OTD in Space - Oct. 24: V-2 Rocket Takes 1st Photos of Earth from Space

On October 24, 1946, a V-2 rocket captured the first-ever photo of Earth from space. While these grainy, black-and-white images might not look like much today, they were a huge deal at the time, because no one had ever seen Earth from space before. The V-2 rocket launched from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. It carried a 35-millimeter motion picture camera that captured a new frame every second and a half. The rocket soared to an altitude of about 65 miles before falling back to Earth. Both the rocket and the camera were destroyed after crashing into the Earth at a speed of about 340 miles per hour. But the film survived because it was protected inside a steel case. Scientists had to drive out into the New Mexico desert to retrieve the film. When they saw the images for the first time, the scientists were literally jumping up and down with joy.