12:43am (ET) Tuesday: SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a batch of Starlink satellites, seen here in a 178-sec exposure from Cocoa Beach.
It was cloudy, so visibility wasn't great, and the clouds probably contributed to the particularly thunderous roar.
Stormy night
Thursday night (5/29/2025) storms over the Space Coast of Florida
737 Lunar Transit
A Boeing 737-823 (N344PP) gets cozy with the 40% waning Moon over the Space Coast Wednesday morning.
American Airlines flight 1160 was traveling from Jacksonville (JAX) to Miami (MIA) @ 30,000 feet and 481 knots.
One editorial note: This was a "bring your camera to work" situation; I was in the parking lot of one of our hospitals when Flightradar24 showed this plane approaching. I had a camera with me and shot this out the open moonroof while on a conference call.
(📷: me, flight data by Flightradar24.com)
Starlink 12-15 by SpaceX
Tuesday (5/20), 11:19pm (ET): A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket sent a batch of Starlink satellites to space, seen here over the Exploration Tower in Port Canaveral.
Boeing 777 Solar TRansit
A Boeing 777-223 (reg N780N) zips in front of the Sun, seen Saturday over the Space Coast of Florida.
American Airlines 1577 was traveling from Charlotte (CLT) to Miami (MIA) @ 34k ft & 492 kts.
Fun fact: That sunspot, region 4087, is 220MH in size; Earth is roughly 170MH, so, that's a big sunspot!
(📷: me, flight data by Flightradar24.com, sunspot data by SpaceWeatherLive)
Starlink 6-83 by SpaceX
Reusability on full display as a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster makes a record-setting 28th flight Tuesday at 1:02am (ET) with 2 boosters in port waiting to fly again.
Starlink 6-83 by SpaceX
Reusability on full display as a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster makes a record-setting 28th flight Tuesday at 1:02am (ET) with 2 boosters in port waiting to fly again.
Starlink 6-91 by SpaceX
While you were (probably) sleeping: At 2:28am (ET) Saturday, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket sending a batch of Starlink satellites to space.
This was the view from Cocoa Beach & Lori Wilson Park's shiny new lifeguard Rescue tower.
(Bonus: reentry burn is faintly visible)
Starlink 6-93 by SpaceX
SpaceX Falcon 9 sends a batch of Starlink satellites to space Tuesday night at 9:17pm, seen over the Indian River Lagoon from Palm Shores (Florida).
JetBlue meets Moon
JetBlue B6833 meets the 45% illuminated Moon Saturday night over the Space Coast of Florida.
The Airbus A320-232 (reg N527JL) was traveling from Orlando (MCO) to San Juan (SJU) @ 18,650ft (& climbing) and 406kts.
(ð·:me, flight data by Flightradar24.com)
Milky Way over Central Florida
"The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood… we are made of star stuff." — Carl Sagan
This is another view from my early morning junket last Sunday to find darker skies in Central Florida. The biggest challenge I faced that morning (aside from the 3:45 am alarm) was fog -- there was much of it -- except in this clearing.
The self-timer-flashlight-Milky-Way shot isn't my favorite, but this one has grown on me. It was the second frame I captured, and I was mainly trying to see how much moisture was in the air and whether I could shoot through it.
It worked well enough, and the view was great if not a little humbling -- the universe is really, really big.
Details: ISO3200, f1.8 and 15-secs with a Canon R5 II & Sigma 14mm.
Starlink 6-75 by SpaceX
Cloudy Thursday night SpaceX Falcon 9 launch carrying Starlink satellites to space, seen from Rockledge, Florida, over the Indian River Lagoon.
Project Kuiper Atlas V by United Launch Alliance
At 7:01pm (ET) Monday, a United Launch Alliance (Mighty) Atlas V thundered off the pad sending the Project Kuiper payload (satellites for Amazon) to space.
Milky Way from Central Florida
Space: Sunday morning from Central Florida / Bull Creek Wildlife Management area.
Protip: "Fog forms when the temperature and dew point of the air approach the same value" (credit: US National Weather Service Melbourne Florida); the forecast didn't show fog, but I rather blatantly disregarded the dew point when I rolled out of bed at 3:45 am this morning.
It was sporadically foggy on the way, but the WMA itself was quite murky. I had to drive far in to find this one spot where the fog was thin enough to see the sky.
The limited shot choices notwithstanding, it was a lovely morning with a breathtaking view.
Details: 11-frame vertical panorama, shot at ISO3200, f1.8, and 15-secs with a Canon R5mkii & Sigma 14mm.
Starlink 6-74 by SpaceX
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Starlink satellites to space at 9:52pm (ET) Thursday, seen over the Indian River Lagoon (and a washed up boat) from Palm Shores, Florida.
Bandwagon-3 by SpaceX
For the second time today, launch & landing for the Space Coast: At 8:48pm (ET) Monday (4/21), SpaceX launched (& landed) a Falcon 9 rocket, this time sending the Bandwagon-3 mission to space.
(477-sec exposure from Cocoa Beach)
CRS-32 by SpaceX
At 4:15 am Monday (ET), April 21, hashtag#SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket, sending a Cargo Dragon to space to resupply the ISS for the CRS-32 mission. About 8 minutes later, the booster returned. The first frame captures this in a 446-second single exposure.
These nebulas aren't deep space views: the first stage (silhouetted, top) orients itself for the return to Florida while the second stage engine ignites (lower right), sending the capsule onward to the ISS. For a brief moment, the exhaust is illuminated, creating the nebula effect.
CRS-32 by SpaceX
At 4:15 am Monday (ET), April 21, hashtag#SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket, sending a Cargo Dragon to space to resupply the ISS for the CRS-32 mission. About 8 minutes later, the booster returned. The first frame captures this in a 446-second single exposure.
These nebulas aren't deep space views: the first stage (silhouetted, top) orients itself for the return to Florida while the second stage engine ignites (lower right), sending the capsule onward to the ISS. For a brief moment, the exhaust is illuminated, creating the nebula effect.
CRS-32 by SpaceX
At 4:15 am Monday (ET), April 21, hashtag#SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket, sending a Cargo Dragon to space to resupply the ISS for the CRS-32 mission. About 8 minutes later, the booster returned. The first frame captures this in a 446-second single exposure.
These nebulas aren't deep space views: the first stage (silhouetted, top) orients itself for the return to Florida while the second stage engine ignites (lower right), sending the capsule onward to the ISS. For a brief moment, the exhaust is illuminated, creating the nebula effect.
Starlink 6-73 by SpaceX
Launched & landed 27 times, SpaceX Falcon 9 booster B1067 is the new fleet leader.
177-sec view from the neighborhood in Melbourne, Florida.
