ScarJo, Channing, Gosling, Affleck: All filmed movies at Kennedy Space Center. Here's a list

Built in 1962, just four years after President Dwight D. Eisenhower established NASA, and situated about 140 miles north of Palm Beach County, the Kennedy Space Center has been an integral location to the U.S. space program — the base of so many missions beyond Earth's atmosphere. But the location also has found success in a high-profile side hustle — in the movie industry.

The new Scarlett Johansson-Channing Tatum movie "Fly Me to the Moon," a Space Race-era romantic comedy now playing in theaters, is just the latest production to tap into a real-life rocket vibe by partially filming at Kennedy Space Center.

Production trucks were spotted at NASA in March 2023, with about 25 to 30 vintage cars lining the parking lot in front of the Vehicle Assembly Building (more on that below). Crews also installed some prop pieces like light poles, according to veteran FLORIDA TODAY photojournalist Craig Bailey, who did a walk-through at the Kennedy Space Center "set."

Directed by Greg Berlanti of DC Universe fame, the film opened July 12, just a few days before the 55th anniversary of the July 16, 1969, Apollo moon landing with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. If you don't catch it in theaters, "Fly Me to the Moon" is expected to be available for streaming on Apple TV+ down the road.

Below is a roundup of movies that were filmed at Kennedy Space Center and nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (previously known as Cape Canaveral Air Force Station).

'Moonraker' (1979)

In "Moonraker," James Bond investigates the theft of a space shuttle from its carrier plane in this movie released two years before the first shuttle flight. Starring Roger Moore, the movie features scenes shot at the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center.

'Space Camp' (1986)

"Space Camp," the adventure movie starring actress Kate Capshaw ("Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom"), Joaquin Phoenix ("Gladiator" and "Walk the Line"), Tate Donovan ("The OC" and "Friends") and Lea Thompson ("The Back to the Future" films) is about kids who mistakenly launch into orbit aboard a space shuttle. Kennedy Space Center was one of the filming locations.

'Apollo 13' (1995)

"Houston, we have a problem" was already a famous quote, and it became part of the pop culture vernacular after this film. "Apollo 13," Ron Howard’s famous thriller about the ill-fated 1970 Apollo mission, starring Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon and Bill Paxton, filmed scenes at Kennedy Space Center.

'Contact' (1997)

In this big-screen adaptation of Carl Sagan’s novel, Jodie Foster stars as an astronomer who finds evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence, including plans for a mysterious machine. Fellow Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey also starred in "Contact." Portions of the movie were filmed at Kennedy Space Center.

'Armageddon' (1998)

"Armageddon" was one of several "disaster-asteroid" films during that time (remember "Deep Impact?"). Starring Bruce Willis, Liv Tyler, Ben Affleck, Owen Wilson and Steve Buscemi, the space disaster movie was filmed on the Space Coast in 1998.

In the action-comedy movie, an oil rig crew flies into space aboard a military space shuttle to destroy an asteroid headed for Earth.

Fun fact: Academy Award winner Gwyneth Paltrow, then-girlfriend of Ben Affleck, appeared with him at a movie premiere event at NASA's Kennedy Space Center where Bruce Willis and his blues band performed in the rocket garden.

'Space Cowboys' (2000)

Older astronauts in space? That's the premise of "Space Cowboys." Clint Eastwood’s movie features a retired engineer and his team who fly the shuttle to prevent a Russian satellite from crashing into Earth. Starring Eastwood, James Garner, Tommy Lee Jones and Donald Sutherland, scenes were filmed at Kennedy Space Center.

'Race to Space' (2001)

In "Race to Space," James Woods stars in the movie about an animal trainer at NASA in the 1960s responsible for a chimpanzee who will go into space. Scenes from the film were shot on location at Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach.

'Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon' (2011)

From an animated series to (several) big screen adaptations: In the third installment of the sci-fi action franchise, "Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon," the Autobots learn of a spacecraft hidden on the moon. Scenes from the movie, starring Shia LaBoeuf, Josh Duhamel, Frances McDormand and John Turturro, were filmed at Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center while space shuttle Discovery was on the launch pad.

'Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!' (2015)

One of the most popular staples in Shark Week history, the "Sharknado" movies spawned several sequels — with lots of celebrity cameos and "what on earth"-like plots (sharks, out of water, in a tornado?).

In "Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!" a tornado unleashes ravenous sharks from Washington, D.C., all the way to central Florida. Star Ian Ziering, best known for "Beverly Hills, 90210," filmed scenes at Kennedy Space Center and parts of Cape Canaveral in May 2015. The "Sharknado" series also stars "American Pie" actress Tara Reid.

'Tomorrowland' (2015)

"Tomorrowland," inspired by the Space Age and Walt Disney's vision for EPCOT, is a sci-fi film starring Academy Award winner George Clooney as an inventor who travels with a girl, actress Britt Robertson, into an alternate universe. Emmy-winning actor Hugh Laurie of "House" also appears in the film. Scenes with Clooney and Robertson were shot at Titusville’s Space View Park and Kennedy Space Center.

'First Man' (2018)

Before Ryan Gosling was just Ken in "Barbie," donning fluorescent rollerblading clothes, he suited up for "First Man." The film about astronaut Neil Armstrong, played by Gosling, and the legendary space mission that led to his first steps on the moon co-stars Claire Foy as Janet Armstrong. It was directed by Academy Award-winning director Damien Chazelle ("La La Land"). Scenes were filmed on location at Kennedy Space Center in February 2018.

'Don't Look Up' (2021)

In "Don't Look Up," Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence star as academic astronomers, Dr. Randall Mindy and Kate Dibiasky, who must go on a national media tour to warn mankind of a devastating approaching comet. Scenes were filmed at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, where the crew worked with United Launch Alliance.

'Fly Me to the Moon' (2024)

"Fly Me to the Moon" is an alt-history rom-com about a slick ad executive named Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson), who’s hired by the U.S. government to “sell” the 1969 Apollo 11 mission to a dubious public, which sees space exploration as a waste of resources. But when she arrives in Cape Canaveral, Florida, she quickly butts heads with Cole Davis (Channing Tatum), an earnest launch director who feels that Kelly’s grandstanding undermines the hard work of NASA astronauts and engineers. "Fly Me to the Moon" filmed scenes at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in February and March 2023.

Contributing: Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY

Sangalang is a lead producer, trending writer and social media champ. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @byjensangalang. Please consider subscribing to a USA TODAY Network-Florida newspaper at offers.usatodaynetwork.com/network-regional-florida.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Movies filmed at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral, Florida