Spacecraft Films

Next week is the 51st Anniversary of John Glenn's Flight...

On February 20, 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. His three-orbit flight lasted just under 5 hours. Glenn's flight and all of Project Mercury is covered extensively in our 6-DVD Mercury set. From the initial press conference selecting the Mercury astronauts, to footage of every test flight - including the beach abort, Little Joe, unmanned flights, to the most complete collection available of material on each of the manned flights. This sets is one of our best - new digital transfers and packed with over 24 hours of material. 

Project Mercury 6-DVD Set

Also available is our Friendship 7 iPad app, featuring an interactive mission control with the entire audio from the flight's onboard recorder and flight director loop, as well as all of the photographs taken during the mission. This app is an extraordinary way to experience the complete mission of Friendship 7, and also allows online access to the Friendship 7 footage from the Project Mercury DVD.

Friendship 7 iPad App

And from the Project Mercury DVD, a clip is always a good thing... the launch of John Glenn on Friendship 7. Fifty-one years ago next week.

 

Apollo 14 and our 11th Anniversary...

All this week we've been featuring clips from our Apollo 1 and Challenger sets. In addition to the anniversary of the Columbia accident, there are a couple of other anniversaries we will make note of this week.

We began Spacecraft Films 11 years ago on February 1st, at least that is the day the website went live. Our idea was simple: we wanted to see the audio visual history of space exploration, in particular early space exploration through Apollo and early shuttle. We knew that since most of the material was originally acquired on film, new transfers could be made that would be of much greater quality than what existed at the time. We also wanted to see all the TV transmissions - they weren't really available anywhere.

So we set out to make our first set. DVD was relatively new at the time, but for our purposes was an excellent medium, allowing random access to lengthy TV transmissions. For the first set we chose Apollo 14. We didn't want to start with Apollo 11; Apollo 12 didn't work because we needed to rebuild the EVA after the camera was burned out, and we didn't want to start with any of the J-missions - too big a task for the first try.

So we set off to make Apollo 14, which ended up being a 5-DVD set containing all of the TV and onboard film, plus preparation, recovery and more. Since that time we completely remade the Apollo 14 set, taking what we learned from that first product (anyone have one? Originally distributed in CD jewel cases?) and improving upon it, working our way through the missions.

I'll never forget getting my first batch of transfers of the Apollo 14 material (plus Saturn 1B and Apollo 11 footage) and seeing how beautiful it looked. When I go back through a set like Apollo 14, I'm very proud. Eleven years ago, this is exactly what we set out to achieve.

 

11th Anniversary Sale - 10% Off Total Order plus special pricing on select products...

11 years ago we started Spacecraft Films with one mission in mind - to provide the most complete historical audio-visual record possible - through new transfers - without the filter of broadcast coverage. From our series on launch vehicles through Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and the Space Shuttle, the Spacecraft Films DVDs provide the most comprehensive collection of materials ever made available to the general public. 

For a limited time we're offering a special of 10% off your total order - in addition to special pricing on select products, such as:

Saturn V 3-DVD Set: $29.99

Saturn 1 & IB 3-DVD Set: $24.99

X-15 3-DVD Set: $29.99

Mission to the Moon: $29.99

Liftoff 2-DVD Set: $29.99

Now is an excellent time to continue or complete your collection of the very best space DVDs ever.

Happy New Year... and remembering Apollo 1

This month marks the 46th anniversary of the Apollo 1 fire, and we'll be featuring some clips from our DVD set in tribute to the crew. Today's clip is from the crew inside the CM simulator, along with rare audio of the debriefing of a simulator run. The audio was not dated. Our Apollo 1 DVD is the most comprehensive collection ever assembled, featuring rare footage and audio from the preparation, accident, and aftermath. Remember Apollo 1. 

 

Apollo 8 heads home... 44 years ago this Christmas Day...

The reading from Genesis. Apollo 8 Christmas Eve Broadcast

December 24, 1968. 

 

The first of the Christmas Eve broadcasts...

Humans, broadcasting television live from lunar orbit, December 24, 1968. This is the first of two television broadcasts made by the crew on Christmas Eve. I'll be posting the other in a short while.

 

Apollo 8 TV Transmission #2...

44 years ago today... looking back at the entire human population, minus 3. Everything that ever was, everywhere humans had ever been, was right back there on that globe. The first time mankind moved away from the planet, turned and looked back at the full Earth. What a voyage.

 

As it happened, Apollo 8. 44 years ago today, the first television transmission from the spacecraft...

From about halfway between the Earth and the Moon, the first television transmission from the Apollo 8 spacecraft, December 22, 1968. 

 

44 Years ago today... Apollo 8 launched to the Moon...

Apollo 8 was a stunning mission for many reasons. The first manned launch of the Saturn V. The first time humans had left the vicinity of the Earth, the first time men had orbited the Moon. The fact that the mission took place over Christmas, especially with a lunar orbit broadcast on Christmas Eve, was especially memorable.

Since a little video is always a good thing, here's the launch, taken from parts from our Apollo 8 3-DVD collection, which features all of the TV transmissions and onboard film, along with rare onboard audio, footage from prep, rollout, multiple launch angles (in addition to those shown here), recovery and more. For a limited time the Apollo 8 set is priced at $24.99, the lowest ever (44% off regular price). Apollo 8: Leaving the Cradle