Delta II rocket lifting off at Vandenberg AFB in California on 12/14/09. It was carrying the Wide-field Inrared Survey Explorer (WISE) into polar orbit around the earth, to be used to explore deep space for unseen objects that Hubble cannot detect. The company I work for built two of the four sensor arrays (eyes) that will be responsible for "seeing" into the deep, dark, recesses of space. I was an invited guest to the launching, and took this picture from a mere 3 miles distance.