LDCM Separation

Looking as if it was directed by Stanley Kubrick himself in a scene from 2001 a Space Odyssey this is a real example of life imitating art.The Satellite slowly moving away from camera towards the arc of the Earths sunlit edge. As the satellite floats away the sun comes over the limb of the Earth to welcome it to it’s new home in space, the Earth starting to rotate in the field of view……in a word…awesome. This video is a view from the final stage of the rocket as the new satellite is set free. The rocket stage itself rotates after separation making the arc of the Earth turn as the satellite flies towards the sun. LDCM launched on February 11, 2013 and is a continuation of the Landsat mission. You can read more about the launch here, and the history of the mission here. Video and Image credit NASA.