Gentlemen, I hope I'm not intruding.
Oh, lookie here, boys.
Gene Kranz, the new director of Johnson Space Center,
deigns to visit us common working stiffs.
I thought what the hell, I'll drop by and say farewell.
Plus, I wanted to personally congratulate you
on finally getting a command of your own, Mike. You earned it.
I appreciate that, Gene.
Hey, listen, you tell Neil that I guarantee
we'll do a better job of landing than he and Buzz.
I think everyone did a better job of landing than he and Buzz.
Gentlemen, Godspeed.
Houston, this is Cape Kennedy Launch Control.
We are approaching T minus one hour ten minutes and that's a hold.
Scheduled hold for flight handoff.
Copy that, Kennedy. Holding at one hour and ten minutes for flight handoff.
CAPCOM, do you have our settlers on the line?
I do indeed, Deke.
Jamestown Base, this is Houston. Patching you into the big board.
Do you read? Over.
Houston, this is Jamestown Base. We read you.
You better not start the festivities without us.
Wouldn't dream of it, Ed.
Administrator Weisner is just getting his speech out now.
Harry's doing the speech? This is gonna take hours.
I'll keep it brief, Gordo. I know you have a short attention span.
This is a big day.
An important day for our country.
A day a lot of people said would never come.
But it's also a big day here at NASA.
And it is only proper that we should recognize it as an important one
in the annals of our program.
Because today
a woman becomes one of our flight directors for the very first time.
She earned her place at this desk
through her dedication and commitment to the highest standards of this program.
By the depth of her technical and professional knowledge.
But most of all, by the leadership she demonstrated
during the establishment of Jamestown Base.
Her ability is unquestioned.
Her character and integrity are of the highest order.
And so, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of President Kennedy,
it is my honor and privilege to present to you
our new White Team flight director for the launch of Apollo 23,
Irene Hendricks.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, all.
I can only say that I stand on the shoulders of giants.
And I'm proud to lead this group of exceptional professionals.
Now, let's get back to work. We've got a mission to launch.
I want those ascent trajectory updates, please.
Let's go.
And Irene, now that you're in charge,
we've got a few bones we'd like to pick with you.
Like the shower.
And the food.
And the defective thermal ice drill bits.
And the food.
And about 5,000 other things we'd love to hand over to Apollo 23
when they get here next week.
Okay, guys. Message received.
And I'll be happy to take all your complaints
as soon as we get this bird up and on its way to the moon.
That bird was supposed to get here two weeks ago.
Day one, already behind, Irene.
I'm gonna file your complaint in the appropriate receptacle, Gordo.
- Charlie, let's cut that video feed, okay? - Yes, ma'am.
But now we leave our coverage of Apollo 23 at the hold point
to return to our special report.
We are down to the final minutes
in the vote to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment in the Illinois State Senate,
and the tally is very close.
Passage of the ERA was declared a top priority of President Ted Kennedy
in his inaugural speech,
and the last two years have seen a flurry of activity
as his administration put on a full-court press
in statehouses around the country.
As of today, 36 states have ratified the amendment,
leaving it only one state shy.
Supporters had actually written off the state of Illinois
until Republican Governor Ogilvie, in a surprising turn,
threw his support behind the amendment early last year...
Yes, I knew it!
Which has created something of a political...
Just a moment.
And I'm getting word that the final vote is being cast now.
And the vote...
is yea.
I think we're looking at a bad actuator.
Should only be a few minutes before we swap it out,
and then we'll clear the tower.
I got nowhere to be.
It's a beautiful machine.
I hold in my hand the prime crew of Apollo 24.
Why do I get the feeling there's a reason you're keeping me in suspense?
Don't know what you're talking about.
The astronauts are, in ranking of seniority...
Ellen Waverly, mission commander,
Harrison Liu, and...
Deke Slayton.
What?
Come on, Deke. What are you doing?
My medical clearance for flight status, signed, sealed and delivered.
You've had a heart condition since Mercury. Everyone knows that.
Which has officially been noted as no longer a flight risk by the medical staff.
As attested to in the document in your hand.
The president isn't gonna like this.
He's gonna think it's some kinda publicity stunt.
He can argue with the flight surgeon if he doesn't like it.
And as chief of the astronaut office,
I'm assigning Deke Slayton to prime crew on Apollo 24.
Far as I'm concerned, that's the final word.
Jesus.
I know this must be very disturbing to hear.
Well, I mean this is completely unacceptable behavior.
I can assure you they both will be severely punished for it.
I think I'm not that concerned with their punishment per se.
I'm more interested in getting to the emotional roots
of this kind of antisocial behavior.
Antisocial? Well...
They're not psychopaths.
They blew up some toilets with cherry bombs.
It's a prank, and they'll be punished for it.
I think we need to explore
whether there are issues at home that might be underlying this.
And I would really like to include Mrs. Stevens in these discussions,
since her son is one of the boys involved.
Well, Mrs. Stevens is unable to attend, due to the demands of her job.
Yes, she's an astronaut. I'm aware of that.
As is her husband,
and my husband, both of whom are on the moon at this moment.
I'm aware of that too, Mrs. Baldwin.
And I can only imagine the stresses and strains that must put on both families.
Oh, we manage.
Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
I can assure you, I will handle it from here.
- Well... - Thank you.
Thank you for your time, Mrs. Baldwin.
Not a word out of either one of you until we are home.
And then we will discuss the appropriate consequences
for the vandalization of school property.
Let's go.
- Yes, ma'am. - Yes, ma'am.
I wish I could see my dad's face today.
Last Thanksgiving, we had a huge fight
about whether ERA meant we'd all have to use the same bathrooms.
Well, it'd be a lot cleaner.
John Stennis is gonna fight the whole "women in combat" thing
on the Armed Forces Committee, just you watch.
He may be a Democrat, but he's still from Mississippi.
Well, Mississippi, California, whatever.
No way Americans are gonna watch their daughters march off to war, believe me.
Used to say that about women in space too.
It's all just a matter of time.
It's the Equal Rights Amendment, Pam, not the Gay Rights Amendment.
You can both be as cynical as you like, but the winds of change are blowing.
Actuator swap-out and test is complete.
We're closing up and exiting the tower.
I'll check in when we reach the ICC.
I'm hungry.
Do they still have those double-decker cheeseburgers...
FIDO, do we have updates on launch winds yet?
Yes, Flight. Just got the balloon data from the Cape.
- We're within launch parameters. - Keep an eye on the data.
Last flight we came close to exceeding angle of attack limits.
Oh, my God.
- Oh, no. - I'm not sure. I'm just seeing it now too.
Lock the doors.
Sixty days have now passed
since the shocking explosion of Apollo 23
on the launchpad at Cape Kennedy.
The tragic deaths of 12 members of the ground crew
caught in the tower during the explosion,
including Gene Kranz, the newly appointed director of Johnson Space Center,
continue to cast a pall over the entire program and the nation.
The three astronauts who were pulled away from the exploding vehicle
by the emergency launch escape tower
are still recovering from injuries sustained
when their damaged command module landed on the beach instead of the ocean.
Meanwhile, the three astronauts stranded in the Jamestown Base
continue to do experiments and do maintenance work
on America's first manned habitat on the moon.
Astronauts Baldwin, Stevens and Poole have been receiving resupply provisions
via unmanned Titan rockets while they wait for NASA's board of inquiry
to identify the cause of the Saturn V explosion.
But there can be no relief crew for the astronauts
until the board certifies the fleet of Saturn rockets ready to fly once again.
The FBI continues to be concerned at the possibility
that KGB operatives might have sabotaged Apollo 23
as a way of delaying work on the Jamestown Base.
To that end, we would like to begin interviews
with some of your support personnel here at JSC
and at NASA facilities at Cape Kennedy, JPL, and around the country.
- I understand. - I don't.
All due respect, but why is the FBI still going down this rabbit hole?
We know the cause. And it wasn't some Russian secret agent.
You think you know the cause.
And our investigation's already turned up
numerous instances of breaches of security protocol at NASA facilities,
any one of which could have allowed Soviet agents
access to highly classified information
on the future military expansion of the Jamestown Base.
All right.
Special Agent Donahue has been given wide latitude by the Department of Justice
to follow any lead that could be related to security breaches here at NASA,
and I'm sure the entire board of inquiry will give him full cooperation.
Thank you all for coming.
Can't wait to leave all this behind.
Got an extra seat?
Weisner's looking for ya.
Great.
Gotta look at that every day now, huh?
Keeps his memory alive.
No, it doesn't.
You know what it does?
It says just how insignificant we are in this room.
What's that supposed to mean?
If an astronaut had died on that pad,
there'd be a hell of a lot more than a plaque and a picture.
After Apollo 1, you couldn't turn on a television
or look at a magazine or newspaper for months
without seeing the faces of those guys.
Like "American heroes." "Best of the best."
"The nation mourns."
But one of us dies,
one of the faceless, nameless grunts in Mission Control,
and it's picture and a plaque
and then back to Happy Days and Six Million Dollar Man.
Those other 11 guys who died with Gene? You know who they are?
They're just the other 11 guys.
Have you been drinking, Bill?
I'm not on duty. And it's none of your goddamn business.
How'd you get in here?
Oh, sorry. My father let me in.
Octavio Rosales? He's one of the janitors.
Oh, Octavio. Yeah, I know who that is.
He talked to one of the security guards who said it was okay.
Did he?
Logarithms. Hated those.
They're not too difficult.
Not yet.
You wanted to see me, Mr. Weisner?
Have a seat, Miss Madison.
The board of inquiry would like you to collect an outside report
that was prepared on the Saturn explosion and bring it to us.
What do you mean by "collect"?
Exactly that. Collect the report and bring it to us.
So, I'm a messenger now? It's one thing to be passed over,
but I didn't count on being demoted to the mail room.
Miss Madison, we've talked about that.
Irene Hendricks was the most qualified person
to become White Team flight director...
Even though she's been with the agency for less than five years,
while I started at NASA in 1966.
I'm sorry. Really, I am.
But I'm afraid the book is closed on that subject.
Fine. But I'm not a messenger.
This is a delicate situation.
Two months ago, the board asked an outside expert
to conduct a thorough analysis of the entire Saturn program.
Someone who could provide an overview
of the development and operational systems
and give us a unique perspective.
Now that analysis is finished.
Word on the street is you have convincing evidence
that metal fatigue in the second stage LH2 fill-drain valve caused a leak,
leading to the explosion.
I dislike gossip.
But in this case, the rumors are true.
We're ready to restart the Saturn production line and correct the flaw,
but the existing fleet of rockets
will have to be taken apart and repaired before they can be flown.
So, you can imagine the urgency for the board to issue its recommendations
and get Saturn flying again.
All we need is this last systems analysis report.
Why can't this outside expert just mail in his findings?
Or have one of your flunkies go pick it up?
He will only give the report to you.
No.
He won't give it to anyone else.
I don't wanna see him.
This isn't personal. He built the Saturn V, and we need his analysis.
The man is a war criminal. He should be prosecuted...
That is your opinion.
And it is not one that is shared by the majority of the board.
We need the report prepared by Dr. von Braun,
and he has informed us that he will only give it to you.
So, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ask you to go and get it for us.
The Soviet Union announced today that its own moon base, called Zvezda,
has received its first crew of three cosmonauts
and is now fully operational.
The Zvezda Base, also situated on the rim of Shackleton Crater,
is eight miles northwest of the American Jamestown Base.
Today marks the first time
when crews from the USSR and the US
are on the lunar surface at the same time.
It would be a profound mistake to
allow our boys
to communicate with the Soviets on the moon...
Mr. President.
I, uh...
certainly understand your point of view, and...
I appreciate the advice...
but that's not really the purpose of my call.
I want to let you know...
that I've decided to pardon you
for all crimes that you may have committed
in connection with the Watergate break-in.
You what?
I've decided it's in the best interest of the nation
not to prosecute former political opponents
in the criminal justice system.
Don't get on your high horse with me.
I don't want your fucking pardon.
I don't need your permission, Dick.
It's a done deal.
You better watch yourself, Teddy.
Maybe spend a little less time in.
Palm Beach.
I put a deposit on that apartment.
You what?
Gordo, we talked about this.
I thought we agreed to wait till I got back before we took any big steps.
Oh, it's just a deposit.
You didn't tell the boys, right?
No, of course not. Of course not, that's...
that's something we'll have to do together.
I don't know, Trace.
I just think you're jumping ahead of things.
They don't even know when we're getting back from here.
I know. That's why I didn't want to lose it.
I mean, it's a great price, perfect location,
it's near the boys' school, our house, even JSC.
Then why don't you move into it then?
Oh, so you and Sheila can finally have the house to yourselves?
Like I would ever lay a hand on Sheila. She can't even cook.
Wow.
Hey. You think there's any way you could smuggle another bottle
onto the next resupply rocket?
Not... a... chance.
I couldn't get near a resupply rocket.
New security rules.
The FBI's everywhere looking for commies under the bed.
It's ridiculous.
Hey. What is that?
No. Gordo, what's that noise?
- Noise? - Yeah.
Dani's taking a shower.
Well, don't forget to wash her back.
I don't wanna screw Danielle.
Okay?
It's great talking to you, Gordo.
I'll see you next time.
Trouble in paradise?
Sorry, Dani.
Don't worry, Gordo. I don't wanna screw you either.
Should go apartment hunting up here.
As you know, the FBI is assisting with the investigation
into the Saturn V accident.
I was hoping you might be able to answer a few questions for me.
Sure.
Mr. Wilson, are you familiar with an area of Houston called the Montrose District?
Yeah, it's downtown, isn't it?
That's right.
Do you frequent that area?
Have any relatives or friends in that area?
No. It's not really my scene.
So, you've never been to an establishment called the Bayou Landing?
Don't think so.
The Bayou Landing is a dance hall.
Okay.
For homosexuals.
Is that right?
We've had it under surveillance for a few months now.
The whole neighborhood is turning into a hotbed
for radicals and communist sympathizers.
Lots of European types.
Bikers, artists...
militant homosexuals.
In Houston?
An anonymous source reported seeing someone matching your description
entering the establishment last Saturday...
around 1:00 a.m.
Now, do you have any recollection of that?
Me? No.
I'm a Republican.
And a Methodist.
Don't hang out with a lot of bikers, artists, or militant homosexuals.
And where were you?
Last Saturday?
Home in bed.
Can you prove that?
Ask my girlfriend.
That would be...
Ellen Waverly.
Dating three years.
Three years is an awfully long time.
Most girls would've dragged a man down the aisle by now.
Well, Ellen's not most girls.
Besides, it's hard to save for a ring on a government salary.
I'm sure you can understand.
I think I do.
This guy is trouble.
I've sailed through 50 security clearances.
I know these guys.
And this one...
This one is just dying to find a coven of little NASA fairies to bust.
Why does he care so much?
The feds see it as a security risk.
If you have a secret, the Russians can use it to blackmail you.
He'll be talking to you eventually,
and he's gonna be looking for ways to trip you up.
Don't believe anything he tells you.
I can't believe this. Well, isn't...
Isn't lying to the FBI a crime? Am I gonna be committing a felony here?
Yes, you are.
It's that, or...
you can tell them the truth.
And get us both shitcanned outta NASA
and held up as degenerate perverts before the whole world.
Okay, I better get our story straight.
Where was our first date?
Come in, won't you?
All right, I'm here. I don't know what it is you want, but I'm here.
Did you go by your house?
The new owners have let the front yard become quite... untidy.
- Please. - Not everyone can afford a gardener.
Yours needs to do a better paint job on the mailbox.
Your father never used a gardener. Not once.
He kept it up himself, all the way to the very end.
He took pride in that.
He was... a good man, your father.
Please tell me we're not here to talk about my father.
I tried to talk to you at his funeral, but you left without a word.
I had work.
Now, what's this about?
My dinner.
Anna left me one of her casseroles before she took Josef to Disney World.
Have you been?
Walt's vision is extraordinary. A great man.
Such a shame he did not live to see it.
I'm not staying for dinner.
I believe I have a good burgundy to go with it.
Hello? Any lost boys hereabouts?
We're in here.
- Hey, Mom. - Hi, sweetheart.
What's this?
Pinewood Derby.
Pinewood Derby? Didn't y'all just do that?
That was a year ago, Mom.
- It's all right. Time flies, right? - Yeah.
Well, the race isn't for three weeks,
but I told the boys if they want to be ready, they better get started.
Three weeks.
On the 10th.
I checked your schedule with Deke's office.
You'll be at Marshall prepping your payload for 25,
but I got it covered, all right?
- Thank you. - Of course.
Hey, Shane, you are gonna chop your arm off.
Go and get the whetstone from your father's toolbox and sharpen that knife.
Yes, ma'am.
Well, it's... That's great.
Thank you for taking them to the pack meeting.
It was a den meeting, Mom. Pack meetings are only once a month.
Right.
Hey, Danny, I think someone's forgetting to tell his mom the big news.
I finished my Arrow of Light badge.
Get out of here. Really?
Wow. I thought that took a long time.
- Do you remember their den mother, Carol? - Yeah.
Yeah, she said he finished all the requirements
faster than she's ever seen anyone.
I was proud of him.
I'm proud of you too, Danny.
I'm gonna tell your daddy next time I talk to him, okay?
Okay.
I think we got to get going. Where's your brother? Where's Jimmy?
Oh, he was exhausted, so I put him down in Shane's bed. He's sleeping.
Thanks.
- Let's go, Son. - Can I spend the night?
Please. I really wanna work on my racer with Shane.
Oh, honey, I think Mrs. Baldwin probably needs some quiet time.
Trace, it's fine. It's all right.
I mean, all the boys bunk together anyway and so it's not really a problem.
And, you know what, I'm making enchiladas. You should stay for dinner.
I'd love to...
but I've got an early day tomorrow.
You have fun. And you mind your manners, all right?
I love you.
- Thank you. - You're welcome. I'll see you soon.
You have barely touched your food. Anna will be hurt.
Don't do that.
Anna is a lovely, gentle woman,
and I won't have you manipulate me in her name.
Why do you find it so hard to simply talk to me?
I've known you practically your whole life.
You learned how to play the piano right over there.
Peter came to Jesus and asked,
"Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me?
Up to seven times?"
Jesus answered,
"I tell you not seven times, but 77 times."
Is that what you want?
Forgiveness, is that it?
Okay. I forgive you for all of your many sins.
There. Are we done now?
Can I have my report so I can go?
I only want you to listen so that I can tell you things.
Important things your father wanted you to know.
Then why didn't he tell me himself?
Why?
That man had every opportunity to tell me whatever he wanted.
A whole lifetime.
And now I'm supposed to hear some words from beyond the grave delivered by...
By...
Margo, I only want to fulfill a promise I made to a friend of many years.
Will you allow me to do that?
Your father and I met in the faculty club bar in the spring of 1951.
You had a lively debate about Mozart and Strauss
and a beautiful friendship was born.
I know the story.
He was a brilliant physicist.
Uncommon insights into the nature of matter.
I tried to recruit him to work with me on the Redstone rocket many times,
but he always refused. Do you know why?
Because he was a small man with small ambitions.
No. He was a damaged man with broken dreams.
This is what broke him.
Now, I do not pretend to understand his feelings about this,
and I certainly did not share his perspective,
but I always respected him.
He loved you very much. You were the most important thing in his life...
Don't do that.
Don't try and polish up his act now that he's gone.
My whole life, he barely gave me the time of day, and now,
"You were the most important thing in his life." Please.
These are facts.
Facts you did not have when you were growing up.
Facts which your father did want you to have
but could not find a way to tell you.
To explain why he could appear remote at times.
"Remote at times"? "Remote"?
You know what mattered to my father?
His stamp collection.
He'd come home at 5:30 every night on the dot, have two martinis.
Not one, not three, but two.
And he'd then spend the rest of the evening in his study
with his records and his stamp collection.
That was it. That was his life, nothing else.
Not my mother, not me. Nothing.
When I graduated college,
the first woman in my family on either side, by the way,
you know what he did?
He gave me a desk calendar.
That's how important I was to him.
And now I'm supposed to feel bad because he died a lonely old man?
Well, I'm sorry.
But isn't there something in your Bible about reaping what you sow?
Yes.
And your father reaped the whirlwind.
During the war...
he did some very secret work for the government.
He worked on advanced radar systems for the Army Air Corps.
I know because my mother told me about it.
She didn't tell you everything because she didn't know.
He told me only
because I too had a top secret clearance and was a man of science,
so perhaps he felt I could understand his experience.
He started working on radar in 1942,
but within the year, he was recruited on something much bigger...
by Robert Oppenheimer.
Your father worked on the Manhattan Project.
That's not true.
These are his files.
He worked with John von Neumann to devise a method
whereby a plutonium core could be compressed into a critical mass
through a spherical implosion.
It was brilliant work.
Such complex calculations
were thought outside the realm of the possible when they began.
Their work led directly to the creation of the weapon that was used on Nagasaki.
- Fat Man. - Yes.
The bombing had a profound effect on your father.
It shook him to his core.
In retrospect, he felt as if he'd been a participant in something horrific.
Something evil.
He and I discussed the moral ramifications of the atomic bomb many times.
I tried to tell him that he had saved millions of lives
by avoiding the invasion of Japan.
He would not hear of it.
He retreated from the world.
And from you. Your mother.
It was only at the end of his life that he decided...
you should know the truth.
But he could not bring himself to tell you.
So...
he asked me to tell you after he died.
I've been thinking.
Maybe we should take a break for a while.
"Take a break"?
This FBI thing has you all wound up, doesn't it?
Yeah.
Something else?
No, I mean, it's the FBI and...
I don't know.
Say it.
I don't know where this is going.
"This"?
Oh, did you mean this?
Well, I don't know. Where would you like it to go?
I don't know.
I mean, I'm not sure that it can go anywhere.
And, you know, it...
it could be just a...
Just a phase. Kissing girls is just a phase for you?
Maybe.
Yeah, I remember that.
It was about eight or nine years ago.
I thought it was just a phase.
Something I'd do for a while and then it'd pass.
But it didn't.
It's who I am.
I know. I get that.
But you still might what? Are you gonna grow out of it, Ellen?
No, it's not about growing out of it.
I didn't say that. I'm just...
It's all still very new to me.
Sometimes it doesn't even seem like it is me.
Like I'm someone else when I'm with you.
Well, so do I.
I feel like someone different when I'm with you.
Does that scare you?
No.
May I keep this?
Of course.
Thank you.
And thank you for...
telling me.
Now may I have your report so I can go?
You will return tonight? It's a long drive.
- Perhaps you could stay. - No.
This... doesn't just...
wipe everything away between us.
Can't you see that? What you did in the war...
it's not the same as what my father did.
A comparison I do not invite.
Let us leave this acrimony.
I saw your talent when you were but a little girl.
You remember? You were struggling with geometry?
Don't.
I told you that mathematics was like music.
I will never forget the look on your face.
Stop.
When you started to take piano lessons,
it was like the world suddenly opened up to you.
You began to see God's invisible strings
and how they connected all the constructs of the universe.
I gave you that insight.
I encouraged you, challenged you and pushed you when your father could not.
Could not... but wanted to.
I appreciate all that. I do. Okay?
Thank you.
Is that enough?
You are wasting your talent.
Wasting your God-given gifts.
- I've done pretty well. - But not as well as Irene Hendricks.
Yes, I do stay in touch with what is happening back at the ranch.
- I'll get there. - Where? Flight director?
What is your goal? Where do you see yourself in ten years?
In ten years, I'll be running NASA.
No, you will not.
Allow me to be blunt.
You are not what is called "a team player," Margo.
You have many strengths.
Intelligence, intuition, cunning, determination.
I'm part of the team in Mission Control.
Because I was your mentor.
And because the late Gene Kranz looked kindly upon you.
Nonetheless, now you have seniority, experience, impeccable credentials.
So why were you passed over for flight director?
Why?
- I don't know. - Yes, you do.
It is because you do not play the game.
You resist forming the social bonds necessary to be seen as a team member.
Because you see them as trivial and unimportant,
insisting that merit and merit alone
is the only important metric for advancement.
Therefore, you are not, and will never be seen as a team leader.
Well, thanks for the pep talk.
I'll manage somehow.
Can I have the fucking report now?
Hiding in plain sight the whole time.
Always the classics with you.
You hold the key to your own success in your hand at this very moment.
What am I supposed to do? Cross out your name on the report and write my own?
It's not about whose name is on that report
but what happens to the information it reveals.
Meaning what?
The board believes the explosion was caused by the second-stage LH2 valve.
- Do you think it was something else? - No.
The valve is the culprit. That much is obvious.
The question is why did it fail?
Defects in the manufacturing process.
Yes, but again, why?
Do you know why the thousands of contractors and subcontractors
who supply the Saturn V
are spread across the continental United States?
Do you think it's an accident
that so many are located in key congressional districts?
NASA gave the contract for the valve to the wrong company for political reasons?
When I was reviewing the supply chain for the Saturn as part of my analysis,
I was puzzled to find that the LH2 valve was manufactured by Kirkland Aerospace,
a company located in Rockford, Illinois.
I was puzzled because I remembered that contract.
I had given it to a company from Colorado Springs in the mid-'60s.
Then, in early 1973, NASA changed contractors.
So... why the change?
You don't need to read the report. Think.
Why give a contract to a company in Illinois?
What was politically important about that state to the administration
that had just taken office in 1973?
The Equal Rights Amendment.
Everyone was surprised that a Republican governor
suddenly threw his weight behind the ERA.
You're saying it was because NASA moved a contract to Illinois?
A huge contract.
And in a district where he needed support for his own re-election campaign.
It's all in the report.
My God.
Gene died for a political vote?
Not only Gene. Eleven other men.
You knew him because he worked in Mission Control,
but I knew every man on that tower.
This is gonna cause a firestorm in NASA.
In Congress. The White House.
If it is made public.
Why wouldn't it be? The board's whole report will be made public.
Because it holds the potential to do great harm to the president,
Administrator Weisner will take my report, classify it as top secret and bury it,
never to be seen again.
I don't believe that.
Weisner may not be the best administrator we've ever had, but he's not that cynical.
Weisner is a political creature.
His only loyalty is to Kennedy.
And he will not allow Teddy's great achievement of passing the ERA
to be stained by this sort of ugly politics.
So... the only question that remains is who will benefit from this situation.
What are you saying?
Every political system is flawed.
And every bureaucracy is corrupt.
Do you have to tell him?
- He's gonna be really mad. - Maybe you should've thought about that
before you went around smashing water meters with Danny Stevens.
It was his idea.
Don't you dare rat out your friend just to save your butt, mister.
That is not how we raised you.
Please don't tell Dad. Please.
Sit right here and wait until I call you in.
Don't move. Understand?
Yes, ma'am.
So did you talk to the doctor?
Lieber? Yeah.
So what'd he say?
The same as all the other doctors.
You know, there's a chance that it could work,
but of course, he can't offer any guarantees.
No one can. But he's got a great track record.
So you gonna move forward?
Why don't we just talk about it when you get home?
I have enough on my plate right now.
All right.
Besides I can't really get pregnant without you.
You better not.
You okay?
What do you mean?
I'm fine. It's just long days.
Never-ending maintenance.
So... where's Shane? Is he there?
No. Webelos meeting.
It's Pinewood Derby time.
I love the Pinewood Derby.
Wish I could be there for that.
Well, we do too.
You know, Shane asked me the other day,
"Why can't Dad just come home?"
You know, I explained to him that, you know, after the rocket blew up,
it meant that a relief crew can't come and take your place.
But you know Shane.
He knows all the details of NASA and he said,
"Well, isn't the LEM right there on the surface"
and the command module waiting in orbit?
I mean, that's their lifeboat.
"Just tell Dad to take his lifeboat and come home."
Smart kid.
Yeah.
What should I tell him?
Tell him it's like being in the navy.
Someone gives you an order, you carry it out.
My orders are to hold this post until I'm properly relieved.
So, that's what I'm gonna do.
Hold until relieved.
I'll tell him.
- Hi, Bob. - Hi, Bob.
Hi, Bob.
Sorry, just a minute. What's up?
Sorry to interrupt.
I just finished the PLSS recharge,
and I think I've got just enough time to do some apartment hunting
before it's time for "Hi, Bob."
- Hi, Bob. - Hi, Bob.
Okay. Just watch your O2 this time.
Aye, aye, sir.
What's with all the "Hi, Bob" stuff?
Oh, yeah.
It's from The Bob Newhart Show.
They haven't sent you anything else to watch?
We've been asking,
but so far it's just the same six episodes of Bob Newhart.
It's kind of the highlight of the day, to be honest.
And every time someone says that phrase,
we all got to say it.
It's kinda dumb, I know, but...
And Gordo's apartment hunting? Is that part of the show or...
No. He likes to take these long walks outside.
Calls it "apartment hunting" for some reason.
Just clears his mind.
It's a healthy thing.
Pretty close quarters up here.
So sometimes you just need to get outside, you know?
Hon, I don't wanna keep you from Bob and Emily...
And Howard and Jerry and Carol.
- Love you. - I love you too.
Your father's very disappointed in you.
You're grounded for three weeks. Let's go.
Well, Dr. von Braun certainly writes a compelling report.
What are you gonna do with it?
I know that this assignment wasn't easy for you, Margo.
And I just want you to know that the board of inquiry is very appreciative
of the enormous personal sacrifice it entailed.
And I appreciate it as well.
Mr. Weisner...
will Dr. von Braun's findings be included
in the final report on the explosion of Apollo 23?
I am classifying this report as top secret as of this moment
on my authority as NASA administrator.
You're bound by oath as a government employee
not to reveal any of your knowledge about this report,
or even that it exists.
Doing so could open you to being charged with revealing classified information
and spending 20 years in a federal penitentiary.
Do I make myself clear, Miss Madison?
Every system is corrupt.
I made a copy.
I could have you arrested right now.
And I have a friend who will mail it to The New York Times tomorrow morning
unless I personally tell them not to.
What do you want?
What I deserve.
Flight director.
There aren't any openings on the Red, White or Blue teams.
Make one.
You need one of these.
It's called a slide rule.
Come see me in my office in... 20 minutes, and I'll show you how to use it.
Thank you.
What's your name?
Aleida.
I'm Margo.
- Do you play the piano? - No.
You're gonna learn.
No one's ever been here before.
No one's ever seen this before.
Now I have.
- Jamestown Base. - Jamestown Base.
Heading back to the barn.