Fifty years ago today, on Aug. 2, 1971, a lunar liftoff was televised for the first time when the ascent stage of Apollo 15's Lunar Module Falcon departed the surface of the Moon with astronauts Dave Scott and Jim Irwin onboard. This clip combines the televised initial departure with onboard 16mm film, which includes views of the landing site and the descent stage, as well as of Hadley Rille. To highlight the all-Air Force crew, Al Worden in the orbiting Command Module Endeavour played the U.S.

This Sunward view of the Apollo 15 Lunar Module (falcon) and Lunar Roving Vehicle, with the Swann Range of mountains in the background, was captured by Lunar Module pilot Jim Irwin during EVA-2 at the Hadley Rill site. #moon | Future Tech