From launchpad recordings of roaring rockets to real-world Mission Control radio chatter, NASA’s Soundcloud offers a wealth of free out-of-this-world sound effects.
Space nerds and sci-fi filmmakers take note: NASA has a Soundcloud page that offers many decades’ worth of live audio recordings, and you can download them all for free. Here’s what the organization has to say about it:
A Universe of Audio Possibilities
Because NASA is awesome, the collection covers so much more than just booster blasts and familiar historical phrases. You’ll find playlists featuring “Spooky Sounds from Across the Solar System” and many of the field recordings included on the Carl-Sagan-curated “Hey, we’re Earth, nice to meet you” Golden Records (that are currently 13+ billion miles away aboard Voyagers 1 and 2).
Need some weird atmospheric radio wave sound effects to create interstellar ambience for your “bridge of a starship” scene? No problem. Here are some weird atmospheric radio waves recorded in our planet’s atmosphere. Nobody will call your work inauthentic, that’s for sure.
Additional Cosmic Assets
Put your new NASA noises to great use alongside the goodies found in Nebula, a pack of nineteen free 4K space backgrounds from our pals at RocketStock. Created with 100 percent practical effects, the Nebula pack is a thing of easy-to-use, drag-and-drop beauty, and it’s compatible with all your major editing programs, including Premiere Pro, After Effects, FCPX, Media Composer, and DaVinci Resolve. Take a look at the possibilities (and then maybe go build a planet):
Shutterstock’s got plenty of additional tools for creatives looking to up the outer-space vibes in their next project. We recently launched Shutterstock Elements, a library of more than 3,000 professional video assets designed to meet all of your post-production needs. Truly, motion graphics magic has never been so easy to make.
You’ll find VFX kits that cover everything from “boom” to “brrr” and organic light leaks that can make your shiniest J.J. Abrams dreams come true. If your project demands futuristic HUD and UI effects, save yourself some time (and instantly level-up your production value) with Interface, a pack of customizable computer-interaction elements perfect for sci-fi POV shots and high-tech computer interactions.
You can see all of these video kits in action and get a closer look at all things Shutterstock Elements in the clip below.
Featured image from Ingus Kruklitis
Looking for more free assets? Check these out.
- The Videographer’s Reference Guide to Exposure + FREE Camera Bag Tag
- Free Music Samples: 100% Copyright-Cleared Sound
- How to Use Free Sound Effects in Your Video Projects
- NEON: Free Animated Text Typeface – 36 FREE Motion Graphic Elements
- 80 Free Transitions for Premiere Pro Video Editors