Inspiration4 mission
In September 2021, I traveled to the Space Coast to photograph the Inspiration4 all-private civilian mission to orbit in a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. You can watch a video I created over the mission here.
OmegA first stage hot fire test
On May 30, 2019, Northrop Grumman performed the first full-duration test fire of the first stage of its OmegA rocket. I was there to photograph the event for SpaceFlight Insider. I also wrote an accompanying story.
InSight Mars lander
In April 2018, I participated in a media event to photograph NASA's InSight Mars lander while it was still in the clean room being prepared for launch. This resulted in me producing a video package about the mission, in addition to capturing several photos.
The Great American Eclipse of 2017
On Aug. 21, 2017, the Moon passed in front of the Sun to produce the first total solar eclipse to cross the U.S. from the Pacific to Atlantic Oceans since 1918. It was also the first total solar eclipse to touch the continental U.S. since 1979. This sequence of photos was taken some 10 miles south of Glenrock, Wyoming, near the center of the path of totality.
This photo of the Sun's corona is actually 10 images stacked on top of each other with exposures ranging from 1/2000 of a second to 1/4 of a second in one stop increments. My ISO was at 400 with an aperture of f/16. I was using a 300mm lens.
A Delta IV heavy sends classified NROL-37 spaceward
Rising from three columns of fire, a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office starts its journey to space from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37. Liftoff took place at 1:51 p.m. EDT June 11, 2016.
The triple-core Delta IV heavy rises high and soars passed clouds on its way to send the classified NROL-37 payload to an undisclosed orbit.
The sun rises behind Space Launch Complex 37 on the morning of June 11, 2016, about seven hours before the planned launch of the Delta IV with the classified NROL-37 payload.
An Atlas V with MUOS-4 soars into the morning twilight
Just before sunrise at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with the U.S. Navy's fourth Mobile User Objective System rises into the sky. This Atlas V was in its 551 configuration, meaning it had a 5-meter fairing, five solid rocket motors and a single-engine Centaur upper stage. Liftoff took place at 6:18 a.m. EDT Sept. 2, 2015.
As the Atlas V soared into the black, it rose high enough for the sun, which was below the horizon from the viewers point of view, to reflect off the contrail the rocket produced. Near the bottom, where the exhaust converges, is the distant booster.
SpaceX sends Thaicom 8 to space atop a Falcon 9
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches Thaicom 8 for a Thailand company. Liftoff took place at 5:40 p.m. EDT May 27, 2016, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 40.
After the Falcon 9 rocket finished its job in propelling the second stage and payload above the atmosphere, it performed a series of retro-burns to land on an ocean-going platform hundreds of miles downrange. Less than a week later, it was returned to Port Canaveral to be offloaded and processed for another launch. This core, No. 1023, is expected to fly as a side-booster on SpaceX's future Falcon Heavy launch vehicle.
A Delta IV Medium launches WGS-9
After a day of setting up cameras near the launch pad, photojournalists set up tripods to capture the launch from a distance. This vehicle, in the distance, launched the ninth Wideband Global SATCOM satellite for the department of defense.
The Delta IV Medium+ 5,4 (five-meter fairing and four solid rocket motors), built by United Launch Alliance, launched at 8:18 p.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37.
The four solid rocket motors on the side, along with the single RS-68A engine, propel the 235-foot tall rocket away from Terra firma with a thrust of nearly 1.5 million pounds. This view was taken from a remote camera near the launch pad.