Late-night launch shot rockets off the page with color, movement

[Buster's Uncle]

Late-night launch shot rockets off the page with color, movement | Photo of the Week
Britt Kennerly, Florida Today
Florida Today
Sat, August 23, 2025 at 5:01 AM EDT
1 min read



Launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 that launched the eighth flight of the Space Force's Boeing-built X-37B space plane. Launch was at 11:50 p.m. EDT Thursday, August 21 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A with the booster landing at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.


So many launches, so many photo assignments, so many times they've asked themselves: Where to shoot from this time?

That's the life of FLORIDA TODAY photographers, whose eyes are trained for liftoff whether a rocket rises at 6 a.m., 6 p.m. or the middle of the night.

It's a dilemma, sure, but one FLORIDA TODAY Senior Photographer Malcolm Denemark is happy to tackle, especially when his gig leads him to a richly colorful, action-filled shot like this Photo of the Week.

Denemark landed it just before midnight Aug. 21 at the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9, the eighth flight of the Space Force's Boeing-built X-37B space plane. The launch was from NASA's Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A, with the booster landing (with a BIG kaboom) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

"With so many launches, we're always trying to find locations," he said. "This time, I got permission from an owner at the end of North Banana River drive to shoot on posted property, so I found that new spot.

"Luckily, a boat helped make the shot ... the launch, the trees, the lights. Just ... everything."

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Creative, colorful launch angle lifts Photo of the Week off the page