Atlas V Lifts Off

The day of any rocket launch is always exciting, but when an Atlas V is scheduled, it’s even more intense! The two-and-a-half-hour drive to the Space Coast from Jupiter, Florida passes by in an instant with the anticipation of a successful launch. It’s an incredible experience and the memories stay with you for a lifetime. Launch photographers are instructed to arrive ten hours before the launch to set up remote cameras, which have to be completed within a short 40-minute window at the launch pad. Two hours before the launch, photographers convoy out to the viewing site to make final preparations to cameras capturing the event. From a distance, you gaze with awe at the rocket poised for launch, the entire launch complex illuminated by floodlights. Ten minutes before launch you are listening closely to the live broadcast waiting for updates on the rocket’s condition and the weather. The final few seconds of the countdown seem like an eternity and then finally it happens—the candle is lit. The entire sky lights up with a brilliant glow as bright as the sun. Then, moments later the sound of the Atlas V rocket is so deep and intense that it shakes your chest rattling windows up and down the coast. • – Photo/Words by Adam Byerly

United Launch Alliance celebrates their 50th launch with the United States Air Force delivering the 4th AEHF satellite to geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles above the earth. It was the 131st mission for ULA taking place at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Launch Complex 41 October 17, 2018