posted 07-16-2016 01:40 AM               

Apollo 11 flight plan for first moon landing getting crowdfunded re-issue

It was the minute-by-minute plan that put the first men on the moon in July 1969.

Now, almost 50 years later, NASA's Apollo 11 Flight Plan is being relaunched on Kickstarter as the "perfect" reprint.

"We've set out to produce the highest quality reproduction of the Apollo 11 manual that was used by Mission Control, astronauts and supporting personnel," wrote Reproduction IO, the Melbourne, Australia-based team behind the Apollo 11 Flight Plan Re-issue, on the crowdfunding website.

posted 07-17-2016 08:12 PM               

As Alistair Moorby of Reproduction IO replied to someone on Kickstarter:

Isn't the NASA worm logo incorrect for the Apollo era? The worm was introduced in 1975, six years after Apollo 11.

You're absolutely right, I just think the worm is the best logo they've ever had. The final production will have a number of covers to choose from, so it's entirely up to the backer if they would like the worm, the meatball or the Apollo 11 patch.

posted 07-25-2016 07:05 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by RobertB:
Value for money or is this just paying for public domain documents?

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posted 08-17-2016 12:23 PM               

We set out with the goal of finding 150 people to help fund the restoration project of the Apollo 11 Flight Plan, a modest goal we were hoping to meet. What we found were 4,100 individuals, making this project the 8th most funded publishing project on Kickstarter to date!

posted 08-19-2016 05:35 AM               

Pre-Orders open until October 31st, 2016 - Shipping commencing December 1st, 2016.

Exclusive to the crowdfunding campaign, once November hits, this replica will no longer be offered for sale!

posted 01-24-2017 03:06 AM               

The promise of "foil printed" artwork and text on the binder has not materialised and either the images are different to the options offered or quite dark as they are printed on a blue background. In addition the promise of "mylar paper," which then became "reinforced paper" due to manufacturing issues, has failed to materialise and the pages are just regular paper.

Someone with eagle eyes has spotted an error on the abbreviation section but I suspect that that it is on the original. Some binders are turning up with the wrong artwork to what was ordered. Many have still not received any shipping emails even though yesterday was the deadline for shipping.

All the above is also being discussed on Indiegogo where it was also funded.

posted 01-25-2017 04:36 PM            

The image below is not a true reflection of how it appears in the flesh: it flatters the reality.

The pages appear very white and 'crash' was right: I think they have used bog standard paper with no signs of reinforcing as promised.

Overall, 7 out of 10. Good effort but not quite on the money. Certainly NOT what was promised.

But on the other hand, I don't have an original so would summarize as satisfied over all, if not enthused.

posted 01-26-2017 06:10 AM               

I'll echo Rick's comments about the image quality. It really is very dull, dark and not foil printed as promised. Not at all good.

The slipcase has the artwork and title printed on the wrong side which is actually highlighted in Rick's photo. Ideally you should place the slipcase on a shelf with the book spine at the back for protection. That's why they print on the spine of the slipcase so as to replicate the book and it's cover. The binder in Rick's photo is the wrong way around with the opening to the left.

The paper quality is not at all as promised and I could have printed it at home for far, far less on better paper.

The abbreviations section goes page iv, ix, v., vi, vii viii, x. If this a misprint then it's unforgiveable as it is so early in the Flight Plan. I would be curious to know if anyone out there has an original and it's in that too.

posted 01-26-2017 08:40 AM               

Each page will also be printed on reinforced paper to eliminate stretching or tearing.

posted 01-26-2017 09:09 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by crash:
I would be curious to know if anyone out there has an original and it's in that too.

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posted 01-27-2017 02:41 PM               

The whole point of the Kickstarter was to get a physical copy at a quality that would be difficult/too expensive to achieve by myself.

posted 01-27-2017 02:58 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by RobertB:
So what do you guys say? Value for money or is this just paying for public domain documents?

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posted 01-30-2017 02:47 AM               

The whole thing was wrapped in light plastic but in hindsight it seems to me that it would have been better to have the printed plan also wrapped separately in plastic rather then inserted already into the folder and a bit more foam packing around all that and a more sturdy box may have helped with those where shipping damage has been an issue.

I found some of the dark blue covering material had come away inside the slip case but a bit of craft glue fixed that.

The issues with the dull and washed out detail of the Apollo 11 logo have been already discussed. Perhaps it would have been better not to have so many binder choices complicating this aspect of production and to have just concentrated on one.

To me this was always a "reprint" with additional features added by the project originator and not a historically accurate reprint of what was really a basic functional manual that was subject to constant revision and updating, some of it by hand in its final form.

So I suppose I cannot be too critical of things like the non-standard use of four binding holes rather than the usual NASA five hole arrangement for their 8 by 10.5 inch printed documents and manuals.

Also, the original plan did not have colored extended tab dividers but they are a nice feature for this project.

As it turns out, the "plain" paper has helped me with scanning and reprinting replacement pages for the out of order page sequence in the Abbreviation section at the beginning.

Equally, my copy had an oversized (8 1/2 inches wide instead of 8 inches) foldout at page 1-7, so that got reprinted as well.

Maybe an amendment can be issued and sent to the participants to at least replace these problem pages.

I have not found any real issue with turning the pages in my binder.

One thing I never understood was that once enough pledges were obtained to "Kickstart" the program and thereby fund it adequately, then why was there also not an upper limit to the number of participants to keep it within some limit of exclusivity or, in this case, with 4099 people eventually participating, you might have thought that economies of scale may have reduced the eventual price. I guess that is just the way KickStarter works.

posted 01-30-2017 06:51 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Andy Anderson:
...you might have thought that economies of scale may have reduced the eventual price.

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posted 01-30-2017 09:15 PM               

I doubt there is any chance I will ever get it replaced, because the project leaders have gone silent.

I am not too disappointed in the paper, but that maybe because I didn't even realize it was supposed to be re-enforced.

I compared the pages with the downloaded PDFs up thread and noticed many changes in the layout and what ends up on what page. This one seems like it has more pages in the sections than those PDF versions. And this one shows a date on Nov 68, those have May 69 in places. I will have to look more closely at this.

I doubt I would pledge for any other volumes that get made. Unless there is an adequate response to the issues with this one.

I hope the Voyager Record project turns out better!

quote:

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Originally posted by Andy Anderson:
...reprinting replacement pages for the out of order page sequence in the Abbreviation section at the beginning.

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posted 01-31-2017 10:18 AM            

Overall, this is not a replica (identical in all respects), but a modern reproduction. There are lots of tiny style differences - hole punching, less bold font, extended colored dividers, and for some reason, no pink back cover. Since I have an original, none of that bothers me except for the missing back cover. The last page is sure to get worn and damaged without it.

I'm swimming against the stream here, but the binder and slipcase are fine by me. The mission patch is dull compared to the advertised image on Kickstarter, but I actually prefer it. To me the bright patch would make it look like a school kid's folder. The pink sheets seem like they may be reinforced, the white are regular paper - not what was promised, but again, for me, not a problem.

Yes, some of the abbreviations pages have been printed out of order, replacements should be mailed out free of charge. Thankfully the 1-7 foldout has avoided punching through the diagrams. Section 3, the flight plan has what should be page 3-7 labeled as a second page 3-6. Quite a few section 3 pages (such as 3-65) are actually Revision A, July 8, 1969 not the basic final edition. For me this is a bonus, the nearer to the flight version the better.

Obviously I haven't read through each page in detail. I am concerned that more errors may have crept into the content. In that regard straight photocopies may have been better. I'd have liked to see more attention paid to getting the plan right than on fancy covers.

posted 01-31-2017 01:42 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by David Carey:
For reference, one of the better Apollo 11 Flight Plan scans I've seen is available on the Honeysuckle Creek tribute website...

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posted 01-31-2017 07:02 PM               

I also hope the Voyager works out.

posted 01-31-2017 07:37 PM               

The key sign that something was seriously wrong was when I first pulled the notebook from the case, the complete first section of pages fell to the floor in a heap.

posted 01-31-2017 10:15 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by NASAgoob:
The stories on Kickstarter are ugly. I guess I will count my blessings.

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They claimed in the last update that they had 300 saved to replaced damaged in shipping product. I hope that is true and it is enough.