We take them for granted today, whether they are weather satellite images of developing storms, or satellite images on Google Maps. However, as of in all things, there was a First Time. The first images ever of the Earth from space were taken seventy years ago today, on 10/24/46. The images were taken from a V2 rocket captured at the end of World War II. The rocket was launched from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, and the picture was taken at an altitude of 65 miles.
Very cool, Sy! Did the caption of the image give any indication of which part of the earth's surface is viewed? Chris
It's so sad that there is a large group of people who think that the earth is actually flat! That all images taken from space are fake and that NASA has been lying to all of us. Talking about the Flat Earth Theory. Youtube it
Thank you guys, glad you like it! You are looking at the American Southwest, and probably a bit of Northwestern Mexico. The rocket went more or less straight up from White Sands NM and then came back more or less straight down. FWIW, White Sands Missile Range is roughly 100 miles north of El Paso, TX.
Here is a news report and video of the launch. It was a video camera mounted on the rocket. That picture above was taken when the rocket was spinning out of control back to earth.