Posts: 3662
From: Netherlands
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posted 04-22-2023 02:40 AM               

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Kennedy Space Center photographer Klaus Wilckens setting up a remote camera for Columbia's Flight Readiness Firing prior to STS-1.

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From: Atlanta, GA
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Posts: 3608
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 04-22-2023 09:09 AM               

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Boy does that bring back memories of top NASA photographer Klaus Wilckens. That's a great shot of Klaus setting up his remote cameras for Columbia's first main engine test firing in Feb. 1981. I've had the pleasure of knowing him for many years.

As Hugh Harris pointed out, one of Klaus' bosses at KSC, there was no NASA photographer during his 38-year career that had more pictures selected as magazine covers for photo-spreads in various magazine publications all across the world.

One of his favorite photos was of a shuttle deployed drag chute during an orbiter landing at Kennedy that had been selected by the USPS for a $3 postage stamp. Another favorite of Klaus had been his photo of a smiling STS-1 crew in their cockpit seats before their epic launch. At the age of 84, we lost Klaus in Jan. 2022, a legendary space photographer as one of the best in aerospace picture making.

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From: United States
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Posts: 3608
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 04-23-2023 06:16 AM               

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Amen Ben! I've also added a few more lines above as that photo of Klaus preparing his cameras was for STS-1's main engine test firing and not for launch. Also mentioned another favorite photo of his from the first shuttle crew of Columbia.

Love your idea of featuring older space photos along with some of their photographers. I've got a lot of photos along these lines even going back to the 1950's that are rarely seen nor heard of.

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From: Carrollton, GA USA
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