What a year for space! I’m incredibly thankful that I’m able to document this new era of spaceflight full-time. Thank you all for following along with my work this year!

Thread —Through My Lens: 2020 in Spaceflight

Starting with my favorite image of the year: An Atlas V rocket launches Mars 2020 on July 30, seen from a Cessna 172 over Florida’s Space Coast. A photo I envisioned for years finally came to life.

The experience of watching a launch from this vantage point was unforgettable.

Commercial spaceflight took a giant leap on May 30 as SpaceX became the first commercial entity to send humans to orbit.

Dragon lifts off with Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley; Elon Musk celebrates as SpaceX’s 18-year history culminates in its most paramount launch yet:

However, before Demo-2 could launch, SpaceX had to verify that Crew Dragon could safely escape from Falcon 9 and carry astronauts to safety in the event of an anomaly — the In-Flight Abort Test. Clouds obscured my view of the abort + explosion, but it was a beautiful launch.

SpaceX in 2020 also made considerable progress deploying its Starlink satellite constellation; 11 of the 28 launches I photographed this year were Starlink missions.

Their frequency presented many different photo opportunities, including a stunning Falcon 9 solar transit:

Regular Falcon 9 booster returns presented additional opportunities for creative photos as SpaceX continued to recover and reuse rockets in 2020 — with the practice seemingly becoming routine.

Smallsat launcher Astra exited stealth mode this year, and I’ve had the privilege of working closely with the company as they iterate toward orbit. This year, I spent ~40 days in Kodiak, AK across four trips!

Astra made their first orbital attempt with Rocket 3.1 in September:

And just three months later, Astra made it to space with Rocket 3.2! The vehicle reached an altitude of 380km but fell just short of orbital velocity. A quick fix will allow Rocket 3.3 will carry a payload to orbit.

An incredible experience; beautiful imagery:

More photos from Astra’s launch of Rocket 3.2 — to space! — from Kodiak Island, Alaska on December 15:

Another favorite photo stemming from another Starlink mission. This launch took place on Earth Day, so this juxtaposition felt adequate: A Celestial Buddies Earth plushie enjoys a Falcon 9 launch from LC-39A.

Two Atlas V launches: ESA/NASA’s Solar Orbiter heads to space atop an Atlas V on the night of February 9; a beautiful afternoon launch of AEHF-6 atop another Atlas V on March 26.

A photo from the 11th Starlink mission, which launched on on August 18. Not sure why I’m so fond of this one. It does look quite dramatic.

A handful of favorites from various Starlink missions:

Even more Starlink launch imagery:

In addition to the Demo-2 mission in May, SpaceX also ferried four more astronauts to the International Space Station during the crystal-clear nighttime launch of Crew-1 on November 15:

Falcon 9 soars by the sun while launching the third GPS III satellite on June 30. A great example of how @flightclubio enables photographers to plan for shots we might not have thought to plan for.

In October, I visited NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi for @launcher to document the first test-firing of the company’s E-2 engine, the world’s largest single-part, 3D-printed combustion chamber.

SAOCOM 1B: The first polar-orbit launch from Cape Canaveral since the 1960s saw a Falcon 9 rocket head south from the Space Coast — and return to land at Landing Zone 1 — on August 30.

The nighttime launch and RTLS landing of Falcon 9 during the CRS-20 mission resulted in two otherworldly “nebula” shots.

A closeup view of the first/second stage exhaust plumes interacting after stage separation — and a wider, long-exposure view of the same scene.

And a month ago, November 29, the International Space Station transits the full moon in half a second, seen through a 10" telescope from Lakeland, FL.

And finally, a few pics of me doing what I love — sharing the wonders of spaceflight with the world. [IFA, Mars 2020, Launcher, Rocket 3.2]

Thank you clients/patrons/family/friends/followers for the support this year. 2021 is going to be quite special. Stay tuned!

If there's any of your favorite images of mine that I didn't include, feel free to link them in the replies!