Photographer captures super rare moment during rocket launch

Photographer captures super rare moment during rocket launch

Professional launch photographers believe it's the first time in decades that such a picture has been captured.

Rocket

Steve Rice is a 33-year-old who lives in Philadelphia, USA, and has spent most of his life documenting half a dozen space launches up-close.

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He finally decided that he had one photography goal to challenge himself and get a rare perspective on a spaceflight.

He wanted to capture the moment a rocket flies right in front of the moon.

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And Rice recently got to realise his dream when Northrop Grumman announced that it would be flying the Cygnus NG-14 spaceship to resupply the International Space Station.

View this post on Instagram

I captured one of my dream shots during the NG-14 launch two nights ago. Moon & rocket (carrying a space toilet, no less). Swipe over for 8 more photos in the sequence and check out that superheated plume from the twin RD-181 engines. This occurred roughly 22 seconds after liftoff and was shot from a distance of 3.4 miles (5.5km). For reference, the Antares rocket is 139ft/42.5m long and 13ft/3.9m wide. . 2020.10.02, 9:16 PM Sony A6500, vintage 60-300mm, f/8, ISO 400, 1/320s. . Planning a shot like this can be pretty exhaust-ing, so an enthusiastic shoutout to @flightclubio for making it possible. . #NG14 #CRS14 #antares #cygnus #northropgrumman #nasa #wallopsflightfacility #midatlanticregionalspaceport #iss #spacestation #internationalspacestation @ISS @nasawallops #wallops #wallopsisland #rocketlaunch #rocket #a6500 #youresa #universetoday #ipulledoverforthis #moonawards #moonoftheday #silhouette #lunartransit

A post shared by Steve (@svenry) on

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Taking this picture did not only involve skill and planning, but also needed a little bit of luck.

He also shared the video he captured of the moment, where you can see the explosive shockwaves that are being sent from the rocket engines around the machine.

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After posting his footage on Instagram, he even got a congratulatory comment from another launch photographer, Carleton Bailie, who says it took him 20 years to get this type of picture.

What an amazing moment!

Main image courtesy of Instagram

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