The ISS flew nearly directly over the SpaceX LCC, and I was able to make an epic photo of it.

Just after 7 PM tonight, the ISS was forecasted to rise and fly over the space coast.

After thinking through many options of where to photograph it, Craig Vander Galien, Scott Murray and I drove out to the SpaceX LCC to make a photo of the ISS over it.

I use Heavens Above to plan my ISS shots. I see which constellations it will be flying through, frame those constellations up in the photo, and let the ISS do the rest, zipping right on through the frame.

If you plug your shooting location in correctly (within +/- 10-15 miles for ISS passes) in heavens above, the ISS will fly right through the constellations shown above. Some are easier to locate and frame like the Little/Big Dipper, Orion, Cassiopeia – but those like Gemini and those higher in the sky are harder to frame up sometimes.

We setup shop just before 7PM and waited.

Just a few minutes later, we waved to the astronauts who will soon be visited by the CRS-10 Dragon carrying just about 3 tons of food, supplies, and science experiments.

What was cool about tonight’s pass is the building we shot it and got to watch it over. This building will be busy Saturday morning launching and landing a Falcon 9.

See you tomorrow for another photo story!