If you have an AvGeek, outer space enthusiast, or avid reader and you can’t decide what gift to get them, consider purchasing this new book from photographer Ted Huetter. In Waiting for the Space Shuttle: Scenes from a Desert Community that Loved the Space Shuttle, Hueter documented the thousands of people who gathered to welcome the space shuttle back to Earth.

For 30 years, from April 12, 1982, to July 21, 2011, five orbiters flew in space for NASA’s space transportation system, known as the Space Shuttle. These orbiters are Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantic and Progress. (The sixth space shuttle, Enterprise, was a test vehicle that did not enter space.)

NASA proudly points out that the space shuttle has carried out 135 missions. Not only have they launched people into orbit multiple times, but they have also “launched, recovered and repaired satellites, conducted cutting-edge research and built the largest structure in space – the International Space Station.”

While all space shuttle missions took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, more than 50 of them landed in the Mojave Desert at Edwards Air Force Base in California, about 100 miles from Los Angeles.

“Some spectators came because they helped build the space shuttle,” Hueter wrote. He noted that while many of the spectators were from the greater Los Angeles area, “adventurous retirees from all over the country made the trek from Florida to California in recreational vehicles, culminating in a space shuttle launch and landing.”

He added: “The only obstacle is that they have to watch [the landings] from the harsh desert about three miles from the runway.

To accommodate the enthusiastic and dedicated spectators, the Air Force will open an authorized viewing site the day before each scheduled space shuttle landing, where people can camp out.

At that remote location, the military directed traffic and provided drinking water tanks, portable sanitation facilities, generators, street lights, first aid stations and command posts, Hueter reported. He added that they “generally maintain a low-key and friendly presence”.

Hueter was working in Los Angeles, and during the eight space shuttle landings in the 1980s, he trekked into the desert to camp with space shuttle enthusiasts. He started with STS-4, the fourth mission of the space shuttle Columbia, which landed at Edwards Air Force Base on July 4, 1982. The last test flight operation before being officially approved.

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“I, like most people at the public landing site, came as a fan to experience some space flight history” rather than to watch it on television, Hueter said.

Hueter brings his camera gear and camping gear with him on every space shuttle landing adventure. The photos he took on these trips not only document a unique slice of the Space Age, but also illustrate the places to watch and the people who were drawn there year after year.

“I quickly fell in love with the photogenic environment of the location and the people there,” Hueter said. He explains that every time he comes back to the site, his first motivation is as a space nerd and his second motivation is as a photographer.

This pairing works well. During eight space shuttle landings from 1982 to 1989, Huette documented what he described as the site’s “quiet beauty, quirky charm and unabashed Americana.”

His photos, taken on film in an era before digital cameras, show the landing strip and various RVs and tents; food and souvenir vendors; and a diverse group of people waiting, mingling, enjoying and welcoming the shuttle home. The footage he selected was organized to create a composite of 24 hours at the campground, from the arrival of the first campers to the shuttle landing.

“Waiting for the Space Shuttle: Scenes from a Desert Community that Loved the Space Shuttle” includes a foreword by pilot and NASA veteran astronaut Tom Jones. It can be purchased from Amazon for about $25, or from other booksellers.

Want to see a retired space shuttle? You can find them here.

The Atlantis space shuttle is located at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center in Merritt Island, Florida. The vehicle is on display in flight, along with dozens of interactive exhibits about the history, technology and impact of NASA’s space shuttle program.

The Space Shuttle Discovery is on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, Virginia.

The Endeavor space shuttle is located at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. However, it was not visible while construction was underway on the 200,000-square-foot expansion of the main building.

NASA’s prototype orbiter, the Enterprise space shuttle, is now housed at the Intrepid Museum in New York City.

The Challenger space shuttle exploded shortly after takeoff on January 28, 1986.