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Author
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Topic: Launch footage of Saturn V interstage/LES
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Lunar Module 5
Member Posts: 370
From: Wales, UK
Registered: Dec 2004
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posted 09-05-2008 06:13 PM
   
In the film "In the Shadow of the Moon" there is launch footage of a Saturn V which shows the interstage between the first and second stage falling away and the launch escape tower being jettisoned from long range cameras. This footage was also used on the CBS "Man on the Moon" video of a few years ago. It's the only footage I have seen of this event by the long range cameras (unless someone knows of others). Which mission is it from? |
mark plas
Member Posts: 385
From: the Netherlands
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 09-06-2008 01:44 AM
I believe the footage is from one of the unmanned flights of the Saturn V. |
spacecraft films
Member Posts: 802
From: Columbus, OH USA
Registered: Jun 2002
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posted 09-06-2008 08:00 AM
There are many long range camera shots of staging and tower jettison, from several missions and from several angles. The best shots from the camera pods of the S-1C/S-II staging are from AS-501/Apollo 4. There are two angles, one shot from the "top" of the stage (in relation to the Earth) and one on the "bottom." |
Lunar Module 5
Member Posts: 370
From: Wales, UK
Registered: Dec 2004
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posted 09-07-2008 05:56 PM
The footage I am looking for shows the interstage and LES jettison from the long range cameras. It is the clearest view I have seen (not obscured by clouds) and clearly shows the two events.Here's hoping for some more help! |
BA002
Member Posts: 177
From: Utrecht,NL
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 10-12-2008 03:25 AM
I asked a similar question in the thread about the Discovery Channel documentary "When We Left Earth." In episode 3, there is a short sequence of the actual moment of interstage separation, also from a long range camera, this could be from the same or a similar source as the sequence in "In the Shadow of the Moon" but a few seconds earlier.So far I haven't found the source of these two sequences, which are both indeed the clearest images of these events I have seen so far. Comparing them to the footage that I do have on DVD I'm inclined to say that they must be from an aircraft, given the relative size and the angle of the image of the vehicle and its clarity. |
spacecraft films
Member Posts: 802
From: Columbus, OH USA
Registered: Jun 2002
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posted 10-12-2008 09:08 AM
I could probably locate the precise camera and mission you are referencing, but I don't know exactly what shot you are after. There are many Saturn V shots that show very clear views of S-IC/S-II separation. Most likely the shot is from either Apollo 8, 11, 12, with an outside shot at 13. I say this based upon which launch footage has been most recently transferred, and what material has been transferred in HD. On our Apollo 8 set there is a tracking shot that shows the separation very clearly. There are three tracking angles on the Apollo 8 set. Angle 3 seems to fit your description closely. Angle 2 shows staging very well, but the camera then follows the S-IC. Keep in mind shots can be resized, and we keep all of our stuff as was originally shot, so it may not match in aspect precisely, but may be the same shot. |
LM-12
Member Posts: 3324
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 04-30-2019 07:29 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Lunar Module 5:
The footage I am looking for shows the interstage and LES jettison from the long range cameras.
This footage shows all of that clearly. It is the Apollo 11 launch. |
bernoullis
Member Posts: 14
From: UK
Registered: Feb 2009
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posted 01-17-2020 02:34 PM
I am pretty sure this sort of footage was taken from the USAF-operated ALOTS (Airborne Lightweight Optical Tracking System) aircraft, which I believe were part of the ARIA (Apollo/Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft) fleet, headquartered at Patrick AFB, near Cocoa Beach. The airframes were all military derivatives of the Boeing 707 airframe. The ARIA aircraft, designated as EC-135N, were primarily intended to help fill in gaps in the MSFN (Manned Space Flight Network) ground tracking stations. They provided airborne voice relay and telemetry with the Apollo spacecraft during orbital and near-earth phases of the missions e.g. trans-lunar injection (TLI) and re-entry. I am not sure what the precise designation of the ALOTS aircraft was, but because they were not heavily loaded with electronic radio equipment, they were better suited for the airborne camera work as they could achieve higher altitudes. The camera/s were mounted in a large external pod attached to the port side of the aircraft fuselage, just ahead of the wing root. The ARIA aircraft could be distinguished by their huge, drooping, bulbous nose radomes, housing a large UHV/VHF antenna. |
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