1982 Space Shuttle Columbia & 747 Departing Northrup Strip — Original US Army Photograph, WSMR Employee Collection

April 6, 1982. The Space Shuttle Columbia, mounted piggy-back atop a modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, rolls down the gypsum runway at Northrup Strip, White Sands Missile Range, kicking up a cloud of white desert dust as the Organ Mountains stand watch in the distance. The aircraft is bound for Kennedy Space Center in Florida, closing the books on STS-3 — the only Space Shuttle mission in history to land at White Sands.

This is an original color photograph by Frank Trevino, US Army photographer assigned to White Sands Missile Range. The verso bears the official typed caption identifying the subject, the date, and the destination — Kennedy Space Center, Florida — along with control number 972 0993 WSMR D. and the full US Army Photograph credit line. The print was made on Kodak paper, as indicated by the manufacturer's watermark throughout the reverse. It comes directly from the collection of a White Sands Missile Range employee — an original-issue print, not a press distribution copy — documenting one of the most singular events in the history of this stretch of the Tularosa Basin.

STS-3 launched from Kennedy Space Center on March 22, 1982, with astronauts Jack Lousma and Gordon Fullerton aboard. The mission was scheduled to land at Edwards Air Force Base in California, but heavy rains had flooded the lakebed runway there, forcing NASA to divert Columbia to its backup site: Northrup Strip at White Sands Missile Range. On March 30, Columbia touched down on the gypsum flats of the Tularosa Basin — the only Space Shuttle landing ever made at White Sands. The orbiter remained at Northrup for a week of post-flight processing before being mated to the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft for the ferry flight back to Florida. This photograph captures that departure on April 6, 1982. The gypsum dust that coated Columbia during her week on the range required extensive cleaning back at Kennedy and is widely cited as the reason NASA never used the site again for a nominal landing.

• Original-issue US Army photograph, White Sands Missile Range
• From the personal collection of a WSMR employee
• Photographer: Frank Trevino, US Army Photograph, White Sands Missile Range, NM 88002
• Control number: 972 0993 WSMR D.
• Official caption and credit line typed on verso

CONDITION

Very Good. Color is warm with a slight period shift toward amber/rose typical of early 1980s Kodak prints; image is sharp and full-frame with clean borders. Verso typed caption is fully legible with light ink fade in places. No creases, tears, or surface losses noted.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Print Size: 8.5" × 11"
• Photographer: Frank Trevino, US Army
• Issuing Office: White Sands Missile Range, NM 88002
• Control Number: 972 0993 WSMR D.
• Date of Event: 6 April 1982
• Subject: Space Shuttle Columbia (OV-102) atop NASA 747 SCA departing Northrup Strip, WSMR, bound for Kennedy Space Center, FL
• Paper: Kodak (watermarked verso)