After years of leniency, ULA cracks down on hobbyist photographers

Enlarge / This image of an Atlas V launch on Tuesday morning has been intentionally blurred. (credit: United Launch Alliance)

The emails from United Launch Alliance started popping into the inboxes of photographers a few days after the Fourth of July holiday. Although that day is meant to celebrate freedom and the red glare of rockets, the communication threatened to strip both from some of the company's most ardent devotees.

The message from the launch company announced the implementation of a new "annual agreement" between ULA and all people who place remote cameras at Space Launch Complex-41, the company's active launch site at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Anyone interested in setting remotes for future launch dates had 11 days to review and sign the agreement.

The language was clear: Photographers were welcome to set up remote shots at ULA launches if they worked for the media or wanted to post their work on social media. However, photographers could not sell this work independently, including as prints for fellow enthusiasts or for use in annual calendars.