80 years ago today, the first images of Earth from space were taken. A 35mm camera mounted on a captured V-2 rocket launched from White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. This photo is a frame from the rocket's journey to 65 miles (105 km) above Earth's surface. //

The camera snapped a new frame every second and a half. The V-2 slammed back into the desert at about 500 feet per second and smashed it, but the film survived in a steel cassette, and a recovery soldier said the scientists jumped up and down like kids.