Photos: IMAX Cameras in Space

IMAX Camera

This 1983 photo shows the IMAX camera, with its film magazine open, before its first space shuttle mission, STS 41-C.

Astronaut Coats with Jammed IMAX Film

Astronaut Michael L. Coats removes film from jammed IMAX camera on STS 41-D in 1984.

IMAX on the Space Shuttle

STS 41-C mission specialist Terry J. Hart, holds a 70-pound IMAX camera in the mid deck of the space shuttle Challenger in 1984. The motion picture camera handles 1,000-foot rolls. Hart used a black bag as an in-space dark room for five film changeouts throughout the flight.

IMAX Onboard

The IMAX camera was one of several used to document satellite deployments during the STS 41-D mission in 1984. Mounted in the cargo bay windows, the cameras are, left to right, the IMAX 70mm motion picture camera, Hasselblad 500 EL/M 70mm still camera, and Arriflex 16 SRII 16mm motion picture camera.

IMAX Training

James P. Bagian, STS-29 mission specialist, gets in some training in 1988 on the operation of one of the IMAX cameras for his flight aboard Discovery.

Discovery Crew Training on IMAX

STS-29 pilot John E. Blaha, left, and mission specialist Robert C. Springer get in some training on the operation of the IMAX camera in 1988.

IMAX Photographs Hubble Space Telescope

This 1990 photograph shows the Hubble Space Telescope being deployed from the space shuttle Discovery on mission STS-31. The IMAX Cargo Bay Camera mounted in the payload bay and remotely controlled by the crew members in the cabin.

IMAX Aboard Mir Space Station

IMAX cameras were also carried aboard the Russian Mir space station. Here, astronaut Norman E. Thagard, left, and Russian cosmonaut Gennadiy M. Strekalov are seen with an IMAX camera in 1995.

IMAX Captures Rendezvous

During the STS-74 mission in 1995, the crew used an IMAX camera to document the space shuttle Atlantis's rendezvous and docking with the Mir space station. The 65mm camera system was located in the Atlantis' cargo bay and provided a unique fish-eye perspective.

After 'Hubble 3D,' What's Next for IMAX in Space?

Captured by the IMAX ® 3D Cargo Bay Camera, Astronaut Andrew Feustel transfers the Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement unit (COSTAR) from the telescope to its temporary stowage position in the Space Shuttle Atlantis cargo bay. Hubble 3D is an IMAX and Warner Bros. Pictures production, in cooperation with NASA.

Hubble IMAX Infographic

Get a complete look at how IMAX cameras in space caught the last trip to the Hubble Space Telescope.