Amazing time to be a kid! My 3rd grade teacher had a tv hooked up in class with rabbit ear antennas. Our teacher sent home a request for parents to make sure a sack launch was prepared for their child that day. We watched this launch in class eating PBJ’s with the schools chocolate milk provided by the teacher! We all watched in total amazement and excitement. Proud to be Americans 🇺🇸. Thank you Mrs. Brown for bringing the adventurous spirit to our class and hearts . Those were good times for imagination!
I consider myself extremely lucky to have been a child during these Apollo moonshots they would bring televisions in our elementary school classrooms so we could watch . What an awesome time .
Me three! I remember (among many other things) our entire elementary school class going to church the day Apollo 13 splashed-down and how nervous Charlie Duke's voice made me feel when Apollo 16 landed on the moon.
They called this the "Big Shot." It was unprecedented in many ways. Saturn V as a vehicle had never flown before. The S-I first stage had never flown and its F-1 engines had never been used before. The S-II second stage had never flown and the J-2 engines had never been used as a cluster. The S-IVB third stage had flown but there was a new Instrument Unit for the Saturn V as well as a new adapter linking it to the Service Module. The Launch Escape System and Boost Protective Cover were of new design. Only the Command and Service Modules were unaltered. As the Lunar Module had run into design problems, Apollo IV carried a boilerplate to compensate for the weight of what it would have been at liftoff. In short, NASA took an extremely risky gamble, especially at the end of the year when astronauts Grissom, White and Chaffee had lost their lives in a pad test -- and everything worked perfectly.
And he listens too. He did that famous about face on how we were going to go to the moon, going from a single stage vehicle which was too heavy and too complex, to lunar orbit rendezvous. This took his teams by surprise because they thought they were set on the former.
The Apollo 4 launch from LC-39A was on November 9, 1967 .... 9 months and 2 weeks (January 27, 1967) after the tragic Apollo 1 fire at launch pad LC-34.
I was going to say, I laughed when I heard Walter Cronkite's excited-kid voice sneaking into the audio. "I don't always watch NBC, but when I do, I watch it for the CBS anchor."
The most magnificent machine man has ever created. The more books I read about the engineering and the manufacturing of the rockets and Cape Kennedy in general makes me appreciate the Apollo adventure even more. I would turn 9 years old 3 days after this launch. What a time to be alive and witness all of this.
Thats awesome I am also reading books on engineering and also of the functions of rockets. And I am looking at universities on going back for Aerospace Engineering I hope that I can join for the later Artemis missions in the future being there at Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center. The sad thing is that I am 37 and I feel I am rediscovering myself and of my life. The Saturn V was a beast of a launch vehicle I would say one of my personal favorites. Gosh I would love to go back in time to witness it launch in person and to work there.
To think that in 1961 Alan B. Shepard Jr. launched into space for a meager 15 minutes and just 8 years later Americans walked on the moon. This has to be without a doubt man's greatest accomplishment, what an absolute monumental achievement in such a short period of time. It truly is amazing what was done when you think about it, we had to invent electronics, computers, rocket engines, and many other things in that period to achieve this feat, absolutely amazing.
Besides the obvious, what’s amazing, if you listen closely, the NBC audio of this launch picked up the voice of Walter Cronkite explaining to his CBS viewers how the viewing stand was vibrating so much, it actually collapsed part of it during the broadcast. As a young boy during this period, I was captivated by Apollo and recall watching many of the late Gemini launches and all the Apollo launches. Thank you for taking me back to another place and time!
Bare in mind, ALL broadcast quality video prior to 1971 was taped on HUGHE reel-to-reel 2in video tape machines. Smaller formats were available for the pro-sumer market but they were VERY expensive. Vanderbilt University started using these in Aug 1968 to recorded the evening news broadcasts. Today, even if the 2in video tape exists somewhere is expensive to have it transferred as fewer and fewer machines exist that are in working order to even play the tape.
I would have loved to watch a live launch of any from the Apollo program. Whatever they build today, it will always be exciting to watch each launch. What an achievement!
I usually watched Cronkite's descriptions of the space missions on CBS, but would sometimes also tune in to NBC. I remember the opening music, the Gulf oil Corporation logo and Frank McGee doing the reporting. Some days those were. Thanks for sharing this
*"I will post the full NBC audio of the launch at a later date."* That would be great, because these are fantastic finds - yes, even audios are terrific historical treasures for the public to enjoy.
at 6:49 you can hear Walter Cronkite say "The Roar Is Terrific!" his broadcast is somehow bleeding in, Walter was screaming because the sound was so loud.
Do you remember early Gemini rendezvous flights (1965)? Gemini 6 was suppose to be the first (Atlas/Agena failed to reach orbit). In the NYC Today Show studio, they built a simulation (using Lionel trains and Gemini, Agena models on flatcars) on the floor. Frank Blair (newsreader) and Frank McGee (correspondent) would talk through the simulation as “off stage” crew ran the train models.
@@w9gb I do remember those. I also remember the innumerable 2-3-4 hour holds during the Mercury program, waiting for Col. John "Shorty" Powers to resume the count. Also the coverage was sponsored by Gulf and those long Gulf commercials got so monotonous.
They all must have been in the same room covering the launch. Yes you could definitely hear Cronkite. This is the first time I was aware of this NBC video catching that. I was a kid during the Apollo program.
@@ricovali9245 This was in NASA"s press van they set up for the major networks to operate out of. It was Not Quite soundproof as it was demonstrated by Apollo 4's poorly attenuated blast, and Cronkite's yelping.
The press wanted to be closer to the launch pad than the three miles that NASA kept them back and even threatened to sue to force them to be allowed closer. NASA told them that, regardless of what the courts said, they would not launch with anyone closer than that. To smoothe over hurt feelings they told them they could be closer on subsequent launches, if they really wanted. 45 seconds after lift of, the sound hit the press building and did massive damage, including bringing down most of the ceiling in the portion where Cronkite was. Cronkite said later that he was sure the building would collapse. They didn't bother asking to move any closer.
WE can thank the Yanks for smuggling Mr Braun away from the allied forces after the fall of Germany. He after all, had conspired with Hitler, to build and develop the V2 terror weapon, that killed many civilians here in the Uk. We probably would not have put man on the moon back in 1969 without him, and as for the Saturn V rocket, that was humanities greatest invention.
If you look up the “Countdown” episode of the “Lassie” series, you will see the Apollo 4 launch from another perspective. Spectacular video of an incredible event in history, just amazing.
Nunyun Bizz From what I understand, the closest anyone not associated with NASA could get was 3 miles...Even at that distance, you'd be hammered with the roar of the engines and the staccato pops of the shockwaves from the ambient air being pushed aside by the thrust and heat of the exhaust plume...
I got to see Apollo 17 which was launched at night. We were on Merritt Island across from Pad 39A. The sound was enormous and the launch spectacular. One of the best moments of my life.
Thank you very much for sharing this audio clip and uniting that clip with the video you've located. It is remarkable that you were able to obtain this audio file!
I can just see the first engineering meeting. "if a bottle rocket can lift 2 grams, then if we build a rocket...let's see...300 feet long and 6 million pounds, it should be able to leave orbit with a lunar module. We good? Let's get started." Beautiful engineering. Can't get enough of it. Hoaxers go hide under a rock.
+Bluenose352 Probably because the NBC anchor booth, like those of CBS and ABC, had their roofs and picture windows fall-in on them. The booths were next to each other, so an errant microphone meant to capture ambient sound for NBC, ended-up catching Cronkite.If the CBS anchor trailer was halfway between the ABC and NBC ones, ABC viewers might also have inadvertently heard Cronkite in the background, especially as it's my understanding that NBC's Roy Neal, ABC's Jules Bergman, and their respective technical crews, fled their respective anchor trailers once the shockwave hit.
The spacecraft that killed the Apollo 1 crew was what was called a Block 1, so it was the "first" version and really was not moon worthy. It was easier to fix the issues with Apollo than with the Shuttle since the Shuttle was already an operational system. Much tougher job.
I remember watching the splashdown of Apollo 13. I was in the 3rd grade. Everything stopped at that part of the day. All the kids were cheering at the sight of the parachutes.
I was 6 miles south of the launch pad at Hanger C not far from the lighthouse. Most amazing thing I’ve ever experienced. I was an 18 year old Airman and now 75. Somethings you never forget. That rocket broke windows in our hanger building.
You can hear Walter from CBS in the background since they were all in the Press observation room together. NASA installed pressure dampening on the launch tower after Aploo 4 since the shock wave from the S-IC almost tore nearby building apart. Incredible.
That was a pretty innovative idea to compile some footage from another flight to match the Apollo 4 audio. Yes, it's not the same as watching the actual flight, but it does give a good idea of what it was like.
There was a BBC documentary made in 1986 called "25 Years of Spaceflight" which featured video footage of the Apollo 4 launch, including footage of the reporter in a studio at Kennedy who is commentating as it falls down around him. The video of that exists, the BBC probably still has a copy.
It's an old memory, but it looked like a younger man than Cronkite. I know the audio only version is Cronkite, but other networks covered the launch. I might be wrong on this, but I remember a younger presenter.
@@Rhubba It was Cronkite. Here's the link to the video. ua-cam.com/video/1uoVfZpx5dY/v-deo.html You don't see Cronkite in the video, just his reporting of the launch.
Thanks for posting this Lunar, aside from the pre launch commentary it sounds like the NASA audio feed for the launch and later ...thought I even heard a little bit of ol Walter getting excited in the distance, anyway thanks again and have a great day.
...all three networks complained about being three miles away from the launch pad (next to the VAB and Firing Room), so NASA built a set of row cottages two miles away from the pad and let the networks (after all participants signed a liability waiver) broadcast from there. The engineers didn't tell the networks that they intentionally loosened the windows to allow them to vibrate during the launch without breaking; poor Walter just lost it. (If you listen carefully, you can hear Walter screaming from the cottage next door.)
The comment from David Brinkley was cute... "The rocket will go up or Florida will go down". That is similar to what I say during big rocket launches (usually high powered model ones, but I said it on Ares 1-X's test flight). "It will either be spectacular...or spectacular." ;)
Gulf Oil was a full sponsor of NBC broadcasts for Gemini and Apollo broadcasts to Apollo 11. You may want to check with Chevron advertisement and Pittsburgh sources (Gulf HQ town).
Good point on the Block II Command Module. It's always misreported that the Block II spacecraft was a response to the fire. It was already well developed before the fire. The Block I was based on the original 1959 sepcification and mission requirements for the original Apollo project. Once the decision to use rendesvous and docking was made, the whole Apollo spacecraft had to be redesigned to suit these requirements. The Block I was kept going so that flight experience could be gained.
Size and cost...not just then but NOW. It is very expensive just to transfer an old 2-inch reel-to-reel video tape as few machines in working order. It gets easier after 1971 with the introduction of the 1-inch U-Matic cassettes. I get this info from a "dealer" in rare TV material from Illinois.
I recall hearing about quite a few smashed windows and damaged buildings around KSC after this first launch. I wonder what the sonic difference was between Apollo 4 and subsequent Saturn V launches?
The next two launches were both unmanned, and both had problems. After fixing the problems in Apollos 5 and six, the next Saturn V launch, Apollo 8, took three men to lunar orbit.
10,000 feet per second after staging. Something bigger than a ten story building flying faster than a bullet. Barely 60 years before, two brothers struggled to fly a fragile airplane a mere 120 feet and just 10 feet off the ground.
I saw in your comments and notes that if anyone had interest about posting the full NBC Audio, that you would at a later date. I would be extremely interested in hearing that! I was 15 and got up early on the school morning, and watched it live on my NBC station, as the Today Show was even delayed due to the 7am launch.
@@lunarmodule5 thank you very much! I appreciate the videos you have assembled on the Apollo and Gemini flights over time. I watched almost all of the actual flights on NBC. Yet seems that the CBS News videotape archives over the years have withstood the test of time over NBC's. One thing I have never, EVER noticed, was NBC's actual line footage of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon. Have seen CBS News and ABC News, but it is like the NBC News line footage of the Moon landing is long gone or reused, sadly.
There were no Apollos 2 or 3. Apollo 5 was the first unmanned test flight of a lunar module (launched atop a Saturn 1-B without a command module). As far as I know, there was no live network TV broadcast of the Apollo 5 launch (although it's possible that one or more of the three TV stations that then existed in the Daytona Beach/Orlando market, which included Cape Canaveral, may have originated a local broadcast of the launch.
There was a reason: The roof of the CBS anchor trailer and the roof of the NBC anchor trailer next door both fell in. For that reason, in the background, you could hear Walter Cronkite when Mission Control, Frank McGee and Roy Neal weren't talking. I believe Apollo 4 was the first flight of the revised Block 2 command module. Hopefully, high-quality color tapes of ABC's, CBS', and NBC's full broadcasts of the Apollo 4 can be found and posted on You Tube.
@lunarmodule5 I thought the reason we heard Walter's voice faintly in the background is because the launch video you spliced in is the one that you posted earlier with Walter's commentary and that somehow that audio was bleeding in. If Walter's voice is really on the NBC tape that is utterly amazing to me.
If you listen closely you can hear Cronkite in the background even though this is NBC. I was hoping to get a break from Cronkite, but unfortunately he makes his way into the story.
The clip I saw of Apollo 4 was shown on British TV in the early 90s and it showed the TV studio being shaken apart with a terrified looking anchorman trying to continue broadcasting whilst bits from the ceiling was falling on him.
Correct. No one ever launch a rocket with 7+ million pounds of thrust. The acoustic (sound) wave was substantial ... and there was other damage in the pad area. WATER (deluge systems) has been used for most US launches since this date primarily for sound and thermal suppression.
@lunarmodule5 The picture windows and the ceilings of both the NBC and CBS (and ABC for that matter) collapsed during the launch, so that's why you could hear Walter Cronkite in the background. I'm pretty sure that had both Cronkite and Roy Neal (NBC's onsite reporter at the Cape) been quiet for a stretch of time, you might have been able to hear ABC's Jules Bergman.
6:48 You can hear Cronkite (the CBS Anchorman) yelling in the background. He was usually cool and professional in line with the times, but he went ape this time.
is there full audio from mission control and the PAO, etc. of this event? the only audio i can find on the nasa archive is a post launch briefing. I'd love to have the full event's audio [not news coverage audio]
@lunarmodule5 -I was thinking the same thing! Being that the press corp were stunned it wouldn't suprise me that Walter was the only one that rebounded and started speaking again although even he was shocked into silence for 5-10 seconds, anyway thanks again and have a great day.
It is. And during the early space program... especially Gemini... many of the launches not dealing with specific orbiting targets were scheduled on the hour. A half century later, when I hear a time tone (now rare) on radio or TV, I cannot help but think of those dramatic ignition... beep!... liftoffs.
This is a good watch- but... it is a composit video. Example, B&W pad feed shows the base of the Saturn V up close- but the WRONG tail service masts are in place. Apollo 4 was the only Saturn V to use the clam-shell mast covers. Those covers proved to be a poor design as the shells were simply blown off at launch. From Apollo 6 on the tower-shelter masts were used. If you look closely at this video, you will see that the clam-shell masts are not in use. No matter, I Love your vids LM5
Amazing time to be a kid! My 3rd grade teacher had a tv hooked up in class with rabbit ear antennas. Our teacher sent home a request for parents to make sure a sack launch was prepared for their child that day. We watched this launch in class eating PBJ’s with the schools chocolate milk provided by the teacher! We all watched in total amazement and excitement. Proud to be Americans 🇺🇸. Thank you Mrs. Brown for bringing the adventurous spirit to our class and hearts . Those were good times for imagination!
I watched this in real time 53 years ago. I am still absolutely gobsmacked every time I see videos of a Saturn V launch.
wow
I consider myself extremely lucky to have been a child during these Apollo moonshots they would bring televisions in our elementary school classrooms so we could watch . What an awesome time .
Me too, they rolled televisions into our classrooms in grade school.
Me three! I remember (among many other things) our entire elementary school class going to church the day Apollo 13 splashed-down and how nervous Charlie Duke's voice made me feel when Apollo 16 landed on the moon.
@@michaelhodges8312 Yes on those A/V carts :)
Same here. Those were fun times!!!!
We have lost our way
They called this the "Big Shot." It was unprecedented in many ways. Saturn V as a vehicle had never flown before. The S-I first stage had never flown and its F-1 engines had never been used before. The S-II second stage had never flown and the J-2 engines had never been used as a cluster. The S-IVB third stage had flown but there was a new Instrument Unit for the Saturn V as well as a new adapter linking it to the Service Module. The Launch Escape System and Boost Protective Cover were of new design. Only the Command and Service Modules were unaltered. As the Lunar Module had run into design problems, Apollo IV carried a boilerplate to compensate for the weight of what it would have been at liftoff. In short, NASA took an extremely risky gamble, especially at the end of the year when astronauts Grissom, White and Chaffee had lost their lives in a pad test -- and everything worked perfectly.
And he listens too. He did that famous about face on how we were going to go to the moon, going from a single stage vehicle which was too heavy and too complex, to lunar orbit rendezvous. This took his teams by surprise because they thought they were set on the former.
The Apollo 4 launch from LC-39A was on November 9, 1967 ....
9 months and 2 weeks (January 27, 1967) after the tragic Apollo 1 fire at launch pad LC-34.
They had called it "All Up" testing, it was a huge gamble NASA took, but it worked....
This was the day Russia knew their goose was cooked--we had a working moon rocket..🚀
@Chip Olmstead SLS has entered the chat.
I was going to say, I laughed when I heard Walter Cronkite's excited-kid voice sneaking into the audio.
"I don't always watch NBC, but when I do, I watch it for the CBS anchor."
The most magnificent machine man has ever created. The more books I read about the engineering and the manufacturing of the rockets and Cape Kennedy in general makes me appreciate the Apollo adventure even more. I would turn 9 years old 3 days after this launch. What a time to be alive and witness all of this.
Boy that’s quite the birthday present Lol
Thats awesome I am also reading books on engineering and also of the functions of rockets. And I am looking at universities on going back for Aerospace Engineering I hope that I can join for the later Artemis missions in the future being there at Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center. The sad thing is that I am 37 and I feel I am rediscovering myself and of my life.
The Saturn V was a beast of a launch vehicle I would say one of my personal favorites. Gosh I would love to go back in time to witness it launch in person and to work there.
To think that in 1961 Alan B. Shepard Jr. launched into space for a meager 15 minutes and just 8 years later Americans walked on the moon. This has to be without a doubt man's greatest accomplishment, what an absolute monumental achievement in such a short period of time. It truly is amazing what was done when you think about it, we had to invent electronics, computers, rocket engines, and many other things in that period to achieve this feat, absolutely amazing.
Having watched this for I don't know how many times, Artemis 1 launch was just amazing. Apollo 4 of our generation!
Besides the obvious, what’s amazing, if you listen closely, the NBC audio of this launch picked up the voice of Walter Cronkite explaining to his CBS viewers how the viewing stand was vibrating so much, it actually collapsed part of it during the broadcast. As a young boy during this period, I was captivated by Apollo and recall watching many of the late Gemini launches and all the Apollo launches. Thank you for taking me back to another place and time!
you are welcome :)
I love hearing the launch controllers cheering
Bare in mind, ALL broadcast quality video prior to 1971 was taped on HUGHE reel-to-reel 2in video tape machines. Smaller formats were available for the pro-sumer market but they were VERY expensive. Vanderbilt University started using these in Aug 1968 to recorded the evening news broadcasts. Today, even if the 2in video tape exists somewhere is expensive to have it transferred as fewer and fewer machines exist that are in working order to even play the tape.
What a beast of a rocket. I'm envious of those who were alive at the time to witness it.
I watched every Apollo mission. It's more stunning now than it ever was when I was a child!
I would have loved to watch a live launch of any from the Apollo program. Whatever they build today, it will always be exciting to watch each launch. What an achievement!
I usually watched Cronkite's descriptions of the space missions on CBS, but would sometimes also tune in to NBC. I remember the opening music, the Gulf oil Corporation logo and Frank McGee doing the reporting. Some days those were. Thanks for sharing this
*"I will post the full NBC audio of the launch at a later date."* That would be great, because these are fantastic finds - yes, even audios are terrific historical treasures for the public to enjoy.
+JeffGR4 Its already posted on my channel Jeff
at 6:49 you can hear Walter Cronkite say "The Roar Is Terrific!" his broadcast is somehow bleeding in, Walter was screaming because the sound was so loud.
I never get tired of hearing the voice of the great Jack King.
Who else was the voice of NASA
Frank McGee was my hero as a kid. He used to say, "It you want to be a good broadcaster, know a little bit about a lot of things."
Do you remember early Gemini rendezvous flights (1965)? Gemini 6 was suppose to be the first (Atlas/Agena failed to reach orbit).
In the NYC Today Show studio, they built a simulation (using Lionel trains and Gemini, Agena models on flatcars) on the floor.
Frank Blair (newsreader) and Frank McGee (correspondent) would talk through the simulation as “off stage” crew ran the train models.
@@w9gb I do remember those. I also remember the innumerable 2-3-4 hour holds during the Mercury program, waiting for Col. John "Shorty" Powers to resume the count. Also the coverage was sponsored by Gulf and those long Gulf commercials got so monotonous.
Is that Cronkite next door shouting?
GLEN ASHWORTH it is indeed
They all must have been in the same room covering the launch. Yes you could definitely hear Cronkite. This is the first time I was aware of this NBC video catching that. I was a kid during the Apollo program.
@@ricovali9245 This was in NASA"s press van they set up for the major networks to operate out of. It was Not Quite soundproof as it was demonstrated by Apollo 4's poorly attenuated blast, and Cronkite's yelping.
The press wanted to be closer to the launch pad than the three miles that NASA kept them back and even threatened to sue to force them to be allowed closer. NASA told them that, regardless of what the courts said, they would not launch with anyone closer than that. To smoothe over hurt feelings they told them they could be closer on subsequent launches, if they really wanted. 45 seconds after lift of, the sound hit the press building and did massive damage, including bringing down most of the ceiling in the portion where Cronkite was. Cronkite said later that he was sure the building would collapse.
They didn't bother asking to move any closer.
Thank you, Werner von Braun.
I'm proud he died an American.
WE can thank the Yanks for smuggling Mr Braun away from the allied forces after the fall of Germany.
He after all, had conspired with Hitler, to build and develop the V2 terror weapon, that killed many civilians here in the Uk.
We probably would not have put man on the moon back in 1969 without him, and as for the Saturn V rocket, that was humanities greatest invention.
Saying von braun is behind the saturn 5 is like saying the wright brothers where behind the 747. Truth is far more complex.
@@TGouse1 Without von Braun or Korolev's vision, nether the Sat V not N-1 would've been on the drawing board.
If you look up the “Countdown” episode of the “Lassie” series, you will see the Apollo 4 launch from another perspective. Spectacular video of an incredible event in history, just amazing.
I think it was also used as the launch of the orbital nuclear platform in Star Trek’s Assignment: Earth
Jack King - NASA's authoritative voice of America's space launches in the 60's and 70's. What a great time it was!
What a gargantuan machine. I'd love to be standing as close as possible to see and hear that thing go up!
Nunyun Bizz From what I understand, the closest anyone not associated with NASA could get was 3 miles...Even at that distance, you'd be hammered with the roar of the engines and the staccato pops of the shockwaves from the ambient air being pushed aside by the thrust and heat of the exhaust plume...
Fool you'd be dead lol
@@nowhereman841 dont forget all the birds that were squashed in flight by the waves of sound as they fled the marshes :(
I got to see Apollo 17 which was launched at night. We were on Merritt Island across from Pad 39A. The sound was enormous and the launch spectacular. One of the best moments of my life.
Thank you very much for sharing this audio clip and uniting that clip with the video you've located.
It is remarkable that you were able to obtain this audio file!
Golden Pacific Media You are welcome GPM - glad you liked it - lm5
The Saturn V was an engineering marvel, and awesome launch vehicle. Thanks for posting!!
Best day of my life....even though I wasn't born for another 33 years...
At about 7:00 you can hear Walter Cronkite's voice from the CBS booth shouting "Look at that rocket go!" Love it!
audio or not, this audio shares with the world, what the US did with meager pc use. Thank you again sir
I can just see the first engineering meeting. "if a bottle rocket can lift 2 grams, then if we build a rocket...let's see...300 feet long and 6 million pounds, it should be able to leave orbit with a lunar module. We good? Let's get started." Beautiful engineering. Can't get enough of it. Hoaxers go hide under a rock.
Can't believe this launch was 48 years ago this coming November.
Gavin Mackie "time is an illusion....lunch time doubly so.." HHGTTG - Douglas Adams
I can faintly hear Walter Cronkite yelling in the video.
+Bluenose352 Probably because the NBC anchor booth, like those of CBS and ABC, had their roofs and picture windows fall-in on them. The booths were next to each other, so an errant microphone meant to capture ambient sound for NBC, ended-up catching Cronkite.If the CBS anchor trailer was halfway between the ABC and NBC ones, ABC viewers might also have inadvertently heard Cronkite in the background, especially as it's my understanding that NBC's Roy Neal, ABC's Jules Bergman, and their respective technical crews, fled their respective anchor trailers once the shockwave hit.
The spacecraft that killed the Apollo 1 crew was what was called a Block 1, so it was the "first" version and really was not moon worthy. It was easier to fix the issues with Apollo than with the Shuttle since the Shuttle was already an operational system. Much tougher job.
Jack king the right man for the right job at the right time
I remember watching the splashdown of Apollo 13. I was in the 3rd grade. Everything stopped at that part of the day. All the kids were cheering at the sight of the parachutes.
If you listen carefully you can hear Walter Cronkite's very faint narrative in the background!
I was 6 miles south of the launch pad at Hanger C not far from the lighthouse. Most amazing thing I’ve ever experienced. I was an 18 year old Airman and now 75. Somethings you never forget. That rocket broke windows in our hanger building.
As a kid, I loved the slow crawl the Saturn V made as it lifted-off.
As a kid I painted a silver silhouette of the Saturn V on my bedroom wall. Mum was not pleased.
You can hear Walter from CBS in the background since they were all in the Press observation room together. NASA installed pressure dampening on the launch tower after Aploo 4 since the shock wave from the S-IC almost tore nearby building apart. Incredible.
That was a pretty innovative idea to compile some footage from another flight to match the Apollo 4 audio. Yes, it's not the same as watching the actual flight, but it does give a good idea of what it was like.
You can hear Cronkite bellowing in the background, "The roar is terrific!"
Grandfather was there to witness that incredible sight! The noise and vibration was incredible.
There was a BBC documentary made in 1986 called "25 Years of Spaceflight" which featured video footage of the Apollo 4 launch, including footage of the reporter in a studio at Kennedy who is commentating as it falls down around him. The video of that exists, the BBC probably still has a copy.
+Rhubba the full audio of that broadcast is on my video "apollo 4 launch coverage".
+Rhubba The commentator in the studio falling round him was CBS's Walter Cronkite.
It's an old memory, but it looked like a younger man than Cronkite. I know the audio only version is Cronkite, but other networks covered the launch. I might be wrong on this, but I remember a younger presenter.
Could it have been Roy Neal or Jules Bergman?
@@Rhubba It was Cronkite. Here's the link to the video. ua-cam.com/video/1uoVfZpx5dY/v-deo.html You don't see Cronkite in the video, just his reporting of the launch.
Thanks for posting this Lunar, aside from the pre launch commentary it sounds like the NASA audio feed for the launch and later ...thought I even heard a little bit of ol Walter getting excited in the distance, anyway thanks again and have a great day.
...all three networks complained about being three miles away from the launch pad (next to the VAB and Firing Room), so NASA built a set of row cottages two miles away from the pad and let the networks (after all participants signed a liability waiver) broadcast from there. The engineers didn't tell the networks that they intentionally loosened the windows to allow them to vibrate during the launch without breaking; poor Walter just lost it. (If you listen carefully, you can hear Walter screaming from the cottage next door.)
Amazing find, lunarmodule5. Plus you got in the famous Gulf Oil Co. special events theme music everyone has been looking for. Great memories, thanks!
The original "NASA Space X Team's joy (06:29) listen to how much emotion they felt when they saw the takeoff of Saturn V.
The comment from David Brinkley was cute... "The rocket will go up or Florida will go down". That is similar to what I say during big rocket launches (usually high powered model ones, but I said it on Ares 1-X's test flight). "It will either be spectacular...or spectacular." ;)
Modified for Space X in the 21st century: "Success is far from certain, but excitement is guaranteed."
Gulf Oil was a full sponsor of NBC broadcasts for Gemini and Apollo broadcasts to Apollo 11.
You may want to check with Chevron advertisement and Pittsburgh sources (Gulf HQ town).
Actually, Gulf remained NBC's sponsor of special news event coverage through the first Skylab flight.
Thanks for your work !
Thanks footpuppy
Good point on the Block II Command Module. It's always misreported that the Block II spacecraft was a response to the fire. It was already well developed before the fire. The Block I was based on the original 1959 sepcification and mission requirements for the original Apollo project. Once the decision to use rendesvous and docking was made, the whole Apollo spacecraft had to be redesigned to suit these requirements. The Block I was kept going so that flight experience could be gained.
Size and cost...not just then but NOW. It is very expensive just to transfer an old 2-inch reel-to-reel video tape as few machines in working order. It gets easier after 1971 with the introduction of the 1-inch U-Matic cassettes. I get this info from a "dealer" in rare TV material from Illinois.
I recall hearing about quite a few smashed windows and damaged buildings around KSC after this first launch. I wonder what the sonic difference was between Apollo 4 and subsequent Saturn V launches?
If you listen very closely you can hear Walter Cronkite speaking during the launch. It's just barely audible.
Cronkite managing to be on both CBS and NBC simultaneously!
Magnificent.
I remember this all up stage launch...They said the ground was shaking as it took off 5 miles away...
The next two launches were both unmanned, and both had problems. After fixing the problems in Apollos 5 and six, the next Saturn V launch, Apollo 8, took three men to lunar orbit.
Back in those days I'd tune in to NBC's Today show for pre-launch and once the Gulf theme and logo cleared I would eventually switch to CBS.
10,000 feet per second after staging. Something bigger than a ten story building flying faster than a bullet. Barely 60 years before, two brothers struggled to fly a fragile airplane a mere 120 feet and just 10 feet off the ground.
6:47 Listen for Walter Cronkite yelling from next door....
I saw in your comments and notes that if anyone had interest about posting the full NBC Audio, that you would at a later date. I would be extremely interested in hearing that! I was 15 and got up early on the school morning, and watched it live on my NBC station, as the Today Show was even delayed due to the 7am launch.
Hi Gary - I will look into it - cant promise anything at present but definitely will post that at some point - regards LM5
@@lunarmodule5 thank you very much! I appreciate the videos you have assembled on the Apollo and Gemini flights over time. I watched almost all of the actual flights on NBC. Yet seems that the CBS News videotape archives over the years have withstood the test of time over NBC's. One thing I have never, EVER noticed, was NBC's actual line footage of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon. Have seen CBS News and ABC News, but it is like the NBC News line footage of the Moon landing is long gone or reused, sadly.
There were no Apollos 2 or 3.
Apollo 5 was the first unmanned test flight of a lunar module (launched atop a Saturn 1-B without a command module).
As far as I know, there was no live network TV broadcast of the Apollo 5 launch (although it's possible that one or more of the three TV stations that then existed in the Daytona Beach/Orlando market, which included Cape Canaveral, may have originated a local broadcast of the launch.
There was a reason: The roof of the CBS anchor trailer and the roof of the NBC anchor trailer next door both fell in. For that reason, in the background, you could hear Walter Cronkite when Mission Control, Frank McGee and Roy Neal weren't talking.
I believe Apollo 4 was the first flight of the revised Block 2 command module.
Hopefully, high-quality color tapes of ABC's, CBS', and NBC's full broadcasts of the Apollo 4 can be found and posted on You Tube.
I was almost 8 years old and remember this well!
Lol. You can barely hear Walter Cronkite going on about the building shaking.
What's with the missing network videotapes of this? Pretty unforgivable of them if they don't exist.
Starting at 6:47 till around 7:20 you can hear Walter Cronkite in the background doing the CBS broadcast of this launch.
Finally after ~55 years, we are doing Apollo-4 one better with the SpaceX Starship @ Starbase Texas !!
@lunarmodule5 I thought the reason we heard Walter's voice faintly in the background is because the launch video you spliced in is the one that you posted earlier with Walter's commentary and that somehow that audio was bleeding in. If Walter's voice is really on the NBC tape that is utterly amazing to me.
Crikey, you can hear Cronkite's yelling being picked up by McGee's mic.
If you listen closely you can hear Cronkite in the background even though this is NBC. I was hoping to get a break from Cronkite, but unfortunately he makes his way into the story.
The clip I saw of Apollo 4 was shown on British TV in the early 90s and it showed the TV studio being shaken apart with a terrified looking anchorman trying to continue broadcasting whilst bits from the ceiling was falling on him.
Correct.
No one ever launch a rocket with 7+ million pounds of thrust.
The acoustic (sound) wave was substantial ... and there was other damage in the pad area.
WATER (deluge systems) has been used for most US launches since this date
primarily for sound and thermal suppression.
Just think - this was OVER 50 YEARS AGO!!!!
@lunarmodule5 The picture windows and the ceilings of both the NBC and CBS (and ABC for that matter) collapsed during the launch, so that's why you could hear Walter Cronkite in the background. I'm pretty sure that had both Cronkite and Roy Neal (NBC's onsite reporter at the Cape) been quiet for a stretch of time, you might have been able to hear ABC's Jules Bergman.
160 million horsepower
6:48 You can hear Cronkite (the CBS Anchorman) yelling in the background. He was usually cool and professional in line with the times, but he went ape this time.
Thanks! still excellent audio
Do you imagine if they had put cameras on the vehicles.? I know did one that way
So were they picking up Walter since he was bascially yelling?
that's when america used to be #1!
Actually, if you listen through headphones you CAN hear the voice of Jules Bergman saying "There it is!" @ the 9:04 mark, when staging occurs.
They must have shared a room with CBS. You can hear Walter Cronkite excited comments in the background.
is there full audio from mission control and the PAO, etc. of this event? the only audio i can find on the nasa archive is a post launch briefing. I'd love to have the full event's audio [not news coverage audio]
The Mighty Saturn V.......with Cronkite screaming in the backround.
@lunarmodule5 -I was thinking the same thing! Being that the press corp were stunned it wouldn't suprise me that Walter was the only one that rebounded and started speaking again although even he was shocked into silence for 5-10 seconds, anyway thanks again and have a great day.
@lunarmodule5 How much footage of these Launceston and reports were wiped?
Just after staging, near the end of this clip, I think I heard anchorman Frank McGee in the background enthuastically saying "Good!".
Frank Mcgee. The very best when there was "breaking" news!
Scott Manley explains the ignition sequence start here:
ua-cam.com/video/2cldgl9IIyY/v-deo.html
@Rhubba I suspect that was Walter Cronkite of CBS.
I can barely hear walter cronkite's voice
Oil, the best fuel there is
🌎: 😶
geez, i remember that music & v/o...
Is that the NBC hour tone at 6:23? Announcer says liftoff was at 7 am EST.
It is. And during the early space program... especially Gemini... many of the launches not dealing with specific orbiting targets were scheduled on the hour. A half century later, when I hear a time tone (now rare) on radio or TV, I cannot help but think of those dramatic ignition... beep!... liftoffs.
I was 3 years old.
You can hear Walter Cronkite in the background
This is a good watch- but... it is a composit video. Example, B&W pad feed shows the base of the Saturn V up close- but the WRONG tail service masts are in place. Apollo 4 was the only Saturn V to use the clam-shell mast covers. Those covers proved to be a poor design as the shells were simply blown off at launch. From Apollo 6 on the tower-shelter masts were used. If you look closely at this video, you will see that the clam-shell masts are not in use. No matter, I Love your vids LM5
Meanwhile in the USSR...
We have lost our way