The First Photo From Space

In 1946, rocket-borne cameras gave us our first look at Earth from beyond the atmosphere.

  • By Tony Reichhardt
  • Air & Space magazine, November 2006
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View of Earth from a camera on V-2 #13 launched October 24 1946. View of Earth from a camera on V-2 #13, launched October 24, 1946.

White Sands Missile Range/Applied Physics Laboratory

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View of Earth from a camera on V-2 #13, launched October 24, 1946.

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Early V-2 Photos of Earth

Early V-2 Photos of Earth

V-2 rockets launched from White Sands, New Mexico in the 1940s returned the first photos of Earth from space.


V2 Camera Views of Earth,1946

Newsreel story from November 1946 about the V-2 Earth photos.



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More than 1,000 Earth pictures were returned from V-2s between 1946 and 1950, from altitudes as high as 100 miles. The photos, showing huge expanses of the American southwest, appeared in newspapers and were scrutinized by scientists from the U.S. Weather Bureau. In his National Geographic article, Holliday offered a few predictions as to where it all might lead: "Results of these tests now are pointing to a time when cameras may be mounted on guided missiles for scouting enemy territory in war, mapping inaccessible regions of the earth in peacetime, and even photographing cloud formations, storm fronts, and overcast areas over an entire continent in a few hours." Going out on a limb, he speculated that "the entire land area of the globe might be mapped in this way."

Fred Rulli, the former member of the camera recovery team, now counts himself lucky to have been in the "select group" that saw the first pictures from space as they came in. At 19, it seemed to him like just another Army job. But he recalls a friend at White Sands, another soldier—60 years later he’s forgotten his name—who was more alive to the future unfolding in front of them. Pointing to the rockets, the scientists and the clear New Mexico sky, the friend would turn to Rulli and say with amazement, "Do you realize what’s going on here?"

On October 24, 1946, not long after the end of World War II and years before the Sputnik satellite opened the space age, a group of soldiers and scientists in the New Mexico desert saw something new and wonderful—the first pictures of Earth as seen from space.

The grainy, black-and-white photos were taken from an altitude of 65 miles by a 35-millimeter motion picture camera riding on a V-2 missile launched from the White Sands Missile Range. Snapping a new frame every second and a half, the rocket-borne camera climbed straight up, then fell back to Earth minutes later, slamming into the ground at 500 feet per second. The camera itself was smashed, but the film, protected in a steel cassette, was unharmed.

Fred Rulli was a 19-year-old enlisted man assigned to the recovery team that drove into the desert to retrieve film from those early V-2 shots. When the scientists found the cassette in good shape, he recalls, "They were ecstatic, they were jumping up and down like kids." Later, back at the launch site, "when they first projected [the photos] onto the screen, the scientists just went nuts."

Before 1946, the highest pictures ever taken of the Earth’s surface were from the Explorer II balloon, which had ascended 13.7 miles in 1935, high enough to discern the curvature of the Earth. The V-2 cameras reached more than five times that altitude, where they clearly showed the planet set against the blackness of space. When the movie frames were stitched together, Clyde Holliday, the engineer who developed the camera, wrote in National Geographic in 1950, the V-2 photos showed for the first time "how our Earth would look to visitors from another planet coming in on a space ship." (See a panorama from a July 1948 V-2 shot here.)

It was one of many firsts for the V-2 research program of the late 1940s, during which the Army fired dozens of captured German missiles brought to White Sands in 300 railroad cars at the end of the war. While the missileers used the V-2s to refine their own rocket designs, scientists were invited to pack instruments inside the nosecone to study temperatures, pressures, magnetic fields and other physical characteristics of the unexplored upper atmosphere.

Holliday worked for the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), alongside pioneering space scientists like James Van Allen and S. Fred Singer, both of whom would later be involved in planning the first U.S. satellites. Singer—better known today as a dogged skeptic of global warming with the Science and Environmental Policy Project in Arlington, Virginia—would analyze the photos that came back from the V-2 cameras to determine the rocket’s orientation to the Earth, a job he remembers as "quite difficult." The missile engineers needed to know how the rocket was steering through the upper atmosphere, and the scientists wanted to determine from which direction cosmic rays hitting their instruments were coming. Hardly anyone was interested in what the pictures revealed about geography or meteorology, at least not at first. "We considered clouds to be a nuisance," says Singer.

But Holliday, an instrument specialist at APL, well understood the importance of the photos for the study of Earth. Cy O’Brien, who worked in the lab’s public affairs office beginning in 1950, says Holliday was "in an environment with super-Ph.D.s, and he wanted to make clear that photography was a science, too."

Holliday’s discussion of the photos therefore leaned toward the technical. In those days before Walt Disney and Collier’s magazine planted the idea of space exploration in the public imagination, he was even sparing with his use of the term "space." The V-2 photos, he wrote in 1950, were taken in "the little-known reaches of the upper air." Today, even though the definition is somewhat arbitrary, anything above 100 kilometers (62.5 miles) is considered space.

More than 1,000 Earth pictures were returned from V-2s between 1946 and 1950, from altitudes as high as 100 miles. The photos, showing huge expanses of the American southwest, appeared in newspapers and were scrutinized by scientists from the U.S. Weather Bureau. In his National Geographic article, Holliday offered a few predictions as to where it all might lead: "Results of these tests now are pointing to a time when cameras may be mounted on guided missiles for scouting enemy territory in war, mapping inaccessible regions of the earth in peacetime, and even photographing cloud formations, storm fronts, and overcast areas over an entire continent in a few hours." Going out on a limb, he speculated that "the entire land area of the globe might be mapped in this way."

Fred Rulli, the former member of the camera recovery team, now counts himself lucky to have been in the "select group" that saw the first pictures from space as they came in. At 19, it seemed to him like just another Army job. But he recalls a friend at White Sands, another soldier—60 years later he’s forgotten his name—who was more alive to the future unfolding in front of them. Pointing to the rockets, the scientists and the clear New Mexico sky, the friend would turn to Rulli and say with amazement, "Do you realize what’s going on here?"


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Comments (38)

An absolutely amazing photograph.

Posted by Neil Califano on April 8,2008 | 10:59 PM

This is a very neat photo. A great symbol in space exploration.

Posted by N/A on April 29,2008 | 12:44 PM

wow i never seen a great space picture like this!

Posted by anonamous on May 21,2008 | 07:33 PM

That is a amazing photo of earth! WOW!

Posted by Alyssa on May 21,2008 | 10:17 PM

Are there still some V-2 rockets around in some museum. What is the story about V-2 use in the war. Did they have orbital capability?

Posted by Andrew Weiszmann on May 26,2008 | 12:09 AM

I had no idea that the V-2 rocket, a symbol of Nazi Germany's destructive capability, was used for such a purely scientific purpose. It is still amazing to me that rockets were in use for science (or war) in the _1940's_. What a great photograph.

Posted by John E. on May 30,2008 | 02:40 PM

this is so amazing!that was such a fantastic time in history to be involved at the very beginning of something, i love these fotos! what a great time to be alive!

Posted by dolores on June 13,2008 | 10:56 PM

How about putting one entire film from a V-2 on the web? It would be interesting to see the sequence from ground to space.

--Ted.

Posted by Ted on June 15,2008 | 03:45 AM

there seems to be an outline of a crater just to the right and slightly above center

Posted by richard on June 16,2008 | 08:26 PM

this website is really cool

Posted by michael on June 22,2008 | 06:19 PM

its a nice picture.

Posted by manir.comilla.bangladesh on June 22,2008 | 12:54 AM

Great Picture! For those that don't know the V-2 was used my the Germans for war. The U.S.A. used many of them after the war for the real beginning of our space program.

Posted by Michael Tonne on June 23,2008 | 05:45 PM

canyou send me that picture in my email. this picture is so nice.

Posted by sahil kapoor on June 26,2008 | 11:36 AM

How about putting some of the 22,950 pictures taken from Tiros I, the first weather station is space on the site? It was built in 1959 and launched in 1960, took 22,950 (22,952 to be exact i believe) prior to losing power. RCA's blueprints were even scrapped to make it come to fruition!

Posted by Stephanie Hartnett on June 28,2008 | 09:54 PM

Congratulations for interesting themes like this, that can be explored other times.

Posted by Carlos A Lessa on July 2,2008 | 11:37 AM

What a nice picture this is

Posted by Shaikh Irfan S. on August 31,2008 | 11:41 AM

this so fabulus,mindblowing,not discribed

Posted by raj pandya on September 16,2008 | 09:29 AM

i am from INDIA .as i want to be a astronaut this photo is as a dream to me.

Posted by shivani bodas on October 7,2008 | 07:46 AM

I'm from San Antiono and I always dream of being a pilot.

Posted by vintrice on October 12,2008 | 02:38 PM

White Sands V2 Firing Table

http://www.wsmr.army.mil/wsmr.asp?pg=y&page=254

V-2 # 13
Date 24 Oct 46
Time 1218 (Local)
Altitude 65 (Miles)
Agency APL
Experiments Cosmic & solar radiation, winds, photography

John

Posted by John Scheldroup on November 13,2008 | 10:06 PM

Andrew Weiszmann asked "Are there still some V-2 rockets around in some museum?" The answer is yes. One of the most complete V-2s is at the White Sands Missile Range Museum. You can see it and read about its history at URL http://www.wsmr-history.org/V-2Display1.htm and the other 13 pages linked to it. There are others at various Museums around the world. Information on these can be found at URL http://www.v2rocket.com/.

Posted by Doyle Piland on December 12,2008 | 04:18 PM

I have seen these photos on the old TV show The Twentieth Century hosted by Walter Cronkite.
The show feature film from WW2 with V2's raining down on London to V2's being launched from White Sands NM.
It filmed the ascent of the rocket and the pictures published on this site.

Posted by John S on January 2,2009 | 01:11 AM

Isn't that picture just BEAUTIFUL?

Posted by Aquanita E. on January 9,2009 | 04:48 PM

I remember seeing the footage of the from takeoff to maximum height at a news reel cinema just after the WW2. It had the most profound effect on me and my attitude to life on earth. We knew the earth was a sphere but seeing was believing. The image of the blue green evolving planet Earth across the barren pockmarked surface of the Moon just forty years ago was a wondrous sight that complemented my view of our Earth home in the void of space. It is a very special place and we must look after it.

Posted by Doug Lithgow on January 12,2009 | 07:29 AM

This is cool. I didn't know that a weapon would be the first thing to take a picture from space

Posted by Andrew on February 14,2009 | 11:17 PM

sweet pic. man.

Posted by zach on February 18,2009 | 11:53 AM

I grew up in FL and walked outside to watch the Apollo missions lift off; and while living in the Bahamas I was able to meet all the astronauts from Apollo 9 as they came to Eleuthera after splashing down.

I, of course, answered the "first photo from space" incorrectly as I immediately thought of astronauts taking the photo, not just a "machine".

Posted by Michelle D. Terry on February 21,2009 | 10:18 PM

I was exactly 2 yrs. old when the picture of the gulf California was taken from outer space. Wonderful to live in a era of such dramatic change. When I was small I thought we were the only universe. There really is no end. Babs

Posted by Barbara on March 1,2009 | 08:58 AM

this is a great picture.. i could really use this for a project. but thati s really bad.. but i will hyperlink this to my project.

Posted by amanda on March 24,2009 | 09:36 PM

This picture is poor. But what it represents is absolutely magnificent!

Posted by Swalt on May 12,2009 | 10:29 AM

i really love the picture and the good work done by the rocket-borne cameras.I would like to see the Apollo 8 mission picture in 1968 also showing the spherical nature of the earth.and also, see the picture of Ferdinand Magellan and his crews for the voyage around the earth in 1519-1592.

Posted by Kumi Benjamin on August 27,2009 | 11:26 AM

Well l guess they just had to take this beautiful photograph on this beautiful day l just happened to come into this beautiful planet Earth (lol).

Posted by ALLAN MC FIE on October 19,2009 | 07:09 PM

just amazing it takes your breath away

Posted by brayden on November 26,2009 | 03:35 AM

Movie from the camera, as part of a contemporary newsreel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emMIM3CKGtQ

Posted by jayskew on December 6,2009 | 03:02 PM

Thanks for the link suggestion, jayskew. I've included that newsreel footage with the article. --The Webmaster

Posted by Tony Reichhardt on December 8,2009 | 08:22 AM

Thank you. Truly an amazing time in our human evolution. How thrilled we were were to see the first photographs of our planet from "outer space."

Today, as we learn more about our place in space through the exploration of the cosmos - we realize just how rare liquid freshwater actually is. Without clean liquid water, the evolution of our intelligence to comprehend our existence would be impossible. Let us pray that we use our intelligence to turn the tide against our waste and abuse of this life-giving resource.

Posted by William Waterway Marks on December 15,2009 | 10:24 AM

What a nice picture this is. This is cool. I didn't know that a weapon would be the first thing to take a picture from space.

Posted by s.madhavan on January 23,2010 | 09:24 AM

The picture taken by V-2 #21 is well known to me. My father, Thor Bergstralh, was the NRL scientist who placed the camera aboard the rocket.

I believe that this photo appeared on the cover of Life magazine in June or July of 1947.

Thank you for providing a place for these photos to be shown.

Posted by K. Bergstralh on April 24,2010 | 01:19 AM

Incredible ! ..Everything is possible.

Posted by PUMa on August 11,2010 | 01:38 AM

Are we all not extremely fortunate to inhabit such a wondrous and kind planet. Is it not incumbent on all of us to take care of her and each other.

Posted by Gregory M. O'Connor on September 6,2010 | 06:31 AM

this pic is pretty awesome . :-)

Posted by bec on November 8,2010 | 11:01 PM

The film was saved--that's awesome. The first picture by a satellite was taken on April 1, 1960. Check here http://etechmag.com/2011/07/30/first-photo-of-earth-from-a-weather-satellite-1960.html

Posted by Vicky on July 30,2011 | 09:58 AM

hi, my name is maddy and i like this picture because it is the first picture in history of space and that will be a picture to remember and i am a 5th grader my friends are melissa kennedy and samantha. EDITORS' REPLY: Glad you liked it, Maddy. Thanks for writing.

Posted by maddy on October 18,2012 | 12:18 PM

Yeah, these Germans! The V-1 and V-2 was the most powerful weapons of destruction before the atomic bombs. The purpose was for destruction of England. However, when the war ended, the North Americans stole around 600,000 patents from the Third Reich industries. These actual nuclear missiles were inspired by some ideas of V-1 and V-2. The B-2 Spirit used the same flying wing idea used in the Horten Ho 229 and Horten gliders. So if you're North American, believe it: a LOT of military technology of the United States was stolen from Third Reich.

Posted by Patrick on November 26,2012 | 03:41 PM

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