Atlas V Launch

Photo by Anthony Galvan III

The Atlas V rocket carrying National Reconnaissance Office payload 42 successfully launched from Vandenberg AFB last night at 10:50 PDT.

Reader Anthony shares his image (above), which was taken from Winchester Canyon, 64 second exposure.

Michael Ford also shared photos, along with a note:

I felt pretty fortunate to see the launch of Atlas V. Our viewing spot was just outside Vandenberg AFB. The build-up to the launch was a bit dramatic: with just under 3 minutes left until launch, something triggered a launch hold. We waited to find out whether or not our drive out there was for nothing. Just a short 15 minutes or so later, the director cleared the massive rocket for launch. Our surroundings lit up when the 2 million pounds of thrust lifted the vehicle and its cargo into the air. It took a good 10 seconds for the sound waves to reach us, a rumbling that grew louder as the rocket streaked into the night sky, eventually disappearing from our view. An awesome experience!