Forged in fire, bound for fire: Parker Solar Probe + Delta IV Heavy This series of frames comes from a sound-activated camera I placed at Launch Complex 37 approximately 32 hours before the 3:31 am (ET) Sunday (August 12, 2018) morning launch of a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket. Sitting atop the rocket is the Parker Solar Probe, bound for a first-ever mission to, as NASA so nicely phrased it, "touch the Sun" resulting in temperatures upwards of 2,500 degrees (F). This sequence encompasses approximately 10-seconds, and it captures the Delta IV Heavy coming to life in a particularly fiery manner: it lights itself on fire before ignition to burn off stray fumes, and then a moment later the Aerojet / Rocketdyne RS-68A engines ignite, pushing the rocket skyward, or rather, spaceward. ULA CEO Tory Bruno indicated on Twitter that they refer to this rocket as "The Beast" and you can see why. (Pihotos: Michael Seeley / We Report Space)
At 3:31am (ET) Sunday morning, United Launch Alliance succesfully launched the #ParkerSolarProbe atop a majestic #DeltaIVHeavy rocket. This is the view from the media area on the NASA Causeway, seen in a 227-second exposure. (Pic: Michael Seeley / We Report Space)
Three cores = three streaks. This is from my remote camera placed at the end of the front pond at LC-37, a 25-second exposure of the United Launch Alliance #DeltaIVHeavy carrying the #ParkerSolarProbe. Big thanks to Bill and Mary Ellen Jelen for picking up my remotes and sending me the files for me to process. (Pic: me: We Report Space) — at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 37
At 3:31am (ET) Sunday morning, United Launch Alliance succesfully launched the #ParkerSolarProbe atop a majestic #DeltaIVHeavy rocket. This is the view of the launch from a sound-activated remote camera placed a few hundred feet away from the pad. (Pic: Michael Seeley / We Report Space)
At 3:31am (ET) Sunday morning, United Launch Alliance succesfully launched the #ParkerSolarProbe atop a majestic #DeltaIVHeavy rocket. This is the view of the launch from a sound-activated remote camera placed a few hundred feet away from the pad. (Pic: Michael Seeley / We Report Space)
At 3:31am (ET) Sunday morning, United Launch Alliance succesfully launched the #ParkerSolarProbe atop a majestic #DeltaIVHeavy rocket. This is the view of the launch from a sound-activated remote camera placed a few hundred feet away from the pad. (Pic: Michael Seeley / We Report Space)
At 3:31am (ET) Sunday morning, United Launch Alliance succesfully launched the #ParkerSolarProbe atop a majestic #DeltaIVHeavy rocket. This is the view of the launch from a sound-activated remote camera placed a few hundred feet away from the pad. (Pic: Michael Seeley / We Report Space)