Tonight I Watched a Rocket Launch

This is actually a tale of the amazing time we live in…

I’m on the road for a business trip in Raleigh, NC.  I get back to my hotel room and glance at twitter and just happen to see a post about a rocket launch tonight.

Tweet Screen Capture

Ends up Orbital was launching an Air Force satellite from Virginia.  And thanks to the Orbital News Release about the launch, I realized I should be able to see it!

So, 20 minutes later I’m out side in the 45 degree night standing in the parking lot of the office building next door and listening to the live stream from the launch control on my iPhone.

5…4…3…2…1…lift off.  And then like clock work at T+ 60 seconds, a moving red dot appears over the roof of the office building arcing thru the sky toward the moon:

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Since the rocket was heading south east away from the launch point, by the time the rocket had passed the moon, it was too far down range to even be visible.

These photos were all taken with my Nikon P330 point and shoot camera which I had with me.  So the net photographic recording of the event is a bit sub-par from my usual work.  But the real story is what today’s technology allowed me to witness…

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