Month Top:

Each time SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket takes to the skies to-date, the twin side boosters straddling the center core of the rocket detach after performing their mission and begin a sequence to return to the Florida coast.

SpaceX / Space Launch Delta 45 allowed media the unique and first-time privilege for outsiders to set cameras at the landing sites for these returning boosters.

The day before the launch was to occur, media placed sound and time-activated equipment a few hundred feet from the center of the circular landing zones on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

This view, from one of my cameras, looking up toward the sky, captured the nearby booster unfurling its legs for landing while the other booster was just behind in this sequence of events. With such a new environment and with little time to prepare, I’m really proud of how this series of photos turned out, this one especially!

Month bottom:

On April 20, 2023, Starship took flight for the first time. Rising out of a cloud of dust that wouldn’t later be understood to be a dilapidated launch pad and with express permission from LabPadre, I was able to capture this image of Starship’s first flight that morning.

I’m glad I pointed higher and used a wider focal length than I originally planned. With the resulting expanse of the dust cloud, the rocket wasn’t visible until it was much higher in the sky than I would have otherwise thought.

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