Photographic tracking of an Ariane IV satellite launch from Kourou, French Guiana. A time exposure of the the launch reveals the track of the ascendin

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Photographic tracking of an Ariane IV satellite launch from Kourou, French Guiana. A time exposure of the the launch reveals the track of the ascending spacecraft. Sited on the nearby Devil's Island, the launch tracker with it's array of still and video cameras, swings and rotates to follow the trajectory of the ascending rocket. Images and data recorded from such launches enable rocket scientists identify the source of any malfunctions. Footage of the NASA Challenger disaster in Jan. 1986 was critical in establishing the failure of one of the O-ring joints in its right solid rocket booster.

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Size: 5034px × 6928px
Photo credit: © DAVID PARKER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: -ring, ariane, camera, challenger, devils, esa, exposure, film, footage, french, guyana, island, kourou, launch, nasa, photographic, rocket, satellite, solid, spacecraft, time, tracker, tracking, video