Willard P. Williams Lunar Orbiter Photograph Collection
Content Description
The Willard P. Williams Lunar Orbiter Photograph Collection consists of three panels of black-and-white positive transparent film strips and two photographic prints. The film strips were received by Williams from the NASA Lunar Orbiter while stationed in Australia and document the various features of the moon.. Each panel consists of about 25 individual strips mounted together between clear acrylic sheets measuring about 24x30" in order to form one image. The three panels appear to all be imagery from the first Lunar Orbiter mission, which launched August 10, 1966. The images correlate to frames 1007, 1069, and 1113 as listed in the Lunar Orbiter Photo Gallery on the Lunar and Planetary Institute website. The two photographic prints in the collection are images made from different negatives strips than the panels; these have not been identified.
Dates
- Creation: 1966 August
Language of Materials
All materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research and is accessible in the Dahlberg Research Center by appointment. For more information contact us.
Conditions Governing Use
The Museum of Flight (TMOF) Archives is the owner of the physical materials in the archives and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from TMOF archives before any publication use. TMOF does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners. Consult repository for more details.
Historical Note: Lunar Orbiters
From 1966-1967 NASA launched five unmanned Lunar Orbiters to take photographs of and map the moon, in preparation for the Apollo 11 Moon Landing in 1969. The Lunar Orbiter was the first U.S. spacecraft to orbit the moon and obtained over 200 photos of the moon’s surface. In 1964 Boeing was contracted to build the Lunar Orbiters at their Seattle, Washington missile facility. The five Lunar Orbiters were able to photograph and transmit images that showed 99% of the moon’s surface.
Source:
"Historical Snapshot." Boeing: Philip M. Condit. Accessed September 19, 2018. https://www.boeing.com/history/products/lunar-orbiter-spacecraft.page.
"The Lunar Orbiter Program." Explore Space Science Activities. Accessed September 05, 2018. https://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/orbiter/.
Biographical Note: Willard P. Williams
Willard "Bill" P. Williams had a 43-year career at Boeing and worked on numerous projects. Williams started his career as a draftsman (engineer) in the late 1930s. He worked on AWACS systems, the Apollo program projects, and on the first 707 flight tests. He worked on the Lunar Orbiter project from about 1965-1977. During that time he was stationed in Australia, and receieved the photographic transmissions sent back to Earth from the Orbiters. He retired from Boeing in about 1980.
Extent
2.4 Cubic Feet (1 oversize box)
Overview
Willard "Bill" P. Williams had a 43-year career at Boeing and worked on numerous projects, including the Lunar Orbiters. The Willard P. Williams Lunar Orbiter Photograph Collection consists of three panels of black-and-white positive transparent film strips and two photographic prints documenting the various features of the moon captured on the first Lunar Orbiter mission.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was donated by the creator's son-in-law.
Accruals
No further accruals are expected.
Existence and Location of Copies
Materials from this collection have been digitized and are available at The Museum of Flight Digital Collections.
Subject
- Lunar Orbiter (Artificial satellite) (Organization)
- Project Apollo (U.S.) (Organization)
- United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Organization)
- Title
- Guide to the Willard P. Williams Lunar Orbiter Photograph Collection
- Status
- Completed Level 3
- Author
- N. Davis
- Date
- 2019
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
- Edition statement
- 1st edition
Repository Details
Part of the The Museum of Flight Archives Repository
9404 East Marginal Way South
Seattle Washington 98108-4097
206-764-7874
curator@museumofflight.org