Don't get excited.  You can barely see the Falcon Heavy in this screen capture from the Spark.
I didn't know I'd caught it on video until reviewing the footage later on my iMac. LOL!

It's the tiny smudge in the center of the screen shot.

Falcon Heavy launch from 200 miles away

i can just make out the turn signal on the Tesla Roadster blinking there in the payload bay. good catch!

Solestacz Posted at 2018-2-6 15:14
i can just make out the turn signal on the Tesla Roadster blinking there in the payload bay. good catch!

LOL! I wish!

I gave it a good effort and really didn't expect to see anything.  The Space Shuttles were easier to see from here due to the solid rocket boosters producing more exhaust plume.  In my early software engineering days, I had the great fortune of watching the shuttles lift off from the Launch Control Center at Kennedy Space Center.  That was a great job and I miss working there.  It was cool to actually (sort of) capture this launch on the Spark.  I flew it up to 90 feet and put it in Tripod mode and set the camera to maximum upward tilt.  Would have taken photos instead, but didn't know exactly where to look for the Falcon Heavy ascent. Live and learn! LOL!

Great luck keep it up

SOUNDWAVE439 Posted at 2018-2-6 15:27
Great luck keep it up

Thanks, SOUNDWAVE439!
I'll have a better feel for the flight trajectory during upcoming launches from Kennedy and/or Cape Canaveral.  And I'll take photos instead of video. LOL!

I was a software engineer on the Space Shuttle Ground Launch Simulator Operating System back in the 80s and worked in the Launch Control Center.  Watching the shuttle launches and landings from close range was a huge perk.  The Spark helps relive those days!

Great stuff! That whole launch, synchronized booster landing, and deployment of the fairing to reveal Starman and the Roadster is definitely one of the coolest things I've ever seen. Hope they stuck the centre stage landing too.

Firehawk989 Posted at 2018-2-6 16:21
Great stuff! That whole launch, synchronized booster landing, and deployment of the fairing to reveal Starman and the Roadster is definitely one of the coolest things I've ever seen.

I agree, FIrehawk989! The booster landings were incredibly cool, as was the fairing separation.

Lee Moon Posted at 2018-2-6 15:34
Thanks, SOUNDWAVE439!
I'll have a better feel for the flight trajectory during upcoming launches from Kennedy and/or Cape Canaveral.  And I'll take photos instead of video. LOL!

ever wonder getting a scope?

If you guys think this was about feeding Elon's ego by sending a glorified electric Elan to space with that much rocket you are all missing something...

Just about make it out - good pic!

Oracle Miata Posted at 2018-2-7 11:33
If you guys think this was about feeding Elon's ego by sending a glorified electric Elan to space with that much rocket you are all missing something...

SpaceX and Elon have made an incredible achievement with the launch of Falcon Heavy.  I don't think anyone who has responded to my thread have thought otherwise.  At least I didn't read it that way.  I think the funny comments were geared towards the miniscule image of the Falcon Heavy exhaust plume taken from an insane distance away with the Spark.  It's all good!

Pushing the cost down on lifting heavy/large payloads into orbit and beyond is a much needed accomplishment.  It will lead the way to bigger, better, and further accomplishments.

I worked in aerospace and defense for 20 years and truly appreciate all the effort and brilliance that goes into making these kinds of things happen.

Using the Tesla Roadster as payload helps capture public attention back to our efforts in space exploration.  Well done, Elon and SpaceX!  It was fun to watch some of the streamed footage while the Roadster was in low orbit.

I meant there are larger things happening right now that are... perhaps being covered up by publicity stunts my friend.  Great photo none the less.  

I really thought this is an eye sight test i had to zoom in all the way till i got it.. lol nice shot thou

Wow you can actually see it! nice catch!

ArnoSpark Posted at 2018-2-7 13:41
I really thought this is an eye sight test  i had to zoom in all the way till i got it.. lol nice shot thou

LOL! I didn't know I'd captured it until I reviewed the video.  Definitely need good eyes to see it at 1080p resolution.  Next time there's a launch, I'll try shooting photos at 12 MP instead of video to get a bit more definition out of the shot. Assuming I can find the exhaust plume going up.
Good news is that you (and I) passed the eye test! LOL!

BeastMaster_101 Posted at 2018-2-7 14:22
Wow you can actually see it! nice catch!

Barely can see it, but it was nice to find out that I caught the launch at all. We have a lot of tall pine trees in our neighborhood and I figured the Spark would offer the best chance of seeing anything.  My expectations were low, so I'm happy to have gotten this tiny image. LOL

The year after I was born, we walked on the moon.  It excites me to think what my grand-daughter will see in her lifetime.

Nice "smudge"!

Nice picture lol. Very clear photo of the rocket

Langner91 Posted at 2018-2-7 18:52
The year after I was born, we walked on the moon.  It excites me to think what my grand-daughter will see in her lifetime.

Nice "smudge"!

I was 11 years old and on the visitor tour at Kennedy Space Center, FL when the Eagle landed on the moon.  They stopped the tour bus near the launch pad and broadcast the event so we could hear it.

Little did I know then that I'd be working on the Space Shuttle many years later at the same location. LOL!

I believe we have more amazing times ahead of us and your grand daughter will surely see humanity create fantastic achievements.

It'll be interesting to see how the drone, video, and photography technologies will continue to evolve.  Maybe I'll live long enough to have a drone that can photograph more than a ridiculously small smudge from 200 miles away! LOL!!

eman_vg Posted at 2018-2-7 19:07
Nice picture lol. Very clear photo of the rocket

LOL! I should Photoshop in a Roadster!!

Lee Moon Posted at 2018-2-6 16:23
I agree, FIrehawk989! The booster landings were incredibly cool, as was the fairing separation.

The twin landing was pretty cool.  I am not sure why the FAA allows drones to fly back towards populated areas at mach 1+ partially filled with kerosene and liquid oxygen.   If they go off course by one degree 50 miles away???  If those motors don't restart??

I figured the hazard was why the rockets are launched out over the ocean instead of over the states.  Say from Cali and then over Arizona and New Mexico.  Drone ship landings seem to be the way to go as the primary stage proved (motors didn't restart).

Lee Moon Posted at 2018-2-8 13:41
LOL! I should Photoshop in a Roadster!!

Definently Should

I would hope that those land-based pads have a very large person and infrastructure-free radius around them for exactly that reason. Though SpaceX has shown remarkable accuracy and reliability in plunking those boosters down right on the X, even when they catastrophically failed. Those failures were due to guidance and hydraulic systems early on, but they still ended up within a very small radius of their intended target. I don't think any of them have failed due to being too far off-course to land on the pad. That's not to say such a failure is impossible, but I think they also reserve the land-based pads for boosters that have a relatively "easy" and low speed/altitude return journey compared to say the center core which went higher and faster. It will be a heck of a spectacle if/when it happens as long as nobody gets hurt!

Cool pic!!

Cool, thanks for sharing!