Before dawn at the Black Rock Desert.
Before dawn at the Black Rock Desert.
Before dawn at the Black Rock Desert.
Before dawn at the Black Rock Desert.
The AeroPAC flight line on Saturday morning before dawn.
The Black Rock Range mountains, about 10 miles north of the AeroPAC
launch site.
The AeroPAC flight line before dawn.
The Jackson Range (background) and Black Rock Range (foreground)
mountains to the north of the launch site.This was a handheld shot, which I almost held still enough for thelength of the exposure.This shot could have used a tripod, but it still turned out as a nice effectwith the pre-dawn lighting.
A clearer view of the Jackson Range (background) and Black Rock Range
(foreground.)
Black Rock Point, the small mountain that the Black Rock Desert was
named for, before dawn on Saturday.
The Granite Range mountains viewed before dawn Saturday, south of the AeroPAC
launch site.
The headlights in the distance give away that these pictures are actually
being taken while it's still dark.
Launch pads stand silently before dawn.
The AeroPAC flight line before dawn.
The AeroPAC flight line before dawn.
The crack of dawn strikes the distant mountaintops in the Jacksons.
The Elephant Back just before dawn on Saturday.
The red smear is the brake lights of a moving car.
The Elephant Back just before dawn on Saturday.
Still working on the focus on this one...
This is Mike Brest's Level 3(?) certification flight.
This is Mike Brest's Level 3(?) certification flight.
This is Mike Brest's Level 3(?) certification flight.
This is Mike Brest's Level 3(?) certification flight.
This is Mike Brest's Level 3(?) certification flight.
This is Mike Brest's Level 3(?) certification flight.
This is Mike Brest's Level 3(?) certification flight.
This is Mike Brest's Level 3(?) certification flight.
A rocket descending under parachute.
A rocket descending under parachute.
This is where the previous frame's rocket landed.
This rocket's second stage is in the process of igniting prematurely,
just afte the first stage lifted off.
Things did not go well for the wily second stage.
In this picture it is corkscrewing around.
The second stage from the previous two pictures corkscrews to impact.
As the sun warms the lakebed, the mirage "turns on".
The higher temperature of the air within inches of the groundcauses light to bend back away from the ground,and you think you see a mirrored reflection of the terrainjust above it.Close - but it's actually called a refraction when the light bendsinstead of bounces.
The Jackson Range is visible in the background,
looming above the Black Rock Range in the foreground.
A rocket launches from Pad 26.
The puff of smoke indicates where the rocket's parachute ejection occurred.
The rocket is small in this view because it's still very high up.
I'm serving my 2-hour shift as Launch Control Officer.
In my right hand I have the public address system microphone,which is switched off at the time of this picture.In my left hand I'm speaking into a two-way radio to ask for status from people who have set up a larg rocket on one of the "away pads" more than1/4 mile from the flight line.
A rocket descends under parachute.
A rocket descends under parachute.
Before dawn at the Black Rock Desert.
Before dawn at the Black Rock Desert.
Before dawn at the Black Rock Desert.
Before dawn at the Black Rock Desert.
The AeroPAC flight line on Saturday morning before dawn.
The Black Rock Range mountains, about 10 miles north of the AeroPAC
launch site.
The AeroPAC flight line before dawn.
The Jackson Range (background) and Black Rock Range (foreground)
mountains to the north of the launch site.This was a handheld shot, which I almost held still enough for thelength of the exposure.This shot could have used a tripod, but it still turned out as a nice effectwith the pre-dawn lighting.
A clearer view of the Jackson Range (background) and Black Rock Range
(foreground.)
Black Rock Point, the small mountain that the Black Rock Desert was
named for, before dawn on Saturday.
The Granite Range mountains viewed before dawn Saturday, south of the AeroPAC
launch site.
The headlights in the distance give away that these pictures are actually
being taken while it's still dark.
Launch pads stand silently before dawn.
The AeroPAC flight line before dawn.
The AeroPAC flight line before dawn.
The crack of dawn strikes the distant mountaintops in the Jacksons.
The Elephant Back just before dawn on Saturday.
The red smear is the brake lights of a moving car.
The Elephant Back just before dawn on Saturday.
Still working on the focus on this one...
This is Mike Brest's Level 3(?) certification flight.
This is Mike Brest's Level 3(?) certification flight.
This is Mike Brest's Level 3(?) certification flight.
This is Mike Brest's Level 3(?) certification flight.
This is Mike Brest's Level 3(?) certification flight.
This is Mike Brest's Level 3(?) certification flight.
This is Mike Brest's Level 3(?) certification flight.
This is Mike Brest's Level 3(?) certification flight.
A rocket descending under parachute.
A rocket descending under parachute.
This is where the previous frame's rocket landed.
This rocket's second stage is in the process of igniting prematurely,
just afte the first stage lifted off.
Things did not go well for the wily second stage.
In this picture it is corkscrewing around.
The second stage from the previous two pictures corkscrews to impact.
As the sun warms the lakebed, the mirage "turns on".
The higher temperature of the air within inches of the groundcauses light to bend back away from the ground,and you think you see a mirrored reflection of the terrainjust above it.Close - but it's actually called a refraction when the light bendsinstead of bounces.
The Jackson Range is visible in the background,
looming above the Black Rock Range in the foreground.
A rocket launches from Pad 26.
The puff of smoke indicates where the rocket's parachute ejection occurred.
The rocket is small in this view because it's still very high up.
I'm serving my 2-hour shift as Launch Control Officer.
In my right hand I have the public address system microphone,which is switched off at the time of this picture.In my left hand I'm speaking into a two-way radio to ask for status from people who have set up a larg rocket on one of the "away pads" more than1/4 mile from the flight line.
A rocket descends under parachute.
A rocket descends under parachute.