Note that the article does not say that it was hard, just that it was perfectly timed. The fact that the time of the launch is known to the second is exactly why they were able to pull this off, but they still had to have the idea, and execute it right.
Plus, realize that we looked at it with the headline "most amazingly timed shot in TV history", which made us look for something extraordinary. It must have been a totally different experience to see this on TV at the time, half asleep learning about rocket fuel, and all of a sudden the guy points in the direction of the launchpad and a rocket lifts off.
Plus, realize that we looked at it with the headline "most amazingly timed shot in TV history", which made us look for something extraordinary. It must have been a totally different experience to see this on TV at the time, half asleep learning about rocket fuel, and all of a sudden the guy points in the direction of the launchpad and a rocket lifts off.