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On this day, the first-ever photo of Earth from outer space was taken from the V-2 No. 13 rocket
October 24, 2023
An event every year that begins at 12:00 am on day 24 of October, repeating indefinitely
75 years ago today, the first-ever photo of Earth from outer space was taken from the V-2 No. 13 rocket. Launched from White Sands, New Mexico, the rocket traveled 65 miles above Earth, where the photo was snapped with a 35mm camera.
The camera, smashed beyond repair during descent, was survived by its film. An enlisted man, Fred Rulli, described the scientists’ reaction when they saw the photos: “They were ecstatic, they were jumping up and down like kids…the scientists just went nuts.”
Did you know? V-2s were originally Nazi weapons, the same missiles that rained down on London during World War II. When the war ended, the United States seized the rockets and repurposed them – No. 13 being repurposed for space research.
First photo from space, U.S. Army, October 24, 1946
