The NASA Collection
This finding aid authored by Afsheen Nomai, June, 2019
Revisions
July, 2019 – Still under construction
July, 2019 – Additions to Finding Aid Index.
Holding Institution
Moving Image Archive of Science and Technology (MIASAT)
www.miasat.org
Date Range
1961-1986
Quantity of Physical Items
125 16mm Films, in archival cans
1 Super 8 Film Cartridge, in original plastic case
1 VHS tape, in original paper slip cover
Quantity of Digital Items
645 GB (173 digital files)
Location of Items
MIASAT Headquarters, digital storage
Abstract
In 1961, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration started Project Gemini, the second of three projects that lead to the Apollo missions to the moon (the first was project Mercury). This collection of films are produced variously by NASA and their contractors (e.g. North American Aviation, Rockwell) and document various aspects of the latter missions of Project Gemini and most of the missions of Project Apollo (the final mission documented in this collection of films is Apollo 12). The collection of films includes semi-annual “Progress Reports,” “Quarterly Reports,” and various other educational and documentary films about the scientific, cultural and political aspects of NASA’s mission to put an astronaut on the moon.
Language
English
Administrative History
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was created in 1958 out of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (founded 1915). Among the high profile operations of NASA include Project Mercury (1958 – 1963), Project Gemini (1961 – 1966), the Apollo program (1961 – 1975), Skylab, and the Space Shuttle program (1981 – 2011).
Scope and Contents
The NASA Collection contains 16mm films and video tapes which document various NASA projects (e.g. Gemini, Apollo) and scientific processes and technologies developed by NASA and their contractors. Media formats include 16mm motion picture film, Super 8 motion picture film cartridge, and VHS.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged into four series:
Progress Report Films
Quarterly Report Films
Engineering Report Films
Educational Films
Access Restrictions
MIASAT makes the digital copies of the films in this collection available for viewing by the public at no charge on the MIASAT website (www.miasat.org). For access to physical copies, send an inquiry to MIASAT and see below for use restrictions. Not all requests for access to originals can be met and are determined on a case by case basis.
Use Restrictions
MIASAT makes the physical copies of the films or videos in this collection available to the public for loan after filling out a rental questionnaire and signing an agreement on film handling and projection standards and compensation required for their loan. There is no rental fee, but the renter of the item must pay all shipping costs agreed upon by the renter and MIASAT. Items that do not have a preservation master (indicated in the item description in the inventory) are not available for loan until a preservation master has been created, the process for which will be expedited for that item upon a loan request. However, a renter can get quicker access to an item that does not have a preservation master by paying for a preservation master to be created prior to the loan. In these cases shipping costs will be waived and the renter will be credited on the item’s streaming page.
Alternative Form Available
Digitized versions of the films in this collection are available on the MIASAT website (www.miasat.org). As of July 2018, not all films in this collection are available on the MIASAT website.
Index Terms
Subjects (Persons)
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963.
Glenn, John.
Grissom, Virgil I.
Young, John, 1930-2018.
Aldrin, Buzz.
Lovell, James A.
Schirra, Wally.
Armstrong, Neil, 1930-2012.
Collins, Michael, 1930-.
Cernan, Eugene.
Von Braun, Wernher, 1912-1977.
Subjects (Organizations)
United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Rockwell International.
Rockwell International. Rocketdyne Division.
North American Aviation.
North American Aviation. Space and Information Systems Division
Subjects
Space flight–History.
Rockets (Aeronautics).
Rockets (Aeronautics)–Fuel.
Rockets (Aeronautics)–Launching
Rockets (Aeronautics)–Design and Construction.
Rockets (Aeronautics)–Testing.
Rockets (Aeronautics)–Fuel Tanks.
Saturn launch vehicles.
Saturn launch vehicles–Testing.
Saturn launch vehicles–Payloads.
Saturn launch vehicles–Trajectories.
Saturn launch vehicles–Aerodynamics.
Saturn launch vehicles–Stages.
Saturn launch vehicles–Flight testing.
Project Mercury (U.S.).
Project Gemini (U.S.).
Project Apollo (U.S.).
Skylab Program.
Space Shuttle Program (U.S.).
Lunar excursion module.
Places
Manned Spacecraft Center (U.S.).
White Sands Test Facility (N.M.).
John F. Kennedy Space Center.
Goddard Space Flight Center.
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (U.S.).
George C. Marshall Space Flight Center.
Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.
Texas–Houston.
Document Types
Motion picture film.
Video tapes.
Custodial History
The majority of the 16mm films in this collection were donated to the Texas Archive of the Moving Image by the Hardin-Simmons University Library in 2015. In 2017, The Texas Archive of the Moving Image deaccessioned the films to MIASAT. Other items in the collection were acquired by MIASAT either by purchased or donated from other companies, institutions, or individuals. The source of each physical copy of items in this collection are indicated on their item pages on the MIASAT website.
Processing Information
Finding aid created and encoded by Afsheen Nomai, June 2019. Most of the items in this collection have been digitized, although a few cannot be digitized based on condition. The digitization status of each item is indicated on the inventory log. Not all digitized items have had item pages created, but it is an ongoing project.
Series
Coming Soon