Chris Zuppa Visuals

Shuttle Bugs

About this Project: As a kid, I dreamed of becoming an astronaut. Instead, I became a newspaper photojournalist.

Shuttle Bugs documents the last year of the space shuttle program from the point-of-view of spectators who traveled from near and far to watch the launches. The project was inspired by David Burnett’s photos of the Apollo 11 launch-party, most of which weren’t published until decades later. Bruce Moyer, then-Deputy Director of Photography of the Tampa Bay Times, guided the project’s development. Page designer Terry Chapman designed the project.

Fun fact: I met David Burnett while documenting the last launch of the Space Shuttle program.

Role: Photojournalist and writer

Key Result: The entire Floridian section of the Tampa Bay Times was dedicated to the project. The project was also a part of the Times‘ third-place winning entry for the 2012 Best of Photojournalism, Best Use of Photography for newspapers with a circulation of 75,000 or more.