Photography Progression

I've recently been cleaning up my photo keywords in my Lightroom catalog and, in the process, reviewed my photos from the Kennedy Space Center. I've been on that property five times: twice as a tourist, and three times as a guest of a NASA employee for Artemis launch attempts. Plus I've been to the beach nearby twice more. When I collected all of the photos that I've taken there, I was struck by just how much things have changed at KSC, and for me as a photographer as I've gotten more skilled. And my gear is better. Here's a self-indulgent look at the progression of KSC and me.

Launch Complex 39A in 2006

I took this photo (above) of Launch Complex 39A on June 1, 2006, when the shuttle program was still in progress. I used a Nikon Coolpix camera, shooting from the observation gantry adjacent to the crawlerway. It's not an awful picture, but it's also not great, given the harsh sunlight and the gear limitations.

Launch Complex 39A in 2009

I took this photo (above) of LC39A on April 16, 2009. Once again I was a tourist on the public tour and this was shot from the gantry. This time there's a shuttle on the pad. I shot this with my (then) new Nikon D200 and a crappy kit lens, again in harsh sunlight. It's a better photo, mostly because the gear is better.

I went back for Artemis 1 launch attempt #2 on September 3, 2022. LC39A looked like this:

Launch Complex 39A in 2022

This photo above was taken from the Apollo/Saturn V Center, so the perspective is different and the distance to the pad is much longer. It was a hot morning with the pad backlit so the light sucks. But notice the change: the shuttle launch infrastructure is gone. SpaceX uses that pad now. I shot this using my Nikon D850 with a 500mm lens while waiting for Artemis 1 to launch (the launch was scrubbed again).

Back to 2006, this time looking at LC39B, again from the gantry, again using the Coolpix: 

Launch Complex 39B in 2006

The photo above is pretty bad, given the gear and harsh sunlight at that time of day. This time there was a shuttle on the pad. Next, from the same spot with my D200: 

Launch Complex 39B in 2009

Again, there's harsh light, but the photo is better because I had better gear. Not great gear mind you, but better. When I revisited in 2009 (above), there was no shuttle on LC39B. In the three years between my visits, NASA constructed lightning protection towers at LC39B. When I went back for the Artemis 1 launch, I saw that the shuttle infrastructure was gone. NASA was back to using a tower on the mobile launch pad, similar to the arrangement that was used during the Apollo program. Here's a shot from the Apollo/Saturn V Center, taken with my D850 at 500mm:

Launch Complex 39B in 2022

This photo (above), which was taken on September 3, 2022, shows Artemis 1 on the pad. Several months later, I was in Florida once again, and I visited Playalinda Beach, which is directly north of and adjacent to the Kennedy Space Center. Here's a shot of the pad from that visit: 

Launch Complex 39B in 2023

I took that shot (above) with my D850 at 300mm on January 8, 2023. OK, what to make of this...

• I'm a space geek.
• My skill as a photographer has improved a lot.
• I've spent a lot of money on gear that I really like; good gear absolutely makes a difference.
• NASA/KSC has changed a lot with the end of the shuttle program and the transition to supporting SpaceX and the Artemis program.

There's no way I'm leaving the best shot of all out: 

Artemis 1 Launching to the Moon

The third launch attempt was the one that worked. This was taken while I was standing in the bleachers at the Apollo/Saturn V Center in the middle of the night. It was awesome!

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.