NASA

I was in Houston for a couple days last week doing a shoot at NASA. We were shooting in building 9, where the astronauts are trained using exact replicas of the space shuttle, International Space Station and various Russian capsules. The mock-ups had to be set up exactly like the real shuttle and ISS, down to the placement of each square of velcro.

We arrived at NASA at 7:00am on the day of the shoot, quickly set up and started filming. I was able to get some shots from the visitor's walkway overlooking the mock-ups, before the sound guy and gaffer arrived. They showed up around 7:30 and we set up for the first interview, which was with the head trainer / facility manager. Afterward, I took some shots of the exterior of the ISS and the cockpit of the shuttle. Next, we interviewed one of the engineers, who gave a good technical background about the training modules. Then we set up for astronaut Anna Lee Fisher, the most important interview of the day. Our producer, Capella, was completely star struck and made a point of getting a picture with her afterward.

When the interviews were finished, I spent the rest of the day wandering around the building in amazement and shooting the interior of the ISS and other mock-ups. It ended up being one of the most relaxing shoot days I've ever had. If only they could all be that easy!