May 4, 1961…Network TV Preps For First US Manned Space Shot

On May 4, 2016 - TV History

May 4, 1961…Network TV Preps For First US Manned Space Shot

The next day, on May 5, Alan Shepard became the first American to enter space, but long before that, the networks had flocked to Cape Canaveral with their standard remote equipment, a load of telephoto lenses, and some imagination.

This may be the first use of this wonderful counterbalanced arm system from CBS. This is a Houston Fearless cradle head with the wheel track, pan head base removed, which limited the tilt up. By drilling a hole at the center of balance of the cradle, a cross member support was installed, and an adjustable lead weighted arm was attached underneath. It looks like the wheel track base is being used to secure the rig to the tripod, via it’s Mitchell mounting nut, but is installed sideways, which would allow the cameraman to lock the swivel or pan. Very clever.

I think by the next launch, everyone was using this system, which CBS gladly shared. Notice there is even a periscope made into the custom viewfinder. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

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4 Comments

  1. Val Ginter May 6, 2016

    Interesting that they used TK11A’s in 1961. They were shooting the game shows at 30 Rock with 40s’s. I moved to NYC in 1968, and their studio news on Metromedia was in color; their newsfilm was in monochrome. I directed television in Huntsville, Alabama in 1967, and our newsfilm was in color; our studio cameras were all black and white. It wasn’t until 1966 when ABC became the all-color network. But I was watching Bob and Kay at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago in 1954–in color.

  2. Jeoff C. Bristow May 6, 2016

    This was 7 months and 10 days before I was born. I’m a space hipster baby boomer…

  3. Wally Roper May 5, 2016

    I will never forget that day, our new elementary school opened the Previous year and we watched this in our “special events room on the floor with a big old TV on the metal stand, facing slightly down. It was so exciting for a dorky kid like me!

  4. Kent Ayers May 4, 2016

    Anybody know if the networks back then had to replace the pickup tube after following the lift offs? Seems to me there would be a pretty bad “burn in”.