Farewell to thee Cape Canaveral. #ERAU new professorship and #NROL61 launch.

3-2-1... we're moving.

There have been a lot of changes brewing for our family lately but I am proud to announce my big career news: Aug 16th I will evolve into a Professor of Commercial Space Operations at +Embry-Riddle, Daytona Beach Campus! +Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has a fantastic history of contributions to aviation and space and I hope to do my part in the new Spacesuit Lab!

A photo from one of my visits to ERAU campus. The Wright Flyer next to the observatory and landmark sign, all pointing to soar higher.

SpaceX picturesque sunset launch of #SES9

The +SpaceX launch of #SES9 was delayed and scrubbed several times as the SpaceX teamed worked hard to cool the liquid propellant to maximize performance of the rocket. They also were unlucky with a boat in the "Danga Zone" on one of their attempts. Luckily for us, we were out of town or indoors for two of their attempts.

This photo composite was taken with 2-sec bursts (too bright for longer exposures).

Just the boys home watching the Halloween #GPSIIF11 launch. #CapeLife

Jen works on Saturdays, leaving the boys home alone for shenanigans. Rafi awoke from a mini cat-nap just in time to watch ULA's successful launch of Atlas V rocket with GPSIIF11 (GPS 2F-11, the 11th of 12 total) payload from our balcony. Teddy as usual was the early warning system for the sound wave.

Popping out from behind the rooftops, the rocket soars upwards. If you didn't know it was a rocket launch day, you would have heard it a few minutes later but missed the bright part of the show.

#MUOS4 Spectacular launch with angelic contrails on #AtlasV

A spectacular launch! Even though all I had to do was roll out of bed and push down my remote for my camera, I was still up early, even before the baby. The launch was super bright and nice and slow. I was listening to the launch control center and got a very good play by play. The rocket reached Mach 1 and MaxQ right before it passed over our viewable area on our balcony. I heard that the solid rockets had separated and ran across the condo. The rest of the launch gazing was spectacular! White angle-like strands of contrails were coming off the rocket, almost like a comet. What a view of the Atlas V rocket and the MUOS-4 payload as the upper stage burned in the sunrise. Nice launch United Launch Alliance!

The spine of the rocket launch. A magical contrail that was lit up by the morning sunrise approaching. It is called a Twilight phenomena. A colleague said it looks like an underwater creature. I guess it's a 'space Rorschach' image!

The angelic contrail could be seen from as far away as South Carolina. It was amazing.

Here's the standard rocket contrail, but it was really the upper atmosphere show that was magical.

The official stats:

Sept. 2

Atlas 5   •  MUOS 4

Launch time: 1018 GMT (6:18 a.m. EDT) Launch site:SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, designated AV-056, launched the fourth Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite for the U.S. Navy. Built by Lockheed Martin, this U.S. military spacecraft will provide narrowband tactical communications designed to significantly improve ground communications for U.S. forces on the move. The rocket flew in the 551 vehicle configuration with a five-meter fairing, five solid rocket boosters and a single-engine Centaur upper stage. Delayed from Aug. 13, Aug. 20, Aug. 27 and Aug. 31. Read our full story. [Sept. 2]

Space!

Ryan

Rafael's first rocket launch. #DeltaIV #WGS7 launch at sunset. #ULA #RNK

Sometimes the best way to watch a rocket is from the comfort of your own home! This was Rafael's first launch experience (outside of the womb). Jen was holding Rafi (just turned 1-week old earlier that morning) and I was holding Teddy for a family experience. I set up the camera to take a photo every second and we turned back to smile for a few of the pics. Unfortunately a few days after I Photoshopped the image below, my laptop hard drive had a mechanical failure and I have not recovered the data including this photo shoot. The image below is my only surviving digital footprint of Rafi's 1st launch (downloaded from Facebook) until we have an affordable data recovery service (one shop wanted $150 up front to look at the drive and then up to $1000 for data recovery - so the drive is safely stored until I get a fixed price). Rafi was sleeping the whole time, so I guess that answers the question of what life is like inside the womb in Cape Canaveral.

Rafi's 1st rocket launch (outside of the womb)!

SpaceX CRS-7 launch and explosion from the Banana River #CRS7 #NASASocial

The quiet serenity of sailing towards a launchpad with the wind at your back mixed with a rocket launching to space is a surreal and rare experience. The rocket was silenced after a few minutes of ascent, and we didn't even know that it exploded until ~4 minutes later. It looked like we just lost track of it in the bight morning sky and clouds. +SpaceX will recover from this accident and be back on track to the ISS.

Our view of the SpaceX​ #CRS7 launch, as we sailed North on the Banana River in the no motor zone. I'm confident that the Falcon will sail to the stars again. Jen and I had been trying to take our boat sailing for a launch since we got her last year, but it wasn't until this launch was delayed from it's original weekday slot to the weekend that made it possible. I was selected as a #NASASocial +NASA #NASASocial attendee, but decided that this opportunity to sail to a launch could not be missed. The silver lining is that this is exactly the launch photo I wanted to get framed by the sails and sheets.

Rhiannon Roberts holds out a thermal blanket from the +NASA Orion Program. This item did not fly on the EFT-1 test flight, but the #NASASocial group did see components of the tiles that did fly to space and back.

Hanging out with WWE/WWF's Diva Debra in front of the VAB [@WWEDivaDebra]

+Chris Haber pulled out the big lens right when the sound wave hit us.

Although Teddy looks adorable as always, he was not liking our close view because of the noise and vibrations. 

The last image of rocket in one piece.

We thought this was MECO, but it was an explosion. I didn't take photos after because I couldn't see anything anymore and I was looking for the first stage to re-light heading to the barge (we did see that on a previous SpaceX launch).

June 28

Falcon 9   •  SpaceX CRS 7

Launch time: 1421:11 GMT (10:21:11 a.m. EDT) Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket failed to launch the ninth Dragon spacecraft on the seventh operational cargo delivery mission to the International Space Station. The flight was conducted under the Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. Delayed from June 13. Moved forward from June 22. Delayed from June 19 and June 26. Read our full story. [June 28]

Space!

Ryan

I may be suffering from obsessive launch viewing disorder: @SpaceX launch from the kickball field! #TurkmenAlem #GLBK

So this may be the limit of me going out of my way to watch a launch... Our kickball game in Cape Canaveral started at 6:15pm, the same window opening as the +SpaceX launch. The weather looked ominous so I wasn't expecting the rocket to launch on time, or possibly not at all. I brought my phone to the dugout bench and checked Twitter for the occasional updates and launch time. Less then 10 minutes before launch, it was time for our team to take the field for the bottom of the inning. For the first time ever, I brought my cell phone onto the diamond to keep a loose eye on Twitter and the countdown and the other eye on the ball. Everything proceeded in the countdown and I was ready to spot the rocket. Luckily there was not much activity in the minute before the 7:03pm launch. As soon as the rocket was spotted our entire team (mostly NASA-KSC employees and contractors) froze in their positions with several cheers from around the field and diamond. I took a few quick iPhone pictures and a panorama to capture the experience. The coolest part about watching rockets launch, is finding unique ways to experience them and with unique friends. Since it was cloudy and a fully loaded rocket, we could feel and hear the rumble into the 7th inning and it was definitely more exciting than how we played that night!

Spotting the rocket from third base. With the cloud deck it didn't matter where you watched the launch from, it was about the noise and feel of the engines rumbling. 

A quick pan shows GLBK (Girls Love Big Kicks) mesmerized by another launch form the Cape.

The official stats:

April 27	Falcon 9   •  TurkmenAlem52E/MonacoSat
Launch time: 2303 GMT (7:03 p.m. EDT) Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the TurkmenAlem52E/MonacoSat 1 communications satellite for Thales Alenia Space and the government of Turkmenistan. The spacecraft is Turkmenistan's first national satellite and will support communications over Central Asia. Delayed from March 21 and April 24. Read our full story. [April 27]

Space!

Ryan

The late night integrated by parts photo adventure that is chasing rocket launches #AsiaSat6 #Falcon9 #SpaceX

Once again you can't go wrong with a night launch from anywhere in Cape Canaveral. Sometimes being further away from the pad is better for capturing a time elapsed rocket lighting a black sky with a fire contrail and eerie pumpkin glowing clouds. The best part is that you're not going to capture a nice solo shot of the rocket, so you can set the camera up, hit the trigger (I have a simple photo capture trigger that I can lock on), and sit back and watch the launch. Or in my case grab an iPhone for that extra video memory of "you were there, watching at 1am". It was truly an awesome launch, especially after missing the last three, proving that I may have a launch watching addiction. The long rocket flame streaking from behind the clouds was spectacular! Since I was taking a time elapsed photo, I tried to capture that on video (YouTube video below), but it's not capable of that resolution with the absolute brightness. I wasn't sure if the launch would get delayed in the super long launch window just like the previous +SpaceX launch, but Teddy barked into the night at T-5 to tell everyone is was "rocket-time". Interesting fact, dogs can hear the intense sound wave before humans, so you can hear Teddy bark 82 seconds into the flight before the loud rumble even begins (I stopped filming before that hit as Teddy got really nervous so I put the toys away to make sure he was alright). We ran to the other side of the condo for the finale, but I couldn't see the rocket at that point. I think we heard and felt the rumble for 4-5 minutes after launch. I was super excited from the rush of the launch, so I uploaded some photos right away before getting to bed finally!

AsiaSat 6 going for a late night adventure on top of a SpaceX Falcon 9. This photo is a composite of 5 photos, each 30 seconds long, but the duration of view was under 2 minutes.

AsiaSat 6 on a Falcon 9 launched by SpaceX. The 5 photos used in the composite above. The late night integrated by parts photo adventure that is chasing rocket launches.

The official stats:

Sept. 7	Falcon 9  •  AsiaSat 6
Launch time: 0500 GMT (1:00 a.m. EDT) Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the AsiaSat 6 communications satellite. AsiaSat 6 will support video broadcasting and broadband networks for customers in Asia, Australia, India and the Pacific islands. Delayed from May, Aug. 26, Aug. 27 and Sept. 6. See our Mission Status Center. [Sept. 7]

Space!

Ryan

4am AEHF3 Launch on Atlas V - Move in day!

Jen and I closed on our 1st condo in Cape Canaveral and decided to camp-out in our new place to watch the early morning launch from our balcony. We had two hours of sleep and then I spent over an hour with one eye open watching Spaceflightnow.com's webcast waiting for the house warming launch. What a great way to start Cape Life!

AEHF3 ripping through the air and off the planet riding an Atlas 5

I ran across the condo so get this secondary photo of AEHF 3 near the constellation Orion on it's way to orbit

The official stats (note: actually launched at 4:10am):

Sept. 18	Atlas 5  •  AEHF 3
Launch time: 0704 GMT (3:04 a.m. EDT) Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, designated AV-041, launched the third Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite. Built by Lockheed Martin, this U.S. military spacecraft will provide highly-secure communications. The rocket flew in the 531 vehicle configuration with a five-meter fairing, three solid rocket boosters and a single-engine Centaur upper stage. Delayed from Sept. 13. See our Mission Status Center. [Sept. 18]

Space!

Ryan