Visiting Starbase, Texas: a photographer's guide from Starship Flight 6
I flew in from Sydney to watch Starship Flight 6, then went back the next day to photograph the site. What you need to get in, where you can shoot from, what you'll see, and what to bring.
The short answer
- Getting in
- Bring your passport if you're from overseas: there's a checkpoint just before the base
- Where to shoot
- From your car along the road beside the base, and from the beach
- Don't
- Get out of the car on the base side of the road
- Settings
- Static subjects in bright daylight: ISO 100 does the trick
- Bring
- A tripod or something to mount on (it's very windy), a hat, and plan ahead: there are no toilets
Why I went
I flew in from Sydney to watch Starship Flight 6 launch on 19 November 2024. The photos in this post were taken the day after, when I drove back in to see the site up close: the towers, the Starships parked at the back of the base, and the work going on around the pads.
What do you need to visit Starbase?
If you're from overseas, bring your passport. There's a checkpoint to go through just before the base, and you'll need it there.
Where can you photograph Starbase from?
You drive in along the road that runs right past the base. Don't get out of the car on the base side as you're driving up. There's a lot of police surveillance around the area. That said, they do encourage you to take photos, so shooting from the car is fine.
You can drive all the way to the beach at the end of the road and look back at the towers from there.
What you'll see
The day after Flight 6 there was a lot happening. The cryogenic areas, where the propellant is stored, were busy with tankers, and there was heavy construction on the second tower. That second tower is now the one in use. The original pad I photographed has since been largely demolished, and its tower is being rebuilt as SpaceX upgrades the site for the next generation of Starship.
At the back of the warehouses, Starships sit lined up alongside Starhopper, the early test vehicle that made SpaceX's first hops. And up on the launch tower you can see Mechazilla: the giant "chopstick" arms built to catch the Super Heavy booster, and designed to catch Starship too.
Camera settings for Starbase
Settings don't matter much here. Everything is static and it's bright during the day, so ISO 100 does the trick. Focal length depends only on what you're framing: I used everything from 24 mm for the wide view of the towers to 600 mm for the nosecone detail.
| Shot | Focal length | Aperture | Shutter | ISO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The towers | 24 mm eq | f/4 | 1/800 s | 100 |
| Starship nosecone | 600 mm eq | f/4 | 1/640 s | 100 |
| Mechazilla | 600 mm eq | f/4 | 1/4000 s | 1600 |
| Starhopper | 48 mm eq | f/8 | 1/8000 s | 1600 |
A couple of my frames ended up at ISO 1600, and the shutter speeds of 1/4000 s and 1/8000 s show just how much light there is. At ISO 100 you'll have plenty.
Tips for first-timers
It's really windy. The site sits right on the Gulf coast, and the wind makes it hard to keep the camera steady, especially at 600 mm. Bring a tripod, or at least something to mount the camera on.
Wear a hat, and plan ahead before you drive in: there are no toilets anywhere.
The moment that stood out
Seeing Starhopper and the Starships lined up at the back of the warehouses. And it's really cool to see Mechazilla, the chopsticks that catch the booster, in person.
See the full Stars gallery