The US space program was one of the most impressive feats of human ingenuity in history — a series of events that captured the hearts and minds of everyone who witnessed them. The amount of research, creativity, and manpower that went into the space program was staggering, even when we look back on it decades later.
But as space technology moves further away from governmental oversight and towards commercialization, what happens to the history and relics of our nation's revered past in space exploration?
Many once-important facilities now sit dormant, decommissioned years ago, now rusting in the sun. Others have been demolished and lost forever.
They've almost all been forgotten, but photographer Roland Miller is trying to do something about that. For the past 25 years, Miller has traveled all across the US, photographing decommissioned NASA, Air Force, Army and commercial space launch and test sites.
These photographs will be released in a book titled "Abandoned in Place," which features a diverse selection of Miller's work, spanning more than two decades. You can see more of Miller's work here or contribute to his Kickstarter campaign for the project.
"In the end, my main purpose is to preserve the remains of these historic sites in the only way possible, through photography," Miller said.
Miller was mesmerized by space at an early age "like most kids growing up in the 1960s," he says. It seemed magical to him at the time. "I can clearly remember the night Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon," he says.
Miller began shooting this project in the early 1990s. He was teaching photography in Brevard County, Florida, about a 30 minute drive from Cape Canaveral. A friend of his was cleaning out an office building on the grounds and had discovered an old photo studio. He asked Miller to help him dispose of the old photo processing chemicals safely.
During that time, "I visited Launch Complex 19, the Gemini launch complex, and I knew immediately I wanted to photograph it," Miller says.
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