Blastoff!

Full-size ladder

The flame is 18.5 long. On other photos, nine discrete Mach diamonds can be seen in the plume, meaning the exit gases are over Mach 9.

The sound was incredible, deep, and loud… louder than any rocket I have heard. I was hanging out at the far pads and was quite close to this one (this was only a 170mm zoom vs. 400mm for most of the other BALLS shots)

(Previous)(Next)

This photo has notes. Move your mouse over the photo to see them.

To take full advantage of Flickr, you should use a JavaScript-enabled browser and
install the latest version of the Macromedia Flash Player.

Comments

BenODen says:

Ohmyyes. That's sweet! Mach 9 is insane! Gorgeous thing and great shot as always!
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

RottieLover♥ says:

Love it! Sight to behold!
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

boiani says:

Perfect shot!!
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

thepretenda says:

yes: SLINGSHOT THAT THING OUT OF HERE!!
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

derango says:

What a shot...fantastic

Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

dracisk says:

Whoa, don't think I've ever seen anything like that before, certainly not on Flickr. Great shot.

(1-2-3)
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

nj dodge says:

A wild shot to say the least - very cool (123)
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

Atlapix says:

Spectacular capture! Very interesting and well shot.

Discovered in 1-2-3
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

redmann says:

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

--
Seen in 1-2-3 (?)
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

janekeeler says:

ahhhhh................
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

M.Khraibut says:

Woow
Wonderfully

Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

trumpetflickr says:

W O W... what a shot, and what a moment!
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

Incognita Nom de Plume says:

We would love this pic in the Dust pool
www.flickr.com/groups/museumofdust/
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

NYCArthur says:

great shot -

you photos are CRAZY!!!

--
Seen on your photo stream. (?)
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

chazlin says:

Wonderful shot! =) Just perfectly framed too! =)
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

Idle Type says:

awesome! a perfect shot.

--
Seen in Scientist Photographers (?)
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

fibra says:

What a perfect shot. Great moment!
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

ol108 says:

Awesome shot... one of the best I've seen!

A note to the poster, however: The term "Mach Diamond" having anything to do with the speed of a motor's exit gases is actually a misnomer. :-o

Mach diamonds, as great as they look, are telling you that you have not expanded the combustion products at the nozzle exit to the exact surrounding ambient pressure. Theoretically (but usually not really so) if the conditions were absolutely correct you would have no mach diamonds.

Imagine the exhaust as a hollow column - the walls of the column are reflective to pressure waves. As these waves cross back and forth they create the zones of differing densities and termperature we call mach diamonds. The pressure waves come from the gas in the column trying to match the surrounding pressure.

So you really cannot tell much by counting mach diamonds...certainly not thrust or exhaust velocity.

The general volume of the plume is relatable to thrust when compared to exactly the same propellant operating at the same pressure at the same ambient pressure, but with a different nozzle and thrust level.

Just FYI. ;-)
Posted 26 months ago. ( permalink )

jurvetson says:

fascinating.... so many people have relayed this "rule of thumb" to me
Posted 26 months ago. ( permalink )

Daniel Raphael Cooper: Shootin' Silly says:

A+++ Grade Photo
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

Fort Photo says:

Awesome site, makes me wish I got to observe this in person. Thanks for sharing!

--
Seen in A+++ Photo (Post 1 give A+++ logo to 3 pics)-1/day-Read Rules (?)

A+++ Grade Photo
Commented with SIC
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

Kimberly Dickinson says:

Amazing capture!

A+++ Grade Photo
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

Wonderful_World** (in and out) says:

Love this shot! Please Share your best pictures of the world with us.

What
a Wonderful World Group
please add tag WONDERWORLD
Contests - Mountains and the Rugged Country Perfect Capture. Best sunrise and sunset, Spectacular Landscapes and September Photo of the Month *Open NOW*

No doubt this is a Worlds Best Dazzling shot! We'd love to include it in our
collection! So here's your official invitation!

World's Best Dazzling Shots please add tag "WORLDBEST"
Contests - Perfect High Speed Photo, Excellent Autumn Capture, Spectacular Landscapes, *OPEN NOW*
It's all about water, Brilliant Animal's Shot, Amazing Sunrise/Sunset and Amazing Macro *Vote NOW*<
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

jurvetson says:

WIRED issue 16.11 has a cool story and diagram of this rocket.
.
Posted 9 months ago. ( permalink )

Would you like to comment?

[?]

	jurvetson's photostream
		0

	BALLS (Set)
		94 items

This photo also belongs to:

	Flickr Faves (Set)
		0

	Rockets (Set)
		0

	Adventures (Set)
		0

	Burst (Set)
		0

	Airborne (Set)
		0

	Desert (Pool)
		0

	ACTION PACKED!!!! (Pool)
		0

	Fire (Pool)
		0

	Burning Sensations (Pool)
		0

	Rocket (Pool)
		0

	Magic Moments (Pool)
		0

	Adrenaline! ~ Thrillz-n-Skillz - Plz read Group Description (Pool)
		0

	Movement & Motion (Pool)
		0

	Pictures With Stories - 5 sentence MINIMUM (Pool)
		0

	top-f [ 25+ faves ] (Pool)
		0

	1-2-3 (Pool)
		0

	10-25 favorites (Pool)
		0

	Fav/View >= 5% - please read the RULES! (Pool)
		0

	Physics (Pool)
		0

	100 views + 10 favourites (unlimited) (Pool)
		0

	C.O.O.L (Pool)
		0

	Canon EOS 5D Series (Pool)
		0

	The World Through My Eyes - Post 1 / Comment Any 1 (Pool)
		0

	Dust (Pool)
		0

	XploreMyPix! (Must have 20 faves; see rules) (Pool)
		0

	Capture The Moment (Pool)
		0

	A+++Photo (Post 1 give A+++ logo to 3 pics) Not commenting = Ban (Pool)
		0

	Underground Begat Dogtown Ink (Pool)
		0

Additional Information

Some rights reserved Anyone can see this photo

Taken with a Canon EOS 5D.
More properties
Taken on September 30, 2006

39 people call this photo a favorite

Viewed 4,927 times

Add to your map

Yay location removed

...

(Some formats are OK.)

Or, remove it from the map.

Go to the map

You	Sign in \| Create Your Free Account
Explore	Places \| Last 7 Days \| This Month \| Popular Tags \| The Commons \| Creative Commons \| Search
Help	Community Guidelines \| The Help Forum \| FAQ \| Sitemap \| Help by Email

Blastoff!

Comments

BenODen says:

RottieLover♥ says:

boiani says:

thepretenda says:

derango says:

dracisk says:

nj dodge says:

Atlapix says:

redmann says:

janekeeler says:

M.Khraibut says:

trumpetflickr says:

Incognita Nom de Plume says:

NYCArthur says:

chazlin says:

Idle Type says:

fibra says:

ol108 says:

jurvetson says:

Daniel Raphael Cooper: Shootin' Silly says:

Fort Photo says:

Kimberly Dickinson says:

Wonderful_World** (in and out) says:

jurvetson says:

Would you like to comment?

Tags

Additional Information