[SATURN I / IB ROCKET PHOTOGRAPHIC ANOMALIES]

This 1960s silent film features footage from NASA’s Apollo Program, including footage of "anomalies" with launches of Saturn I rockets. The Saturn rocket program was part of the United States’ early attempts at spaceflight, and the program went through several iterations, up to the Saturn V rockets that carried men to the moon as part of the Apollo program.

The film begins with footage of AS-103, also known as SA-9. This was the third orbital flight test of a boilerplate Apollo spacecraft, and the first flight of a Pegasus micrometeroid detection satellite. It was the third operational launch of a two-stage Saturn I launch vehicle. The initial view is from a distance, showing the Saturn I rocket on a launchpad at the Kennedy Space Center (0:10), then zooms in on the rocket thrusters igniting during takeoff (0:22). The rocket blasts off from the launchpad. A shaky, somewhat blurry view of the launch tower is shown at 2:00. A closeup of the rocket separating from the Launch Umbilical Tower, followed by a camera data sheet noting camera location, film format and speed of film transport: “SA-9 E-60 UMBILICAL TOWER 16MM 40MM FPS 37B 168’ SE” (2:34). A top-down view of the rocket liftoff (3:02) as it goes through stage separation. The second stage of the Saturn I rocket is shown, with text “Onboard-2 side of S-IV Stage .1655” lens 64 fps from Fin II” (3:51). A view from the rocket above Earth’s surface (4:57). The next mission shown is SA-8, which delivered the second of three Pegasus micrometeoroid detection satellites into low-Earth orbit on May 25, 1965. Footage shows the Pegasus payload, shroud separation, and solar panel deployment (5:54). This was the first night launch in the Saturn I program. The final part of the film starting at (7:14) shows an unidentified Saturn IB launch and staging as seen from the ground and on-board cameras (7:54). This is probably AS-202 (also referred to as SA-202 or Apollo 2), the second uncrewed, suborbital test flight of a production Block I Apollo command and service module launched with the Saturn IB launch vehicle. It was launched on August 25, 1966, and was the first flight which included the spacecraft guidance, navigation control system and fuel cells. The film ends with a shot from the lower stage as the upper stage separates and continues on its path towards orbit, becoming a pinprick of light in the distance.