Could Richard Henry Dana Jr., author of the famed “Two Years Before the Mast” in the 1800s, ever imagine that rockets would someday be soaring above the cliffs and sea of the Dana Point he described in his novel?
That was what photographer Tony Prince said he pondered as he documented the latest SpaceX effort to send Starlink satellites out to Earth’s orbit. The Falcon 9 launched Wednesday, April 23, from Vandenberg Space Force Base and traveled high across the horizon for those watching from the city’s shore.
The 8:23 p.m. rocket launch was early enough in the night for spectators across the region to see the launch, the sky’s hue just right as the last light of the day added to the backdrop. Prince set up his camera to have the statue of the author in the Dana Point Harbor in the foreground as the rocket, with its long contrail, passed.
According to Spaceflight Now, it was the 40th Starlink mission of the year. The Starlink 17-14 mission will add another 24 broadband internet satellites to the company’s low Earth orbit constellation, which consists of more than 10,200 spacecraft.