Ahhh
It had easily been 50 years since the good ship Saturn V had
launched from the roof of
the NBC or ABC or CBS with a cast and crew and support workers aboard.
The entertainment company had developed a nuclear powered rocket engine a little while
earlier and after showing
President Kennedy/Ladybird Johnson
their improved version over what NASA had
wheels turned and "Lost in Aetherspace" was launched quite
literally.
The cast for the Space Family Crusoe ( After 50 years I wonder if the
actual TV series is still under copyright?) got the heavy grease paint needed
so that the early 1960s era television cameras could get a decent
image.
The actor playing Andro-bot and and Doctor Smirnoff were in the real kitchen of this nuclear rocket powered space craft
having a real coffee whilst the Producer,Director and Writing Team
discussed such matters as whether the fictional Jupiter I
could make it to
Alpha Centauri ( I believe that's what was used as the destination
in that early 60s TV series) and whether they needed to worry about Jupiter I
overshooting Centauri a few dozen
light years.Something like taking out the car for the shrt trip to getting
a glass jug of milk and somehow stepping out into the Grand Canyon instead.
Meanwhile the military personel doing side duty as support staff were firing the braking rockets to put
Saturn V into orbit around the Moon.
A trip to another star system was certainly not a priority for
the USA Army in 1963(?) but the Soviet Union certainly was.