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It’s one of the great ironies of journalism that it’s a lot easier to capture close-up images of the murderous business of war than of the peaceable work of putting people and payloads in space. But the rules are as strict as they are extreme: On launch days, rockets sit at the middle of a circular evacuation zone that, in the case of the space shuttles and the old Saturn V’s, stretched up to three miles in all directions. That no-go rule has never diminished the demand for arm’s-length images of the liftoffs—and satisfying that demand has called for some creative thinking, engineering and camera-rigging on the part of the people taking the pictures.
Dan Winters, who grew up during the golden age – the Cronkite Age – of space reporting, is one of the photographers who has mastered the craft best. As the images that follow—taken from his new book, Last Launch.
Endeavour on her pad. May 15, 2011 – © Dan Winters
Fire cloud generated by Discovery solid rocket boosters (SRB). – © Dan Winters
Endeavour SRB start. – © Dan Winters
Discovery SRB exhaust trail at ground elapsed time (GET) 2:00. – © Dan Winters
Advanced Crew Escape Suit (ACES). – © Dan Winters
Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at Kennedy Space Center. – © Dan Winters
Control console, Mission Control, Houston. – © Dan Winters
Space Shuttle main engine (SSME) nozzle interior. – © Dan Winters
Atlantis goes into her roll program. – © Dan Winters
Discovery airlock with view into payload bay. – © Dan Winters
Space Shuttle main engine (SSME) on engine stand, forward view. – © Dan Winters
Discovery main engine start. February 24, 2011, 4:53:24 PM EST. – © Dan Winters
Atlantis forward section detail. – © Dan Winters
Discovery flight deck. – © Dan Winters
Vacuum-packed M&Ms. – © Dan Winters
Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) glove liner. – © Dan Winters
Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) suit torso and helmet assembly at Johnson Space Center. – © Dan Winters
Endeavour passes through the clouds. – © Dan Winters
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