LFG Night #8

Launch of Antares NG-14 from Wallops Island, Virginia. This was the first night launch I photographed. I had gone up to Wallops Island the day of the original launch date and waited for 6 hours for the rocket to launch. As night came along, the excitement was palpable in the crowd. The weather was perfect, the range was green, and then 30 seconds to lift off we get the tragic news; a scrub. There was an issue with a ground sensor. Any launch photographer knows this can happen, but it’s still disappointing. The new launch date was scheduled for the next day, but I wasn’t able to drive back to Wallops. So I decided to find a unique location from my home 80 miles away. The reservoir would make a nice reflection of the launch and the full moon would add extra interest. The long exposure worked out perfectly! I got to see the launch, just not in the way I expected.

Artist

Jason Betzner

100%

Wallops Island, Virginia

LFG: To Space! I’m lucky enough to live 80 miles from Wallops Island, Virginia, where Antares rockets launch to resupply the astronauts on the International Space Station. I’ve photographed 5 launches since 2019 and these are some of my favorite shots. If you’ve never been to see a launch, you’re missing out on an adrenaline rush. When that candle ignites, you not only see it but you hear and feel it in your gut. Everyone cheers. It’s a beautiful moment.

For this gatcha series, there are 20 numbered editions and a 1/1. The collector who gets the 1/1 will get an 8x10 print of the image and an official mission patch from the launch that I would mail; both free of charge. In addition, if anyone collects both editions, LFG Day and LFG Night, they will get a mission patch mailed to them free of charge and a free 8x10 print of the edition of their choice.