Multiple cameras for 1981 space shuttle landing

• Posted By: Scott Harrison
• Posted On: 12:20 a.m. | September 27, 2012

Nov. 17, 1981: Gerry Perkins, technical photographer for Rockwell’s Space Systems Group in Downey, demonstrates his multiple camera setup — a converted Korean War-era Army antiaircraft turret.

The contraption was not new; it had already been used to photograph several space missions. For the Nov. 14, 1981, landing of space shuttle Columbia at Edwards Air Force Base, Perkins mounted two motorized 35-millimeter still cameras and one movie camera on the turret. With that set-up, Perkins was able to simultaneously shoot two roles of film — 72 exposures — and 200 feet of movie footage.

This photo by former staff photographer Rick Corrales was published in the Nov. 19, 1981, Los Angeles Times Southeast section.