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1 Year Ago
So the countdown is on for the launch of the biggest rocket NASA ever launched. The Artemis I will carry an unmanned Orion space capsule to the moon in a test of the launch system and rockets. It is the first step in the return of human lunar exploration.
The rocket was rolled out to the pad on August 16th and if all goes well it will launch Monday between 8:33 and 10:33. If the launch is scrubbed the next date is Friday.
I will be on a small boat on the Indian River at Banana Creek. This is about as close as anyone can get without special access. I hope to get some shots of it on the pad at sunrise and then the launch photos.
There is a contest now on FAA for photos of it on the pad. Why this contest ends before the rocket even launches, I don't know. A second contest is just for launch photos and starts Monday.
I just saw a map and we will be where the sound levels are 115 to 125 db. I will bring my 200-500 mm lens and ear plugs.
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1 Year Ago
Bradford, that sounds exciting. I have always been a space junkie, staring with Sputnik. Where I live we can occasionally see rockets lifting off from Wallops Island (about 40 miles to the south).
Good luck on Monday. I hope all goes well and on schedule - with no major holds.
1 Year Ago
Oh how I would love to be on the boat with you! I grew up in Houston and we were close to NASA there and visited often. I wanted to be an astronaut so bad growing up. :-)
I hope you get some great photos!
1 Year Ago
My plans have changed. I am turning down the free boat ride and will view from a point further away. Basically the reason is that I would be pointing into the sunrise. And due to some special restrictions it is likely I won't be able to see the launch pad from that position, so the only advantage is that it is close. I missed out on getting special viewing tickets at Jetty Park to the south as the tickets sold out before I could get them. The tickets sold out in about an hour while I was asleep and I was not expecting that. My season pass won't work once the park is full.
I have located another spot on land at Port Canaveral. I will have to get there by 3:00 am. The good part is that there is bathroom access and possibly coffee and breakfast. Mostly I will be in my car sleeping. There is a chance that I will be asked to leave. There will be police and security everywhere and no roadside parking anywhere near the Cape. By 4:30 or 5 traffic will gridlock and there will be no viewing area other then my home in Cocoa. Already some photographers I know have taken that option. We have all been hours in gridlock traffic. The only thing worse was the eclipse in South Carolina a few years back. This may be worse. I heard some schools will not open. I never thought an unmanned launch on a Monday would be such a draw.
1 Year Ago
Sounds like an amazing opportunity. When I was a kid I wanted to be an astronaut after I was part of a program through NASA. I hope to see an actual rocket launch someday.
1 Year Ago
"Hope Bradford brought a fishing pole."
I ended up not going on the boat. The went and they did bring poles and bait, but once I realized the extent of the restrictions on the water I opted to stay at Port Canaveral on shore. The captain said the viewing angle was right into the sun, but the paying passengers wanted to be close and didn't mind that. If the launch goes Friday afternoon I will view from the boat looking east.
Actually they planned on fishing too but due to the fact they were restricted to the channel and it was crowded with boats, they never dropped a line.
It also rained. So although it was scrubbed for technical difficulties, the weather alone was reason enough not to launch. And that is why I rarely take time off to photograph launches.
1 Year Ago
Aw, sounds like a bust all around. Mebbe you'll have better luck on Friday.
And frankly, I don't want to be anywhere close to that monster when it takes off. Have they seen that behemoth fire its rockets? E-friggin'-gads.
1 Year Ago
"Wouldnāt it be neat to get a shot of the rocket with a full moon in frame?"
As I have no special access, I am locked into certain angles and distance. I am thrilled that I can view from a distance of what seems like about a mile or 2. And although this park closes during the launch, it is open early enough that I got this twilight shot.
I am looking forward to the Saturday afternoon launch.
1 Year Ago
Yeah the full moon wonāt happen, as there is none. I saw the sliver of the crescent moon last evening when I walked our dog! š
Oh well.. have a good time witnessing history, and hope you get some rally great photos!
1 Year Ago
There's a nice shot of the rocket and a full moon in this article.
https://www.cnet.com/science/space/to-the-moon-nasa-lays-out-blueprint-for-artemis-i-lunar-launch/
1 Year Ago
The countdown continues for the launch today at 2:17. This is one for the history books ad there next Artemis will be in 2024 carrying 4 astronauts. My plan today is to meet a boat a ramp that is not known as a viewing area, but I still have to cross a bride to Merritt Island. This may be the biggest crown ever assembled in out area and it coincides with 10s of thousands of cruise passengers arriving and departing. Our roads are already strained.
I have a photo gig today I just can't get out of. I already postponed it twice. That narrowed my options a little as people are already at dome of the prime viewing areas on land and the boat ramps fill up even on a normal Saturday. Anyway If all goes well I will be on the water by 11:00 and we will slowly motor to an area about 10 miles south of the launch pad on the Banana River. The pad will be in sight. Not ideal, but neither of us wanted to kill the entire day waiting and then have to wait hours to get off the water and more time in traffic. I am good with this plan. As long as we are on the water by 1 we will be ok and you can see the rocket in the sky anywhere in the county. The sound will be around 115 db.
1 Year Ago
Nice pictures Bradford; I wonder if the women from "Hidden Figures" will be assisting with the "go, no go?! That movie was fabulous if you missed it,Based on a true story,,, Kathrine Johnson died about 2 years ago at the age of 102,,
1 Year Ago
Oh dear. Apparently the launch for today has been scrubbed. So sorry Bradford, if that's true.
1 Year Ago
Scrubbed again. Now they may have to move it all due to that leak again. Which you would have thought they would have tested a bit more before trying again.
----Mike Savad
1 Year Ago
Well the captain, who is also my housemate, had the boat in the water. I was at the gas station getting cold drinks and more snacks when I heard it was scrubbed. I doubt he will want to do this a third time. There's big tarpon and snook running now and he can make solid money fishing. I have jobs booked for Tuesday and I am not cancelling anything last minute. I hope they get this fuel leak permanently fixed. This is bullshit. There must be a way to test before launch day.
Judy, I doubt the team from Hidden Figures still exists. NASA has been restructured since those days. The screenplay for that movie was written by a writer from Cape Canaveral. It is a small town and people know each other. But I could not find a Facebook connection for Allison Schroeder. Reading a bit about Katherine Johnson brought tears to my eyes. The racist and sexist humiliation she suffered is hard to believe happened in the 60's. What a brilliant and persevering woman she was! I believe there was no problem too difficult for her to solve.
1 Year Ago
> There must be a way to test before launch day.
Because it's liquid hydrogen they don't fuel it up until pretty much the last possible minute.
1 Year Ago
They are saying the end of September or early October now. So images of the rocket on the pad will be a dime a dozen, but no launch photos for at least a few weeks.
1 Year Ago
So 9/27 is out because of the approaching storm. No date is set now, but I have heard 10/2 the earliest. Supposedly the fueling problems have been resolved, but you never know until it comes time to load the fuel. This is, after all, a test flight.
1 Year Ago
The Artemis rocket is set to launch November 14th at 12:07 am. So basically a Sunday night just after midnight.
Another big launch is set to go tomorrow. A Falcon Heavy will lift off on 11/1 at 9:41 am. This will have 3 booster rockets, of which 2 will land right at Cape Canaveral. This will be quite a spectacle. I hope to be at the prime viewing area in the morning, which happens to be my favorite photo spot, Jetty Park at Cape Canaveral. I just hope I can get in because I have a previous appointment and won't be there until 9.
Newspapers said to expect viewers from other states and that the park will be favored for viewing over other traditional sites because of the booster landings.
1 Year Ago
Thanks for the update, Brad. Hope you get some spectacular images.
But what do you mean ,ābecause of the booster landingsā? These arenāt reusable boosters like Space X are they?
1 Year Ago
Bill, I was referring to the SpaceX Falcon Heavy, which launched yesterday. It used 3 SpaceX Falcon 9 boosters rockets. It was a big deal and you see my post says "Another big launch.." Two of the boosters landed at the Cape, side by side. It was an amazing sight but obscured by fog. The sonic booms shook the whole county. There is some nice video from those that were on site. I have posted a photo of that rocket in flight.
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/spacex-falcon-heavy-11-1-22-bradford-martin.html
1 Year Ago
Another launch delay. This one is due to time that will be lost in preparing for TS/hurricane Nicole. The new date is November 16 at 1:04 am. I do not plan to photograph this. I might take a peak outside my house but night , but not doing a sky streak shot, as it will look like any other night launch streak.
https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1590116388403785729 and other sources.
1 Year Ago
Well I didn't see the launch. After a very busy day with another planned for today I decided to sleep early but set an alarm to watch from the house. The launch was put on hold in the final minutes of countdown and I could find no further information. After a brief wait I went back to bed. Less than an hour later I heard a familiar but distant rumbling. Actually more felt than heard. It lasted a long time. I thought maybe it was a freight train as it was not as loud as I had expected a rocket to be, even at 15 mile. But then checking the status I saw it was "in flight". A new era of lunar explorations has begun.
I have friends that set up to do video. I have not heard from them yet. There will be plenty of shots from the pros with special NASA passes and a few streak photos from the beach, I am sure. I am very happy the test mission is underway and we are entering a new phase of moon exploration. I do feel I was a witness to the event as I at least felt the vibration and heard the distant roar.
1 Year Ago
And in all the acts of strangeness
that our great planet can produce,
apparently Shorn the Sheep ...
see Wallace & Grommit ... was the
only invitee onboard!!!
1 Year Ago
For years my friend , neighbor, photographer, drone pilot and guitarist extraordinaire has been somewhat secretive of what he actually does for a living. He once mentioned he was a drone pilot on a project. More recently revealed that he was employed as a drone pilot for NASA and charged with inspecting the Artemis while it was on the launch pad.
He got about as close as a human could get to the launch and put up a video of the launch on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvTU13emWe0
1 Year Ago
Hereās another video https://youtu.be/CdTnwmLMaDY
And Shorn the sheep was not the only one on board. Snoopy and four Lego people tagged along for the ride.
1 Year Ago
Nice Merana!
NASA has established a website to follow the progress of Artemis. Here you can see a video of the launch and a computer simulation of the mission and also learn how to build your own moon rocket.
https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-i/#top