Happy Thanksgiving everyone. And thank you for your support over the last 5 (nearly 6 now) years of Spacecraft Films. Our wishes for a safe and Happy Thanksgiving.
For the business end of things... all orders received after 12noon on Wednesday, November 21 will be processed for shipping the following Monday, November 26.
The Apollo 1 sets shipped this morning from the replication facility, so they should be back in stock on Thursday. All orders that are being held for the Apollo 1 sets will be shipped on Thursday.
About 5 years ago we received a request from a U.S. Army officer in a special forces unit in Afghanistan asking if we could donate some of our disc sets for his troops to watch. The officer is a space exploration enthusiast and felt as if his men had never really seen the moonwalks (most of them were born a good deal after they happened) and on off days he felt it would be good to have them as entertainment. Naturally we sent some sets to his unit.
Over the next year or so he updated me from time to time by email. In my favorite emails from him he described which missions everyone liked best, with the winner being Apollo 16, mainly because of Young and Duke and their conversations on the surface. Most of the men in the unit had no idea about our explorations of the moon, and found watching the transmissions from the lunar surface a great distraction and source of pride in their country.
Eventually he told me they were moving out to another assignment which he couldn't reveal, and didn't know when he'd be able to be back in touch. A few months later we received a photo of the unit (I have it, but it is still in storage from the move). For the past several years I haven't heard anything. I have wondered many times what may have happened to him and his unit.
Sunday afternoon I received an email from him. His unit is now in Iraq and he wants to do the same for these guys. He says it better than I - from his email:
"I know the impact it has, and the patriotism it inspires. I like to keep my troops feeling that way. Sometimes over here you can get pretty run down and ragged. Keeping spirits up with video of our nation's greatest achievements is a wonderful way to maintain morale."
Major, the sets are on the way. Thank you and all the veterans who have served this country.
Well, drat. We started the re-order process on Apollo 1 a bit ago and were hopeful that we would have the new shipment in stock before we ran out. But we didn't make it, due to some brisk sales on Amazon. Our replicator has given us a ship date on the Apollo 1 sets of November 17, so I have listed November 21 as the date the sets will be shipping. If you order an Apollo 1 set it will ship the same day the sets arrive at the fulfillment center. Usually it takes just one day to travel from the replicator to the shipping location. Any order that comes in between now and then that has an Apollo 1 set will be held and shipped together when the sets are in.
For the first time the Saturn V was launched - all-up - successfully for the first time. The moon rocket would go on to have a near perfect flight history of 13 launches. The 501 vehicle, designated Apollo 4, demonstrated the successful development of the launch vehicle that would take men to the moon. On our Saturn V DVD set we have several tracks on the Apollo 4 flight (as well as material from all of the Saturn V launches - and much more). We've placed the launch of Apollo 4 online today in honor of the 40th anniversary of this historic event. Enjoy the view.
Can't decide on something for the holidays but know Spacecraft Films is the answer? We've created an online gift certificate that is under the Spacecraft Films line. Available in increments of $25.00, these certificates provide you with a code that can be used at checkout on the site.
Since we recently moved to the Columbus, Ohio area, we recently began looking through the material at the Ohio State University Archives - where much of John Glenn's personal collection of material has been sent. In addition to some very interesting items, there is a decent amount of audio-visual material in the collection.
While there is still much at which to look, one of our favorite items so far, of which we are securing a transfer for a future product, is a reel of Scott Carpenter and John Glenn skin diving off Grand Turk the day after Glenn's flight. Interesting stuff. I'll try and post a couple of stills once we have the item in house.
Some fabulous photos are also contained in the collection. If you would like to look through the listing in the archives, you can find the collection at the OSU archives.
With our move in the early fall (we moved from Charlotte, NC to Columbus, Ohio) we have been reassessing our production schedule over the next year. Here is how it looks right now:
1) The number one priority in production for us right now is to finish up the Apollo 11: To The Moon set. We originally pushed this back to seek better EVA footage, and this 4 DVD set now really needs to be released. We'll complete this set this year.
2) In production concurrent with the Apollo 11 set is our Cape set. We still have a good bit of editing and some shooting to accomplish for this set, along with some audio commentary to record. Finishing touches on this set will accelerate just as soon as Apollo 11 is released, and while I can't guarantee we'll get it out by the end of the year, we'll be finishing it up as soon as we are able while giving it the quality of material such a subject deserves.
3) We are also working on the Space Shuttle: First Flights set, which has its own set of challenges, since we're completing the set using HD transfers. The film we have in is absolutely wonderful, and we have cut down a good bit of the material through development and the approach and landing tests. Now that we're fully back up to speed in production after our move I'll be able to show some materials from this set soon. This will be an early 2008 release.
4) The next three in the STS line of DVDs will be coming out in the first quarter of 2008 (flight sequence in parentheses) - STS-30(29), STS-28(30), and STS-34(31). For the second quarter of 2008 we will do STS-5(5), STS-6(6) and STS-7(7). For third quarter of 2008 we will release STS-8(8), STS-9(9) and STS-41B(10). For the fourth quarter we plan to release STS-41C(11), STS-41D(12) and STS-41G(13). We should be able to release more than this next year. If so we'll continue with to fill in the flight sequence up through 51-L (which we have already covered with the Challenger set). Remember that the Space Shuttles: First Flight set covers STS-1 through STS-4.
5) We will pick back up with the Aeronautics and Space Reports after the start of the new year, with 1969 and 1970 next on the way. We'll continue in order throughout the year.
6) Three major projects that we will be producing in 2008 will be: A comprehensive (massive, really) set on Skylab, a set on the Lunar Module, and a set on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. Skylab and ASTP are the priorities, as this will complete the mission series up into the Shuttle program.
The STS-26 sets are in and being delivered. When we first decided to document all of the Space Shuttle missions with individual sets, containing the mission highlights reels and other material, we weren't sure that demand would be high enough to warrant full-scale mass replication. We have been pleasantly surprised that demand has been higher than we anticipated, and frankly, it caught us a little off guard in the midst of a major move in the early fall.
We originally produced, on DVD-R, an initial run of these first three STS sets. However, we made the decision that we would mass replicate these sets rather than supply them as DVD-Rs, and that delayed their delivery. STS-27 and STS-29 are being replicated now and I estimate they will being shipping in late November/early December.
So.... the good news is that they will be mass-replicated and therefore to a higher standard than originally intended. The bad news is that they have taken longer than they would have otherwise.
As soon as the replication on STS-27 and STS-29 (and the STS-109 disc) we will then set up the next three in the series, which will be STS-30, STS-28, and STS-34. These sets will be out the first quarter of 2008.
Since late August we have been shipping through a fulfillment center in Olean, NY. So far we're very pleased with the improvement in shipping that we've been able to achieve. If an order is received by 3pm US Eastern Time and the items are all in stock, the order will ship the same day. Orders received over the weekend will ship on Monday.
You also receive an email notification which is more detailed than in the past and will show you exactly what was shipped, and contain your tracking number if one is available for the chosen shipping service. If there is something missing from the order, this means that an item is backordered, and will be shipped separately. We make judgment calls on whether an order with a backordered item will ship or be held, based upon the length of time the missing product is expected to be received, etc.
The best way to assure that items will be shipped right away is to separate pre-orders from in stock orders. If you have any questions on an order please email us at info@spacecraftfilms.com.
