CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- It was one for the history books.The May 24, 2000 launch of Lockheed Martin's new Atlas 3A rocket was a complete success and provided an unforgetable visual feast thanks to two tiny cameras bolted to the side of the booster.
The video images from the two rocketcams offered armchair astronauts the chance see what it must be like to look out the window of a spaceship as it climbs through familiar blue skies toward the dark black vacuum of space.
During the launch, Lockheed Martin's television production contractor - Communications Concepts, Inc. (CCI) of Cape Canaveral - carefully recorded the full broadcast from each of the rocketcams.
"The video is some of the best we've ever seen," said Jim Lewis, CCI's general manager. "You really get the sense that you're flying aboard the rocket."
And now you can experience the thrill of spaceflight for yourself.
Rocketcam Movie Album
Look below for links to several clips from the tape, including a non-stop, nine-minute-long movie that takes you from launch pad 36B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station all the way into space, where the Earth's curvature is plainly seen.
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Nine minutes into space.
Launch five times faster.
Liftoff into a snowstorm.
Centaur fires up in space.
Finish the trip to orbit.
