Mission Control: The Unsung Heroes of Apollo

At about 1:30, footage of the LM ascent module is shown lifting off from the moon. This was the final Apollo mission, Apollo 17, which left the moon on December 14, 1972. This is a remarkable shot, as the camera was being controlled remotely from Houston, and powered by the lunar rover and with the transmission being beamed from the rover's antenna. As it takes approximately one and a half seconds for a radio signal to travel from the earth to the moon and another second and a half for the return signal, controller Ed Fendell had to start the camera moving a second and a half before the actual blast off. He then used the joystick to tilt the camera upwards at the same rate as the ascent of the spacecraft, but anticipate its location from moment to moment and do it one and a half seconds early. Thanks to his precise timing, he was able to capture the shot while keeping the spacecraft in the frame the entire time.