Shuttle Atlantis launches September 9, 2006. Ben CooperA time lapse with multiple exposures captures star trails and the launch of an Atlas 5 rocket with a communications satellite on October 10 2007. The purple is light pollution from the orange streetlights in the area. This photo won third place in the Aviation Week 2008 photo contest, the biggest aviation photo contest. Ben CooperShuttle Endeavour launches on STS-132, March 11, 2008. Ben CooperThe night before STS-120 launches in October 2007, this HDR image captures the shuttle and the xenon lights, which the camera cannot normally expose for without special filters. Ben CooperA time lapse taken for NASA (this photo is not copyrighted) captures the Shuttle Discovery zooming into space on STS-128, August 28, 2009. Ben CooperIn a rare photo op taken February 22, the 12-story 100 ton Discovery hangs inside the gigantic Vehicle Assembly Building (the world’s fourth largest building) as it is lifted to be attached to the booster rockets for STS-131. Ben CooperIn a rare photo op taken February 22, the 12-story 100 ton Discovery hangs inside the gigantic Vehicle Assembly Building (the world’s fourth-largest building) as it is lifted to be attached to the booster rockets for STS-131. Ben CooperThe first place winner for space in the same contest and my most popular image taken (Popular Photography published it as the backstory in December 2009). A film camera was used for this shot (last time I used film to date) because of the chance it would be destroyed. Delta 4 Heavy lifts off November 10 2007 with a military satellite. It’s the largest rocket in the world at 24 stories tall, the angle on this Heavy launch really did it for me. The lens was destroyed, but the camera worked…see more: http://www.launchphotography.com/Delta_4-Heavy_DSP-23_camera.html/ http://www.launchphotography.com/Delta_4-Heavy_DSP-23.html/ Ben CooperThe Space Shuttle Discovery blasts off on STS-114 on July 26, 2005, on the first mission after the Columbia disaster, which happened nearly three-years before.An Atlas 5 rocket launches on the world’s first mission to Pluto, with the New Horizons space probe atop. New Horizons will get to Pluto in mid-2015 after a decade long journey. See more of Ben’s photos here: http://www.launchphotography.com/Launch_Photos.html/ Ben CooperShuttle Endeavour launches on STS-132, March 11, 2008. Ben CooperSTS-130 on February 8, 2010. Special permission was attained to set this remote camera up closer than ever to the 19-story, 7.5 million pounds of thrust shuttle Endeavour (about 700 feet). Ben CooperDiscovery rolls out to the launch pad on top of the crawler transporter and launch platorm for STS-114’s return to flight in April 2005. The 4.5 mile trip took a lengthy 12 hours and neared the pad at dusk. Ben Cooper
