The Closest Seat in the House

We fix the camera onto the launch tower, just above the pad, then step back and wait. At ignition we're almost under it: blue-purple flame at the base, a rose-colored smoke column rushing straight up, the desert pad tiny beneath. The launch isn't a distant spectacle—it's right beside us, shaking the structure. The camera takes the heat, holding the whole lift-off from the closest possible seat.