Official color glossy 10 x 8 red-numbered NASA (S-72-55070) photo from the personal collection of NASA technician Richard Underwood, who worked in the Johnson Space Center’s Photographic Technology Laboratory for over two decades. The photo depicts the dramatic nighttime launch of the huge, 363-feet tall Apollo 17 space vehicle from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center on December 7, 1972. Apollo 17, the final lunar landing mission in NASA's Apollo program, was the first nighttime liftoff of the Saturn V launch vehicle. Reverse bears “A Kodak Paper” watermarks. In fine condition, with a small tear to left edge, and some spotting to reverse. Accompanied by a signed certificate of authenticity from Florian Noller of Artifact Cloud, and by a copy of the original certificate of authenticity from the Richard Underwood estate. Underwood was responsible for developing the Apollo photographs—in fact, he was the first person to view every photograph from the Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, Apollo-Soyuz, and the first 23 space shuttle missions.
