This gradual movement Apollo 11 launch footage shot in 1969 nonetheless appears to be like completely unimaginable at the moment
It is a video we’ve truly featured earlier than, manner again in 2014, however it seems to be making the rounds on social media once more and it’s nicely price a revisit. It was shot by NASA, clearly, and it’s footage of the Apollo 11 launch, shot on 16mm movie at 500 frames per second in 1969. Now, that may not seem to be lots in comparison with the loopy gradual movement cameras accessible at the moment, however 53 years in the past, that was fairly spectacular!
When shot at 500 frames per second and performed again at 30 frames per second turns that ~30-second real-time clip into an 8-minute and 22-second sequence that you simply simply can’t take your eyes away from. The Saturn V rocket that launched Apollo 11 was an especially highly effective Heavy Raise Automobile. It was the heaviest rocket ever to ever fly efficiently, weighing in at 6.2 million kilos totally loaded.
The footage was posted to Twitter by Jason Main of Lights within the Darkish, an internet site devoted to sharing superb views of the universe. And whereas this footage might need been somewhat nearer to dwelling than a lot of the remainder of the universe, it actually is superb.
Video credit score: @NASA / Kennedy Area Middle https://t.co/EQa9htLOui
Jason solely performed a 30-minute phase of the slowed-down footage, however right here’s the entire thing in its full eight minutes and forty-two seconds glory, with the complete launch splendidly narrated to elucidate what’s happening as you’re watching it.
Certain, the flames from the rockets may be a tad overexposed, however for footage that was shot over fifty years in the past, it’s fairly superior to see. And for these of you who’re curious, right here’s the common velocity model of that footage, performed again in real-time to see simply how a lot the above has been slowed down. The velocity at which the preliminary blast and smoke get pulled again into the exhaust at this velocity additionally actually reveals the unimaginable energy of the Saturn V rocket.
And if you wish to hear about how the entire thing labored, this 26-minute video from Fran Blanche (who’s cool and posts some superb electronics and engineering movies – it’s best to subscribe) is a superb engineering deep-dive into the Saturn V and the F-1 engine that received it off the bottom. Seeing it damaged all the way down to this depth reveals you simply how complicated these rockets had been. Fairly superb contemplating they didn’t have the advantages of recent computer systems with its fancy CAD software program. Simply unimaginable.
I don’t learn about you, however I’d positive like to see The Sluggish Mo Guys‘ modern-day tech tackle this problem with a SpaceX launch and a few Phantom cameras!
