Anthony Galván III made the following photo of the Delta IV Heavy that launched yesterday from the Vandenberg Air Force Base with a big spysat on board. Until the SpaceX Falcon Heavy flies (probably in 2014), the Delta IV Heavy is the most powerful launch system in the US.
The photo was “taken from Goleta, California, about 50 miles southeast of base using a Nikon D90 with a 300mm f/28 lens with a 2X converter, effective focal length – 900mm”.
Here is a video of the launch:
NextBigFuture.com hosts the latest Carnival of Space.
China plans for the Chang’e-3 mission to put the country’s first lander on the Moon by the end of this year:
Project Morpheus is currently planning to do another tethered test flight of their rocket powere vertical takeoff and landing vehicle. You can watch live at Project Morpheus : Live.
Update: The test appeared successful. A video will probably be available late today or tomorrow.
This NASA JPL video displays ” the spread of carbon monoxide pollution from California’s Rim Fire and other Western U.S. wildfires across North America” using data from Atmospheric Infrared Sounder instrument on NASA’s Aqua spacecraft.