[QuadList] NPR right, AP wrong in lead on Houston, We Erased The Apollo 11 Tapes

[Ted Langdell]

Very erroneous lead in the AP story.

AP got it wrong. Twice!

NPR got it right. The NPR story says "some tapes," not "videotapes."

It is ESSENTIAL to make the distinction that the (missing, lost,  
erased, whatever) tapes being that were being searched for are one- 
inch DATA tapes that had telemetry, biomedical information and the  
slow-scan analog video recorded on them.

Contrary to the wrong impression the AP writer is responsible for  
creating, first generation NTSC videotapes —call them "originals" if  
you will—of the moonwalk and other EVA events do exist.

They were sought and used in the restoration described today at the  
Newseum.

Some of these tapes were recorded closer to the scan converter, and  
others, like the NASA Houston tapes went through several microwave  
links, an Intelsat hop, and land lines to reach Houston, and then more  
landlines/microwave to get to CBS.

And as David C. pointed out, NASA sent some apparently first  
generation Quad tapes of the Apollo 11 Extra Vehicular Activities to a  
surplus auction where they were purchased, and have formed the basis  
of a program that will be compared to the results achieved by the NASA  
videotape restoration project.

Did NASA have access to the auctioned tapes for the restoration?

In hindsight, did NASA turn loose material it should have kept?  Yeah.

Could it know that in 1969 or up to when the DATA tapes were re-used?   
That's arguable.

These were telemetry data tapes, and—as Dick Nafzger said this morning— 
were more for analysis if there was some kind of glitch or mishap.

NASA experts could "rewind" the telemetry and get some insight into  
what was happening at any given time, much like they did with the  
Apollo 13 incident.  Once the mission was done... there wasn't a  
mission-critical need or reason to keep them... and at that time,  
nobody had a clue about what technology might be able to do with the  
slow-scan recordings.

And the news—released today—that a pair of Ampex VR-660's had been  
modified and set up at the Parkes tracking station to record the slow  
scan video by itself, triggered a search for those tapes.  
Unfortunately, those couldn't be found.

That tape set could have appropriately been labelled "Do Not Erase."

<whew!>

Ted


On Jul 16, 2009, at 3:46 PM, C. Park Seward wrote:

> Great lead in this AP story:
>
> "By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer – 27 mins ago
> WASHINGTON – NASA could put a man on the moon but didn't have the  
> sense to keep the original video of the live TV transmission.
> In an embarrassing acknowledgment, the space agency said Thursday  
> that it must have erased the Apollo 11 moon footage years ago so  
> that it could reuse the videotape."
> Best,
> Park
>
> C. Park Seward
> Cell: 818-535-2747
> Home: 949-679-1870
> Visit us: http://www.videopark.com
>
>
>
> On Jul 16, 2009, at 7:24 AM, Ted Langdell wrote:
>
>> From NPR:
>>
>> Morning Edition, July 16, 2009 ·An exhaustive, three-year search  
>> for some tapes that contained the original footage of the Apollo 11  
>> moonwalk has concluded that they were probably destroyed during a  
>> period when NASA was erasing old magnetic tapes and reusing them to  
>> record satellite data.
>>
>> http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106637066
>>
>> NASA has, however, offered up a consolation prize for the 40th  
>> anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission — the agency has taken the  
>> best available broadcast television footage and contracted with a  
>> digital restoration firm to enhance it, so that the public can see  
>> the first moonwalk in more detail than ever before.
>>
>> http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/hd/apollo11.html
>>
>> The restoration is ongoing at Lowery Digital in Burbank and is  
>> supposed to be finished in September.
>>
>> You can watch the 11AM EDT news briefing (at 8 am PDT) on the NASA  
>> cable, satellite or internet channels:
>> http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html
>>
>> July 16, Thursday
>> 11 a.m. - NASA News Briefing on Restored Apollo 11 Moonwalk Video  
>> from the Newseum - HQ (All Channels)
>> 1 p.m. - Apollo 40th Anniversary Roundtable - HQ (All Channels)
>>
>> There are other Apollo special programs this week:
>> http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/MM_NTV_Breaking.html
>>
>> Ted
>>
>> Ted Langdell
>> Secretary
>> Skype: 	TedLangdell
>> e-mail:	ted at quadvideotapegroup.com
>>
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Ted Langdell
Secretary
Skype: 	TedLangdell
e-mail:	ted at quadvideotapegroup.com

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