John Glenn Enters the Friendship 7 Capsule, 1962
NASA joined Flickr Commons today, releasing 180 historic photos in three incredible sets; Building NASA, Launch/Takeoff and NASA Center Namesakes. The photos span the US space agency’s 50+ year history. You’ll not only get to see the key figureheads behind NASA, you’ll also see some of the most iconic spacecrafts take flight. Each photo comes with a detailed description, so you can dive a little deeper and learn more. You can visit Nasa Images for the most comprehensive compilation of NASA stills, film and video, or, you can now go to their Flickr page for the curated list of their best photos. From the 180 they have up now, here are fourteen of our favorites.
JFK Tour of KSC, 1962
NASA Deputy Administrator Robert Seamans, von Braun and President Kennedy at Cape Canaveral
John Glenn Prior to the Mercury-Atlas 6 Mission, 1962
Aerial View of Missile Row, 1964
Gemini-Titan 11 Launch, 1966
Lyndon Johnson Watches the Apollo 11 Liftoff, 1969
Viking 1 Launch, 1975
STS-96 Launch, 1999
Mars Spirit Launch Trail, 2003
Launch of Soyuz Rocket for International Space Station, 2006
Discovery Arcs through the Sky 2009
Liftoff of Space Shuttle Endeavour, 2009
Contrails after the Launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery
Other Incredible Photography: 22 Incredible Photos of Faraway Places
Incredible Animal Photography – Stefano Unterthiner (12 pics)
Incredible Wildlife Shots by Rob Kroenert
Africa’s Powerful Kalahari Desert