Space: Florida Space Coast Launches—2018 Photo Contest
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket arcs downrange as it sends the GOES-S weather satellite into space for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on a gorgeous afternoon at Cape Canaveral.
A United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket launches NASA's Parker Solar Probe on a mission to the Sun and to become the fastest spacecraft in history at nearly 500,000 mph.
A United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket is powered into orbit by its three RS-68A main engines, as it sends NASA's Parker Solar Probe on a record-breaking, 500,000-mph mission to the Sun.
The NASA/German Research Center for Geosciences GRACE-FO (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment-Follow-On) spacecraft is launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on May 22, 2018, from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg AFB in California. The mission will measure changes in how mass is redistributed within and among Earth's atmosphere, oceans, land and ice sheets, as well as within Earth itself.
The Moon marches across the predawn sky during the launch of CRS-15, a commercial mission to resupply the International Space Station, from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral on June 29, 2018.
This is a remote camera view of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy maiden flight. Taken just seconds after liftoff, this view shows the detail in each plume of the 27 Merlin 1D engines pushing Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster to a Mars heliocentric orbit.
This is a remote camera view as Delta II launches on its final flight, ending its storied career. This photo shows the detail in its single RS-27A engine and four GEM-40 boosters as they push ICESat-2 into a polar orbit for NASA.
The Delta IV Heavy's three RS-68A engines bear down with 2.1 million lb. of thrust, shot from a remote camera placed only 150 ft. away from the launch pad. This moment shows the three engines peeking through with an orange glow as they kick up debris and water vapor from the sound-suppression system.
In August 2018, NASA contracted United Launch Alliance (ULA) to deliver the Parker Solar Probe on its 89-million-mi. journey to "touch the Sun." The probe is set to become the fastest manmade object in existence, reaching an ultimate speed of 430,000 mph as it skims through the solar corona. This 7.5-min.-exposure photo from Cape Canaveral depicts the first-stage burn of ULA's Delta IV Heavy rocket.
Launch of the Cygnus CRS OA-8E resupply mission to the International Space Station, onboard Orbital ATK's Antares 230 rocket, from Wallops Island, Virginia.
As captured in this image taken with a sound-activated camera, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket launches the GOES-S weather satellite for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from Cape Canaveral on March 1, 2018.
ULA launched a Delta IV Heavy on Aug. 12, 2018, to send the Parker Solar Probe toward the Sun.
Ice falls off the first stage as the engines start on a Delta II vehicle, as it leaves the launchpad during the ICESat-2 launch at Vandenberg AFB in California.
This is a 277-sec. exposure of the CRS15 Falcon 9 rocket launched by SpaceX. The plume was illuminated by the rising Sun, and it was just amazing. Details: ISO100, 277-sec., f18 shot with a Canon 5D4 and a Rokinon 14mm lens.
Three cores = three streaks. This image was taken by a remote camera placed at the end of the front pond at Launch Complex 37, a 25-sec. exposure of the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy carrying the Parker Solar Probe.
The first spacecraft in history destined to touch the Sun thundered off Earth on Aug. 12, kicking off NASA's landmark mission atop a mighty ULA Delta IV Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral.
A couple enjoying a day at Playalinda Beach watch as a ULA Atlas V rocket launches the AFSPC-11 payload to orbit for the U.S. Air Force, from Launchpad 41 at Cape Canaveral on April 14, 2018.
A ULA Atlas V rocket blazes a trail to space with the classified NROL-52 payload from Cape Canaveral on Oct. 15, 2017. A boat thrown ashore in Titusville, Florida, by Hurricane Irma made for an interesting foreground subject.
A ULA Atlas V rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral with the GOES-S weather satellite for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA on March 1, 2018.
Three Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-68 engines propel the ULA Delta IV Heavy with the Parker Solar Probe away from Launch Complex 37B at Cape Canaveral.
A ULA Delta II rocket stands poised for launch atop Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg AFB in California.
Space has become one of the most dynamic sectors of the aerospace industry in recent years as upstarts challenge paradigms and traditional launch providers.
In these photos, a mix of launch vehicles from new space and established providers carry civil, military and intelligence payloads into space.