The launch of SpaceX’s strongest rocket over the weekend was seen from orbit.
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy lifted off Sunday (Jan. 15) from NASA’s Kennedy Area Middle in Florida, sending a number of satellites aloft for the U.S. Space Force on a mission referred to as USSF-67.
Photographers on the bottom captured great shots of the launch. One off-Earth observer did as nicely — the International Space Station (ISS), which occurred to be in the fitting place on the proper time on Sunday.
Associated: 8 ways SpaceX has transformed spaceflight forever
“An exterior high-definition digital camera on the Worldwide Area Station captured the launch plume of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket after it had ascended to Earth orbit following its liftoff on Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023, from NASA’s Kennedy Area Middle in Florida,” NASA officers wrote in a description of the photo (opens in new tab).
“The space station was flying 262 miles [422 kilometers] above the Atlantic Ocean simply after an orbital sundown on the time of this {photograph},” they added.
This view from the station exhibits the launch plume of the @SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket after its liftoff on Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023, from @NASAKennedy in Florida. pic.twitter.com/TRWNggsGasJanuary 19, 2023
USSF-67 was the fifth-ever mission for the Falcon Heavy, which employs three strapped-together Falcon 9 first phases. The flight lofted a navy communications satellite referred to as Steady Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM 2 and 5 smaller spacecraft for the Area Power.
The Heavy, which generates greater than 5 million tons of thrust at liftoff, was till lately essentially the most highly effective operational rocket on this planet. NASA’s large Space Launch System (SLS) claimed that title when it launched for the primary time on Nov. 16, 2022, on the company’s Artemis 1 moon mission. (The SLS generates about 8.8 million kilos of thrust at liftoff.)
SpaceX launched 61 orbital missions in 2022, and 2023 could possibly be an excellent greater 12 months for the corporate. SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said last August (opens in new tab) that the corporate was “aiming for as much as 100 flights” in 2023.
SpaceX has launched 5 missions thus far this 12 months, together with two in the past two days. USSF-67 was the one mission of those 5 to make use of a Falcon Heavy; the opposite 4 employed Falcon 9s.
Mike Wall is the creator of “Out There (opens in new tab)” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a guide in regards to the seek for alien life. Observe him on Twitter @michaeldwall (opens in new tab). Observe us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or Facebook (opens in new tab).
