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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.
NASM.2022.0002
Hasselblad USA
1984-1993
Hasselblad Inc., Gift, 2021, NASM.2022.0002
7.46 Cubic feet (11 flat boxes with 4 reels in each.)
National Air and Space Museum Archives
This donation consists of forty-four 70mm color positive film reels containing still photography captured by a Hasselblad camera during the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Space Transportation System (STS), better known the Space Shuttle Program. The reels include images, mostly Earth observational and orbital photographs, from twenty-two missions during the 1980s and early 1990s.
Arranged chronologically by mission.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
While there are no restrictions on access, please note that the National Air and Space Museum Archives is currently unable to safely review or reproduce this collection due to conservation concerns.
Hasselblad Space Shuttle Reels, NASM.2022.0002, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Astronautics
Space Shuttle Program (U.S.)
Space photography
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
70mm (photographic film size)