United States Air Force Space Programs at Cape Kennedy (1964)

Synopsis

The United States Air Force presents “Cape Kennedy 1964,” a color film examining operations at the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida in 1964. At 4:30, Polaris ballistic missile tests are shown with a Polaris launched from a sub underwater. Engineers are shown working on the deadly weapons as the narrator explains their importance a test launch is shown beginning at mark 03:30. The success of missile tests led to the development of the Titan rocket. Although the Titan was used as an intercontinental ballistic missile deterrent they were also used to send highly successful interplanetary scientific probes and satellites into space, as well as all of the Project Gemini manned space flights of the mid-1960s. A Titan is shown on the launch pad starting at mark 05:05 while the narrator explains the technical aspects of the rocket and a Titan II rocket is shown blasting off at mark 05:40, and we learn about the planned launch of a Gemini spacecraft in 1965. President Lyndon B. Johnson is shown at Cape Kennedy at mark 06:45 for a closer look at the Gemini spacecraft, where he meets with astronauts Gus Grissom and John Young. (The two men formed the crew of Gemini 3, the program’s first manned mission.) There is an animation of the goals of Project Gemini (mark 07:20 ) including a planned space walk. The picture continues with further discussion of rocket tests including some for the Saturn rockets to be used for Project Apollo and an eventual moon landing, the narrator…

Uploader's description on archive.org

Details

Running time

26 minutes

Language

English

Collection

Ephemeral Films

Subjects on the Internet Archive

• Stock Footage