to a few seconds left, and I held my camera up.

Artemis 1 Liftoff

The bottom of the rocket lit up, the clouds of smoke and steam billowed, and the rocket lifted off. It got brighter and brighter as the flame got longer. The whole area was bathed in orange light. As it climbed, eventually the sound reached us in the crowd. It wasn’t deafening, but it was really loud and the bleachers started shaking. I watched the rocket for about seven minutes, until I lost sight of it, already more than a hundred miles down range. Even though I adjusted my exposure settings, my photos of the rocket after it cleared the tower were mostly just long flames with trailing smoke. The rocket itself is hardly visible in the photos. Eventually the solid rocket boosters separated, barely visible in the distance.

Solid Rocket Booster Separation

A long trail of smoke was left behind, hanging in the sky for a few minutes. Finally we boarded the buses, made the drive back to the warehouse, and I got back to Orlando at about 4AM. I tanked the car, turned it in, switched to an earlier flight, and came home.

Boy am I tired! Actually I’m exhausted. But I could only sleep for an hour when I got home. But I’m sure I’ll sleep well tonight! And it was an awesome experience.

 

Artemis Launch Attempt #2

NASA made another attempt to launch Artemis. My wife and I returned to Florida, hoping to see it go. This time we got to sleep in: report time at Space Coast Regional Airport was 6AM. Just like last time, we parked on the grass, got on a bus, and went to the Banana Creek viewing area. The sun was already up when we arrived. It was hot and got hotter. We sat there for hours. Once again, there was a problem with the rocket, and once again, the launch was scrubbed.

Waiting for the launch that never happened

Artemis 1 Launch Attempt #1

 

Artemis 1 on the Launch Pad

My wife’s former colleague, who works for NASA, invited my wife (and me as a guest) to watch the Artemis 1 launch from the Kennedy Space Center. My wife and I made the long drive from Virginia to Florida. We followed the instructions to check in and claim our credentials. We were surprised to find that the check in location was a shopping mall.

Titusville Mall

This mall, like so many, has lots of vacancies. Many of its stores were closed and the parking lot was almost empty. Its best days may be behind it. But that made it a good place for visitors to check in. There was plenty of parking, the mall was almost empty of shoppers, and we didn’t have to go through any security to get our credentials.

At check in, we were told to meet the busses at the Space Coast Regional Airport at 1AM the next day. That’s right: 1AM for a launch window that started at 8:33 AM. So that’s what we did. We arrived shortly before 1 AM and lined up with hundreds of other cars. We were directed to park on the grass near the runway. After we parked, we boarded a bus and rode to the Banana Creek viewing area. It’s adjacent to the Saturn V Center, which is a spot on the Kennedy Space Center public tour. I’ve actually been to this location twice before, so I knew what to expect. We arrived at about 2:30 AM. There we picked a spot in the bleachers and waited. I took a few photos of the rocket on the pad. 

Artemis 1

During and after tanking, there’s a hydrogen bleed process. The hydrogen gets sent to a vent where it is ignited and burned off. The flames were often visible from our spot in the bleachers. The floodlights on the rocket also lit the clouds up. 

Clouds Lit Up Above Artemis 1

The Crowd Waits for the Launch in the Morning Gloom

There is a public address system at this site along with a large TV screen. We received several announcements while we waited in which we were kept informed as to the progress of the tanking process. 

Artemis 1 at Sunrise

As the sun came up, the clouds over the ocean formed a nice backdrop. The hydrogen flame continued to burn in the background as the liquid oxygen tank vented a white cloud from the upper stage.

The sun rose at about 7 AM and it began to get hot. I wandered the grounds and counted about 50 busses, and if each was full when it arrived, then there were probably close to 2,500 people waiting for the launch.

About 8 AM, the announcer described a problem with the #3 engine on the core stage, and at about 8:45, the mission was scrubbed. We went back to the busses, rode back to the airport, and left for the day.

The Banana Creek viewing area is a great spot. It overlooks a large body of water. Launch Complex 39 is clearly visible, especially from high in the bleachers where it’s possible to see over the bushes at the water’s edge. I used a 500mm lens. At that location, the towers and rocket filled the frame. This lens is big, heavy, and unwieldy, but worth it.

Our instruction sheet said that there would be a limited supply of food and water. This turned out to be false. There are restrooms at the Banana Creek site (with running water) and the visitor center opened at 4:30 AM (with a food vendor inside), and other vendors offered snacks and drinks for sale outside the visitor center.

So, there was no launch. Hopefully we’ll get another chance to see it go.