The legendary 500c was sold at auction for $280,000 (£179,000 approx.) after being the first ever camera to be used in space
The camera was first used by astronaut Wally Schirra on a Mecury Atlas mission in 1962, giving us the first photos of our earth from space.
Until that time, cameras had only been used to record flight data on-board than pictures of Planet Earth. Schirra, a keen amateur photographer, bought a 500c model for around £300 and modified the viewfinder so it could be used to take images through the spaceship's portholes. NASA quickly realised the importance of the photographs, as Jennifer Levasseur, a curator of photography at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum comments: "The public was fascinated by pictures of humans in space. NASA realised that it was not only important to take pictures of earth but of the astronauts too because that is what people relate to."
Commenting on the sale of the historic Hasselblad to a UK-based internet bidder, RR Auction vice president Bobby Livingston said: "This really is an important piece of space history. This is the camera that changed the way the Earth was viewed. The previous owner had bought this Hasselblad in 1994 for a little under $15,000.. which goes to show how vibrant the growth is in space artefacts. The final figure of just over $281,250 well exceeded our pre-auction estimate of between $50,000 and $100,000."
"Wally Schirra was a great camera enthusiast," Livingstone continued, "but it was only after he took the Hasselblad with him that NASA's whole photographic identity began to take shape. The modifications made by the USAF included fitting a 100-exposure film container, an aiming device on the side and painting all the metal surfaces black to minimise reflections."
Schirra died in 2007 and following the passing of a USA law in 2012 which gave ownership of such items to astronauts, the camera became the possession of Gordon Cooper who was on board with the Hasselblad for the next successful flight by Mercury Atlas 9. The letter of ownership which accompanied the sale, dramatically increased the auction price. Michele Channer, Hasselblad International Sales Director comments: "The interest in this auction has been global and we are delighted that a buyer has been found who plans to safeguard this famous photo-icon for future generations."
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