Experience the awesome power of a rocket launch in this 360 degree video
Hearing the roar of a rocket launching to space in person is a pretty incredible experience. The sound of the powerful, human-built tool blasting off on its mission literally shakes the ground beneath your feet as it ascends.
Actually making it to a rocket launch, however, is no easy task, so a new 360 degree video produced by the company United Launch Alliance (ULA) transports you to a spot next to the most powerful rocket in use today as it leaves Earth behind.
The video shows the company's Delta IV Heavy rocket delivering the secret NROL-37 payload (likely some kind of spy satellite) to orbit for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office on June 11 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
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The only information about the payload that ULA released is that the mission was "in support of national defense."
The 360 degree video itself leads you through the rocket's rollout to the pad and its fiery liftoff to orbit.
You can also watch this video in virtual reality using the Littlstar mobile app, according to the rocket company.
"Thanks to virtual reality, you can experience the scale, power and precision of the launch as though you were standing just feet away from the world's most reliable rockets," ULA said in a statement.
And ULA isn't wrong.
The 360 degree video actually gives you a much, much closer look at the launch than you would get if you were viewing the launch in person. People watching launches in Florida need to be miles away in case anything goes wrong during launch.
(Getting hit by a piece of an exploding rocket isn't great for anyone.)
This is the second video of its kind released by ULA. The rocket company -- a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing -- also released another 360 degree video showing a spy satellite launch in April. That video shows a nighttime rocket launch.
The Delta IV Heavy is the most powerful launcher flying today, however it is on par with China's Long March 5 rocket, which made its maiden journey to space earlier this week.
Topics Virtual Reality
Miriam Kramer worked as a staff writer for Space.com for about 2.5 years before joining Mashable to cover all things outer space. She took a ride in weightlessness on a zero-gravity flight and watched rockets launch to space from places around the United States. Miriam received her Master's degree in science, health and environmental reporting from New York University in 2012, and she originally hails from Knoxville, Tennessee. Follow Miriam on Twitter at @mirikramer.
