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Analog Hasselblad cameras with photochemical film were used extensively during the Apollo mission to the Moon.

Were they used later for Spacelab, Space Shuttle and Mir or ISS?

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4 Answers 4

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Partial answer:

Hasselblad 500 EL/M cameras were used early in the Shuttle program, before the advent of digital photography.

The training manual is available here, it has this beautiful cover

enter image description here

I do not know when the transition to digital photography was completed.

This picture shows STS-59 (1994) crewmember Sid Guiterrez holding a Hasselblad in the shuttle cockpit in space. That may be another floating to his right.

enter image description here

Image source: https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/sts059-19-004/sts059-19-004~orig.jpg

This picture shows STS-46 (1992) crewmember Marsha Ivins with two Hasselblads.

enter image description here

Image source: https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/sts046-03-032/sts046-03-032~orig.jpg

Searching for "hasselblad" in images.nasa.gov turns up a lot more interesting pictures.

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    $\begingroup$ Ironically enough, that cover shows an image that no astronaut could ever take as a photo... right? $\endgroup$
    – AakashM
    Apr 7, 2022 at 8:45
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    $\begingroup$ @AakashM What about an astronaut in the ISS watching a Shuttle before docking or after undocking? $\endgroup$
    – Uwe
    Apr 7, 2022 at 8:51
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    $\begingroup$ @Uwe cargo bay doors would be open in those circumstances tho, right? $\endgroup$
    – Moo
    Apr 7, 2022 at 9:36
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    $\begingroup$ I asked photo.stackexchange.com/questions/129043/… and got the answer "Hasselblad did not make digital backs or digital cameras until much later." $\endgroup$
    – Uwe
    Apr 7, 2022 at 14:35
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    $\begingroup$ This image images.nasa.gov/details-s98e5161 is commented "The scene was taken with a digital still camera. " So in the mission STS98-E-5161 (11 February 2001) digital cameras were used. $\endgroup$
    – Uwe
    Apr 7, 2022 at 15:26
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A Hasselblad image of the Mir.

enter image description here

Docking target on Mir space station as seen from Shuttle Discovery NASA ID: sts063-711-069 STS063-711-069 (3-11 Feb. 1995) --- This close-up scene of Russian Mir Space Station's docking target was exposed by one of the STS-63 crew members using a handheld Hasselblad camera during close proximity operations between the space shuttle Discovery and Russia's Mir Space Station. Date Created: 1995-02-06

Source

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Yes, they were used on the space shuttle inside the cabin. So this iconic image of Bruce McCandless II was taken with a Hasselblad Camera from inside the cabin of the Orbiter. Bruce McCandless II free floating

I could not find any references of them being used outside the cabin (the one you see mounted to the MMU in the image is (almost certainly) a Nikon F3 wrapped in thermal blankets.

Hasselblads were used for quite some time. This Image was taken in 2000 on STS-106 Jngfrau and Interlaken

So Hasselblads were for sure used after Apollo well into the shuttle area.

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The STS-61 Post Flight Presentation mentions that a Hasselblad was used outside the cabin during a spacewalk. The speaker talks about this at 12:50 along with some trivia:

"nobody had ever taken a Hasselblad into space since Apollo".

Available images from the mission can be found here. Comparing angles to the presentation clip, I speculate film magazine STS061-105 was used in the space Hasselblad (but I can't find anything confirming this).

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