2021 Aviation Week Photo Contest Editors’ Picks: Space

The SpaceX Falcon 9 first and second stages put on a light show above the skies at the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A. This photo, taken on Sept. 15 during the Inspiration4 mission, shows the exhaust from the stages lit by the setting Sun while we observed the launch in the beginning of astronomical twilight. We could even see the gradation of the sunset from orange to blue in the rocket exhaust.

The NASA SpaceX Crew-1 mission’s second-stage Merlin vacuum engine puts on a visual display in space, as seen from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, on Nov. 15, 2020. Gases from the engine emit a blue glow in front of the starry background.

Firefly Aerospace’s Firefly Alpha launch vehicle was terminated 2.5 min. into its flight on Sept. 2. The vehicle suffered a premature engine shutdown 15 sec. into the flight. The loss of thrust resulted in slow climb and acceleration and ultimately loss of control as the vehicle went transonic.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching in the early morning on Feb. 7 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, as the Moon rises over Mosquito Lagoon.

The three-day orbital flight of Inspiration4 in September ushered in a new era in tourist spaceflight. This night-to-day image features star trails on the left, the first-stage streak, the second stage lighting up the predawn sky and the reentry burn as the first stage nears the drone ship. On the right of the photo, the sky lightens as the Sun rises out of the frame. In the lower left corner, navigation lights of pleasure boaters fill Sykes Creek as they sail out to watch history being made.

The Banana River in Florida looks like a scene from deep space or a sci-fi movie as a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches into the night on March 14.

Only in Florida can you witness the sight of an Atlas V rocket between perfectly framed palm trees! The United Launch Alliance rocket took the Space-Based Infrared Surveillance GEO-5 satellite into space on May 18.