Infrared KSC

Took along the deep infrared (850nm) converted camera during a recent visit to Kennedy Space Center and took the following images.

Waiting for the gate to open to enter the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

A lot of these images were taken from the bus. Here is the construction going on next to the Atlantis exhibit.

Passing the SpaceX facility on Roberts Road where Falcon 9 rockets are refurbished for flight.

The Gigabay nearing completion where SpaceX will assemble Starship rockets.

The Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and Launch Control Center.

VAB detail.

The partial open doors reveal the Mobile Launcher inside the VAB where the Artemis 3 Space Launch System rocket is being assembled.

Approaching The Gantry at LC-39.

The purpose for visiting the Gantry was to watch the launch of the Starlink 10-19 mission from nearby Space Launch Complex 40.

My favorite image shows the Gantry with the launch guests on the bleachers. In infrared their clothes and umbrellas lose their colors.

A view of Space Launch Complex 40 across the water from the Gantry with the Starlink 10-19 Falcon 9 rocket on the pad. CLICK HERE TO SEE THE IMAGES OF THE LAUNCH.

The view from the Gantry of Launch Complex 39A where SpaceX launches Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets at left. In the center is the Starship launch tower under construction.

The view of the VAB from the Gantry.

At the Apollo-Saturn V Center.

A memorial statue to the Apollo 11 mission.

The main engines on the Saturn V exhibit. Photos taken indoors worked if there was light from natural sources like a window but, even then, the ISO had to be ramped up to 40,000 with a long exposure. Trying to take images with only artificial light sources proved to be a failure.

Second stage engines on the Saturn V rocket.

An astronaut on a simulated lunar surface with a Lunar Module.

Taking the infrared camera on the visit proved to be a lot of fun but allowances have to be made in the future for taking images indoors. Bringing along a normal camera is probably best to round out the photography options.

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