The DVD is unique in that it contains the audio of the comms loop at Honeysuckle and Net 2 (the NASA tracking station network) synchronised with the video of the first 30 minutes of the Apollo 11 moon walk.

The audio starts about 14 minutes before Neil Armstrong’s first step and runs about 30 minutes into the TV broadcast. With help from friends in Australia and the US, we’ve managed to identify just about all of the speakers on the audio loops (Alpha and Net 2).

When the TV camera is turned on, the audio is tremendously helpful in sorting out what’s happening as Houston switches between Goldstone, Honeysuckle, and then Parkes, looking for the best TV signal. The audio also confirms that what was most important was the biomedical data and voice from the astronauts – not the TV!

The audio track on the DVD is stereo – the left channel has Net 1 (i.e. spacecraft audio) and the NASA Public Affairs commentary – and the right channel has the tracking station audio.

You can read about the audio tape used on the DVD here.)

* some unique footage taken at Honeysuckle in the 1960s and 70s,

* greetings to the 21st July 2004 gathering in Canberra from the Apollo 11 astronauts

* and greetings from members of the Instrumentation Support Team “Old Timers” (i.e. Track, TIC, RTC etc. from 1969) in Houston.

The whole DVD runs for around 78 minutes. While it’s not a masterpiece of production, the content is “one of a kind”.

Mike Dinn has kindly posted some screenshots here.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to the many people who helped with the DVD – especially in identifying the speakers and understanding what was going on. Thanks, of course, to NASA, for the video and audio components, without which this DVD would be impossible.

Special thanks to –

Mike Dinn, John Saxon, Hamish Lindsay, Bill Wood, as well as Tom Sheehan and the IST “Old Timers” in Houston (for all their help in sorting through what was going on and who was speaking at each point in the run up to and the start of the EVA)

Bruce Window and Paul Oats (for their photos), John Sarkissian (for the black and white film of Parkes and HSK used in the Apollo 11 EVA section), Robert Brand (for the photo of Paddington and Sydney Video) and Ed von Renouard

and with a very special thanks to Mark Gray (for permission to use portions of the NASA video from his Apollo 11 set)

– and to many others who have been so helpful.

How to get it

In Australia it is $AU15 including postage. I can take cheques or money orders (made out to me) or cash. Or call me on 02 9682 7613 if you are in Sydney and would like to pick one up.

Pay with credit cards via Paypal –

Internationally, it is $US20 – to cover airmail postage.

Pay with credit cards via Paypal –

(For either of the above links, if you are not a Paypal member, just click on the ‘Don't have a PayPal account? Click here’ text below the Paypal login section on the linked page.)

The DVD is PAL format – which should play in any computer that plays DVDs (there’s no Region code) and in all PAL DVD players. It will also play in many newer North American (NTSC) DVD players (especially the cheaper Chinese imports) which handle PAL as well.

Or contact me at the below address for details – and please don’t forget to tell me where to send the DVD! :-)

My contact details are –

Colin Mackellar
9 Ridge Street
Merrylands West NSW 2160
Australia

Phone 02 9682 7613 (from overseas, +61 2 9682 7613)

or write to me at –

(You may like to use the form here to send me mail.).