Sriharikota: I’ve covered over a dozen satellite launches at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, but India’s first midnight satellite launch was truly special.

Just a few minutes before the launch, the public address system on the watch tower, meant for the media, collapsed and we didn’t have the customary countdown and a live commentary.

With no alerts as we stood anxiously waiting to capture the lift off, a bright sunrise-kind orange light engulfed the area. My journalist friend Shreesha Reddy described it perfectly – “It was as if the sun was rising up to the sky”. (See pics)

Stunned, there was absolute silence for a few moments and once journalists on the rooftop came to terms, there was a thunderous applause.

I kept clicking. Soon there was a beautiful trail of smoke with a cloud cover on top of it. It was like a giant umbrella in the sky, its stick stretching all up to the earth. There was more treat for the shutterbugs. The rocket pierced through the clouds and appeared in slow motion. It was a clear view from now on till it turned into a tiny dot rushing to its destination.

As we rushed to the auditorium, the good news came that it was a successful launch. We had to wait for another hour for the official press briefing. But the sight and sound of the midnight launch gave new energy and enthusiasm to stay awake.