When we came to the Apollo 1 set I had some difficult choices to make... how to present the overall mission materials, and what to include - or not include.
At the National Archives I discovered that the uncut audio was available and not restricted. I also discovered a large number of the photos of the spacecraft that I had never seen published. None of those photos involved the crew. I resolved to include all the photos, which are on the set. The audio was another question.
When I heard the audio for the first time, there on the 4th floor of the National Archives building in College Park, MD (usually called Archives II), the Apollo 1 tragedy changed forever in my mind. I knew all the fact surrounding the mission, but it was always at a distance - a historical distance. Hearing the astronauts struggle with the fire made it into a palpable human tragedy for me, and that is why I ultimately decided to include the uncut audio on this set.
Also, as I wrote in the DVD insert:
"We included the audio because it is part of the story of Apollo 1 and space flight is a dangerous business. The conquest of space has already cost several human lives, and will doubtless cost more. This cost in precious treasure should be faced directly, and as the mission of Spacecraft Films has been to present the history of space exploration in as real a manner as possible, I felt this recording should be included. Since one cannot "look away from a sound," we have also provided an edited version of this material should you wish to refrain from hearing the short but very disturbing last transmission."
The set contains a short tribute to the Apollo 1 crew, footage from crew visits to North American Aviation and the Marshall center. Suitup, preparation and ingress to an altitude chamber run is included, with a rare audio recording from an Apollo 1 simulation. Press day material of the crew in the simulator and footage from the crew arriving at LC34 on the day of the fire are included.
We constructed a visual timeline, unique in the conveyance of key happenings during the audio from the spacecraft on the day of the fire.
The DVD contains press-pool footage of the spacecraft after the fire on LC34, the removal of the CM from the launch vehicle, the removal of the SM from the launch vehicle, CM disassembly, a reel showing an intact block 1 Apollo spacecraft as a reference, and activities of the Apollo 204 review board.
The DVD also contains footage from the memorial services of all three astronauts, plus bonus tracks including Gus Grissom and Alan Shepard getting their astronaut wings and Ed White during a visit to Brooks Air Force base after his Gemini IV flight.
The photos surrounding the mission and the documentation photos of fire damage in the spacecraft round out the set.
If you don't have the Apollo 1 set, it is one of our finest and most comprehensive, loaded with rare material that hasn't been available anywhere else.
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