[QuadList] OT: Lost tapes - moon landing

[Dennis Ray Wingo]

David

We did a lot of work on this, including proving that there was an FR-900 in the room where the slow scan tapes were made and that Boeing had modified their system to enable the FR-900 to make the recording.  After much discussion with Dick Nafzger and other of the team members we figured out that they did not use the FR-900 on the day of the landing and did not make backups of the tapes from the FR-660 or from the FR-1400's.  

NASA spent a lot of money, and this is what they showed in 2009, to enhance an ABC News Australia standard 2" tape of the event.  There was some huge controversy over the JSC 2" tape from the fellow that had it and he was going to make an independent film using that tape.  I don't know what happened to that effort but it is my understanding that the person was treated pretty badly and was sued by NASA.  The judge ruled that the tape was legitimately his but I have heard nothing about his tape, though through our sources we have seen a DVD copy of it and it is really good.

I have not given up hope that the VR-1100 tape from Australia may turn up at APL, but that will probably happen about 6 months after the last 2" head and or Tony Korte expires…..

If the FR-1400 tapes, the VR-660 tapes, or any FR-900 tapes are found, we can play them.  Ken Zin, along with Al Sturm, has worked miracles on our FR-900A-1 and it probably plays better now than when it was new.  

Dennis



On May 3, 2012, at 7:27 AM, David Crosthwait wrote:

> Dennis,
> 
> I am well aware that the slow-scan data from the moon yielded higher resolution than the output of the RCA vidicon camera-aimed-at-the-monitor scheme. But in light of the fact that NASA, at it's 2009 press conference stated that these data tapes are lost, the next best thing are the JSC 2" quad recordings. And yes I have been briefed about what went on in Australia (VR 660, VHS copy etc.).
> 
> From NASA's press conference:
> 
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/jul/16/moon-landing-tapes-erased
> 
> "I don't think anyone in the Nasa organisation did anything wrong. It slipped through the cracks and nobody's happy about it," said Dick Nafzger, one of the last Apollo-era video engineers still working for the agency at Maryland's Goddard Space Flight Centre."
> 
> And so it goes. If those data tapes were found, would your machines be able to play them at Moffett?
> 
> David
> 

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