Falcon Heavy clears the tower. (GeekWire Photo/Kevin Lisota)

[Editor’s Note: This post has been updated with additional pictures, including the one above, retrieved Wednesday from a third camera set up by photographer Kevin Lisota inside the fence at Cape Canaveral, 1,200 feet away from the Falcon Heavy launch pad.]

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The maiden voyage of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on was epic, historic and loud. You can read more about the launch and learn all about the rocket’s very unique payload.

Listen to Alan Boyle, GeekWire aerospace and science editor, discuss the mission in the GeekWire podcast below.

Our cameras captured the launch from a variety of vantage points on a warm, sunny afternoon on Florida’s Space Coast. Some of the shots were captured from the roof of NASA’s gigantic Vehicle Assembly Building. Other cameras were placed near the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center a day ahead of time and activated automatically by the sound of the rocket.

There’s a beauty behind all the fire, smoke and noise of a rocket launch and landing — as these photos illustrate.

You can also read about the process of shooting rocket photos or view a high resolution gallery of Falcon Heavy launch photos.

Ignition of the SpaceX Merlin engines on Falcon Heavy with water suppression jets. (GeekWire Photo/Kevin Lisota)
An extreme close-up, photographed from the VAB’s roof. (GeekWire Photo / Kevin Lisota)
Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. (GeekWire Photo/Kevin Lisota)
This wide-angle view of the Falcon Heavy launch, taken from the top of the 52-story Vehicle Assembly Building, also shows SpaceX’s nearby hangar. (GeekWire Photo / Kevin Lisota)
An automatically triggered camera documents the Falcon Heavy’s ascent with SpaceX’s hangar in the foreground. (GeekWire Photo / Kevin Lisota)
The Falcon Heavy rocket clears the tower. (GeekWire Photo/Kevin Lisota)
Here’s a view of the ascent as seen from the top of the VAB. (GeekWire Photo / Kevin Lisota)
The business end of the Falcon Heavy might be hot, but the liquid oxygen oxidizer is super cold. (GeekWire Photo/Kevin Lisota)
SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in flight. (GeekWire Photo / Kevin Lisota)
Beautiful colors in the exhaust cloud from the rocket. (GeekWire Photo/Kevin Lisota)
The Falcon Heavy rises even higher. (GeekWire Photo / Kevin Lisota)
More beautiful colors in the exhaust cloud from the Falcon Heavy. (GeekWire Photo/Kevin Lisota)
The rocket leaves a long trail of exhaust as it ascends. (GeekWire Photo / Kevin Lisota)
After stage separation, two side boosters descend toward their landing sites. (GeekWire Photo / Kevin Lisota)
Side boosters with the landing gear out. (GeekWire Photo/Kevin Lisota)
Falcon Heavy side boosters land in nearly perfect unison. (GeekWire Photo/Kevin Lisota)

Here is a compilation of all four camera angles, along with sound from the rocket. Three of the cameras were at the launch pad, while the fourth was taken from the rooftop of the NASA VAB building.

View high-resolution photos of the Falcon Heavy inaugural launch in this gallery.

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