Yahoo News It's a miracle! NASA photographer's camera melts during Falcon 9 rocket launch but the stunning photos survived
A NASA photographer's camera completely melted during a rocket launch but the pictures miraculously survived.
He shared images of the Canon camera on Facebook along with the photographs it managed to take before its demise.
The camera was placed a quarter of a mile away from the launch pad in order to get close-up shots of the Falcon 9's lift off - Mr Ingalls used a remote control to take the shots.
But the lens of the camera was left completely melted when a bush fire broke out after the launch.
Luckily for Mr Ingalls, the photos were recoverable and showed the rocket launch from close-up.
It also managed to capture the approach of the fire.
The Falcon 9 rocket was carrying two NASA satellites into orbit that will observe climate change by looking at glacier sizes and water levels.
He wrote on Facebook that he had many other cameras located close to the launch pad.
Mr Ingalls added: "This was the result of a small brush fire, which is not unheard of from launches, and was extinguished by firemen [sic], albeit after my cam was baked."
The photographer, who has been taking shots for NASA since 1989, told Space.com that it was the first time that one of his cameras had melted during a launch.
Mr Ingalls' four other cameras were unharmed despite being closer to the launch pad.
He said the biggest worry a photographer has is usually debris from the launch.
The Grace FO mission launched from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base on 7.50pm GMT (3.47pm local time) on Tuesday.
The launch came as part of a joint mission by NASA and the German Centre of Geosciences.
The twin Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow On satellites that are set to track changes to the world’s water flow were blasted into orbit 11 minutes after lift-off, SpaceX revealed.
