Astrophotographer Mike Killian took this image of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket blasting off on May 6, 2016 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Credit: Mike Killian/AmericaSpace.com
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket appears to take its place among the stars in a stunning skywatcher image.
Astrophotographer Mike Killian took the photo on May 6 as the Falcon 9 launched the JCSAT-14 commercial communications satellite into orbit from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
“I’ve waited years to try this shot,” Killian, the managing editor of the website AmericaSpace.com , wrote in an email to Space.com. “Finally, all the conditions came together for an attempt.”
The Falcon 9 didn’t speed off into the Milky Way that night, of course. Rather, the rocket’s first stage came back to Earth, landing on the deck of a robotic SpaceX “drone ship,” which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida coast. It was the second successful drone-ship landing in less than a month for SpaceX, which is working to develop fully and rapidly reusable launch vehicles.
Killian’s image is a double exposure, with one frame capturing the launch and the other the Milky Way. He used a Canon 6D at 24mm with ISO 3200 for the Milky Way, and ISO 200 F/14 @ 3:00 for the launch.
Editor’s note: If you have an amazing night sky photo you’d like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please contact managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com.
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