Lot no. 381
381. [Apollo 15] ALFRED WORDEN PERFORMING THE HISTORIC FIRST DEEP SPACE EVA ON THE JOURNEY BACK TO EARTH
James Irwin, 26 July - 7 August 1971
Printed 1971.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image S-71-43202].
With "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse, numbered "NASA S-71-43202" in red in the top margin (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas).
20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.)
Historical context
The first human in deep space: Alfred Worden's historic EVA.
Approximately 18 hours after trans-Earth injection, Alfred Worden became the first human to perform a deep-space EVA, stepping outside the Command Module Endeavour to retrieve film cassettes from the SIM bay. Captured from a frame of motion picture film taken by the 16mm Maurer camera mounted on the hatch, this image shows Worden floating 316,000 km from Earth—farther than any human had ventured outside a spacecraft.
His 22-minute spacewalk, described as the first "interplanetary" EVA, set a precedent in an era where space "firsts" carried immense prestige. Beyond the Apollo 15, 16, and 17 EVAs for SIM bay retrieval, every other extravehicular activity from a spacecraft in freefall has occurred in low Earth orbit, never more than about 600 km from home.
Re-entering the cramped confines of Endeavour after experiencing the vastness of space, Worden wryly remarked:
"I wish I were back outside. It's hell in here."
—Alfred Worden (mission transcript, T+242:27:11 after launch)
Pictures credits: Contact organization
Photographs and film
About the sale04/28/2025
Catalog
FOR ALL MANKIND THE ARTISTIC LEGACY OF EARLY SPACE EXPLORATION: Victor Martin-Malburet Collection
75008 Paris - France