31 March 2025: Rocket with Fram2 polar orbit mission soars over a line of lightning storms

 

A line of lightning storms moved through the Space Coast tonight ahead of the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket with four civilian astronauts aboard. I was surprised the weather wasn’t an issue, but the rocket went high and south in a hurry. Still, I caught some lightning in the line in my time-exposure shot of the launch. The streak went right through the Big Dipper. Click on the photo to see a larger version in all its glorious detail.

I took this photo from the bank of the Indian River Lagoon in Rockledge, Florida, looking east. That’s the Rockledge city dock in the lower left, where people are holding up their phones to film the launch, and there’s lightning in the lower right. This was one exposure! I took several shots before the launch, thinking I might do a composite later, but no – the lightning cooperated, and I was able to enhance the image to make the bolts more visible.

Here’s one more shot at booster separation – a “jellyfish” effect in the upper right, with lightning in the lower left of the frame. Not as cool as the launch shot, but still pretty neat.