SPACE FLIGHT DATA

NASA

Published by NASA, 1971

About this Item

NASA / 1971 - 1974 / [White Sands, New Mexico, from Space (127 sequential photographs)] SPACE FLIGHT DATA (Bookshelf 10, 81220) 127 photographs, numbered consecutively 43-2212 to 43-2338, each on Kodak photo paper with "NASA MSC 157 FEB 71" printed at the top. One (2266) with pieces of tape and nick to side. Occasional crease. Housed in box with Government Printing Office label, "SPACE FLIGHT | DATA | KEEP AWAY FROM | MAGNETIC FIELDS | and | EXCESSIVE HEAT | TRANSPORT IN PRESSURIZED | COMPARTMENT ONLY" with "U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1974 778-008/ 299" at the bottom. (Box heavily worn, pen notes to label). A substantial NASA set of 127 consecutively numbered photographic prints (43-2212 to 43-2338) on Kodak paper, each bearing the header NASA MSC 157 FEB 71. The series documents White Sands and the surrounding Tularosa Basin from orbit for scientific and engineering use. Retained in the original Government SPACE FLIGHT DATA container with GPO caution label (dated 1974) and contemporary pen annotations. The photographs present sweeping desert geomorphology (gypsum dune fields, dissected piedmonts, and drainage patterns), rendered with exceptional tonal range. Marginal frame numbers and fiducial marks support photogrammetric use, while the consecutive run allows assembly into a contiguous mosaic of the region. Image content includes portions of the San Andres and Sacramento flanks and the high-albedo dune sea, with clear textural contrasts between dune sets, playa surfaces, and alluvial fans that invite comparative study over sequence. Produced by the Manned Spacecraft Center s photographic laboratory at the moment NASA was expanding Earth-resources work in advance of Landsat, the prints were intended for analysis, mapping, and mission planning rather than public distribution. White Sands, long a calibration and test area because of its uniform brightness and minimal vegetative cover, was a favored subject for remote-sensing experiments. White Sands occupies the Tularosa Basin of south-central New Mexico, the world s largest gypsum dune field and the heart of the White Sands Missile Range. Its luminous surfaces make it a classic benchmark for aerial and space-based observation. Rarity Complete, mission-era runs from the early 1970s rarely survive outside institutional archives; survival here with an official Space Flight Data box underscores the set s working provenance and research value.

Seller Inventory # 81220

Bibliographic Details

• Title: SPACE FLIGHT DATA
• Publisher: NASA
• Publication Date: 1971
• Binding: No Binding
• Condition: See Description
• Book Type: Map
• Seller catalogs:
  • Antique Maps