Hasselblad Space Shuttle Reels

Modified Hasselblad cameras have been used during space flight as early as the 1960s. During NASA's Space Transportation System (STS), crewmembers had 70mm handheld Hasselblad cameras to use in addition to the cameras mounted within the shuttle. Images within this collection mostly include Earth observations and flight deck activities from twenty-two space shuttle missions during the 1980s and early 1990s.

Hasselblad cameras have been used by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as early as Project Mercury in the 1960s. The cameras were later developed, modified, and employed in foundational human spaceflight programs as such the Apollo missions. By the beginning of Space Shuttle era in the 1970s, Hasselblad cameras were standard use for still photography in space. During NASA's Space Transportation System (STS), crewmembers had 70mm handheld Hasselblad cameras to use on the flight deck in addition to the cameras mounted within the shuttle. When shuttle missions returned to Earth, flight films went to the Johnson Space Center lab for processing post-flight. NASA kept the originals, and masters were created to be distributed to authorized interested parties. Hasselblad likely retained copies of the film to review functionality and troubleshoot technical issues.