posted 11-10-2013 02:02 PM               

The often overlooked missions of Skylab, ASTP and the Shuttle categorically receive the recognition they have long deserved. Live TV From Orbit presents the planning and development of the TV systems used on those flights and summarizes the TV coverage during the respective missions.

Engineers and planners involved with NASA, Westinghouse and RCA help complement the detailed analysis of just how much effort went into bringing some of the most important historical video from Earth Orbit to the everyday person’s living-room.

Using the internal memos and status reports as its foundation, this book digs deep to uncover the story which unfolded behind the cameras.

Unlike the days of Apollo, NASA had to fight against the growing apathy of the general public, and despite this hurdle, managed to deliver many iconic moments in outer space with a glorious clarity which had never been seen before. Having set the benchmark high for the lunar missions, NASA planners had to push it higher to win the hearts and minds of potential viewers.

216 pages B&W with bonus DVD-ROM

• Apogee Prime, 2013
  
• ISBN 978-1926837-28-4

posted 04-16-2014 04:27 PM            

Live TV From Orbit, by Dwight Steven-Boniecki (and featuring a heartfelt foreword by Capt. Bruce McCandless II) explores a large part of uncharted territory in NASA's history. It is as exciting as anything from the Apollo era (in some cases even more so). As much as the Apollo mission TV technology was absolutely revolutionary, it could be reasonably argued that some of NASA's most defining moments were telecast in the era after Apollo.

This follow-on story tells how Westinghouse and RCA, building upon the experience they had gained during the lunar missions, developed TV cameras which continued the TV industry revolution. Steven-Boniecki explained his motivation behind Live TV From Orbit, by saying, "Based on comments from nearly everyone who has spoken to me since Live TV From the Moon was published, there is a tremendous amount of interest as to what NASA had planned once Apollo 17 had left the lunar surface."

The book covers all stages of research and development of the television systems of Skylab, Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, and the Space Shuttle. Relying on unprecedented assistance from many of the engineers who work for the divisions which created the TV equipment used in outer space, Dwight Steven-Boniecki details the huge effort which brought live images from earth orbit into our living rooms. As noted on the Apogee website, "Unlike the days of Apollo, NASA had to fight against the growing apathy of the general public, and despite this hurdle, managed to deliver many iconic moments in outer space with a glorious clarity which had never been seen before. Having set the benchmark high for the lunar missions, NASA planners had to push it higher to win the hearts and minds of potential viewers."

Numerous schematic diagrams and photographs from the era compliment the narrative. Abandoned ideas as well as last-minute modifications are detailed. It is a story which has largely never been told before and also combines the three post-lunar eras in one place, thereby catering for those interested in Skylab, the shuttle, ASTP, or all three. Additionally the accompanying DVD-ROM contains highlights from the ASTP and Skylab programs. The clips are complete video segments without any additional narrative, and help to immerse the viewer in experiencing the transmissions as they would have been seen during the actual missions. Addional pdf documents are also included on the disc; but the goodies do not end there, as a link to "The Space Library" hosted by Apogee books allows readers to access even more TV and film material, much as which has not been seen in its entirety by most people.

During his research for Live TV From the Moon Steven-Boniecki held numerous discussions with ex-Apollo Lunar Surface Camera Project Manager Stan Lebar. Like many people Steven-Boniecki was influenced by the unfair stigma that anything post-Apollo appeared to have. It was, however, Lebar's continual reference to Skylab and ASTP TV innovation which fired his interest. "I had to find out why Stan Lebar would speak so proudly and enthusiastically of the work he did after the successful mission of Apollo 11. The more I looked the more intrigued I became."

The result is 216 pages devoted a detailed analysis of just how much effort went into bringing some of the most important historical video from Earth Orbit to the everyday person's living-room.

Steven-Boniecki further commented that, "I owed it to Stan Lebar to finish documenting his life's most important work full-circle and it is satisfying to know that his last ever interviews are included herein. It seems somewhat fitting that at the conclusion of the Shuttle Program, the chronicle of television up to the end of its service is now also completed."

posted 07-26-2014 07:20 AM               

It is often forgotten that had there been no TV camera on Apollo 11, the only way people would have shared the moment is via the voice comms only. The 16mm film would have only been seen upon the astronaut's return.

posted 08-13-2014 03:03 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Dwight:
Woo hoo! Found out what the footage is. You'd be surprised - that's for sure. To my knowledge it has never seen the light of days before.

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posted 09-01-2014 09:21 AM               

I knew quite a lot about the subject, but both books contain a lot of new info for me. They are very well researched and especially the section on Skylab in 'Live TV from orbit' was an eye-opener for me.