“We are not only closing on the goal of manned flight to the Moon but on the broader goal of space flights of immediate benefit to all of us on Earth. And therein is the ultimate aim of our pursuit of knowledge in manned spaceflight.”
Have you ever seen a Lunar Landing Research Vehicle crash and explode? We were introduced to this funky craft in the Manned Spacecraft Center Progress Report from July-December 1967, but in this report we see it malfunction and crash with Neil Armstrong at the controls. (He ejected safely from the vehicle before the crash.) The second unmanned flight of the Saturn V launch vehicle, Apollo 6, did not go as smoothly as the first, and the film begins by reviewing the problems encountered. Preparations are then made for Apollo 7, the first manned mission since Apollo 1, as well as the Saturn V launch vehicle and Apollo spacecraft for future missions (Apollo 7 would use a Saturn 1B launch vehicle). Finally, we receive an update on the Apollo Applications and Earth Resources Survey programs, the latter of which is run through the Manned Spacecraft Center and seeks “to determine how man in space may best acquire data for more efficient utilization and management of the resources of our Earth.” The examples given in this film are infra-red photographs of farm land in south Texas.
Date Released: 1968
File #: MSC-68-471
Produced By: NASA/MSC
Program Duration: 14:43
Media: 16mm Film
Reel Length: 550 ft
Audio: Optical, Variable Area
Film Stock: Ektachrome
Film Stock Edge Code Date: 1968