Capturing the Inspiration 4 launch from Near Space
We flew several missions in the past to try to capture rocket launches along the east coast. This sunset launch hoped to capture the launch of SpaceX’s ground breaking Inspiration 4 launch out of Florida. And a coincidental flyover of the International Space Station.
Launch trajectory of Inspiration 4 Overflight plot of ISS
The payload reused a small box (see flights 86 & 87) with the usual AP510 and T-Beam trackers. Like NSL-87, two low-light cameras (B&W RunCam Night Eagle 2 Pro and Color Caddx Dolphin HD Camera) looked out at about 90 angles from each other. This flew under a 600g cell with H2. Matthew and Paul launched from their front door in Apex.
Launch seen from the 2 onboard cameras
Ascent from Apex seen with the B&W RunCam
Unlike NSL-87, a stabilizing wing was not added. There were concerns that the wing would force the payload to point away from the coast and miss the flybys. Unsurprisingly, the result was a lot of spinning video. The moon, Venus, Jupiter, and the setting sun’s skyglow were visible above North Carolina.
Sample video showing spinning at altitude. Note the thunderstorm below.
Thankfully, Inspiration 4 launched on time. The two cameras noted the initial launch plume just 32 seconds into the flight. As the payload spun, it imaged the staging and even the landing of the first stage out at sea. Most of the stills below show blurring caused by the spin.
RunCam stills showing the landing of the 1st stage on a drone ship off the SC coast
Caddx images showing the upper stage passing by.
ISS overflight
The ISS then passed over the coast. Below are blurry images of it passing by the moon from the vantage point of the Caddx at 28km.
Burst occurred at 8:34pm ET at 31.4km (103342ft) over Raleigh. Below are images of the haze below as well as the streaks of streetlights as the spinning Caddx approached the ground.
The payload landed about 25m up a pine tree. Several days later, Tim W. was able to quickly bring it down (First shot with his special bow and arrow!).
Note the temporary chute tangle upon descent.
AP510 voltage recording lining up with APRS transmissions causing the voltage to record as lower than the baseline.
