Tower Cleared!

Why did I write "Live TV From the Moon"?

I work in television and have done so for over 20 years. I have worked in Australia, the USA, the UK and now Germany. When I started, much of the TV equipment which was around when Apollo was in full swing was ending its tenure as the industry standard. When I finally got to see the moonwalks in their entirety, I began wondering how the TV systems worked.

To my dismay I found out that while there was information out there, it was in bits and pieces. I began to collect those bits and pieces until I had enough for a magazine. Then someone who knew what I was up to, suggested a book instead of a magazine. That was in late 2004 - and my hunt began in earnest.

Through the collecting of magazine articles, third-party and NASA reports I began to speak with the people who developed these TV cameras. I discovered they were a treasure trove of information. I quickly noticed that the engineers and NASA folk had all the time in the world for me for whatever question I threw at them. In fact one question could sometimes mean a three-hour telephone call. Not only did I have the physical hard copy reports, I also had the human link behind the reports.

By the time I started writing I had amassed 27 clip-folders full of documentation. (28 including the one with all the photographs). The most daunting thing was "How do I convert all that into a 250 page book?" But I pressed on and finished the book.

It celebrates the hard work the people behind arguably the most famous moving pictures of all time.