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Readers!

 

My July fund-raising campaign to celebrate the fifteenth anniversary since I began Behind the Black is now over. I want to thank all those who so generously donated or subscribed, especially those who have become regular supporters. I can't do this without your help. I also find it increasingly hard to express how much your support means to me. God bless you all!

 

The donations during this year's campaign were sadly less than previous years, but for this I blame myself. I am tired of begging for money, and so I put up the campaign announcement at the start of the month but had no desire to update it weekly to encourage more donations, as I have done in past years. This lack of begging likely contributed to the drop in donations.

 

No matter. I am here, and here I intend to stay. If you like what I do and have not yet donated or subscribed, please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:

 

1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.

 

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Filming rocket launches

An evening pause: Normally I post things unrelated to space in my evening pauses, but this video describing the history of the development of the cameras that film rocket launches is too good to not post. Besides, every rocket launch is entertaining to watch, even those that fail.

Hat tip Kevin Franke.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 

The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

8 comments

  • MarcusZ1967

    Curious Droid is a GREAT researcher…. been a fan and subscriber of his for a many years….

    Another great one here….

    https://youtu.be/ovD0aLdRUs0

  • Phill O

    Nice video!

  • Jason Hillyer

    Saw this years ago, great video with lot’s of information. I also have been Subscribed to Curious Droid for quite a while.

  • Chris

    Very cool video
    Directly after college I worked for Contraves in Pittsburgh for almost ten years.
    The engineering staff was second to none. It was engineering nirvana for a kid just out of school.

  • wayne

    Kevin–
    great selection!

    related:
    there exists a great documentary on the film unit that photographed all the nuclear bomb tests…. but I can’t readily locate it.
    The Lookout Mountain film lab people. Lengthy, with interviews from alumni and excellent archival footage.

  • wayne

    here we go….
    (–not sure if this complete)

    “Hollywood’s Top Secret Film Studio”
    https://youtu.be/OWTNxaEYNUM
    51:45

  • pzatchok

    A while ago I was looking for telescope mounts and actually found a bunch of these telescope camera mounts for sale at close to scrap prices.

    They were all from the Nevada test range I believe, WSMR, and went on sale when they upgraded about 10 years or so ago.

    Cameras not included. But the optics were.

  • wayne

    pzatchok-
    great story!

    pivoting back quite a bit further:
    after the rocket launch is filmed….
    “Baker Nunn Satellite Tracking Cameras”
    http://bollerandchivens.com/?p=561

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