SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Launch

By Robert Bernstein

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

This was not quite as spectacular as the launch last October at sunset. This one was at 7:31AM after sunrise, but it was still quite memorable!

Here is my video and photos I have extracted that are of special interest.

The view spot was from our street near Girsh Park in Goleta! Here you can see the neighbor’s house and contrail after the launch

Here is my full video

This was one of my favorite images as the rocket ascends over the trees and passes through a cloud!

The morning sunlight allows some of the subtlety of the colors to show through from the rocket exhaust

The first stage engine burned out

And the payload stage coasted ahead toward space

The booster stage and the payload stage separated

Then came a beautiful swirling scene as the booster stage was flipped to return for recovery

The payload stage continued on into space at the left and the booster stage returned at the right

The rumbling sound of the launch arrived about five minutes after the launch. I was surprised it was not that loud.

The launch placed the final 10 IRIDIUM NEXT satellites (numbered 66-75) in low Earth orbit. Iridium is used for satellite communication in remote locations.

I had been following the launch plans at Space Flight Now on line. 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.