How could this not be about the SLS launch last night?  Despite the rocky road to flight (prime being Boeing’s perhaps willful incompetence) and a changing rocketry landscape that now surrounds it, it is always exciting to see a new vehicle leap to the heavens, especially the largest lift vehicle that has ever flown.  Doubly especially one that uses massive solid rocket boosters and their insane flame gouts — when I saw my first Falcon 9 launch, it was daytime and the brightness of the flame was astounding.  This SLS has to be orders of magnitude even more insanely bright.

I was supper giddy and cheering at the livestream as I watched SLS launch.  So exciting to see it soar upwards and help start a new era of space exploration.

Amazing photo of the launch with the moon in the background (click on the photo above to see it, and it’s not composited, this was an actual shot.  You can tell by the pressure waves from the rocket exhaust warping the bottom of the moon).

Great shot of the moment SLS went supersonic!

8 million pounds of thrust….

Liftoff beauty shot…

And a frikk’n amazing tracking shot at the moment of booster separation!