Usually we only get to see what a rocket launch looks like from ground level.
But, now, a satellite company called Planet Labs has given us a new perspective.
They used one of their orbiting satellites to capture images of one of their rockets containing more (a “flock of”) satellites as they blasted off from planet Earth.
The company reports that they “stitched together tons of still images to create this animation of the launch of Flock 2k.”
Our Dove constellation is a monitoring one, meaning we point each Dove straight down, imaging what’s directly below in strips as the Earth rotates. In the hours leading up to our recent Soyuz launch we determined that a Dove would be near enough to Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to get a shot of our newest flock launching. Once we determined it was possible, our Attitude Control team worked with our Mission Operations team to point a Dove at the launch pad.
And, to put it frankly, the results are pretty cool.
Agreed.
Here’s that same rocket, but from a more typical angle:
(Sploid)