Apollo 8 - Leaving the Cradle

Rating:
Summary: A Brilliant Presentation Of A Crucial Mission
Review: Apollo 8 was probably the most challenging of all the Apollo missions from a planning and execution point of view (short amount of planning and training time for the lunar mission, second manned Apollo flight, second Saturn V flight [and the first to be manned], no LM available for "lifeboat" contingencies, etc.), yet was utterly successful in meeting all its primary goals. By flying Apollo 8 over Christmas 1968 NASA put itself back on track to achieve Kennedy's mandate on the moon timeline.

This is another brilliant DVD from Spacecraft films. This DVD isn't a conventional documentary; rather it is a collection of all film shot on Apollo 8, as well as multiple camera angles of launch, training, and recovery events. All television broadcasts are also included, although the black and white picture quality is horrible by modern standards. (The fact that they had no monitor for the video camera onboard requiring the CAPCOM to continuously give the crew directions about where to point the camera becomes a bit distracting after a while, but that's the way it was.)

My favorite disc was disc one, and I was especially enthralled by the recovery video, particularly the audio track of the reentry as recorded by the onboard tape recorder. I had read the transcripts of the air to ground transmissions, but hearing the inter-capsule conversation in real time made the events of reentry more comprehensible for me. As an aside, I was very startled at how noisy the RCS jettison was.

This is not for the casual space buff, but serious space enthusiasts will absolutely revel in this set. I highly recommend this set, and thank Spacecraft films for producing this series.


Rating:
Summary: Pure Brilliance
Review: Many of you, like myself, probably only vaguely knew of the Apollo 8 mission from the "And God said, 'Let There Be Light'" phrase made more famous by Mike Oldfield in his music.

However, looking at this set, you quickly realise how significant the orbiting of the moon by Apollo 8 was. This was the first time humans had ever seen the far side of the moon in person, the earthrise, and realtime video (black and white) of the lunar surface.

As usual the Spacecraftfilms people got it right with all the additions from Roll-out, suit-up, multi view launch angles, onboard 16m film, all the transmissions and the spacecraft recovery. Particularly interesting was to hear the reactions of Houston as the pictures were beamed back to earth. In many ways this mission was more significant than Apollo 11, as it really gave the green light to the eventual landing. I also like that President Johnson was the one greeting them upon return. Something about a president (we'll refer to him as RN) who was not supportive of the lunar program sprouting glorious speeches in the name of the spacetravellers irks me badly.

I am really looking forward to the remaining Apollo 10, 12 and 13 missions to be compiled by Spacecraftfilms, for then my set will be virtually complete. Considering less than a year ago I was not aware of these sets at all, I am happy to have stumbled upon them.

Rating:
Summary: Pure Brilliance
Review: Many of you, like myself, probably only vaguely knew of the Apollo 8 mission from the "And God said, 'Let There Be Light'" phrase made more famous by Mike Oldfield in his music.

However, looking at this set, you quickly realise how significant the orbiting of the moon by Apollo 8 was. This was the first time humans had ever seen the far side of the moon in person, the earthrise, and realtime video (black and white) of the lunar surface.

As usual the Spacecraftfilms people got it right with all the additions from Roll-out, suit-up, multi view launch angles, onboard 16m film, all the transmissions and the spacecraft recovery. Particularly interesting was to hear the reactions of Houston as the pictures were beamed back to earth. In many ways this mission was more significant than Apollo 11, as it really gave the green light to the eventual landing. I also like that President Johnson was the one greeting them upon return. Something about a president (we'll refer to him as RN) who was not supportive of the lunar program sprouting glorious speeches in the name of the spacetravellers irks me badly.

I am really looking forward to the remaining Apollo 10, 12 and 13 missions to be compiled by Spacecraftfilms, for then my set will be virtually complete. Considering less than a year ago I was not aware of these sets at all, I am happy to have stumbled upon them.

Rating:
Summary: A Moment In History
Review: This DVD is not intended to editorialize or state the significance of this event. It is raw footage that has never before been presented in DVD format. In short, it is recorded history that lets the viewer relive an event that was as bold as any in the history of mankind. For those of us who lived this event, it evokes a nostalgia that seems to be forever gone. For those born since, it may seem trivial and primitive by today's standards. Hopefully it will inspire research into the moment that will rekindle and capture that daring of this flight.
It is a must for any historian of space flight and it recaptures a vision for the future that so many have seemed to have lost today. Maybe our leaders should see this.

Rating:
Summary: A Moment In History
Review: This DVD is not intended to editorialize or state the significance of this event. It is raw footage that has never before been presented in DVD format. In short, it is recorded history that lets the viewer relive an event that was as bold as any in the history of mankind. For those of us who lived this event, it evokes a nostalgia that seems to be forever gone. For those born since, it may seem trivial and primitive by today's standards. Hopefully it will inspire research into the moment that will rekindle and capture that daring of this flight.
It is a must for any historian of space flight and it recaptures a vision for the future that so many have seemed to have lost today. Maybe our leaders should see this.