IXPE Launch by SpaceX

At 1:00 am (ET) Thursday, December 9, SpaceX launched the IXPE satellite atop a Falcon 9 rocket from LC39a at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. This was the view from the Press Site, seen in a 30-second exposure. (Pic: me / National Geographic)

IXPE by SpaceX

"Dedicated to those who have gone before us, walk beside us, and rise up behind us in their commitment to telling the NASA story and inspiring the world's future explorers." (KSC Press Site mural) That's the SpaceX IXPE launch in the background. At 1am (ET) Thursday, it launched from LC-39a at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. It was a terrific show. I've had this shot in mind since I first saw this mural, but all of the night launches I've viewed from the Press Site have been on a NE trajectory, so they were arching away from the mural. I was shooting from an elevated location 60-ish seconds away, so 120-seconds or so of the 365-seconds in this exposure were spent jogging to and from the camera. Big thanks to the people at the Press Site for not disturbing the camera (they even gave me a safety cone for it). Details: ISO100, 365-seconds at f16 with a Canon 6D and 14mm Sigma lens.

IXPE by SpaceX

"Dedicated to those who have gone before us, walk beside us, and rise up behind us in their commitment to telling the NASA story and inspiring the world's future explorers." (KSC Press Site mural) That's the SpaceX IXPE launch in the background. At 1am (ET) Thursday, it launched from LC-39a at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. It was a terrific show. I've had this shot in mind since I first saw this mural, but all of the night launches I've viewed from the Press Site have been on a NE trajectory, so they were arching away from the mural. I was shooting from an elevated location 60-ish seconds away, so 120-seconds or so of the 365-seconds in this exposure were spent jogging to and from the camera. Big thanks to the people at the Press Site for not disturbing the camera (they even gave me a safety cone for it). Details: ISO100, 365-seconds at f16 with a Canon 6D and 14mm Sigma lens.

IXPE Launch by SpaceX

At 1:00 am (ET) Thursday, December 9, SpaceX launched the IXPE satellite atop a Falcon 9 rocket from LC39a at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. This was the view from the Press Site, seen in a 401-second exposure. If you look low on the horizon, you can see a faint streak of light -- that's the entry burn of the Falcon9 first stage as it returns to be flown again. (Pic: me / National Geographic)