This collection is a result of years of research, finding materials, and archiving. It originally began with trying to find original photos or accounts of the Challenger tragedy from January 28, 1986. I recall the incident clearly as I was in grade school and all the students were in the cafeteria watching as this happened. It is somewhat easy to find newspaper articles from this event but finding pictures, personal accounts and real film was a challenge. There are many things that this collection can do and I can see this used as in depth articles for research, museum displays, cinema, etc.

The collection includes actual reels of film that came from the head camera man that filmed the event for NASA. This includes 16mm film reels (2) , 35mm reels (3) , 70 mm reel (1) original photos (21) , hand written account (1) , wire photos (4) , and various ephemera (7).

The cameraman set up cameras in various locations so each reel shows the event from different location angles. I have shown some images from the footage on the reels in the pictures. I believe one of two of the reels were used in the investigation and were marked up as shown in the photos. The actual photos from one set were used in the investigation as well. The handwritten account is from a spectator that was invited via a NASA engineer and accounts the mood and reactions of those that were at the event . All photos are originals taken by two different people at the launch.

All film reels are in pretty good condition none of the smaller ones have any damage or scent of age. A few larger reels have a slight vinegar scent but the film is not sticky and can unreel easily and the film is smooth with no damage to the negatives. I have kept these in a stable cool environment so whoever ends up with these can transfer the images easily to digital media or use the frames as needed.

This is a powerful and unique collection that marks a tragic historical moment in space travel. It is a great addition to a historical research library archive collection.