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Mike Deep
29th of August 2009 (Sat), 04:55
"The Last Night Launch," or at least until scheduling delays push another mission into a nighttime launch window. ;)

It's been quite a week. On Tuesday morning I was at the site when the launch was scrubbed. The following day I was more than halfway to Merritt Island when the next attempt was scrubbed. Tonight it finally went off. My sleep cycle is obliterated.

This was my first time seeing a launch from the Saturn V Center on Banana Creek. There's really nothing like it, especially at night. For a moment night becomes day and you can hear the crackle of those SRBs and the pressure on your chest. If you ever have the opportunity to go, don't hesitate - There's only six STS missions still planned.

I was experiencing quite a bit of confusion over exposure when the SRBs go off. I had conflicting information coming from different sources. Ultimately I went with settings a nearby Andrew Bershaw (http://abdigitalphotography.com/) got from Ben Cooper (http://www.launchphotography.com/), which in turn seems to come from a 1997 KSC press handout (http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/release/1997/76-97.htm). For those curious, the settings were 1/250, f8, ISO400.

LC39A on the 24th:

http://www.mikedeep.com/Events/STS-128/2009082422595030D10018/746041115_685DW-L.jpg

One of the violations that led to the first scrub:

http://www.mikedeep.com/Events/STS-128/2009082500574930D10053/746041381_pJn7L-L.jpg

Wide angle on the 28th:

http://www.mikedeep.com/Events/STS-128/2009082822253730D10290/746070422_JiHtn-L.jpg

Success:

http://www.mikedeep.com/Events/STS-128/2009082823593930D10092/746041849_ajWgp-L.jpg

http://www.mikedeep.com/Events/STS-128/2009082900044330D10105/746042397_qpfkU-L.jpg
artyman
29th of August 2009 (Sat), 09:50
Great shots
Aaagogo
29th of August 2009 (Sat), 10:49
ah, you met Ben Cooper.

He has his own little fan club

nice shots
tommykjensen
29th of August 2009 (Sat), 11:05
Great photos.


There's really nothing like it, especially at night. For a moment night becomes day and you can hear the crackle of those SRBs and the pressure on your chest. If you ever have the opportunity to go, don't hesitate - There's only six STS missions still planned.


A nigth launch is special. In 1998 I experienced one and it is something you both see, hear and feel.
playback
29th of August 2009 (Sat), 18:16
Mike, the wide angle shot on the 28th, were you by chance at the grassy area off to the right side of the Wachovia bank in Titusville?

If so, I probably saw you in the crowd.

Nice pics!
godzakka
29th of August 2009 (Sat), 18:36
Great shots. I took mine about two stop darker, and while I was very happy with the overall picture, I think your shuttle was far better exposed than mine. Great series and colors.
Mike Deep
29th of August 2009 (Sat), 19:11
Mike, the wide angle shot on the 28th, were you by chance at the grassy area off to the right side of the Wachovia bank in Titusville?

Afraid not, I was at the VIP viewing site behind the Saturn V center.
Mike Deep
29th of August 2009 (Sat), 19:30
Great shots. I took mine about two stop darker, and while I was very happy with the overall picture, I think your shuttle was far better exposed than mine. Great series and colors.

Thanks.
Settling on an exposure was pretty difficult. Every source I managed to find--both online and on-site--seemed to vary by a stop or more. That variation seems to come from different viewing sites (The press site, Banana Creek, the causeway, Titusville, and areas only NASA's photo team can access). I finally gained some confidence when Mr. Bershaw shared those settings Ben Cooper recommended, and they jived with what I had seen in the KSC exposure table. My original target would have been completely wrong by three stops. It makes sense now and I really should have just trusted the '97 press handout from the get go.

If I were to ever have a second go at this I would probably start to back off the shutter speed as the flame cleared the tower. For this launch, though, I didn't want to mess with the cameras. I watched the whole thing with my own eyes and fired the cameras with cable releases.
godzakka
29th of August 2009 (Sat), 21:33
Even though my shuttle isn't as nice as yours, I'm still very happy and printing some photos for the wall. Looking forward to the Nov. 12th launch - you?
Mike Deep
29th of August 2009 (Sat), 21:41
Haven't gotten that far yet. :)
I am interested in the Feb. 4th launch since it's about an hour before sunrise. I'm thinking instant noctilucent cloud there.
G35Driver
30th of August 2009 (Sun), 17:13
wow great shots Mike
UK_Tomcat_Fan
1st of September 2009 (Tue), 03:46
nice, looking forward to November and may when i hope to witness 2 of these amazing sights.

is it worth purchasing a launch ticket to view it from the nasa site?

only issue i can see is i arrive 2 days after scheduled launch
ianphoto
1st of September 2009 (Tue), 06:34
Great stuff
Mike Deep
2nd of September 2009 (Wed), 15:28
nice, looking forward to November and may when i hope to witness 2 of these amazing sights.

is it worth purchasing a launch ticket to view it from the nasa site?

only issue i can see is i arrive 2 days after scheduled launch

If you purchase a launch ticket, I believe you'll be taken to the Causeway... About 10-11km south of 39A. That's twice as close as the next nearest viewing site across the river in Titusville, but almost twice as far as the press and VIP sites. Without having tried it, I would think it would still be worth it, especially if you've never seen a launch before.