Tag: Falcon 9

SpaceX/Falcon 9 De-Orbit Burn–II

/ Add comment

A few weeks ago I posted some photographs of the 2nd stage of a Falcon 9 performing a de-orbit burn as it moved over the southwestern states. I recently had another chance to view a de-orbit burn and, as suggested in the previous post, used it as an opportunity to try some different things.

De-orbit burn of the Falcon 9 second stage as it moves over the southwestern United. States. Note the red glow as water vapor from the expelled exhaust briefly deionizes the ionosphere.
De-orbit burn of the Falcon 9 second stage as it moves over the southwestern United. States. Note the red glow as water vapor from the expelled exhaust briefly deionizes the ionosphere.

I wanted to use a telephoto lens this time and chose the Nikon 80–200mm f/4 zoom lens. This lens has manual focus and, more importantly, has a hard stop at infinity focus. This makes it very easy to focus in the dark.

30-second exposure using the 200mm lens showing both the bright burn and the expelled gases.
30-second exposure using the 200mm lens showing both the bright burn and the expelled gases.
A 2-second exposure using the 200mm lens showing the expelled gases.
A 2-second exposure using the 200mm lens showing the expelled gases.
An 8-second exposure using the telephoto showing the red glow of the ionosphere.
An 8-second exposure using the telephoto showing the red glow of the ionosphere.

My choice for a second camera was originally going to be shooting video. But the launch was delayed and the reentry was not going to happen during twilight. The video might have been difficult in those conditions. Instead, I decided to use my ultra-wide 12mm lens and mounted it on my older Nikon D700 camera.

Everything worked out well including the expected time of the burn. I was surprised when the burn ended and it became difficult to keep track of the rocket. Suddenly, it lit up a second time overhead and slightly behind me. This lasted only a few tens of seconds. And, once again, I was unable to pivot the telephoto lens around. But the ultra-wide angle lens managed to capture it.

The image of the de-orbit burn is great but watching it as it occurred was really spectacular.

There are two de-orbit burns scheduled in a few days but these will occur during daylight hours. I wonder if I will be able to see the burn?

See this article for information on ionosphere holes and red glow.

SpaceX/Falcon 9 De-Orbit Burn

I have posted several images here of the launch of SpaceX/Falcon 9 rockets from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. These are easy to see during morning and evening twilight hours. They are less easy to see at night and quite difficult (but not impossible) to see during the day.

SpaceX/Falcon 9 de-orbit burn on the second stage booster as it flies over the southwest United States. The start of the burn can be seen in the upper portion of the image where it increases quickly in brightness.
SpaceX/Falcon 9 de-orbit burn on the second stage booster as it flies over the southwest United States. The start of the burn can be seen in the upper portion of the image where it increases quickly in brightness.

Until recently, I had never seen nor photographed a de-orbit burn on the second stage in preparation for atmospheric reentry. A few photographs have shown up from time to time—the most recent from a launch just a few weeks ago. It turns out that yesterday’s launch (12 April) was very similar: launch from Florida in the early evening, deploy Starlink satellites while over the Pacific Ocean, and then initiate a de-orbit burn as it crosses the west coast and moves across the southwest.

With this information I made a guess at what time the Falcon 9 second stage would move over Arizona and start the burn. I was only off by a few minutes so it was a good guess.

I shot with a wide-angle lens to ensure that my field of view was wide enough to capture the event (it was, until it moved overhead). We could see a small point of light that was both the cluster of 23 Starlink satellites and the second stage booster. Suddenly, it brightened significantly signaling the start of the burn. It was very bright as it moved overhead. At this point, I was not able to photograph it anymore. And that’s too bad because that’s when it got really interesting. For about 20–30 seconds it was like a puff of glowing gas moving across the sky. Really amazing! It ended quickly as the booster moved into Earth’s shadow and the light show was over.

I will probably do things differently if I get another chance. Maybe shoot video? Telephoto lens? Shorter exposures? All or none of the above?

Twilight Launch from Vandenberg Space Flight Base

/ 2 Comments

There was yet another twilight launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Flight Base on Saturday evening. These launches can be magnificent to watch as the expanding gases from the rocket exhaust are illuminated by the sun–already well below the horizon. It lights up bright at first then slowly dims as the exhaust thins and spreads across the sky and the sun drops lower. The clouds can be colorful much like noctilucent clouds (“night shining clouds”).

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch from Vandenberg Space Flight Base. The image was shot from within the San Francisco Volcanic Fields.
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch from Vandenberg Space Flight Base. The image was shot from within the San Francisco Volcanic Fields.
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch from Vandenberg Space Flight Base.
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch from Vandenberg Space Flight Base.
Noctilucent clouds from the rocket exhaust linger into twilight.
Noctilucent clouds from the rocket exhaust linger into twilight.

And here are two time-lapse sequences of the rocket and the noctilucent clouds.

Time lapse of the SpaceX Falcon 9 accelerating across the western sky.

Time lapse of the expanding noctilucent cloud in the western sky.

The cadence of launches is increasing and we will see many more of these in the weeks and months. Hopefully, some of them will be during twilight.

Bonus: while watching we saw a fireball cross the sky from low in the east, moving overhead, then finally ending in the west. It was so bright that you almost felt that you could reach out and grab it. Wow!

Edit: fixed typos.

 

Rocket Launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base

I was fortunate to see another spectacular launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Christmas Eve morning. I typically check the launch listing sites every few days to keep track of when the next launch will be. These are listed weeks or even months ahead of the launch date–although the dates can and do change. There are exceptions to this advance posting: certain top-secret satellites are often announced with only 24 hours notice. The SARah 2 & 3 satellites had this abbreviated announcement.

SpaceX Falcon 9 launch the SARah 2 & 3 satellites into LEO (Low Earth Orbit). Exhaust from the second stage is illuminated by the Sun as it ascends.
SpaceX Falcon 9 launch the SARah 2 & 3 satellites into LEO (Low Earth Orbit). Exhaust from the second stage is illuminated by the Sun as it ascends.
First stage separation and return.
First stage separation and return.

Fortunately, I happened to check the updated schedule about 12 hours before launch so I was able to make preparations for viewing it.

The launch was scheduled for 0611 MST (0511 PST) on the morning of December 24. I went north of Flagstaff to the San Francisco Volcanic Field.

The launch was on time at 0611 MST and about a minute later I was able to see the rocket as it rose above the horizon. I wasalso  able to photograph the first stage separation. A  few minutes later the high-level clouds appeared once the rocket had ascended high enough to be illuminated by the Sun–which was still well below the horizon at my location.

Here are a few photographs of the launch plus a time-lapse video that shows the dramatic expansion of the high-altitude cloud from the rocket exhaust.

SpaceX/Falcon 9 launch of the SARah 2 & 3 satellites.

The next launch is in a week but may be too late in the evening to catch the last light of twilight.

Rocket Launch from Vandenberg SFB–II

Another SpaceX Falcon 9 was launched from Vandenberg SFB during the evening twilight hours (07 August 2023). And this one might have been even more spectacular than the previous launch (19 July 2023).

Launch of SpaceX Falcon 9 with a brightly illuminated and expanding exhaust plume.
Launch of SpaceX Falcon 9 with a brightly illuminated and expanding exhaust plume.
As the exhaust fades the red glow in the ionosphere can be easily seen.
As the exhaust fades the red glow in the ionosphere can be easily seen.

The rocket exhaust is beautifully illuminated by the light of the Sun–which is well below the horizon. Next, the rocket moves through the ionosphere and a red glow develops. From the SpaceWeather.com site:

“This is a well studied phenomenon when rockets are burning their engines 200 to 300 km above Earth’s surface,” says space physicist Jeff Baumgardner of Boston University. Some rocket engines spray water (H2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) into the ionosphere, quenching local ionization by as much as 70%. The F-layer of the ionosphere is particulary effected. Oxygen ions (O+) in the F-layer are hungry for electrons, which they readily steal from the rocket’s exhaust. Captured electrons cascade down the oxygen atom’s energy levels, emitting red photons at a wavelength of 6300 Å–the same color as red auroras.

The exhaust and red glow were bright enough to be reflected in the waters of Lake Mary.

Time lapse of the launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9.

The next launch of a Falcon 9 is scheduled for much later at night and will not be as well lit as this launch.