NASA photographer's camera melted during a SpaceX rocket launch & he's not sure whether it's insured

[Demovictory9]

bill ingalls camera before fire spacex falcon 9 launch nasa
The remote camera fated to become "Toasty." It was located 0.25 mile from the launchpad.NASA/Bill Ingalls


this video shows the launch from the camera's view and the camera melting:
https://thumbs.gfycat.com/DetailedLastCommongonolek-mobile.mp4

A 30-year veteran of NASA photography set up automated cameras around SpaceX's recent rocket launch.
One of the cameras melted to a crisp in a brush fire that was lit by the rocket's super-hot exhaust plume.
Though NASA's camera may not be insured, it did manage to protect incredible images that show its fiery death.
On May 22, NASA photographer Bill Ingalls left six cameras near a 230-foot-tall SpaceX rocket just before it blasted toward space.

Like other photographers who'd traveled to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for the event, Ingalls positioned his camera gear at locations near the launchpad that he thought were safe. The remote cameras are designed to automatically capture stunning up-close images once the thunderous roar of the rocket is heard.

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"I had many other cameras much closer to the pad than this and all are safe," Ingalls wrote in a Facebook post. "This was result of a small brush fire, which is not unheard of from launches, and was extinguished by fireman, albeit, after my cam was baked."

Ingalls says he lost a Canon EOS 5Ds camera body, a Canon 24-105mm lens, and a tripod owned by NASA. His setup also included a microphone and remote-triggering box.
If purchased new today, such a collection of gear might cost about $5,000.

"I could not answer if this NASA gear is insured by NASA," Ingalls told Business Insider in an email. "We will replace these units."

http://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-camera-melted-during-rocket-launch-value-2018-5

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

1. See that big cave-hole in the distance?

Uh...that's where the flames are exhausted to the side. Quarter mile is still in the zone.