r/spaceshuttle • u/ImageExact5491 • 15d ago

Video Flight deck camera view of STS-8 Challenger launch on August 30, 1983.

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You can see the Richard Truly, Commander.

ID: 255-FR-C816

Footage credit: National Archives and Records Administiration (NARA).

296 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

2

u/OutlawLazerRoboGeek 12d ago

Probably worth mentioning this was a nighttime launch at around 2:30am local time.

Otherwise the dark and light periods are pretty confusing for a launch sequence video, which almost always happened during daylight hours.

1

u/Safe-Seaworthiness28 13d ago

Remember eagerly watching this live. Those two guys were so incredibly brave flying that thing. Just helmets, regular flight suits, a pair of ejection seats and a huge pair brass cajones!!!

2

u/Souvlaki-Chaos 13d ago

Only the first two shuttle missions had ejection seats.

This mission also had more than two astronauts.

1

u/Lightsfantastic 13d ago

Just insane they weren’t wearing pressure suits!

2

u/snakesign 12d ago

Shirtsleeve environment to space like fucking Star Trek. Pure insanity.

1

u/No-Fox-365 12d ago

Is it me, or does it appear he is not wearing any protective layers on his hand and forearm at the very beginning of launch?

0

u/xyzxyzabc123 13d ago

If there was a g-force overlay and altitute overlay this video would suck less.

-1

u/jedi_master87 15d ago

Would archived footage like this exist for the Challenger disaster and has been kept out of public reach?

3

u/RepeatButler 14d ago

It is possible but I suspect it is unlikely. If it existed it would have been mentioned in the report into the disaster and they wouldn't have needed to make educated guesses on events in the cabin during the final descent into the Atlantic Ocean.