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Mitchell Luetger (1944-) is an aerial photographer based near San Antonio, Texas. His company is called "Aero Views by Mitch" and he shoots aerial photography mainly of farms and ranches, for real estate sales and development, and for companies monitoring construction progress. On March 23, 1979, he received permission to go out on the ramp at Kelly Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas, where the Space Shuttle Columbia had stopped for refueling on its way to the John F. Kennedy Space Center. Over the years Luetger was also able to photograph the Space Shuttle Discovery and Space Shuttle Challenger when they stopped at Kelly AFB.

Identifier

NASM.2005.0045

Creator

Luetger, Mitchell, 1944-

Date

bulk 1979-1989

Provenance

Mitchell Leutger, Gift, 2005

Extent

0.05 Cubic feet ((1 folder))

Archival Repository

National Air and Space Museum Archives

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of Kodak 120 color negatives (half-frame format), 35 mm color negatives, and 35 mm color slides shot by Mitchell Luetger (70 still film-based images total) of the following Space Shuttles, each seen mounted on the Boeing 747-100 NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), as they stopped at Kelly AFB, San Antonio, 1979-1984: twelve shots of the Space Shuttle Challenger on ramp taken from the air on April 14, 1983; twenty-one shots of the Space Shuttle Challenger on ramp taken on April 17, 1984 (twelve taken on low pass down runway and nine taken from above); four shots of Discovery in-flight on approach to Kelly AFB, March 23, 1989; and thirteen shots of Columbia on ramp taken on March 23, 1979. Also included are two views of a NASA Grumman G-159 Gulfstream I, one view of a US Air Force Douglas C-9A Nightingale, and a few aerial views of the San Antonio area.

Rights

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

Restrictions

No restrictions on access.

Citation

Space Shuttle Photography [Luetger], Accession 2005-0045, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Topics

Aerial photography
Space shuttles
Space flight

Type

Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Negatives
Slides (photographs)