How did NASA get those great film shots of Apollo and the Shuttle? 

No dramatization, no useless suspense, no clickbaits. Amazing job. Your video shows all the research and hardwork you put in there for numb nuts like me. Now i believe in the sanity of the world, that it got over a million views.

I remember when The History Channel would have programs like this. I miss those days.

My father's company, D.B. Milliken, built a lot of those 400 fps cameras used throughout the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and beyond programs. In the early '70s the company was sold to Teledyne. Many of the Milliken cameras had specially shape housings to cram in the tight spaces of the command capsules. You can see the elongated oval logo sticker in several of the shots in this video. It was always a fun evening when my dad would bring home footage of testing procedures! I certainly remember the films of Col. John Stapp as he was strapped into the rocket sled to study high-G effects on humans.

This is one of the most interesting and informative videos that I’ve watched on RU-vid. The level of detail presented and the fluent, articulate delivery is superior to some of the Nat Geo or Discovery shows.

Love the videos. My uncle was chief photographic engineer at Kennedy and worked there from the late 50’s through the 90’s and was responsible for positioning and setup of the launchpad cameras for all the launches. He even got to meet von Braun on several occasions to discuss camera positions. He told some great stories about cameras being rattled to pieces inside their protective cases. Few people understood how difficult it was for them to get many of those shots, especially the big Saturns later on in the program.

I had no idea that launches were so closely and extensively filmed. This was an extremely interesting and informative video. Thank you for bringing it to RU-vid.

Not saying this because I'm a sucker for aerospace.. but this is probably one of my favourite videos of this channel!! Stunning footage, thank you for creating this and thanks to all of the people involved in the content over the decades! Amazing technology and ingenuity!

my favorite by faaaarrr is the falcon heavy boosters landing in unison. i know it didnt take super specialized gear to film but what an amazing launch to be alive for.

I RESPECT YOUR DEDICATION AND YOUR COMMITMENT...

I'm pretty sure that guy filming the v2 had balls too big to run with.

5:29 I used to do business with NASA back during the early days of the Space Shuttle and often got within a few feet of those binocular optics used to optically track launch vehicles. They had massive objective lenses. I was an amateur astronomer and would drool when I got a good look at those optics.

My favorite footage: the first stage separation on the Saturn 5. First of all it just looks so stunning and violent, it's hard to believe such a massive essentially hollow structure could withstand the forces at play.

I took a job last year operating a Contraves mount on the launch complex at Vandenberg Air Force Base. We still perform launch tracking with similar procedures and increasingly more sophisticated camera systems. It’s wonderful to see the capabilities of our fellow mobile optics technicians receiving some accolades. Thank you.

You distill so many videos into an understandable compilation. Fantastic research. Thank you

I'm a 64 year old Norwegian amateur photographer. I had NO idea of the scale of all this. Fantastic video and presentation!

Watching F1's ignite and come up to full thrust is still completely amazing to me.

I'm sorry to hear they removed your video. Thanks for sharing it with us again 😊

Very well done ! No computer animated voice just a man that speaks clear English with a nice accent thank you !

I was not one one the amateur videographers to film any of those beautiful launches, but I was inspired by those videos so much that I am now recording all of the launches out of Cape Canaveral FL. My last video was crappy as it was out of focus a bit for the liftoff stage. But I will be sure to do better for the rest of them. Those videos are the only ways many around the world will ever get to see a rocket launch. I truly believe it is an experience more people should have. I hope you all have a great day/night and as always, Keep Smiling

My grandfather RIP was one of those people taking those photos. He worked out of Vandenberg Air Force Base. Of course they took photos of many other things that the air force was developing, most of which he couldn't talk about. When I was a young boy my grandfather took me out on the base one day to see the Thunderbird's, a newly formed aerobatic squadron. They we're putting on a show for the purpose of getting some promotional shots. Selected personnel and their family members where invited to attend. While waiting for their arrival my grandfather put me in the operators seat of the mount and let me control it. You looked through a view finder shaped like a pair of goggles and controlled the motion of the mount with a control stick much like an airplane has with buttons that fire the various cameras instead of Gatling guns. I got to swing the mount around a little bit. It was pretty cool. My gramps worked on all of the big projects of the space race. I have some pretty cool photos of his that have never been seen before. I avoid publishing them due to possible conflicts with classification but most of them are of things that have been declassified like what's shone in this video so it most likely wouldn't be a problem but who knows. I don't want to take the chance.

*Its fun to watch a Perfectly Edited educational Video professionally delivered*

Still watching again, this is so well done! 👍

My favourite is at 4:24 on the ground. Sunny sky, the staff in white shirts, the cars of the sixties and the Saturn V in the background. This was the spirit of that time...

6:01 6:29 The footage of the rocket stages separating with the earth in the background are among the most amazing images I have ever seen.

It's amazing to see how NASA recorded the footage of the launches. I remember going to Cape Kennedy to watch the Columbia blast off in middle school. I took the yearbook photos of the launch, with a lot of advice from the science teachers. I borrowed my brother's 35mm and used 1000 ASA film, which was a really big deal for an 8th grader. It's mind blowing how advanced the professional film was in comparison. Thank you for posting a wonderful video!

I subbed to this channel a long while ago and am still being rewarded by recommendations of (years old, but) awesome documentarys that outmatch many of their TV production counterparts.

Another absolutely wonderful piece. Thank you.

I was quite impressed by how much of the Apollo program was shown live (I was 9 when we landed on the Moon) from space. The videography that most impressed me was when the lunar rover camera followed the live liftoff of the assent stage of the LEM. It was mind blowing to me we could watch our most distant exploration live on television. The live video was also testament to how dedicated they were to doing the space program right. The most recent live views that truly excited me was of the first flight of the Falcon Heavy. The two side busters landing next to each other was rocket science porn. It was also amazing seeing SN9 swing sideways and come down in the skydiver maneuver, something never done before with an orbital class upper stage, from the onboard cameras. The excitement continued with the relight and flip upright with the Raptor engines only failing in the remaining seconds of the landing attempt. I knew that final green that showed clearly on camera was not boron.

It is ALL intoxicating footage to me, but the rise of any of the rockets/vehicles off the landing pads, and the subsequent cameras that catch "the blast off" really are the most-magnificent pieces of footage that move me to tears still to this day. Having seen both Shuttle and ATLAS Rocket launches (John Glenn's Return to Space, and a night ATLAS launch) I feel terribly fortunate to not only having been able to see a pre-9/11 launch, but to watch as technology fosters more adaptation, inspiration and results. It is a grand time to be alive. Thank you for sharing so much knowledge. It is appreciated and know that it will be shared far and wide.

The advancement of the camera systems to record this amazing footages is just as fascinating as the rockets themselves.

My favorite launch footage is actually landing footage of the space x boosters. It's chilling to watch a booster land. It's one of the most exciting things I have seen live in my lifetime.

....just want to thank you for the work you're doing; no hype or bs...just solid, great in-depth information presented in straight forward fashion...quality work all around

SUCH a fantastic video, man! Thank you for taking the time to research & find all the clips that you used for this. Absolutely spectacular!

Superbly researched and well-written, with great footage. Thanks for one of the most densely informative videos on YT. My favourite footage is the slow-motion launch of Apollo 11 from various angles, simply because this was the most important technological event in human history. Half a century after the fact, I still find it deeply moving to watch, and I still find it incredible that, in the first few seconds after being released by the hold-down arms, such a gargantuan and heavy rocket could be kept in perfect vertical balance by computer-controlled reactive gimballing of the F1 engines. Sheer technical mastery!

My favourite is the one at 11:30 , because of the awesome effects you can see as the exhaust plume changes colour and makes this weird electrical-looking plasma. Second favourite is at 13:18 , as you can see the sheer force of the ignition followed by the nozzles vectoring inwards, and then the clamps disengage and the thing just lifts up like it's nothing! Of course I like a lot of other shots, the separation of the Apollo booster in space and the long shots SpaceX have been doing recently where you can watch from a rocket's POV the entire journey up into space and back down to Earth. I'm so glad they stick cameras on these things, as you said, you get to see things that normally no human would be able to safely observe with their own two eyes, and it's always the most awesome parts of a launch!

wow this topic totally blew my mind. Never gave an honest thought to the camera tech for the launches.....awesome vid

I’m so glad that a total coincidence let me find this channel.... the amount of work put into these really superb videos is overwhelming... I just love watching these videos and I hope to see more to come in the future. Fantastic work, guys, I wish you all the best! Cheers, Steven

A lot of great details I never knew about in my years of fascination with the NASA space programs thank you for this superb video!

Great work curious droid. Deep research and access to footage, keep giving us high quality documentary.

Quite the most interesting and informative youtube video I have ever seen. Incredibly well put together thank you. Subscribed.

I love any angles looking down at Earth from the rocket. I think there's one here on YT called "Riding the Booster". Like taking off in a plane except you just keep going until the sky is black, so surreal looking!

Excellent work, just came across your channel. Quality like this is rare - Thank you.

What a spectacular collection of footage and very interesting narrative. Keep up the good work. Thanks!!

wow..never thought it’s complicated to capture the moment, until watching this video. thank you!

Can't remember any specifics, but my fav was a tiny frog that had somehow got onto the launch platform. It was blasted into the air when the SRBs ignited. Poor frog, but pretty memorable.

An excellent production, suitable for any University classroom. Thanks for sharing.

This is so cool! Thank you for posting this. I've seen 90% of the footage shown, but the 10% stuff is still SO AWESOME!

One of my favs would be the video, sound, and telemetry from the SRB's and external fuel tank during shuttle launches and the re entry of the SRB's and fuel tank. The viewer is actually able to experience what it's like to reenter the atmosphere.

As a kid in the 60’s I had “Thunderbirds”- 50 years plus later “Falcon Heavy is go”- and it lands on its tail!!!! It’s about time.

What fascinating information! You have put a lot of time and effort into researching and putting this video together. As an armchair rocket scientist, I wish to express my gratitude for all your hard work. Thank you

Fantastic! Learned many new details about the launch footage.

Great job on this project, important to me, My Father and Brother worked at Johnson Space Center from the day it opened until 15 years ago. I have so many great memories from their stories. I cherish the mission patches that i have which were given to contractors that were flown on the shuttle. I Love your project. Thanks

That was so inspiring thank you for so many beautiful shots of rocket engines, explosive bolts, and enormous propellant doors. You don't see these detailed clips on just any channel...👍🏻

I truly love your videos. you and your team do a wonderful job. I'm assuming team because it's all done so well. The speaking, the script, the timing. The editing. No fluff, just the great info. Thank you so much and again GREAT channel. Long time watcher

That was a well collected information. Thank you so much. I am so mesmerized. People usually give credit to the Rocket scientists but not to the camera people or other people who indirectly support these missions. Had these camera people not captured the snags and mistakes, it would have been very difficult for NASA and other space agencies to figure out the issues. Thank you once again for sharing such amazing information. Appreciate it. Thank you. :)

Woooow that footage at 3:49 is so amazing! To think that that was the first time humans ever saw images of the earth from space.

My favorite footage is of the early Apollo missions where the cameras are sitting at the launch pad filming at a high FPS...watching the fuel mixing and burning in slow motion as those giant F1 engines spew millions of pounds thrust is still awe inspiring :0)

Just gives me a reason to watch it again. This is such a great educational channel Paul. I will be promoting this channel on our streams. Great work!

I will never forget seeing the space shuttle Challenger disaster, only my classmates and I saw it outdoors from the school playground. Being accustomed to launch delays, we always waited until it cleared the launchpad and then ran outside to watch. It was very cold that morning in Central Florida and something about the launch did not look right. We were all rather puzzled and went back inside to watch it on TV. Later that morning, the school held an impromptu prayer service.

Excellent video... Truly amaze at the technology and development of these awesome telephoto lens over the years. Thank you for posting these clips.

Favourite launches were the saturn-5 rockets. I don't know why, they just looked cool going up. A lot more graceful than the shuttle

My favourite is the Saturn V footage from camera E8. It's just amazing!

Very intelligent well made videos on a subject that I have loved since childhood. I'm 60 years old and remember the Apollo missions vividly, and you do a fantastic job of explaining and presenting the content! Thank you!

Outstanding mini documentary! How is it that I've only just now stumbled upon this channel?!?

Thank you! That was very informative. I watched it all the way to the end!

Thanks for re-uploading. I'll just re-watch because it was great!

This is typical of the wonderful, informative programmes you may find on RU-vid . Thank you so much for posting !

This is really good footage, with an intelligent explanation of what is going on. Well done, I really enjoyed and appreciated this.

Great documentary on the amazingly complicated task of visually documenting rocket launches.

Your sense of style is only surpassed by the quality of your videos! Great work!

This has been of interest to me for a long time. Thanks for producing this video. It answered many of my questions. It was also visually awesome, great camera shots.

Thank you for this informative video! I've always wondered how they captured those amazing shots and really enjoyed the in-depth history.

Forget to say - well done Curious Droid for having the curiosity decades afdter the event/s to refocus on what where sights never seen before by humans and the importance of imaging.

3:58 - 4:02 It clearly shows the *curvature of the Earth* . This is gold. Especially in the rise of flatearthers all around.

this was the first video that i watched of yours. now we are here again 5 years later

Excellent documentary containing all the things I like to hear about namely science, space flight, photography. Made me remember the time I went to Florida for a holiday and luckily our take-off for the return flight happened shortly before a shuttle took off from the cape and I managed to watch it lift off from about 20,000 feet and followed it into the stratosphere. Simply amazing.

I didn’t comment on the first vid. I would say my fav is the Apollo 11 and the iconic countdown. I wasn’t alive at the time but seeing it and the importance of it just blows me away.

The Saturn 4 separation video fascinated me as a child.. still does

Great vid! Getting a glimpse of other aspects like umbilicals and explosive bolts in operation are a treat to see in this video. Whenever watching a live manned space launch as a kid, I was most fascinated by the 'little stuff'--staging, escape tower separations, etc. Unfortunately, these would usually be left unseen because the broadcast would cut back to Walter Cronkite.

This is the best video I've watched all month! Good job, mate! Subscribed and I am going to binge-watch the channel for a bit. Cheers!

this bloke is great..always watch his explanations.

At 09:40 it says a 150 inch lens with a 4000mm focal length. 150 inch is 3.8 meters. A 3.8m wide lens would be a fantastic thing! But it would also be more than twice as large as the largest single lens ever made! It should of course be 150mm with 4000mm focal length!

Yet another exceptionally fantastic video from Curious Droid. Thanks a lot and keep them coming

A great video. I was always curious about how they photographed launches and you’ve explained it very well.

Watching again because this was a damn good watch the first time.

Really enjoy these videos. Thumbed up and shared. Thank you.

Great! So much of information about cameras used years ago. Thank you

I didn't realize how far back and just how much insane development went into just the cameras to film all the launches. I definitely took all of that for granted, and I have a minor in photography. I wish rocket cameras was part of the curriculum, this just made me feel like a 5 year old thinking about how awesome and cool all of this tech was. Your vids never stop amazing me, I wish they were documentary length.

Thank you sir for this beautifull footage and brilliant explanation.

I think the most impressive i've seen since watching the early Apollo missions, is the self landing space x rockets, that's some amazing tech right there.

Double thumbs up. Detailed and well presented. Your research and patter are top notch

Fascinating stuff. Any shots of the Apollo programme work for me, it was the first time humans attempted anything like that. Incredible work filing it so well.

Very, VERY well done....no nonsense, no dramatisation, and to the point. If only the History Channel would take note!

Fascinating video… extremely interesting… you have the balance of speech and music just right, unlike some videos which overpower the video with music… I don't have favorite part, I just was enthralled watching the whole thing…

I have followed a lot of your videos and have found them all superb. Good detailed info presented in a clear and non patronising way. This one was particularly good as it is something you think of but never really research, as you have done. A spectacular and informative video. Keep up the fantastic work.

Agreed on your format, very different for RU-vid, keep it up, thanks for the knowledge!

This video is so informative and very well done!

Excellent video. I grew up in the 60's and ever since a child have been fascinated by rockets and the space program. I learned a lot of new information today so thank you very much for that. Very well made video.

Great video, presentation, and wonderfully pleasing voice to listen. Favourite: Saturn V launch, and Falcon boosters landing. The later was like a sci-fi to me.