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[Gemini X] COVER OF LIFE: Agena illuminated by orbital sunrise Michael Collins, 18-21 July 1966 image 1
[Gemini X] COVER OF LIFE: Agena illuminated by orbital sunrise Michael Collins, 18-21 July 1966 image 2
[Gemini X] COVER OF LIFE: Agena illuminated by orbital sunrise Michael Collins, 18-21 July 1966 image 3
[Gemini X] COVER OF LIFE: Agena illuminated by orbital sunrise Michael Collins, 18-21 July 1966 image 4
Lot 105

[Gemini X] COVER OF LIFE: Agena illuminated by orbital sunrise
Michael Collins, 18-21 July 1966

FOR ALL MANKIND: THE ARTISTIC LEGACY OF EARLY SPACE EXPLORATION: Victor Martin-Malburet Collection
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue Hoche

€1,200 - €1,800

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[Gemini X] COVER OF LIFE: Agena illuminated by orbital sunrise

Michael Collins, 18-21 July 1966

Printed 1966.

Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image S-66-46122].
Numbered "NASA S-66-46122" in red in the top margin, with "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas).

20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.)

Historical context
This photograph captures a striking view of the Agena 10 floating in the void of space during a stunning space sunrise over the South Atlantic Ocean, as Gemini X prepared for docking, just 46 feet away. The image highlights the Agena bathed in sunlight, contrasting against the deep blackness of space and Earth's natural beauty 185 miles below. A near-identical photograph from this sequence graced the cover of LIFE Magazine in August 1966 under the headline "Highest photos of Earth taken by man."

"If you see something out the window that's interesting and the Sun happens to be in the wrong position, that's just too bad; you shoot anyway because it's a very transient, rapidly changing world out there, and you can't wait for the Sun to get in the right position."
— Michael Collins (Schick and Van Haaften, p. 71).

Footnotes

The photograph was taken by Michael Collins using the Super Wide Hasselblad camera equipped with a 38mm lens.

From the mission transcript at the time the photograph was taken:

005:16:32 Collins: 180 feet. Okay, 180 feet and holding. You get right in there, John. 180 feet. 180 feet and holding. 120 feet.
005:17:14 Young: Got your camera?
005:17:16 Collins: Yes. Got it set up for daylight.
005:17:50 Young: Get right in there with this one. [...]
005:19:52 Collins: How in the heck do I stop rolling around in it?
005:19:55 Young: Just stopped, right?
005:19:59 Collins: Here comes the Sun, so watch it. [...]
005:20:29 Capcom (Mission Control): Roger. Are you Station-keeping yet?
005:20:45 Young: I can't see a darn thing there, Babe. Can you see it?
005:20:47 Collins: Yes. I can see. You're all right: You're all right: You're all right: You're all right, John: Don't do anything; You'll see it in a second.
005:20:59 Young: I got it.

Literature
LIFE, 5 August 1966, cover (variant)
TIME, 5 August 1966, p. 81 (variant)
The View from Space: American Astronaut Photography 1962-1972, Schick and van Haaften, p. 71 (variant)

Watch more
CLICK HERE: Gemini X: Quick Look 1966 NASA Project Gemini Flight - Gemini 10

Additional information

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