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On Aug. 2, 1971, a lunar liftoff was televised for the first time. Apollo 15 astronauts David Scott and James Irwin spent three days on the moon before departing in the lunar module, named “Falcon.”
Apollo 15 in Photos: A Moon Landing and the 1st Lunar Car for Astronauts
An RCA TV camera was mounted onto their lunar rover, which Scott parked about 300 feet away with the camera pointed at Falcon. Flight controllers in Mission Control Houston had the option to move the camera, but because of some technical difficulties, they opted to leave the camera pointed in the same direction during liftoff. Following a quick pop and a bunch of sparks, Falcon quickly disappeared from sight. Shortly afterward, Falcon joined the command module “Endeavour,” and Apollo 15 began its journey back to Earth.
The Apollo 15 lunar lander seen in a TV broadcast just before its ascent stage launched astronauts David Scott and James Irwin back into space on Aug. 2, 1971. (Image credit: NASA)The descent stage of Apollo 15’s lunar lander is obscured by dust shortly after its ascent stage launched astronauts David Scott and James Irwin back into space after three days on the moon on Aug. 2, 1971. (Image credit: NASA)The Apollo 15 mission launched to the moon on July 26, 1971. The mission was commanded by Scott, with Irwin as lunar module pilot. Astronaut Al Worden served as command module pilot and remained aboard Endeavour as Scott and Irwin explored the moon’s surface. The Apollo 15’s Falcon lunar lander touched down on the moon on July 30. Orwin and Scott performed three moonwalks and test drove NASA’s new lunar rover before lifting off on Aug. 2.
The Apollo 15 crew remained in lunar orbit until Aug. 4, when they departed for Earth. The mission ended with a splashdown landing in the Pacific Ocean on Aug. 7.
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Hanneke Weitering is an editor at Space.com with 10 years of experience in science journalism. She has previously written for Scholastic Classroom Magazines, MedPage Today and The Joint Institute for Computational Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. After studying physics at the University of Tennessee in her hometown of Knoxville, she earned her graduate degree in Science, Health and Environmental Reporting (SHERP) from New York University. Hanneke joined the Space.com team in 2016 as a staff writer and producer, covering topics including spaceflight and astronomy. She currently lives in Seattle, home of the Space Needle, with her cat and two snakes. In her spare time, Hanneke enjoys exploring the Rocky Mountains, basking in nature and looking for dark skies to gaze at the cosmos.
