SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Launch Video And Photos

By Robert Bernstein

SpaceX made another successful launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg!

This was an extraordinary opportunity as the launch was at 7:21 PM at sunset. This allowed for spectacular illumination of the rocket and the gases from the rocket.

Here http://swt.org/vandenberg/2018-1007-Falcon9/ is my video and photos I have extracted that are of special interest.

The view spot was from the home of my unicycling friend Danielle in Rancho Embarcadero, west of Goleta

She had a bunch of us over for a barbecue and to view this extraordinary event. I left the sound in from the video which includes Danielle and others exclaiming at what we are seeing. Here is the full video:

It is interesting to see how the sky begins to glow orange and then a ball of fire appears above the Farren Road hill

The rocket was brilliant against a dark sky, yet it was also being illuminated by the sun

The first stage shut down as that booster stage was ejected

What happened next was absolutely breathtaking. For the first time ever on the west coast, SpaceX attempted to retrieve the booster on land, back at Vandenberg. This meant that the booster had to return to Earth under power to control its position and speed. Ideally for a soft landing.

This made for a most ethereal scene of both rockets at once in the sky, surrounded by a swirling cloud of exhaust gases. All illuminated by the sun against a dark sky.

This image clearly shows the two rockets as bright spots moving away from each other

 

The booster made a most intriguing shock wave pattern in the gas

As the booster descended, we watched the rocket and satellite payload climb ever higher into orbit. This shows our last view as it passed a star

The rumbling sound of the launch arrived about five minutes after the launch. I was surprised it was not that loud. Of course, our group was a bit loud, too!

The launch placed the SAOCOM 1A satellite in orbit. It is a radar observation satellite for Argentina.

I had been following the launch plans at Space Flight Now online. Most launches have a launch window ranging from a few minutes to several hours. This was most unusual in that it listed just one exact instant for the launch and it did indeed launch at that instant.

Oh... Yes, the retrieval of the booster stage was successful!