Biolab Road and a Rocket Launch

SpaceX was launching a Falcon 9 rocket at 1:15 in the afternoon so we decided to take a ride over to watch. While there we drove down Biolab Road and saw some Black Necked Stilts and an Osprey eating a freshly caught fish.

This is one of the 2 Black Necked Stilts standing in the shallow edge of Mosquito Lagoon

It saw me and watched to see what I was doing

Gong for a stroll

Black Necked Stilt

Black Necked Stilt

The other Black Necked Stilt on some rocks

Black Necked Stilt

Osprey with a freshly caught fish

Osprey and its fish

Osprey having lunch

The Osprey seems to be saying “Don’t you have a rocket launch to watch?!”

Falcon 9 lifting off from SLC-40 at the Space Force station on the south end of the complex.

Falcon 9 gaining altitude

Falcon 9 making the turn towards the north-east

After going through some thick lower clouds, the Falcon 9 travels through some thinner clouds much higher up

Sunlight illuminates the topside of the Falcon 9 as it creates a smoke trail behind the flames from the 9 Raptor engines

The last image I got before the Falcon 9 went behind a big thick cloud

We had a fun time being out in the wild with nature and technology today. There’s 3 more SpaceX launches scheduled for this week. We probably won’t make it there to see them, but if you’re interested, check the schedule here.