Apollo 4 & 6: First Saturn V Test Flights - Historical Footage, 1967, A-type missions, CSM, NASA

Documentary about Apollo 4 and 6, the first Saturn V test flights, entirely based on historical narration and footage. Apollo “A-type“ missions, as proposed in 1967, would be “unmanned flights of launch vehicles and the CSM, to demonstrate the adequacy of their design and to certify safety for men.“ Footage of the various rocket stages being assembled, transport crawler, launch, staging, inflight camera footage, and recovery. Animation of the planned mission stages is shown. After each flight problems are described (Gordon Cooper is shown testing the POGO vibrations), and solutions are shown. ________________________________________________________ CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 00:26 Apollo 4 Objectives 03:06 Apollo 4 Flightplan 05:02 Apollo 4 Testing 07:58 Apollo 4 Launch 15:10 Apollo 4 Mission Results 16:34 Apollo 6 Objectives 18:39 Apollo 6 Launch 23:47 Apollo 6 Mission Results ______________________________________________________ The footage was AI upscaled (Topaz AI) on some segments, besides the usual color correction. Ambient audio was recreated based on historical elements. Sequences are shown in proper mission context as much as possible. Historical narration (from mission commentary and NASA documentaries and progress reports) is used in an attempt to capture the feeling of the times. Language and attitudes should be seen in that context. Research, cleanup, editing, and processing by Retro Space HD. ============================================ Apollo 4 (November 9, 1967), also known as SA-501, was the first, uncrewed, flight in the United States’s Apollo program, and the first test of the Saturn V launch vehicle, the rocket that would be used to send astronauts to the Moon. Apollo 4 was an “all-up“ test, meaning all rocket stages and spacecraft were fully functional on the initial flight, a first for NASA. The original launch date was planned for late 1966 but was delayed to November 9, 1967, due to a myriad of problems with various elements of the spacecraft, and difficulties during pre-flight testing. The mission splashed down in the Pacific Ocean slightly less than nine hours after launch, having achieved its objectives. NASA deemed the mission a complete success, as it proved the Saturn V worked, which was an important step towards achieving the main objective: landing astronauts on the Moon and bringing them back safely, before the end of the 1960s. Apollo 6 (April 4, 1968), also known as AS-502, was the third and final uncrewed flight in the United States’ Apollo Program, and the second test of the Saturn V launch vehicle. The flight plan called for following trans-lunar injection with a direct return abort using the service module’s main engine, with a total flight time of about 10 hours. Instead, a phenomenon known as pogo oscillation damaged some of the Rocketdyne J-2 engines in the second and third stages by rupturing internal fuel lines, causing two second-stage engines to shut down early. The vehicle’s onboard guidance system was able to compensate by burning the second and third stages longer, though the resulting parking orbit was more elliptical than planned. The damaged third-stage engine failed to restart for trans-lunar injection. Flight controllers elected to repeat the flight profile of the previous Apollo 4 test, achieving a high orbit and high-speed return. Despite the engine failures, the flight provided NASA with enough confidence to use the Saturn V for crewed launches (Apollo 8 would fly in December 1968). ========================================= A special thanks to the channel supporters ( ): Asbjørn Bathypterois Drew Granston Elpacholag Francis Bernier Gary Smith Gio Pagliari Glenn W. Hussey Jackson Johnson Jan Strzelecki Jeff Pleimling Jules E Kevin Spencer Martin J Lollar Michael Pennington Nathan Koga Noah Soderquist Popio Rick Durr Ryan Hardy Scott Manley ======================================== #saturnv #apollo4 #apollo6