The first successful launch of China's new self-landing reusable rocket, the Landspace Zhuque-3, was filmed by 12 DJI "consumer grade" cameras including the upcoming Osmo 360 II – making aerospace history, according to the company.
While consumer action cameras have flown to space before, the Osmo Action 6 was able to withstand the 932°F / 500°C conditions and return to Earth without any physical alterations. DJI has shared unedited footage of the nine-minute flight in which the rocket takes off, travels to space and lands – and as you can see, it's utterly captivating:
ABOVE: Watch the rocket launch, shot on DJI cameras
That's not to say the cameras were stuck on with off-the-shelf mounts, mind you. The team built mounts for the rockets that could withstand the high-frequency, high-intensity vibration as well as the extreme heat of space flight.
Inside the mount, the camera – an off-the-shelf, mass produced model – recorded the whole flight in 4K (including, of course, through the re-entry blackout zone where no direct communication is possible).
It brought back video that can be used to assess the journey by the engineers, who are hoping to repeat the flight again within six months as they strive to catch up with SpaceX and Blue Origin.
The Osmo Action 6's normal image stabilization algorithm handled it all. I should also add that, as a journalist, I've heard some other companies criticize the potential vulnerability of DJI's adjustable aperture mechanism (one they don't offer on their own action cameras), but it clearly survived a trip with significant G-force.
The camera also has a 1/1.1-inch sensor, which is evident in details picked up in other shots – includng the paddles that control the rocket's flight.
A lot of other DJI cameras were used to capture details of the launch, including the as-yet-unreleased Osmo 360 II, already teased by the company, the Mavic 4 Pro for aerials and the DJI Matrice 4TD for thermal shots, all of which give a new perspective on a space shot.
The 216ft / 66m high Zhuque-3 rocket is China's answer to the SpaceX Falcon 9, a reusable rocket that can lift satellites into low-earth orbit. It has a payload of 14.2 tonnes – less than the Falcon 9's 22.8 – but both aim to be workhorses.
This flight, on August 19, was the second attempt with the Zhuque-3 (the first, 8 months ago, fell back and exploded on the pad).
It is a big leap for China, though, because previous efforts at a reusable rocket required some kind of net or catching device. So, despite the smaller payload, the speed of development is impressive and the inclusion of off-the-shelf tech highlights the race to make space cheaper and more sustainable than the original space race.
You might also like...
The DJI Osmo Action 6 is currently my choice for best action cameras, despite recent efforts from GoPro, and these videos go some way to showing why. Some of the drones used also appear in our guide to the best camera drones, including the spectacular Mavic 4 Pro, which I tested myself.
