Antigravity Propulsion or Hollywood Special Effects On The Moon?

I’ve read that there exists official NASA footage showing an Apollo module taking off from the lunar surface, evidently minus any conventional propulsion system.
What one sees is a series of bolts that are clamping the module to the Moon's surface explode and the module simply floats up into space.

Can anyone lay his hands on this footage? Would it be somewhere on the net? And if this is a fact then..

Is this evidence of antigrav propulsion in 1969? Or simply a computer-simulated take-off from Hollywood Studios?. I tend to agree with the latter!

Considering the camera was off to the side, pointing down where it COULDN'T SEE THE ROCKET BELL, of course it was going to appear to be no rocket firing. It wouldn't have required a long blast to get the LEM off the moon, with the lower gravity that was there either.

Originally posted by mikesingh
I’ve read that there exists official NASA footage showing an Apollo module taking off from the lunar surface, evidently minus any conventional propulsion system.
What one sees is a series of bolts that are clamping the module to the Moon's surface explode and the module simply floats up into space.

There's this very common piece of footage from Apollo 17 www.youtube.com... - Note that you can see the dust on the surface get blown away around the LM as it takes off.


It's not lacking any conventional propulsion system. You just don't see a flame coming out the bottom because they are in space. Also, the accent module used Aerozine-50 for fuel. This is a 50/50 mixture of hydrazine and UDMH. The Titan rockets used this fuel as well. Usually when first fired, lots of smoke and dust is kicked up (because they are in an atmosphere), but once it's going, they rockets burn very cleanly and the flames are fairly transparent, as seen in this photo of Gemini-Titan 11. Here is a photo of a rocket firring in a test chamber using the same fuel as the Lunar Accent Module. www.clavius.org... now compair that to this image of a solid fueled rocket, which was photographed in the same test chamber. www.clavius.org... Notice how the first was is much less visible?

Is this evidence of antigrav propulsion in 1969? Or simply a computer-simulated take-off from Hollywood Studios?. I tend to agree with the latter!

I'd have to say neither, it's just how it works. Besides, this is the 60's we're talking about. CG special effects from Hollywood at that time? I don't think so, plus Hollywood tends to like big fireballs and explosions.

[edit on 19-9-2006 by jra]

Jra,

Thanx. That was enlightening!
So there was nothing out of the ordinary. Just a normal Take-off after all! .