Twenty seconds to drop.
Arm switch light check.
Brakes out, check.
What's your mixing chambers?
Real rough up here, fluctuating a half degree on each side.
I see that.
Ten seconds.
Good on track, 15 seconds.
Give us a visual estimate of your location.
Okay. 140,000 feet. On your way down.
Approaching 115,000 feet.
Should be regaining aerodynamic control.
Right turn.
We show you ballooning, not turning.
Altitude rising. A lot more right.
Neil, you're bouncing off the atmosphere.
The altitude's still rising, Neil.
You're gonna have to stretch out your glide.
You seem to be a tad short.
Stow your flaps down, Neil.
I'm down.
Roger.
You okay?
Yeah.
Okay, Neil.
Kid's a good engineer.
But he's distracted.
He got home, Chuck.
He bounced off the atmosphere and still figured out how to get home.
Third mishap this month.
Bikle should ground him before he hurts himself.
There you go.
It's okay.
It's okay, sweetheart.
What's that?
Look. Who's that?
Is that a kite?
Does that fly in the sky?
Yeah.
How?
I see the moon
The moon sees me
Down through the leaves of the old oak tree
Please let the light that shines on me
Shine on the one I love
Maybe I should talk to Dr. Johns about it.
Who?
Dr. Harold Johns.
He developed a procedure in Saskatchewan.
So you'd go to Canada?
I guess I would take some time off.
Why don't you talk to the hospital?
See if the tumor might...
I spoke to them already.
I'm sorry, Neil. I wish I had more to offer.
That's okay, Jack. Appreciate it. Of course.
Give my love to June. You got it.
Okay, bye now. Bye.
Now, who made that? You or Grace?
Grace did.
I'll take it, then.
Thank you. Thank you.
Dick Day called from Houston.
He was asking after you.
That about Gemini?
They're looking for pilots with a solid background in engineering.
Well, maybe once Karen starts feeling better.
Just, you know, I wouldn't wanna move her until then.
Well, it would be nice to keep you around.
- Enjoy the casserole. - Thank you.
You're welcome.
Joe. Hey, Jan.
You hanging in?
You know.
It's nice of you to come by.
Of course.
Night, now.
Dad, wanna come play?
I should...
I have to help your mother.
I thought I might go to work.
Okay.
They're gonna use VTOL technology.
They don't even have it figured out how to get there yet.
I'm not gonna waste my time on...
Morning.
Neil.
You can take a few days off, you know.
I know.
I'm just getting up to speed on the new delta wing in the U K.
Bikle canceled the trip.
He wants you focused on writing up the pilot report from your last flight.
Am I grounded, Joe?
Write up the report on the bounce, okay?
Civilian?
Yeah. Yeah. Me, too.
Elliot. Neil.
Tough morning?
I barely lasted two minutes in that ice bath.
Of course, I suppose NASA's more interested
in the psychological reaction.
Well, I think I made it pretty clear that I thought it was cold.
Armstrong.
Good luck.
And to you, too.
Another egghead.
Neil, we've been chatting with candidates about the program.
As you know, our decision to forego direct ascent
in favor of a lunar orbit rendezvous approach
to the eventual Moon mission
has had a major impact on Gemini.
Do you have any thoughts on that decision?
Well, even considering von Braun's initial criticism,
it seems that the payload saved by parking the primary vehicle in orbit
and sending a smaller ship down to the lunar surface
is well worth the resulting challenges.
What do you see as the challenges?
Cislunar navigation, for one.
And rendezvous and docking.
Why do you think spaceflight's important?
I had a few opportunities in the X-15 to observe the atmosphere.
It was so thin, such a small part of the Earth
you could barely see it at all.
And when you're down here in the crowd and you look up, it...
It looks pretty big and you don't think about it too much, but...
When you get a different vantage point, it changes your perspective.
I don't know what space exploration will uncover,
but I don't think it'll be exploration just for the sake of exploration.
I think it'll be more the fact that it allows us to see things
that maybe we should've seen a long time ago.
But just haven't been able to until now.
- Does anyone have anything else? - Yeah.
Neil, I was sorry to hear about your daughter.
I'm sorry, is there a question?
What I mean is do you think it will have an effect?
I think it would be
unreasonable to assume that it wouldn't have some effect.
All right, Neil.
Thank you. That's fine.
Thank you. Thank you for your time.
Hello?
Yeah, sure. Neil.
Hello? Can I go play outside?
Yeah.
Yes, sir.
Thank you, sir.
I got it.
It's a fresh start.
Are you sure?
Yeah.
Hey.
It'll be an adventure.
Since the time of Jules Verne,
man has imagined traveling to the Moon.
The old idea of how to get to the Moon
was to send one spacecraft all the way there and back.
However, NASA engineers have developed a modern approach.
Where one rocket contains several ships that will make the journey together.
Just as Columbus took a rowboat
from the Santa Maria to the shore of the New World.
The astronauts will take a smaller spacecraft
from the mothership down to the lunar surface.
When it's time to return, the smaller craft
will lift off from the surface
and dock with the mothership, which will then power the crew back to Earth.
Thus, thanks to the brilliant minds of NASA,
the age-old dream of going to the Moon
will soon be achieved.
Sputnik, Sputnik 2...
Vostok...
Gagarin.
The Soviets have beaten us at every single major space accomplishment.
Our program couldn't compete.
So we've chosen to focus on a job so difficult,
requiring so many technological developments,
that the Russians are gonna have to start from scratch.
As will we.
Hi. I'm Pat. Hi.
Got here about a week before you, so welcome to the neighborhood.
That's so nice of you.
I'm Janet.
Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you.
So, instead of here, we go...
Here.
That's to scale. Check it.
That's my husband, Ed.
And that's Eddie Junior. I don't know where Bonnie is.
You've got two? I do.
I see... Is this your first one?
No, no. We've got a boy, Rick.
How old is he?
He's five and a half.
We should get them together.
If we wanna get this done,
we need to prove that two ships can find each other in orbit
and dock without crashing.
That's the primary mission of Project Gemini.
When we think you're ready,
each of you will be assigned a flight with a specific task.
Only after we master all these tasks do we move on to Apollo.
Consider trying to land on the Moon.
It's nice to meet you. And you, Pat.
Bye. Bye.
Eddie! Put that down.
Gus...
You got anything to add?
Just do your job.
Almost to scale.
The Multi-Axis Trainer was designed to replicate roll coupling on three axes.
The kind you might encounter in space.
The challenge is to stabilize the machine before you pass out.
First victim, Armstrong.
White, you're up.
Yeah, I got it.
I'm okay.
Let's go again.
Fuck.
Gentlemen, welcome to Basic Rocket Physics.
We'll just be covering the first chapter tonight.
When using a multi-stage launch vehicle,
it's necessary to determine what the right sizing is of those stages.
Hi.
You okay?
Yeah.
Just thinking about this lecture. It's kinda neat.
What's neat about it?
Well,
it was about how to rendezvous with the Agena.
If you thrust, it actually slows you down
because it puts you into a higher orbit,
so you have to reduce thrust and drop into a lower orbit
in order to catch up.
It's backwards from what they teach you as a pilot.
But if you work the math, it... It follows.
It's kinda neat.
Yeah.
What's funny?
No, it's not funny. It's just...
It's kinda neat.
Do you remember this?
Yeah.
I'm surprised that you remember it.
Great. Thank you.
Thank you for having us.
It's a pleasure.
Carrie.
Here you go. Would you like some salad?
Thank you. That's a lovely piano, Pat. Do you play?
Bonnie's taking lessons.
Well, perhaps we'll sing for our supper.
Neil plays piano?
Neil knows all kinds of show tunes.
Janet... Come on.
He was musical director at his fraternity in college.
Honey...
Yeah, he wrote the musical for the all-student revue.
I didn't write the music. Yeah, you did.
No, we used music from Gilbert and Sullivan.
Well, he wrote all-new lyrics.
The Land of Egelloc.
It was quite funny.
The Land of Egelloc?
Egelloc.
You've never heard of it?
I haven't.
I'm surprised. It's a distant land.
But it's a magical place.
It's "college" spelled backwards.
Seriously?
Yep.
- You're backup on 5? - Yeah.
Don't worry, you'll get your own mission soon.
How's training going on 4? It's good.
I think we're close on EVA.
First man to walk in space.
That'd be something, huh?
Yeah. Well, you know, the walking's the easy part.
It's getting back inside that's tough.
You know, it'd be a hell of a ride to come back with my tail hanging out.
I think McDivitt will cut the cord before that ever happens.
You throttle back there, Armstrong.
Ed! Phone for you. Yeah?
Yeah, who is it? It's Deke.
Okay, hang on.
I think that's Castor and Pollux.
I was testing you. And you passed.
I thought about letting it fly, but...
Yeah.
No, I'll turn it on right now.
Hey, guys.
With a Soviet pressure suit, we're told,
that was designed for the lunar surface.
I'll call you back.
This is, of course, mankind's first EVA, or extravehicular activity.
Within the American space program,
EVA is seen as one of the crucial tests the astronauts must master
if they are to successfully carry out their mission to the Moon.
Astronaut Ed White was scheduled to perform
the first EVA during Gemini 4.
So this is yet another major victory
for the Soviet Union in the Space Race.
We got it from here.
Thanks, Elliot.
Eight days up there.
To be honest, I'm kinda glad we didn't get this one.
Hope they don't kill each other.
At least it'd be quieter around here.
Neil!
Neil Armstrong, our backup commander.
Buzz Aldrin.
Roger Chaffee.
Couple of greenhorns from third group. They'll be at blockhouse for launch.
Listen, can I speak to you for a minute?
Fellas.
We're putting you in command of Gemini 8.
Dave Scott is gonna be your pilot.
We get the Agena back online.
You're probably gonna be the first to dock.
Don't worry about Elliot. We'll put that brain of his to work.
We've got a big EVA planned for 8. Dave's a workhorse.
Yes, sir.
I'll talk to you later today. Thank you.
My eye! My eye!
Mr. Armstrong.
When'd you start swimming?
I don't remember exactly, but I think school.
In high school?
Yeah. And we had a... We had a summer house in northern Wisconsin
and I just used to go to the lake and fish
and I just used to swim for miles and miles.
I've always loved it.
Nothing quite compares to your terrible life.
You got it comin'.
It's the longest bridge in the world, but...
It's the second-largest suspension bridge in the world
but these cables are the longest.
- Hey, Ed. - Hi.
Can I speak with Neil?
Yeah, sure. Why don't you come on in? You're soaked.
No, I'll... I'll wait here. Thanks.
You could fly under there.
That would hurt if you jumped under it.
What's that? That would hurt if you jumped over it.
Yeah.
Here are the sky pieces...
Neil. Ed's outside.
Okay. Excuse me, son.
Hi.
Do you wanna come in?
Some bad news about Elliot.
No, I know. Deke told me he bumped him, but...
Neil, Elliot and Charlie were flying into St. Louis this morning.
Their T-38 crashed on approach.
There was a lot of fog.
So did you really fly under that bridge?
Was it fun?
Were you scared?
Ricky.
Honey.
Why don't you go and get your homework so I can check it?
Yes, ma'am.
Who was it?
Shit.
How the hell did this happen?
Cernan told me cloud cover was down to 500 feet.
Probably never saw the building.
Clearly, the error was the approach.
He was coming in too slow to reach the runway.
What?
You know Deke had his doubts about him, that's why he moved Elliot off 8.
Deke gave Elliot his own command.
Elliot wasn't aggressive enough. You of all people have to know that.
No, I don't.
I didn't investigate the crash.
I didn't study the flight trajectory. And I wasn't the one flying the plane.
So I wouldn't pretend to know anything.
We'll never be 100% sure.
Can we go?
Not right now. I wanna help Marilyn clear all this up.
I don't wanna have her do it after we're gone.
Neil?
I'm sorry.
I hate to be a bother.
Jan, it's no bother. Jan. Yeah, no.
Neil's...
There was a year when we were at Edwards...
Four pilots died.
We got good at funerals that year.
We haven't been to one in a while.
Does he ever talk to you about Karen, Ed?
Not really. No.
Does he talk to you about her?
No.
Never.
Hey, buddy.
You know, you should be with Jan.
Neil, you should be playing with your kids.
You know, putting them into bed.
Times like these... Do you think I'm standing out here
in the backyard 'cause I wanna talk to somebody, Ed?
I'm sorry?
Do you think I left there 'cause I wanna talk to somebody?
T-minus one minute and counting on the Atlas-Agena launch.
- Liftoff. - Agena is go.
Flight dynamics for unmanned Agena target vehicle looking good.
Stand by for Gemini launch.
Yeah.
Okay.
Guaymas, read you loud and clear.
We have S band track.
We have just locked up on T. M.
All right. Yeah, what's that?
Did you say all systems go on T. M.?
Hold still, hold still.
So, what is that?
Wait. Hold on a second. Scoot. . . Can you scoot down at all?
- Hey. - What are you doing?
Does anybody got a Swiss Army knife?
Hold on, hold on a sec.
- What'd you say? - See if this will do the trick.
A Swiss Army knife?
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. It's just a little...
- Are you kidding me? - There we go.
- Good Lord. - You got it.
Guaymas, Agena is go.
Roger, Guaymas.
Switching to HF. One, two, three, four, five.
Five, four, three, two, one. Check out.
Copy. T-minus two minutes.
Engines to start.
Ground power removal.
Stage 2 prevalves coming open. Five seconds.
T-minus 20 seconds. Mark.
Ten, nine,
eight, seven,
six, five, four,
three, two, one.
Ignition.
Liftoff!
Clock is running. Got a roll program in.
Roger. Roll. Good liftoff, 8.
- Pitch program. - Roger. Pitch program.
DCS update received.
Roger. DCS.
Stage two tanks look good.
That's about three and a half g's.
Go from the ground for staging.
Roger.
Fuel cells are solid.
Gemini 8. Mark. V over Vr
is point zero eight.
Okay. Mode three.
We had SECO.
"Fear that someone will break in
"and steal all of my
"Hank Williams..."
Roger. Transmitting maneuver load.
It's a height adjust.
Height adjust. Got DCS.
Roger. And are you ready to copy the update? Over.
Okay, go with the update, Hawaii.
Roger. GET B 1-3-4-3-7.
Delta-V, two-decimal-nine.
Burn time, zero plus zero-five.
"Out of..."
- Hi. - Hey, Mom, can I get you anything?
"Constant."
Thrusters forward. Maneuver retrograde. Did you copy?
Roger, Hawaii. Got it.
This is Paul Haney at Gemini Control Houston.
Our display chart shows Gemini 8 in orbit.
The crew will now attempt to find the unmanned Agena spacecraft
and dock with it.
- Burn end. - Good burn.
Shouldn't we have a visual on the Agena by now?
Houston, I think we overdid it a little.
We should have stopped early.
Roger.
8, stand by for a correction.
FIDO, Flight. How we doing?
Okay, we got a solid track on both vehicles.
Calculating for the burn.
FIDO, Agena, do you have what you need from us?
FIDO, did you copy that?
Roger, Flight. I copy.
You guys getting this?
We just have some ratty data with the Gemini computer.
Need the correction, gentlemen, let's go.
Sending it up now.
- Okay, CAPCOM, let's get it up to them. - This is Houston CAPCOM.
We're gonna need you to do another burn here
very shortly, so stand by to copy.
GET B 0-3-0-3-4-1.
Delta-V is two seconds posigrade.
Two feet...
Delta-V is two feet posigrade.
8, do you copy?
- Mark. - Two feet posigrade...
Give that back, Mark. Give that back. Put it back on the table.
That is correct. Zero, zero, zero.
Honey. Give me it. It's really important.
Let me know what the results are.
Give that back to Mom right now.
Do you copy?
Mark Armstrong, if you don't give me that back...
8, do you copy?
I'm not joking, Mark.
I'm getting a horrendous 20 to 25 feet per second down, Neil.
I can't see any possible reason for that.
Where are we on the plot? We're above it.
Right, but what does it look like if. . . I can't.
I'm sorry. I have to... I have to look at this.
- Okay. - 8, can you give us a status?
No. I got too much to do.
Copy. Standing by.
Okay, we're gonna go with a closed loop.
Twenty-five forward,
eight left, three up.
And I'm going to rate command.
Three, two, one,
burn.
Could be a planet.
Could be.
This is Houston, we have your ground
TPI backup when you're ready to copy.
Stand by, we have a visual on the Agena.
At least something we think looks like the Agena.
Understand, possible visual on the Agena.
We're getting a little out of plane now.
Yeah. We gotta get three aft and two and a half up.
I'm gonna start braking. Give me a digital range and rate.
I better back off a bit.
6,000 feet, 31 feet per second.
Put in a little to the left. 1,680 feet.
That's unbelievable.
Would you look at that?
You tell 'em.
Houston, we're station-keeping on the Agena about 150 feet.
Okay, stay focused, gentlemen. We're only halfway there.
Thanks for the extra hands.
Stay focused, gentlemen.
Man, it flies easy.
Does it really?
The station-keeping, it's just...
It's like nothing.
RKV, this is 8.
We're sitting about two feet out.
Roger. Stand by for a couple of minutes here.
Roger.
Okay, Gemini 8, we have TM solid.
You're looking good on the ground. Go ahead and dock.
Okay, we're gonna cycle our Rigid-Stop switch now.
Flight, we are docked.
Someone call Cronkite!
Have him tell the Soviets that they can go screw!
Get him on the phone, man.
Hey, Pete! Hey, call those idiots at Congress while you're at it!
Yeah, I'll start with Rhode Island.
Damn.
Well done. Let's go ahead and get a state vector
on the combined spacecraft.
Gemini 8, this is Houston CAPCOM. Please stand by to copy.
Check out my room like this.
Look at all these papers. I know.
I spent days trying to work on that, and now it's crumpled up.
Look at my drawer. I know.
I had all my crayons in that, and now look at all the crayons.
But, Ricky, are you telling me the full story?
'Cause I'm not sure your brother would do that.
Yes, I am telling you!
Don't you get angry with me. Look at this!
Don't get upset.
8, this is Houston.
I've got a nodal update for you. Stand by.
Okay, go ahead. Rick!
Roger. Node 0-7-0-4-4-7...
Okay, out here now. Out here now.
1-5-5-2 right ascension.
Gemini 8, we're about to have loss of signal.
We'll pick you up over the hill for Dave's EVA.
Well...
That's peculiar.
Good.
I'm hoping that's just excess hydrogen.
I think I'm gonna save mine for later.
Little treat.
Neil, we're in a bank.
We're not doing it. It's not us. It must be...
Shut off the Agena's control systems.
Code 4-0-0...
Agena control system shut down.
Cycle the Agena.
Turning it on. Turning it off.
I'm gonna cycle the ACME and the propellant motor valves.
Switching ADL to pitch.
RL to pitch.
Roll meter 200 and rising.
Separate from the Agena.
Setting Agena to allow remote command.
Switching on the DAC.
Make sure you give it extra thrust so we don't smash into the Agena.
On my mark, undock.
Two...
One...
OAMS propellant, 13%.
It's not the Agena. It's us.
Gemini 8 coming back into range in three, two, one.
This is CSQ, checking our comm link.
How do you read?
Gemini 8, how do you read?
We have serious problems.
We're tumbling end over end up here.
We're disengaged from the Agena.
Okay, we got your spacecraft free indication here.
What seems to be the problem?
We're rolling up and we can't turn anything off.
We're continuously increasing in a left roll.
CSQ, Flight.
Go ahead, Flight.
Did he say he cannot turn the Agena off?
No, he says he's separated from the Agena
and he's in a roll, and he can't stop it.
Flight, their roll meter reads 270 and rising.
At that rate, they'll be passing out in about 40 seconds.
Paul.
Trying to stop the rates.
We certainly have...
You need to...
Gemini 8, you need to...
We can't...
Close the RCS breakers.
Dave!
Gemini 8, did you say you are closing RCS breakers?
Are you initiating RCS?
Gemini 8...
Again, did you say you are closing RCS breakers?
You will not be able to control your attitude.
Okay.
We're regaining control of the spacecraft.
Slowly in RCS direct.
Roger.
Roger. Copy.
We're pulsing the RCS slowly. It's all roll right.
We're trying to kill our roll rate here.
Move us back to one ring.
Copy.
I want emergency landing options.
Wait until you find out how much fuel there's left.
Bob, what do you think?
I think they'd better land now.
Deke.
Jan's outside.
Jan, the ship is stable. They're gonna be all right.
He's okay, Jan.
I need you to go home.
Fine. Turn the box back on.
I'll see what I can do...
Now. Turn the box back on now.
Well, there's security protocol that's...
Well, I don't give a damn.
I've got a dozen cameras on my front lawn, Deke.
Do you want me telling them what's going on?
Jan, you have to trust us. We've got this under control.
No, you don't.
All these protocols and procedures to make it
seem like you have it under control.
But you're a bunch of boys making models out of balsa wood.
You don't have anything under control!
Naha Rescue One will be on station at splashdown.
With a flotation collar.
Did you get the call signs?
Yeah. It's Naha Rescue One
and Naha Search One.
Well, I'd like to argue with them about the going home, but I'm
not sure how we can.
Yeah.
I just keep thinking, is there anything else that we forgot?
We did everything, as far as I know.
Gemini 8 saw two complex vehicles launched on the same day on time.
We saw flawless rendezvous and docking.
All of which is tended to be overshadowed by the malfunction.
But I think we should focus on the progress resulting from the mission.
The board would like to focus on the malfunction.
Neil, walk us through the decision to separate from the Agena.
You mentioned that the rate of revolution was more than once a second.
How near were you to being unconscious?
Did you think to use the Agena to stabilize the combined craft?
We did.
This was not successful.
As I said, we initially assumed
that the anomaly was with the Agena control system.
'Cause there was no way to know that a thruster was causing the...
If we could have isolated each of Gemini's thrusters...
If we'd had that capability in the moment...
Agence France.
Did you have any feeling of anxiety after the failure of the thrusters?
In the midst of the spinning,
did you seem to realize or feel the presence of God closer than other times?
With this so hot on the heels of the loss of Charlie Bassett and Elliot See,
do you question whether the program is worth the cost?
In money and in lives?
All right, thanks, guys.
We've got a lot to discuss and we'll be back in touch with you soon.
Thank you.
No. So, we're using our thumb now, honey..
Okay.
"Our Wild Ride In Space"?
It's marketing, Mr. Armstrong. NASA approval numbers are dropping.
That's not my concern.
Almost. Okay.
I'm gonna finish wrapping your brother's present. I'll be back.
- You practice that one. - I'll try.
I'm not interested in how other magazines are framing the story.
Okay. Keep going.
If it's any consolation, Ed was a zombie for weeks after Gemini 4.
Yeah?
Yeah. I guess it must be disorienting for them.
Certainly.
Yeah.
God, Pat.
I married Neil 'cause I wanted a normal life.
I know. I know.
He was just so different from all the other boys on campus.
He'd been through the war. You know?
He knew what he wanted to do.
He just seemed so stable.
I guess all I wanted was stability.
I've got a sorority sister with a normal life.
Yeah? She married a dentist.
Dentist. Sounds good.
He's home by 6:00 every night.
And every few months, she calls to say she wishes he weren't.
Yeah.
Still working, I see.
Yeah.
Well, I was gonna go grab a beer at Dave's.
Yeah, all right. Fine.
I could use a beer.
You know, I will say one thing.
It's all I can think about,
is getting back up there.
Just caught a rough break.
Well, you boys did everything right.
Everything.
You know, I was talking about it with Gus, and we both agreed.
I did hear a little rumor that you and Gus have been hanging out.
You did?
Hey.
Is it true?
Is what true?
Deke pulled me aside and told me that him and Gus want me on the crew.
Of the first Apollo?
Yeah.
Holy shit, that's huge.
Congratulations.
I gotta shake your hand.
Thanks, man.
That Saturn's a monster, you're in for one heck of a ride.
It is.
Hey.
You know Deke wants Gus to be the first one on the Moon, so...
Hey, that puts you in the LEM with him for the landing.
No. Let's not get carried away.
All right, get out of my house. I gotta go to bed.
I'm not kidding, get out of my house.
Neil.
Hey, Neil. Don't bother sitting, it's gonna be a short meeting.
We've talked it through, we think it's pretty clear. If you hadn't kept cool,
you wouldn't be here and we'd still be asking what the hell happened.
So would Congress. It's a showstopper.
This mission was a success.
We're full steam ahead for Apollo.
You good with that?
Yes, sir.
I trust you won't mind representing us at the White House.
No, sir.
Good.
Thank you.
"Interface problems and develop operational techniques
"for the most efficient use of on board capabilities."
What?
I got one. I got one.
No! I got one.
I don't know why you're laughing. He's gonna do that to you in a minute.
This time, I'm gonna put this one in the freezer.
You need a hand?
- Yeah. - Okay, in you go.
Can you open the freezer?
Let's keep him for longer and then he won't...
In you go.
I got one.
- Because I want to. - Who did what?
- Me. - Have you seen his room?
Son, go stand in the corner.
It's not funny.
Thanks a lot, Mark!
- Stop laughing. - You're lying!
Punish him. Just you stop it.
You're the reason he's upset.
Your mother's not laughing, she's crying.
I'm not laughing, I'm crying.
I gotta tell you.
Eddie's started asking questions about the new command module.
- Is that right? - Yeah.
He wants to know if it's gonna fly any different to Gemini.
If the little buttons are gonna be in the same place.
Oh, boy. Yeah.
You got yourself a little engineer there.
I tell you, though,
I love that he's interested.
Came in the other morning, he did.
Comes runnin' up and he says, "Daddy,
"if you go to the Moon, are you gonna be lonely out there?
"So far away from the Earth.
"All of us back here at home."
This whole thing is expanding his horizons.
It gives me faith.
It make sense?
Walkers got a new swing set.
Yeah, I noticed that.
We had a swing like that back up in Juniper Hills.
Karen really loved it.
That's your daughter?
Guess I ought to be gettin' home.
Closing hatches now.
Okay, that's all of 'em.
Thanks, Ed.
Ablative hatch closed.
Closing the boost protective cover.
And plugs out.
Ready for oxygen purge.
Guys, you wanna hold down the chatter? We're on open mic.
Let's hold the countdown.
Sorry, guys, we'll get this squared.
Shit, we're gonna be here all night.
Gus, we didn't get that.
'Course you didn't.
Glad you think this is funny.
We finished strong with Gemini
and we're very, very bullish on Apollo, Senator.
I should hope so, given the time we've spent developing it.
Half the country doesn't think it's worth it anymore.
Well,
we learned to fly only 60 years ago,
so if you consider the technological developments in the context of history...
I'm considering it in the context of taxpayer dollars.
And so are we, Senator.
Between us, we're doing some final tests on the new command module today.
I'm sure Mr. Gilruth would be happy to tell you about it.
Let me introduce you to Bob. Come on.
Okay.
Well, I haven't talked yet. How's this?
One, two, three, four, five,
four, three, two, one.
We need another minute to get it sorted.
How are we gonna get to the Moon if we can't talk between three buildings?
They can't hear a thing you're saying.
Jesus Christ.
Say again?
I said, how are we gonna get to the Moon
if we can't talk between two or three buildings?
You tell 'em, Gus. You tell 'em.
Mickey Mouse shit.
I got a surge in the AC bus two voltage.
- Try resetting the meter. - You getting this, Gus?
Rog, you picking anything up on the dials?
Hey, we got a fire in the cockpit.
Hey, we got a bad fire!
We're burning up in here!
Mr. Armstrong? I have Deke Slayton on the phone for you.
Right this way.
Thank you.
Well, I'm glad you called.
I'm not sure if I'm helping or hurting over here.
Neil, we had a problem with the plugs-out test.
Well, that's why we have tests, right?
We'll figure it out.
There was a fire.
God, there's no easy way to say this.
Ed, Gus, and Roger...
They're gone.
We think it was a wiring issue. A spark in all that oxygen.
It happened very quickly.
Now, listen, we need you guys to head back to the hotel.
The press is gonna be all over this.
Congress is gonna be calling for investigations.
We just don't want you guys in the middle of all that.
Do you understand?
Yeah.
All right, then.
Okay.
A lot of people forget about the influence that the lunar program has
on the raising of our young people in the country.
I think that if a civilization doesn't look out,
if it doesn't try to expand its horizons,
then we're not going to progress as a nation.
At 10:30 tonight, Eastern Time,
rescue teams began to remove the bodies of the three astronauts
from the charred spacecraft.
A NASA spokesman said the dead astronauts were left in the ship for four hours
to aid the investigation into the tragedy.
And according to the latest information from NASA
at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston,
the first Apollo flight, which was scheduled for February...
Winds are pretty rough today. Keep an eye on your yaw.
Copy. Correcting.
1,000 feet.
Switching to lunar mode.
Final landing approach.
You're too low. Climb!
Control is degrading.
Slow your rates.
Do you read?
Neil?
The vehicle's not safe.
Unfortunately, it's the best simulation we have.
And you and the others are too valuable.
It's a fly-by-wire system that's got no backup.
The ejection seat is the backup.
Political fallout from another accident will compromise our...
With all due respect, sir, it's not my job to worry about the political fallout.
The damn thing could've killed you. Well, it didn't.
A split second more and you would not be...
Well, we need to fail.
We need to fail down here, so we don't fail up there.
Okay, Neil, Neil.
At what cost?
Well, it's a little bit late for that question, isn't it, sir?
They raise their voices, their placards,
and they march against the government.
But some go farther, burning Selective Service cards
and obstructing the draft.
Most dissenters confine themselves to this kind of protest activity.
Hey! Hey! LBJ! How many kids did you kill today?
Pat?
You okay?
Yes.
Why don't we go inside?
Hi.
Are you okay? Jesus!
I'm fine.
Look at your face.
Excuse me.
Dad, wanna come play?
Ricky.
Boys, go on. Go on.
I know, I know, I know. Dad's fine.
Go on, go back outside. Go back, go back.
What happened?
I... Jesus.
I just remembered I left something at the office.
You've lately taken a couple of swipes at the space program.
I think it would be interesting to talk more about
whether this is the proper thing to do with the public treasury.
The sort of dreams I would have
would be a habitable New York City, for instance.
It would seem to me that that would be a reasonable thing to do.
What has been the reaction of your friends in this?
Well, they mostly think that it's ridiculous
that we're spending so much money
to go somewhere where we don't know anything about.
And that the money could be used for a lot more helpful things.
Power to the people!
A rat done bit my sister Nell
With Whitey on the Moon
Her face and arms begin to swell
And Whitey's on the Moon
I can't pay no doctor bills
But Whitey's on the Moon
Ten years from now I'll be payin' still
While Whitey's on the Moon
The man just upped my rent last night and Whitey's on the Moon
No hot water no toilets, no lights
But Whitey's on the Moon
I wonder why he's upping me
'Cause Whitey's on the Moon?
Well, I was already giving him, like, 50 a week
And Whitey's on the Moon
Jesus, that's a big mother.
It's a political rush job.
Congress wouldn't fund us to come in second.
Why else would NASA be sending a rocket
that's had one issue after another to the Moon?
Thanks for the insight, Buzz.
Always a pleasure with you.
It doesn't matter, he's not in the lunar lottery.
And you are?
Well, the only guys they let on the LLTV since Neil's accident
are ones that might land.
So you think you're going to the Moon?
It's been up for grabs since Gus died.
I'm just saying what you're thinking.
Well, maybe you shouldn't.
Apollo 8 clearing the VAB and headed toward the launchpad.
Hell of a rocket.
Yeah.
Everything stays on track, 11's gonna be the landing.
I talked to Bob, everyone's in agreement.
We'd like you to command.
Okay.
...helicopter vectored that way.
It looks like a red dot with a long, long tail.
A long plume. That's got to be the spacecraft.
That has to be Apollo 10 reentering.
And so, the flight of Apollo 10
has performed the major function of its mission.
It has proved, through these daring three astronauts,
that all of the systems work properly
and that there should be no reason why man cannot, perhaps as early as July,
land on that picked spot on the Moon's equator.
These are sailors of the sky, and what we've seen
and heard today make the great ocean voyages of the earthbound seem,
well, earthbound indeed.
For as the poet wrote, the crew of Apollo 10
has "slipped the surly bonds of Earth"
and carried us over into tomorrow.
In the past few hours,
man has come closer to the Moon than ever in his history.
There were those terrifying moments when...
Mom, what's wrong?
What's wrong?
Nothing, honey.
Your dad's going to the Moon.
Okay.
Can I go outside?
Sure.
We're here today to talk about the forthcoming flight.
But we're able to talk about it
because of previous flights.
Every flight took on new objectives,
and left us with very few additions to be completed.
We're very grateful to those people
who made it possible for us to be here today.
All right, we'll take some questions now.
Jim?
Neil, when you learned you were going to command this flight,
were you surprised? Overjoyed?
I was pleased.
Okay, but how would you compare this feeling
to winning an automobile or being selected as an astronaut?
I was pleased.
Brian?
Neil, if it does turn out,
you'll go down in history.
What kind of thoughts do you have about that when the thought hits you...
"Uh, gosh, suppose that flight's successful..."
We're planning on that flight being successful.
I just meant how you feel about being a part of history.
I think I can shed some light here.
It's a responsibility,
but it's exciting to be the first.
Even my wife is excited.
She keeps slipping jewelry into my PPK.
You're planning on taking some of her jewelry to the Moon, Buzz?
Sure.
What fella wouldn't wanna give his wife bragging rights?
Neil,
will you take anything?
If I had a choice, I'd take more fuel.
All right, next question.
I thought you were gonna talk to the boys.
What did you want me to say?
What do you wanna say?
You're the one that's going away.
Well, it's too late now. They're asleep.
No, they're not, Neil.
You know they're not.
Why can't you talk to them?
What are you doing?
I'm packing.
No. You're just killing time until you can get in the car.
Okay. Okay.
Neil, I need you to talk to the boys.
Can you hear me?
I need you to talk to the boys. What are you doing?
Stop. I'm going to work.
Well, just stop it.
Just stop... Just stop packing!
What are the chances you're not coming back?
What are the chances this is the last time the boys are gonna see you?
Well, I can't give you an exact number.
I don't want a fucking number, Neil!
It's not zero, is it? Is it?
No. No, it's not.
Pat doesn't have a husband.
Those kids, they don't have a father anymore.
Do you understand what that means?
What are the chances that's gonna be Ricky and Mark?
And I... I can't tell 'em that their dad spent
the last few minutes packing his briefcase!
You're gonna sit 'em down.
Both of them.
And you're gonna prepare them for the fact that you might not ever come home.
You're doing that. You.
Not me.
I'm done.
So you better start thinking about what you're gonna say.
Jimmy asked what you're gonna say when you get onto the Moon.
Well, we're not sure we're gonna get onto the Moon.
A lot of things have to go right before that happens.
How long will you be gone?
Well, we launch in 10 days, we'll be up for eight,
and then about a month in quarantine.
What's quarantine?
We'll be in isolation.
To protect in case we
carry any diseases from the lunar surface
or something of that nature. It's not likely, but it's a precaution.
So you won't be here for my swim meet?
No.
Sorry.
Does anyone have any other questions?
Do you think you're coming back?
We have real confidence in the mission.
And there are some risks,
but we have every intention of coming back.
But you might not.
That's right.
Okay.
Okay. Time for bed.
"Fate has ordained that the men who went to the Moon to explore in peace
"will stay on the Moon to rest in peace.
"These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin,
"know there is no hope for their recovery.
"They will be mourned by their families.
"They will be mourned by a Mother Earth
"that dared send two of her sons into the unknown.
"For every human being who looks up at the Moon in the nights to come
"will know that there is some corner of another world
"that is forever mankind."
"Prior to the statement, President will telephone each of the widows-to-be.
"A clergyman will adopt the same procedure as a burial at sea,
"commending their souls to the deepest of the deep."
Any thoughts?
Sounds fine.
T-minus two minutes and counting.
Twenty seconds and counting.
T-minus 15 seconds. Guidance is internal.
12, 11, 10, 9...
Ignition sequence start.
Tower cleared.
Mark. Mode One Charlie.
Houston, you are a go for staging.
This is Apollo Control. We're a minute from ignition
on trans-lunar injection maneuver.
Okay, we're operate. 59:59.
Apollo 11, we track your speed increasing to 36,000 feet per second.
You are now leaving Earth orbit.
Apollo 11, roger.
We have cutoff.
Roger, 11.
It certainly looks like you're well on your way now.
Okay, Houston, we're about to SEP.
Mike, you got it? It's your ship now.
And you can start PTC
at your convenience.
All right. Thank you, Houston.
That smells funny.
Like charred electrical insulation.
Might just be rocket fumes.
- Did you bring any music? - No.
Here, Buzz.
Hey, Houston, are you hearing this?
Apollo 11, now entering lunar orbit.
Your roll should give you a good view in about two minutes. Over.
When you have a free minute, could you give us your on board readout
of N2 tank Bravo, please?
Nitrogen tank Bravo is showing
1960, something like that.
Roger.
Would you look at that?
This is a damn three-ring circus.
I got a fuel cell purge in progress, I'm watching an AUTO maneuver and...
Jesus Christ!
Normal, normal.
Houston, stand by for AUTO alarm.
Neil, the... The voice tape recorder,
you know where that is? I don't know.
All this food and stuff up here, you want any of that?
No.
All right.
What about this chewing gum? You want any of that?
Mike.
Come back, will you?
Apollo 11, Houston.
Let us know when you've entered the LEM and closed up the hatch. Over.
Eagle, this is Houston. We see the optics zero switch on.
Before you take some marks,
don't forget to cycle it back off and on, and then on. Over.
Eagle, Houston, could you give us a hack
on the time that you switched to LEM power
and also verify that we're on glycol pump 1? Over.
This is Eagle, we're on pump 1.
- Roger. - Eagle, Columbia.
All 12 docking latches are cocked.
I'm ready to button up the hatch.
Roger.
I'm gonna start a maneuver now to our undocking attitude.
Okay.
How about using, as an undocking time, 100 hours and 12 minutes?
What have you got for AOS?
I have 100 hours and 16 minutes.
Eagle, keep an eye on your descent engine fuel.
Continuous burn time is limited to 910 seconds.
Over.
Apollo 11, Houston, we are go for undocking. Over.
Fifteen seconds.
Okay, there you go.
Eagle, Houston. We see you on the steerable. Over.
The Eagle is undocked.
Roger. How does it look?
The Eagle has wings.
It just won't stay.
Eagle, report status. Over.
We'll have to tell them about that.
Let's prep for descent.
Eagle, Houston. You're a go for powered descent.
Roger. Read you.
Altitude light's on, we don't have radar data.
Let's proceed.
Proceed.
One...
Zero...
Ignition.
Program alarm.
What's a 1202 alarm?
I don't know.
Houston, give us a reading on the 1202 program alarm.
Roger, we got you. We're a go on that alarm.
Same alarm.
Roger. We're a go on that alarm.
Okay, 3,000 at 70.
Roger. Understand.
Program alarm 1201.
Roger. 1201 alarm.
Same type. We're go.
Pretty rocky area.
Those boulders are as big as cars.
We can't land there.
Going to manual.
540 feet, down to 30.
Watch your fuel.
330.
300 feet, down three and a half.
Fuel's at 8%.
The radar's lost track of the surface again.
160 feet, six and a half down.
Five and a half down, nine forward.
Low level. Low level.
120 feet.
5% fuel remaining.
Quantity light!
Ninety-four seconds to bingo. 114's a mandatory abort.
Down to half, six forward.
Stand by for 60. Rog.
Sixty seconds.
40 feet, down two and a half.
Stand by for 30.
- Thirty seconds. - Forward.
20 feet, down a half!
Faint shadow. Drifting forward, just a little bit.
Contact light.
Shutdown.
We copy, you're down, Eagle.
Houston,
Tranquility Base here.
The Eagle has landed.
Roger, Tranquility.
We copy on the ground.
You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue.
We're breathing again. Thanks a lot.
Thank you.
Very smooth touchdown.
Okay, Neil, we can see you coming down the ladder now.
Okay, I just checked...
Coming back up to that first step, Buzz, it's...
The strut hasn't collapsed too far, but it's adequate to get back up.
Roger, we copy.
Takes a pretty good little jump.
Buzz, this is Houston.
F2, 1/160 a second
for shadow photography on the sequence camera.
Okay.
I'm at the foot of the ladder.
The LEM footbeds are only depressed in the surface
about one or two inches.
Although, the surface appears to be
very, very fine grain as you get close to it.
It's almost like a powder down there.
Very fine.
I'm gonna step off the LEM now.
That's one small step for man,
one giant leap for mankind.
Okay, you ready for me to come out?
Five, four, three, two, one.
Ignition.
...I suppose they can never really describe to us.
- Or will we ever know? - No...
And it may not be a beauty
that one can pass on to future beholders either.
These first men on the Moon have seen something
that men who follow will have missed.
They've peered into another life that we can't follow.
Bob Simon at Trafalgar Square, where he joined the thousands
who watched an immense television screen
as the Apollo touched down on the Moon.
The average Romanian thinks of Apollo 11 a little bit
as his own personal adventure.
It's been estimated that the audience was up in the hundreds of millions.
Perhaps 400 million persons or so watching this broadcast...
Countless millions more listened on the radio
to the voices from the Moon.
Never before had so many people been attuned to one event
at one time.
...feats of all time.
Does it amaze you that it's taken place?
It not only amazes me, but I'm certain that it amazes everybody in this country.
What do you think of it?
The Moon, I hope that sometime
everybody will go there.
- Wanna go yourself? - Yeah, I wish I can go right now.
I think this is a very important day. It's a historical day.
And the whole universe is concerned about this, the landing on the Moon.
And as a French woman, how do you think about it?
I think it's wonderful, I always trusted America
and I knew they couldn't fail.
And in Washington, an anonymous citizen
placed a small bouquet on the grave of John F. Kennedy with a note.
"Mr. President, the Eagle has landed."
And indeed on this day, as we mark the astronauts' return,
it's hard not to think back upon that speech
our 35th president gave just seven short years ago.
If this capsule history of our progress teaches us anything,
it is that man, in his quest for knowledge
and progress is determined and cannot be deterred.
But why, some say, the Moon?
Why choose this as our goal?
And they may well ask, why climb the highest mountain?
Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic?
Why does Rice play Texas?
We choose to go to the Moon.
We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things,
not because they are easy, but because they are hard.
Mrs. Armstrong! Mrs. Armstrong!
How do you feel?
Have you spoken with your husband?
Would your sons like to be astronauts like him?
Mrs. Armstrong!
Have all your prayers been answered?
Yes, yes, they have.
How would you describe the flight?
Well, I can only say it was outta this world.
Thank you.
They will be quarantined the full three weeks,
but there is no sign of infection or disease.
Congratulations, Jan.