Launch of Apollo 17 (TV Feed and NASA Footage)

Video from the channel lunarmodule5 about Apollo 17, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 7:57. Language: English. Video type: Launch.

Recording of the Apollo 17 launch combining the Kennedy Space Center television feed during the countdown with NASA footage of the liftoff. The audio switches from the launch center commentator to the onboard recording, with the crew's conversations during the ascent.

The countdown is followed from just under three minutes before liftoff. The commentator explains the automatic terminal sequence, the transfer from external power to the flight batteries, the completion of liquid oxygen and hydrogen loading, and the pressurization of the second- and third-stage tanks. With 45 seconds remaining, Gene Cernan performs the final guidance system alignment, the crew's last action before liftoff. After ignition, the Saturn V clears the tower and lights up the area as if it were daytime. The commentator had announced that, with good weather, the launch could be seen up to 500 miles away, from the southeastern United States, northern Cuba and the Bahamas. Onboard, the crew comments on the roll and pitch, the strong vibrations until exceeding maximum dynamic pressure, accelerations of three to four g, and stage separation.

The ascent proceeds as planned: mission control confirms at each stage that the mission is go, and the crew reports that the engines are performing well. The recording ends with a remark on how impressive the night launch was.