The Flickr Getawayspecialcanisters Image Generatr

“Views taken of Astronaut Bruce McCandless as he maneuvers in the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) around the cargo bay.”

The above & image at/from:

nara.getarchive.net/media/41b-21-834-sts-41b-views-taken-...
Credit: NARA & DVIDS Public Domain Archive website

Note that the photograph was obviously taken during orbital “night”. Additionally, McCandless is flying MMU no. 2, which, based on the cursorily documented footage I’ve come across, suggests this to be EVA no. 2. It was during this EVA that McCandless tested Trunion Pin Attachment Device (TPAD) operations. However, the TPAD is not attached at this point, so if this is indeed from EVA no. 2, I assume it’s either at the beginning or end of it. Or not. Regardless, it’s a super rare kick-ass photograph.

“STS-7 SATELLITE VIEW OF ORBITER---The Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Challenger over a clouded Earth was captured by a 70mm camera onboard the temporarily free-flying Shuttle pallet satellite (SPAS-01) during a busy day 5 on the STS-7 mission. Visible in the cargo bay are the protective cradles for the now vacated Telesat Anik C2 and Palapa B communications satellites, the pallet for the office of Space and Terrestrial Applications, NASA; the remote manipulator system (RMS) and the Ku-band antenna. The RMS and the STS-7 crew of astronauts later retrieved the SPAS and returned it to a stowed position in the payload bay for return to Earth.”

“Views of the STS-7 shuttle Challenger taken from the Shuttle pallet satellite (SPAS-01) include: Close-up view of shuttle Challenger payload bay with the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) arm bent in the shape of a seven.”

Above per the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) description/caption linked to below.

A great rarely seen closeup image. I was hoping to see an Astronaut’s face in one of the overhead windows but there only seems to be an external reflection of the Remote Manipulator System’s end effector/wrist area visible in the left window.

20/20 hindsight: The tiles, especially on the bottom of the orbiter, were of concern since day 1. This would’ve been an excellent opportunity – early on – to take a good look. It seems it would’ve been a simple matter to do a flip/pirouette of the spacecraft to allow the venerable Hasselblad camera system aboard SPAS-01 to capture some detailed images. Surely someone must’ve proposed it? Was it considered to be a risky move…due to losing line-of-sight? Isn’t that what the Ku-band radar, seen at the upper right corner of the payload bay, is for?
If brought up/considered, who knows what questionable, convoluted & egregious factors precluded such. Or was it an unconscionable 'head in the sand' mentality/culture? Since, if the tiles were severely damaged or missing, nothing could've been done anyhow?

Note the fondly nostalgic fiducial marks within the image…Long Live Apollo, and to lesser extent, Hasselblad. 😉

catalog.archives.gov/id/22489930
Credit: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) website