Fast forward many years. I now work for the Shuttle Program and have been sent down to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for a year - so I decided to invest in much better camera equipment. But for this launch, since I would be on one of the Solid Rocket Boosters’ (SRB) retrieval ships, I took only a point-and-shoot digital camera in case it got damaged. But still much better than than the old film cameras I used to own.
Launch viewed from the Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) Retrieval Ship Liberty Star.
My 4th launch viewing.
Now things get interesting. Over the years, I've learned more about photography and have invested in better equipment. Now it was time to put this knowledge into practice.
This was the experience that told me to use the DSLR from now on.