Historical Photo Of The Month - May 2003

Large Lathe in JPL Machine Shop, 1954
Photograph Number P-398

In 1953, JPL purchased a 20-foot-long lathe, which has been used to fabricate parts for many JPL spacecraft over the years. This December 1954 photo shows machinists changing the tooling on the lathe.

In 2002, the lathe was shipped to Philadelphia to be dismantled, rebuilt, and computerized. It was put back into service in March 2003. The story was featured in the March 28, 2003 issue of Universe, the JPL Employee newspaper.

For more information about the history of JPL, please contact the JPL Archives.

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