Aerospace & dark skies

Stars Hours

The machines that leave the planet, and the places they leave from — Kennedy Space Center, Port Canaveral and Starbase, Texas. Pilgrimage sites of spaceflight, plus dark skies measured in patience.

Kennedy Space Center · Florida · Nov 2024

Space Shuttle Atlantis on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Florida
SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS24 MM EQ · F/2.4 · 1/30 S · ISO 800
Close-up of Space Shuttle Atlantis nose thrusters and heat shield tiles
ATLANTIS · DETAIL214 MM EQ · F/4.0 · 1/40 S · ISO 800
Engine section of a flown rocket booster suspended in the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex
ROCKET ENGINES · I24 MM EQ · F/2.4 · 1/30 S · ISO 800
Looking up at the engine cluster of a flown rocket booster under blue exhibit lighting, Kennedy Space Center
ROCKET ENGINES · II24 MM EQ · F/2.5 · 1/13 S · ISO 800
Apollo and Space Shuttle program mission patch monument at Kennedy Space Center, Florida
LAUNCH COMPLEX 39B34 MM EQ · F/8.0 · 1/2500 S · ISO 1600

Port Canaveral · Falcon 9

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the launch pad beside its service tower, Florida
FALCON 9 · I154 MM EQ · F/4.0 · 1/500 S · ISO 100
Recovered, soot-covered SpaceX Falcon 9 booster standing upright at Port Canaveral
FALCON 9 · II277 MM EQ · F/4.0 · 1/1000 S · ISO 100

Starbase · Texas · Nov 2024

Visiting Starbase: checkpoint, where to shoot, and tips from Flight 6

SpaceX Starship nosecone and forward flap with hexagonal heat shield tiles, Starbase, Texas
STARSHIP · NOSECONE600 MM EQ · F/4.0 · 1/640 S · ISO 100
Mechazilla chopstick catch arms on the Starship launch tower at Starbase, Texas
MECHAZILLA · THE CHOPSTICKS600 MM EQ · F/4.0 · 1/4000 S · ISO 1600
SpaceX Starhopper test vehicle on display at Starbase, Texas
STARHOPPER48 MM EQ · F/8.0 · 1/8000 S · ISO 1600

Common questions

Where can you see Space Shuttle Atlantis?

At the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, where it's displayed indoors with its payload bay doors open. These photos were taken in November 2024.

Can you visit Starbase in Texas?

Yes. You drive in along the road that runs beside the base, and overseas visitors need a passport for the checkpoint just before it. You can shoot from the car and from the beach at the end of the road. More in the Starbase guide.

What camera settings work at Starbase?

Everything is static and it's bright during the day, so ISO 100 does the trick. Focal length depends only on the framing: 24 mm for the towers, up to 600 mm for the Starship nosecone.

Where did you photograph a Falcon 9?

At Port Canaveral in Florida. From a public park at 28.40842° N, 80.62362° W you can see the droneships that Falcon 9 boosters land on, and watch returned boosters being offloaded and prepped for transport.