500 a
NASA / Unidentified Photographer

Artist’s concept of the Hadley Apennine landing site

Apollo 15, July 1971

Vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based Kodak paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in), with NASA MSC caption and “A Kodak Paper” watermarks on the verso, numbered “NASA S-71-33433” in red in top margin

500 b
NASA / Unidentified Photographer

NASA administrator James Fletcher and deputy administrator George Low watching the liftoff at the Launch Control Center

Apollo 15, July 26 - August 7, 1971, 000:00:30 GET

Vintage gelatin silver print on fiber-based paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in), with NASA KSC caption

500 c
NASA / Unidentified Photographer

The majestic liftoff of the Saturn V space vehicle seen from different angles

Apollo 15, July 26 - August 7, 1971, 000:00:01 GET

Three vintage chromogenic prints on resin coated Kodak paper, each 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in) and with NASA KSC captions and “A Kodak Paper” watermarks on the versos

500 d
NASA / Unidentified Photographer

Staging of the Saturn V space vehicle

Apollo 15, July 26 - August 7, 1971, 000:02:00 GET

Three vintage gelatin silver prints on fiber-based paper, each 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in) and with NASA KSC captions on the versos

500 e
NASA / Unidentified Photographer

Mission Control monitoring the Saturn V space vehicle before translunar injection

Apollo 15, July 1971, 000:45:42 GET

Vintage gelatin silver print on fiber-based paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in), with NASA HQ caption numbered “71-H-1153” on the verso

500 f
James Irwin

The LM attached to the Saturn Rocket SIVB third stage during transposition maneuver with the Command Module

Apollo 15, July 26 - August 7, 1971, 003:28:29 GET

Unreleased photograph, vintage chromogenic print on resin coated Kodak paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in), with “A Kodak Paper” watermarks on the verso (NASA / North American Rockwell) [NASA AS15-91-12331]
20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in)

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Lot Essay

500 a
[NASA caption] An artist’s concept (artwork by Jerry Elmore) depicting the traverses planned on the Apollo 15 lunar landing mission using the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). The Roman numerals indicate the three periods of extravehicular activity (EVA). The Arabic numbers represent the station Stops.

“The association with the best people in the world.”
David Scott

500 b
“Great system, great people. [...] It was that way throughout the program. Everybody. The engineers were the best engineers in the world. The flight-ops guys were the best flight-ops guys in the world. That’s the beauty of the program, I think, from the astronaut point of view. The association with the best people in the world, “ said David Scott (Chaikin, Voices, p. 187).

500 c
The huge 363-feet tall Apollo 15 (Spacecraft 112/Lunar Module 10/Saturn 510) space vehicle was launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, at 9:34:00 p.m. (EDT) on July 26, 1971.

“You don’t commit yourself to the flight totally until you get ignition and you’re off the pad. And then it’s all or nothing.”
Alfred Worden (Chaikin, Voices, p.20)

Three successive views of the Saturn V space vehicle seen during first stage center engine
cutoff 2 minutes into the flight.

“The vehicle was approximately 26 nautical miles downrange and 155,000 feet high. The colorless hydrogen contrail follows the vehicle. The views were recorded by the Recording Optical Tracking Instrument (ROTI) at Lebourne Beach, Florida. The ROTI has a 24-inch aperture, 400-inch focal length, and uses 70mm film at 30 frames per second” (NASA captions).

500 e
An overall wide-angle lens view of activity at Houston’s Mission Control during the first revolution of the spacecraft around the Earth.

000:50:32 Public Affairs Officer (Mission Control): This is Apollo Control [...] Now approaching the Carnarvon, Australia tracking station. [...] [We are] halfway through the first Earth parking orbit. Next time they pass over Carnarvon or over [the] Australian subcontinent, the crew of Apollo 15 will be preparing for the Translunar Injection maneuver, [in] which the spacecraft and S-IVB stage will break out of Earth parking orbit and begin the 3-day journey to the Moon.

500 f
The CSM separated from the SIVB stage approximately 30 minutes after the translunar injection burn and revolved to examine the LM (still attached to the SIVB stage) whose top hatch, used for docking, is clearly visible. Particles released from the vehicles during separation shine against the blackness of space causing the “firefly” phenomenon.

003:28:29 Irwin: There’s sure a lot of crap flying out...