Falcon Heavy - USSF 67 Mission

Lets be real here. This was technically the Falcon Heavy launch to see if you missed the last 4. I am not a huge fan of night launches, but this one happened just at a perfect time between day and night. You will understand in a moment why this is very important to get this timing.

 

The footage was tricky at best. To set the camera to reveal the details of the rocket stages, yet to counter-attack the flamey pointy end of the rocket from over saturating your sensors was every photographers nightmare. I did the best I could. A dedicated shotgun mic to capture the rumble and crackle of 27 Merlin 1-D engines was mounted on top.

 

Lets laugh the moment I said "sh*t" when that mic fell off around a minute into the flight. I certainly was laughing on the inside. Its now to time to zoom in on the next milestones like max Q and the booster separation events.

Midway through the flight, spectacular lighting and clouds enhanced the viewing experience. The combination of sun location and rocket altitude play a game of "right proportions" to reveal the multi color effects.

 

By this time the Falcon Heavy has reached an altitude of 22 km and a speed of 2300 km/h. The two liquid fueled side boosters still remain attached, but they will soon scheduled for their departure.

 

As we hit 2 minutes and 30 seconds into the flight, and I mean EXACTLY, the two strap on boosters separate in a glorious fashion. This is the point where a typical rocket launch no longer is interesting. This is going to change in just a moment.

 

Considering the Falcon Heavy is a partially reusable rocket, the two side boosters will create their own rocket show as they are going to fire its engines to make a boost-back burn. Yes, your hunch is correct. These boosters are going to land!

The on-board nitrogen gas thrusters fire pulses of "smoke" as it appears in the sky. These are also know as "thruster puffs". These are visible during these timely launches after sunset and sometimes at night depending on the angles of where the main core is.

 

The USSF 67 mission gave us a special treat because this is the first time in history a twin booster landing will occur during this post-sunset time. This launch is far from over!

 

What is known in the launch enthusiast circle as the "jellyfish effect", occurs around two minutes and fifty seconds into the launch. Never before seen by the human species, this creates shock and awe and spectators around me express their thoughts just like it was the 4th of July.

 

I try to track my camera showing this delightful alien invasion. Yes, that is what this looks like. Soon the thruster puffs extinguish and the boosters continue its free fall decent. Around 6 and a half minutes the booster fires some of its engines to make a correction/decent burn.

 

Finally the booster fire one last time for its landing burn and gracefully touchdown on landing zones 1 and 2 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Of course, boom boom boom follows as the sonic booms carry ever so slowly through the speed of sound limitations to my microphone. And there we have it. A historical Falcon Heavy launch worth seeing no matter who you are, where you live, or how much launches you have been to.

 

See you on the launch pad!