Lightning Strikes at Pad 39B

A lightning strike was recorded at Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sept. 12, 2022. NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft atop the mobile launcher are in view on the launch pad in preparation for the Artemis I mission. The lightning strike was recorded by cameras stationed at the pad and mobile launcher using a special filter called a “clear day frame,” which provides an overlay of the raw frame on a reference image. Artemis I will be the first integrated test of the SLS and Orion spacecraft. In later missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first woman of color on the surface of the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.