University of Central Florida Special Collections and University Archives. All rights reserved.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration donated these materials to the University of Central Florida, and they were transferred to the Special Collections and University Archives in 2007
Photographs were placed into acid-free folders and organized chronologically and by project.
The entire collection is open for research.
Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
NASA Photographs Collection, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.
For additional research material please refer to the Scott Simpkinson Papers and the Wagar Space Collection, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was established in 1958 to serve as the United States' public space program and was a key component in the "Space Race" of the late 1950s and 1960s. Throughout its history, the organization has taken part in countless scientific and military missions that include the Mercury and Gemini orbital missions, the Apollo moon missions, Apollo-Soyuz test mission, the Skylab, Mir, and International Space Stations, as well as numerous satellite and probe launches. However, since the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Space Transportation System (STS), or "space shuttle", has been NASA's primary focus.
Developed in 1972 by North American Rockwell, the space shuttle began with the idea of routine space flights using partially reusable vehicles. While space travel has not yet reached its initially desired levels, the shuttle program continues to aid in research and commercial space ventures including the Hubble Space Telescope and satellite repairs. Additionally, since the mid-1990s the space shuttle has been a primary vehicle for continued international space exploration, beginning with the Russian Mir Space Station and continuing with the new International Space Station.
In 2004, NASA announced that the STS program will continue until 2010 after which the new Orion program will be implemented in an effort to return to moon-oriented missions.
The collection is divided into two series by date and project.
Series I: Pre-Shuttle Projects, 1974-1977 contains mainly black and white photographs from NASA projects pre-dating preparations for active space shuttle missions at Kennedy Space Center.
Series II: Space Shuttle Photographs, 1978-2001 contains black and white and color photographs concerning shuttle missions at Kennedy Space Center.
Similar records may be found by searching under the following index terms.
This series contains mainly black and white photographs relating to NASA projects in the years prior to the space shuttle program. Images from Skylab, Apollo/Soyuz, and the Jupiter probe are all held here.
This series contains black and white and color photographs chronicling the building of the space shuttle program at Kennedy Space Center along with its personnel and missions.