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This programme contains scenes that
some viewers may find upsetting
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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.BZ
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This is the moon - man's first stop
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on his way to explore
our solar system.
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To get there and return successfully
is the primary objective
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of Nasa's Project Apollo.
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But before men ever stand
on the moon,
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Nasa will use three
different launch vehicles.
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The first phase, Project Mercury.
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Our second step, Project Gemini.
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In phase three of the project...
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...Project Apollo.
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It carries three astronauts.
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Each phase is key to landing
on the moon...
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...before the end of the decade.
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April 9th, 1959 Washington, DC.
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This is a press conference.
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These seven young men will be
the first astronauts,
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United States Project Mercury.
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People everywhere adopted
those seven as total heroes
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even before they made
a space flight.
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And Gus was one of them.
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It was quite a surprise to Gus that
all at once he was a celebrity.
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{\an8}And I don't think that he...
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{\an8}...ever really got used to that.
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He was a big hero in the little
town of Mitchell.
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From a small town like Mitchell
to have an astronaut,
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it was just magnificent.
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{\an8}Everybody was so proud to even say
they were from Mitchell
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{\an8}after Gus, you know, did so well...
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...and became an astronaut.
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He met his wife in high school.
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They were high school sweethearts.
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Betty turned out to be a very
strong woman.
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She did a lot to help Gus
in his career.
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Gus always wanted to be a pilot,
and he wanted to be a jet pilot.
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He got his wings, and the Korean War
was going on,
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so he was immediately sent
over there.
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He flew 100 combat missions.
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Got shot at several times.
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He volunteered to fly more,
but they said no
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and sent him home.
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When he came back,
got into test flight,
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he really enjoyed flying
different aircrafts.
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And Nasa decided that the astronauts
should come
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from military test pilots.
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And there were something like 300
that agreed to apply.
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And Gus was one of them.
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ARCHIVE: And had his first
great success in space
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when the Russians pushed
a man across the threshold.
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He was Yuri Gagarin, the astronaut,
the Russians lionised
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as the first to orbit the Earth.
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It was the propaganda coup
of the year.
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RADIO CHATTER
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The press created the space
race between
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the two major powers in the world.
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And it became almost like
a contest...
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{\an8}...like a sporting contest,
if you will...
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{\an8}...in that, uh...
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{\an8}...they were able to defeat us
and we were to defeat them.
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I believe that this nation
should commit itself
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to achieving the goal...
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{\an8}...before this decade is out
of landing a man on the moon
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{\an8}and returning him safely
to the Earth.
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{\an8}No single space project
in this period will
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{\an8}be more impressive to mankind,
or more important
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{\an8}for the long range exploration
of space.
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APPLAUSE
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'61, President Kennedy said,
we want to go to the moon
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and we're going to do it
in this decade.
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{\an8}And I can remember even
then thinking,
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{\an8}"Can we do that in nine years from"
a standing start?
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When they started
building Mercury...
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...everything was new.
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And these were new,
bright young engineers,
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and it was kind of a, "We'll try
this and see if this works.
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"And if it doesn't,
we'll try something else."
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ARCHIVE: It's Captain Virgil Gus
Grissom, raring to go.
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A pat on the back from
Colonel Glenn in reserve,
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enters the capsule
at Cape Canaveral.
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Must be pretty lonely in there.
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Three, two, one...
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...lift off!
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RADIO CHATTER
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Go at 27 amps.
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Roger... and trajectory is good.
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Oh, roger, looks good in here.
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Getting ready for impact here.
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You can see the water coming
right on up!
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RADIO CHATTER
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I watched it much like everybody
else did on TV.
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{\an8}He was very close to getting drowned
with a helicopter
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{\an8}beating down on him while he tried
to lift the capsule,
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{\an8}which was filling up with water.
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The helicopter that was trying to
pick up the spacecraft,
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grappled him just like
they normally did,
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but it was getting so heavy they
couldn't pick it up.
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And the helicopter
engine overheated...
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...and they finally had to cut it
loose and let it go.
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{\an8}Gus was lucky to live through that.
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{\an8}It was embarrassing to him whether
he did or did not cause it.
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{\an8}He knew he was going to get blamed
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and that lived with him
for a long time.
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We talked about that.
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{\an8}He said, I was just sitting there
and all at once...
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{\an8}POW! The thing blew.
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The press and the media are...
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...sometimes not too courteous.
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Some were very aggressive
looking in windows,
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all that sort of thing.
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And so he had this house built
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and he had no windows in the front.
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That was done purposely.
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ARCHIVE: Attempted firing of
a monster rocket heralds
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the next step into space
beyond Mercury.
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This is Saturn, America's giant
missile of the future.
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It's the work of a man who now
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is one of the most important figures
in America's space programme.
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00:11:28,760 --> 00:11:31,160
48 years old, Wernher von Braun.
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00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:36,760
Dr Von Braun, this is only roughly
half the size of the Saturn,
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00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:38,440
this enormous machine above
us, is it not?
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00:11:38,480 --> 00:11:40,600
Yes, this is what we call
the first stage.
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There will be two more
stages mounted on top of this.
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00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:45,200
Von Braun had been brought
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to this country at
the end of World War II.
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{\an8}They'd been blowing up London
for months and months.
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And so a large number of his people
got out of there
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and surrendered to the US,
where he might continue
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00:11:58,960 --> 00:12:00,320
what he was doing.
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00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:04,600
What von Braun
did was extremely important
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00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:06,720
to the future of space flight
at that time.
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00:12:15,720 --> 00:12:20,640
I can remember saying, "By golly,
we're going to do this.
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00:12:20,680 --> 00:12:24,240
We're going to... if we don't do it,
we're going to die trying.
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00:12:41,760 --> 00:12:43,600
{\an8}ARCHIVE: Field operations will
be staffed
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00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:46,280
{\an8}with Kollsman representatives at
North American Aviation,
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00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:48,680
{\an8}White Sands,
the manned space centre,
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00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:53,320
{\an8}AC Spark plug, MIT Instrumentation
Laboratory and Cape Kennedy.
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00:12:56,480 --> 00:13:01,800
Unfortunately, in this world,
as you expand your knowledge,
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00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:06,680
as you expand your capability,
interfaces begin to mount.
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00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:11,880
Interfaces that are outside
of your organisation,
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00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:13,920
much less inside your organisation.
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00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:16,920
You've got... so you've got to make
sure that we are keeping
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00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:19,400
up with what they're doing
over there.
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00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:24,240
How do we tell the spacecraft
designers what we need?
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00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:26,000
They don't know how to do it either.
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00:13:27,960 --> 00:13:30,520
They're asking you questions
every day.
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00:13:30,560 --> 00:13:32,680
What you want them to do,
how you want them done...
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What is it supposed to do?
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00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:36,000
Who's got the mission plan?
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00:14:00,320 --> 00:14:04,480
Dad was selected in the second
group of nine astronauts,
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00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:08,800
which was probably the best moment
of all our lives.
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00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:13,480
{\an8}As a son of an astronaut,
that was like a special event.
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00:14:13,520 --> 00:14:15,480
{\an8}You know, how can you believe that?
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00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:21,160
Ed stood out.
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Ed fit in perfectly.
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He was tall, great looking.
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And he was just an image...
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00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:33,880
{\an8}...that you thought about if that's
who I want to go into space with.
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00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:43,000
Dad went up with my grandad
when he was 12 years old,
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00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:45,880
and they flew in a T6 aeroplane.
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And my grandad let him take
the controls,
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00:14:49,320 --> 00:14:52,120
and he felt like it was a natural
thing that he did.
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00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:56,160
That was when his mind kind of said,
"I want to do this,
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"I want to be a pilot someday."
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00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:07,240
{\an8}He went on to West Point,
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{\an8}where his father had gone
before him,
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and he was a world-class runner
and hurdler.
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00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:21,040
And so he almost made
the Olympic team.
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He was on the track team, and he
went to the Olympic trials
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and came in third place.
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Only two go at that point.
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But he said it might
have changed his career,
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and maybe it would have
been different
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and wouldn't have been an astronaut.
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You never know, you know.
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{\an8}Well, they met on a date.
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And my mum was on a date with
someone else,
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and my dad was over there,
and apparently
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00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:03,320
she was batting her eyelashes
or whatever.
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00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:05,680
And then one thing I think led
to the other.
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They married about six months later.
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00:16:13,160 --> 00:16:15,520
I came along about nine
months later.
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00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:31,640
And then Bonnie was then about two
and a half years later.
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00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:47,840
ARCHIVE: New F-100 jets go into
operational service
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with Air Force squadrons in Germany,
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00:16:49,600 --> 00:16:52,400
bringing the supersonic age from
the experimental stage
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00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:54,680
to the first line of
Western Air Defence.
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00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:10,800
They were flying F-100s
and basically looking
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00:17:10,840 --> 00:17:15,560
for any trouble on the border
of Germany and Russia.
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00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:31,280
Ed White was more cerebral.
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00:17:31,320 --> 00:17:33,120
He thought things through
193
00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:36,080
in a way that others may not have.
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00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:40,240
And he didn't try to exude that...
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00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:44,160
{\an8}...my ego was bigger than yours,
you know and some
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00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:45,560
{\an8}of those first seven did.
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00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:49,080
But Ed, you know, was extremely
capable guy,
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00:17:49,120 --> 00:17:51,480
and he was always so friendly.
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00:17:51,520 --> 00:17:53,680
He was just a friendly,
friendly person.
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00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:03,240
Project Gemini is a two
man Earth orbital mission.
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00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:07,680
It is an intermediate step between
projects Mercury and Apollo.
202
00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:09,800
Gemini will reveal
man's capabilities
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00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:12,120
during extended periods
of time in space.
204
00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:26,320
Gus spent the summer of 1964
at the McDonnell plant.
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00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:32,840
He was very instrumental
in the design of Gemini,
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00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:35,440
to the point where the other
astronauts got
207
00:18:35,480 --> 00:18:37,120
to call it the 'Gus Mobile'.
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00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:41,920
He worked closely with
the engineers,
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00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:44,600
and some liked him and some didn't.
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00:18:44,640 --> 00:18:47,280
Because he was a very
tough taskmaster.
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00:18:48,360 --> 00:18:51,720
And I guess he took the approach
that if I'm going to fly this,
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00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:55,040
I want it to be exactly like
I want it to be.
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00:18:57,120 --> 00:19:01,400
Gus came across sometimes to people
as being kind of gruff and,
214
00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:04,160
you know, sharp,
but I never saw that.
215
00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:06,240
He was always laughing
216
00:19:06,280 --> 00:19:09,800
and telling jokes and kind
of the typical pilot.
217
00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:30,520
There we are, 14 of us, the third
group of astronauts.
218
00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:33,400
And you know, when I look
at it now...
219
00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:34,680
{\an8}...we were all very young.
220
00:19:37,880 --> 00:19:40,600
And of course, we were all very
221
00:19:40,640 --> 00:19:45,840
excited to be selected at that point
in the programme.
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00:19:45,880 --> 00:19:50,120
Everyone really respected that
commitment on the part of JFK.
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00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:57,040
The third group, when they came in,
Roger Chaffee was one of them.
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00:19:57,080 --> 00:19:59,440
And boy, if you call central casting
225
00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:02,080
and ask them to send you
an astronaut,
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00:20:02,120 --> 00:20:03,960
they would send you Roger Chaffee,
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00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:07,080
because he had the looks
and the bearing and all of that.
228
00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:20,160
Lieutenant, congratulations on your
selection to the new astronaut team.
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00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:21,600
How do you feel about it?
230
00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:24,520
Very excited, very happy and very
honoured that I could be
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00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:25,680
chosen for this.
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00:20:27,120 --> 00:20:29,560
I never dreamed that he would
go that far.
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00:20:34,760 --> 00:20:37,920
{\an8}It was a new beginning
in a different type of life.
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00:20:40,080 --> 00:20:42,640
Mrs Chaffee, how do you feel
about your husband's appointment?
235
00:20:42,680 --> 00:20:43,920
Oh, I'm thrilled to death.
236
00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:46,320
I think it is something
that he has always wanted.
237
00:20:46,360 --> 00:20:48,440
And, of course, what he
wants, I want.
238
00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:51,600
And he's dreamed about it
since high school, actually.
239
00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:53,360
So I'm real thrilled about it.
240
00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:56,320
Do you feel apprehensive at all,
worried at all?
241
00:20:56,360 --> 00:20:59,360
Not right now, but my view might
change when he gets
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00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:00,880
shot off into space.
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00:21:00,920 --> 00:21:02,320
But right now, I'm not.
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00:21:02,360 --> 00:21:04,680
Cheryl, do you know what
your daddy is?
245
00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:06,040
Rocket man.
246
00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:07,560
A rocket man?
247
00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:17,960
I met Roger my freshman year at
Purdue University.
248
00:21:19,440 --> 00:21:20,960
I liked him.
249
00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:23,240
We were like two peas
in a pod.
250
00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:28,440
I remember when he took
flying lessons
251
00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:30,840
and was so excited
when he did his solo.
252
00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:35,680
It was in his blood.
253
00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:39,080
And then we got married.
254
00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:43,520
I was 20 when Roger was 22.
255
00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:48,200
We got married in '57 and Sheryl
was born in 58.
256
00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:52,800
And then Steve was born in '61.
257
00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:26,280
I never knew he was flying
reconnaissance over Cuba.
258
00:22:27,360 --> 00:22:28,640
He never talked about it.
259
00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:32,200
And I think a lot of the pilots
were like that.
260
00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:34,520
He never told me anything.
261
00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:36,200
He went to work and that was it.
262
00:22:46,360 --> 00:22:48,680
Everything was brand-new.
263
00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:50,760
The place was new,
we were new.
264
00:22:52,080 --> 00:22:54,400
{\an8}What we were doing was
completely new.
265
00:22:55,960 --> 00:22:58,000
{\an8}Extremely exciting times.
266
00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:13,040
We worked eight or ten, 12, 14
hours a day,
267
00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:14,360
seven days a week.
268
00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:16,440
I mean, nobody thought anything
about it.
269
00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:18,880
It was just, you know, part of
270
00:23:18,920 --> 00:23:23,280
what was the fun of being pioneers
in this kind of a business?
271
00:23:29,680 --> 00:23:32,720
I would quiz him on the moon.
272
00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:36,240
We had a big picture of the moon
in his office,
273
00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:41,480
and I would point to different
craters for him to talk about.
274
00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:43,360
He really wanted to go to the moon.
275
00:23:43,400 --> 00:23:44,960
He wanted to go to Mars.
276
00:24:05,760 --> 00:24:09,360
After Mercury, Nasa showed great
confidence in Gus
277
00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:14,280
by selecting him as the command
pilot for the first Gemini.
278
00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:22,160
He named his spacecraft
The Unsinkable Molly Brown
279
00:24:22,200 --> 00:24:24,680
after his experience with Mercury.
280
00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:28,680
Nasa wasn't too happy with that...
281
00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:34,120
...but they considered it better than
his first choice of the Titanic.
282
00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:41,800
I think they made the perfect
choice to put Gus
283
00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:44,400
as the first man manned
Gemini commander.
284
00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:49,720
{\an8}And they also put a good guy
in the right seat,
285
00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:53,080
{\an8}John Young, who was extremely good.
286
00:25:02,880 --> 00:25:05,760
I was assigned to be a coordinator
287
00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:10,160
between the first experiments that
we flew in space, really.
288
00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:16,120
To be the liaison, as it were,
between the crews
289
00:25:16,160 --> 00:25:21,000
and the scientists of various kinds,
but also often doctors as well.
290
00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:29,360
And Gus was, "I'm not here for you.
291
00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:31,080
"I'm here as a test pilot."
292
00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:37,000
And if you're from the press,
"The heck with you," you know,
293
00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:39,760
"If I have to deal with
you, I will."
294
00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:43,040
But, you know, and if you're
an experimenter,
295
00:25:43,080 --> 00:25:45,600
and especially "If you want me
to wear something
296
00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:48,800
"or you want to poke a hole in me,
forget it."
297
00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:56,040
And here I am,
the interface between Gus,
298
00:25:56,080 --> 00:25:58,320
the commander of the first
Gemini mission,
299
00:25:58,360 --> 00:26:00,960
and the first experimenters
who were putting things
300
00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:04,360
in the spacecraft that would take
some of his precious time.
301
00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:10,560
And so, as far as Gus was concerned,
I was an enemy.
302
00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:24,520
Three, two, one, zero.
303
00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:28,640
Lift-off!
304
00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:32,160
1-4. Lift-off.
305
00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:37,040
Roger, Molly Brown,
you're a go from here.
306
00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:45,480
As I recall, the launch was normal.
307
00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:51,480
But every flight that I was ever
a part of always had problems.
308
00:27:01,160 --> 00:27:03,360
One of the problems
I remember encountered,
309
00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:05,760
and it was in a system I was
responsible for,
310
00:27:05,800 --> 00:27:07,800
were the thrusters.
311
00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:11,200
The little attitude control
thrusters sticking.
312
00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:13,920
And they would clog up.
313
00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:28,520
Gus was smart
and he was analytical.
314
00:27:50,760 --> 00:27:52,840
I watched flight on television.
315
00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:57,240
That was quite pleasing
to see it land
316
00:27:57,280 --> 00:28:01,680
and know that the recovery was
going very well.
317
00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:31,440
ARCHIVE: 300 miles above
the earth...
318
00:28:31,480 --> 00:28:33,600
Colonel Alexei Leonov
makes history.
319
00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:36,120
The Russian cosmonaut is the first
man to brave
320
00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:37,840
the vacuum of space, twisting,
321
00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:40,240
turning and somersaulting
as he hurtles round
322
00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:42,480
the world at over 17,000 miles
an hour.
323
00:28:54,080 --> 00:28:57,200
Gemini 4, they put a great
crew together.
324
00:28:57,240 --> 00:29:01,000
Ed, of course, the first guy to
fly out of the second group.
325
00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:06,080
And McDivitt was the commander
of that flight.
326
00:29:06,120 --> 00:29:10,040
He was a seasoned guy that knew
what he was doing.
327
00:29:12,760 --> 00:29:15,560
The flight was originally set up to
be a pretty much
328
00:29:15,600 --> 00:29:17,040
of a medical experiment.
329
00:29:18,080 --> 00:29:20,640
{\an8}There was a big medical uproar about
330
00:29:20,680 --> 00:29:22,960
{\an8}whether we were going to die
or not when we landed.
331
00:29:25,880 --> 00:29:28,720
It was the first mission to have
four days in space,
332
00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:31,240
so we didn't know how they were
going to be affected.
333
00:29:32,480 --> 00:29:35,200
This was a special
mission to maybe pass
334
00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:37,520
{\an8}the Russians
for the first time.
335
00:29:37,560 --> 00:29:40,640
{\an8}From the beginning, we were behind
trying to catch up.
336
00:29:41,880 --> 00:29:46,240
Ten, nine, ignition
sequence start...
337
00:29:46,280 --> 00:29:48,680
Six, five, four...
338
00:29:48,720 --> 00:29:51,400
...three, two, one...
339
00:29:53,760 --> 00:29:55,400
Lift-off!
340
00:30:31,440 --> 00:30:34,160
Everybody in the control
centre was uneasy.
341
00:30:35,760 --> 00:30:37,440
It's the first time we'd put a...
342
00:30:37,480 --> 00:30:39,760
...somebody had been outside
the spacecraft...
343
00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:44,920
...and only a spacesuit left
between him and sudden death.
344
00:31:06,120 --> 00:31:10,040
I can remember thinking, "Oh, my
gosh, what if that hose breaks?"
345
00:31:10,080 --> 00:31:13,200
It's providing oxygen
and all that kind of thing.
346
00:31:16,240 --> 00:31:18,560
Of course, he had no
foot restraints,
347
00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:21,440
no hand restraints, no nothing.
348
00:31:21,480 --> 00:31:24,520
Except for that gun,
which didn't work too well.
349
00:31:24,560 --> 00:31:26,400
He was really out there by himself.
350
00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:33,520
The Gemini suit, you're
in a balloon
351
00:31:33,560 --> 00:31:36,440
{\an8}and bending balloons
every time you move.
352
00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:38,440
{\an8}I mean, it was really hard work.
353
00:31:43,840 --> 00:31:46,800
People were really amazed
at how well
354
00:31:46,840 --> 00:31:49,200
he handled himself in space.
355
00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:55,240
You're going 17,500 miles an hour
and everything's going fine.
356
00:32:00,440 --> 00:32:02,200
He was having a great
time out there.
357
00:32:02,240 --> 00:32:03,840
And of course, time flies
358
00:32:03,880 --> 00:32:06,280
when you're in a situation
like that.
359
00:32:06,320 --> 00:32:09,680
And so what the whole world
remembered was McDivitt, you know,
360
00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:12,040
looking at the watch and the
checklist and saying,
361
00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:13,440
"Hey, it's time to get in here."
362
00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:15,680
And Ed saying, "Yeah, yeah,"
you know, basically,
363
00:32:15,720 --> 00:32:18,960
"Yeah, yeah, I'll be with you
in a minute." Right.
364
00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:20,960
Trying to stay out as long
as he could.
365
00:32:35,760 --> 00:32:39,600
But then when he started to get back
in, McDivitt had to help him.
366
00:32:40,880 --> 00:32:44,240
The suit was puffed up, of course,
and the hatch wasn't that big,
367
00:32:44,280 --> 00:32:47,880
and he really struggled
to get back in.
368
00:32:49,800 --> 00:32:51,760
By the time he got back in,
it was dark.
369
00:32:54,240 --> 00:32:56,240
So when we went to close the hatch,
it wouldn't close,
370
00:32:56,280 --> 00:32:57,680
it wouldn't lock.
371
00:32:57,720 --> 00:32:59,520
{\an8}And so in the dark,
372
00:32:59,560 --> 00:33:01,280
{\an8}I was trying to fiddle around over
373
00:33:01,320 --> 00:33:03,600
{\an8}in this side where I couldn't
see anything,
374
00:33:03,640 --> 00:33:05,400
{\an8}trying to get my cloth down
375
00:33:05,440 --> 00:33:07,280
in this little slot to push
the gears together.
376
00:33:07,320 --> 00:33:10,760
And finally we got that done
and got it latched.
377
00:33:15,040 --> 00:33:17,640
When they closed that hatch
everybody said,
378
00:33:17,680 --> 00:33:20,440
"Good Lord" Man,
I'm glad that's over."
379
00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:33,440
When we hit the water,
we checked around for leaks.
380
00:33:34,520 --> 00:33:36,800
I said to Ed, "How are you feeling?"
381
00:33:36,840 --> 00:33:39,320
He said, "I'm feeling great,
how are you feeling?"
382
00:33:39,360 --> 00:33:40,920
I said, "I'm feeling great too."
383
00:33:40,960 --> 00:33:42,720
"Guess we aren't going to die."
384
00:33:59,560 --> 00:34:01,320
Ed was really the pioneer
385
00:34:01,360 --> 00:34:04,720
for American
extravehicular activities.
386
00:34:05,800 --> 00:34:08,680
It captured the imagination of,
I think,
387
00:34:08,720 --> 00:34:10,360
the entire public.
388
00:34:12,360 --> 00:34:16,200
Could go on a parade like
that in a city where dad was born.
389
00:34:16,240 --> 00:34:18,960
And of course, he was very proud
of being a Texan.
390
00:34:22,360 --> 00:34:25,480
The whole city turned
out, and that was the best
391
00:34:25,520 --> 00:34:28,040
of those kind of parades
I've ever been in
392
00:34:28,080 --> 00:34:30,320
in my life, and I'll never
forget that.
393
00:34:33,640 --> 00:34:35,640
It was really kind of overwhelming.
394
00:34:36,840 --> 00:34:40,280
It was like being a movie star
or even more than that.
395
00:34:43,600 --> 00:34:46,600
It's indeed a pleasure
to be back here
396
00:34:46,640 --> 00:34:49,000
and stand on the steps here
and share a little bit of
397
00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:50,520
the experiences I had with you.
398
00:34:52,160 --> 00:34:55,400
It's wonderful to be back
in the state of Texas.
399
00:34:57,640 --> 00:35:00,000
We were mobbed wherever we went.
400
00:35:00,040 --> 00:35:02,320
And dad was, you know, besieged
by press
401
00:35:02,360 --> 00:35:05,080
and wherever we went, they rolled
out the red carpet.
402
00:35:07,360 --> 00:35:09,520
It was just kind of crazy.
403
00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:24,160
Five, four, thee, two, one...
404
00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:48,160
Gemini was two year
crash course
405
00:35:48,200 --> 00:35:50,760
in how you go to the moon
and get ready for it.
406
00:35:51,880 --> 00:35:54,800
It's where we learned how
to rendezvous, how to dock,
407
00:35:54,840 --> 00:35:59,760
how to do a spacewalk or
extravehicular activity, EVA.
408
00:35:59,800 --> 00:36:02,280
Not that we knew all the answers
yet, but that we were
409
00:36:02,320 --> 00:36:03,720
on the right track.
410
00:36:08,720 --> 00:36:10,800
ARCHIVE: The moon is a necessary
first step
411
00:36:10,840 --> 00:36:12,720
for exploration of the planets.
412
00:36:12,760 --> 00:36:14,920
To fly men there
and return them safely
413
00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:18,680
in this decade is the goal of
Nasa's Project Apollo.
414
00:36:18,720 --> 00:36:21,440
The early missions of Mercury
and the experience
415
00:36:21,480 --> 00:36:23,760
from Gemini have brought
this country
416
00:36:23,800 --> 00:36:26,880
to the next major milestone,
the first Apollo
417
00:36:26,920 --> 00:36:28,840
three manned space flight.
418
00:36:28,880 --> 00:36:31,160
These are the men to fly
that mission.
419
00:36:31,200 --> 00:36:33,000
Astronaut Roger Chaffee.
420
00:36:33,040 --> 00:36:35,840
Needless to say,
I'm extremely excited
421
00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:37,880
about being named
to this flight crew,
422
00:36:37,920 --> 00:36:40,160
and I think I've got a couple of
the greatest men
423
00:36:40,200 --> 00:36:41,480
in the world to work with.
424
00:36:41,520 --> 00:36:43,280
It's going to be a lot of fun.
425
00:36:43,320 --> 00:36:46,800
The senior pilot, Edward White -
he will be remembered
426
00:36:46,840 --> 00:36:48,000
for his spacewalk.
427
00:36:48,040 --> 00:36:52,680
Ah... Uh, working in the systems
right now, getting up to speed.
428
00:36:52,720 --> 00:36:55,840
And I think, uh, we'll all be
looking forward to the flight.
429
00:36:55,880 --> 00:36:59,240
And command pilot Virgil Grissom,
one of the original
430
00:36:59,280 --> 00:37:02,520
seven astronauts -
his third time into space.
431
00:37:02,560 --> 00:37:04,400
I realise that this isn't
a flight to the Moon,
432
00:37:04,440 --> 00:37:09,320
but if it were, which two men would
go down to the surface of the Moon?
433
00:37:09,360 --> 00:37:13,120
If it was this crew, it would
be me and somebody else.
434
00:37:13,160 --> 00:37:15,280
LAUGHTER
435
00:37:18,360 --> 00:37:19,400
Very good.
436
00:37:22,800 --> 00:37:27,360
When we heard, you know, that it was
Grissom and White and Chaffee,
437
00:37:27,400 --> 00:37:28,920
perfect. Let's go.
438
00:37:33,400 --> 00:37:36,120
That was a wonderful crew.
They had three different
439
00:37:36,160 --> 00:37:40,320
representatives from
three of the different groups.
440
00:37:40,360 --> 00:37:42,960
They all clicked together very well.
441
00:37:51,200 --> 00:37:53,920
I think our crew and
backup crew really
442
00:37:53,960 --> 00:37:55,440
worked very, very well together.
443
00:37:55,480 --> 00:38:00,520
I mean, we did not have
any problems in terms of,
444
00:38:00,560 --> 00:38:03,240
you know, compatibility
or dealing with things...
445
00:38:04,680 --> 00:38:09,240
...in spite of the difficult
initial relationship with Gus.
446
00:38:10,480 --> 00:38:14,280
And we became the best of friends
after we were on the crew together
447
00:38:14,320 --> 00:38:16,880
for no more than a week or two.
448
00:38:18,280 --> 00:38:20,360
It was a very interesting
transition.
449
00:38:55,840 --> 00:38:58,000
It was a whole new vehicle -
the first time we'd built
450
00:38:58,040 --> 00:39:00,080
a three-person vehicle.
451
00:39:00,120 --> 00:39:02,360
North American Aviation
was the contractor,
452
00:39:02,400 --> 00:39:04,920
and even though they'd
had a lot of experience,
453
00:39:04,960 --> 00:39:07,840
they were struggling
with the command module.
454
00:39:07,880 --> 00:39:13,800
Plus, as we learn things, it was
continually modifying the vehicle.
455
00:39:13,840 --> 00:39:16,280
So as fast as we were building it,
we were changing it.
456
00:39:17,440 --> 00:39:21,360
The modifications never stopped,
which require you to go back
457
00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:23,960
in and undo work you've already
done and checked out,
458
00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:27,080
and you pull wiring out
and you put new wiring in.
459
00:39:27,120 --> 00:39:28,640
It was pressure, pressure, pressure.
460
00:39:34,040 --> 00:39:38,000
When I came to work for NASA,
the covers they had on the
461
00:39:38,040 --> 00:39:40,440
floor of the command
module and over that wiring
462
00:39:40,480 --> 00:39:44,680
were just the standard foam
type protective covers.
463
00:39:44,720 --> 00:39:47,600
I don't know how in the world
anybody would think
464
00:39:47,640 --> 00:39:50,320
that was acceptable
in an oxygen environment.
465
00:39:54,360 --> 00:39:59,160
The crew was not shy
about speaking up.
466
00:39:59,200 --> 00:40:02,200
They did not like some things
about the spacecraft.
467
00:40:03,400 --> 00:40:05,000
They would look at
something and say,
468
00:40:05,040 --> 00:40:09,800
"You know, that switch there?
Not very handy.
469
00:40:09,840 --> 00:40:12,480
"It ought to be moved
over to this side."
470
00:40:12,520 --> 00:40:16,640
Well, the contractor would do it,
you know, just at the whim
471
00:40:16,680 --> 00:40:18,440
and fancy of an astronaut.
472
00:40:19,480 --> 00:40:23,800
It drove the contractors nuts,
and it drove the program
473
00:40:23,840 --> 00:40:25,880
managers even more crazy.
474
00:40:28,280 --> 00:40:30,680
Gus was very involved
in the hatch design,
475
00:40:30,720 --> 00:40:35,000
and he insisted that the hatch
seal from the inside out so that,
476
00:40:35,040 --> 00:40:38,200
you know, in the event of a leak
in orbit, you've always got pressure
477
00:40:38,240 --> 00:40:40,800
in the cockpit holding
that hatch closed,
478
00:40:40,840 --> 00:40:42,800
which was, you know, a sound reason.
479
00:40:45,720 --> 00:40:48,800
We all bitched about the hatch.
No question.
480
00:40:48,840 --> 00:40:52,160
But it wasn't because of safety,
it was because of the difficulty
481
00:40:52,200 --> 00:40:53,760
of using the damn thing.
482
00:40:55,080 --> 00:40:58,760
Time was passing
and we had to meet these goals.
483
00:40:58,800 --> 00:41:01,040
And Apollo was running late.
Running slow.
484
00:41:04,920 --> 00:41:06,480
They knew they had a problem.
485
00:41:07,960 --> 00:41:12,760
Everybody was trying to get to
the Moon in the decade of the '60s,
486
00:41:12,800 --> 00:41:16,200
like President Kennedy had promised.
487
00:41:17,680 --> 00:41:20,040
And so they were cutting corners
488
00:41:20,080 --> 00:41:23,160
and doing things, probably,
to get there faster.
489
00:41:24,520 --> 00:41:28,080
All of us down there are struggling
to meet the schedule,
490
00:41:28,120 --> 00:41:31,360
and we were trying to go faster
than we could handle.
491
00:41:57,440 --> 00:42:01,680
I was annoyed at the way
what became Apollo One
492
00:42:01,720 --> 00:42:04,080
came out of the plant at Downing.
493
00:42:04,120 --> 00:42:05,640
It was not finished.
494
00:42:07,280 --> 00:42:09,320
So it was shipped to the Cape
with a bunch of spare parts
495
00:42:09,360 --> 00:42:10,480
and things to finish it out.
496
00:42:11,560 --> 00:42:14,840
And that, of course,
caused this whole atmosphere
497
00:42:14,880 --> 00:42:18,480
of developing where...
I would almost call it a first case
498
00:42:18,520 --> 00:42:21,160
of bad go fever - "go fever"
meaning we've got to keep going,
499
00:42:21,200 --> 00:42:22,560
got to keep going, got to keep going.
500
00:42:25,000 --> 00:42:27,960
That evening, I debriefed with Gus.
501
00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:31,160
I said, "If there are any things
that go wrong, like a glitch
502
00:42:31,200 --> 00:42:34,120
"in the electronic circuit,
some bad sounds, scrub."
503
00:42:39,920 --> 00:42:42,040
They were frustrated.
504
00:42:42,080 --> 00:42:47,480
Frustrated over the things that
were happening to the spacecraft.
505
00:42:47,520 --> 00:42:50,080
I mean, I've got a picture
of them praying.
506
00:42:54,240 --> 00:42:56,400
{\an8}I look forward a great deal
to the first flight.
507
00:42:56,440 --> 00:43:01,880
{\an8}There's a great deal of pride
involved in making a first flight.
508
00:43:01,920 --> 00:43:04,640
{\an8}So I think I'm... I'm looking
forward to the flight
509
00:43:04,680 --> 00:43:06,480
with a great deal of anticipation.
510
00:43:10,640 --> 00:43:13,000
There's a lot of unknowns,
of course, and a lot of problems
511
00:43:13,040 --> 00:43:16,200
{\an8}that could develop or might develop,
and they'll have to be solved,
512
00:43:16,240 --> 00:43:17,280
{\an8}and that's what we're there for.
513
00:43:17,320 --> 00:43:20,920
{\an8}This is our business - to find out
if this thing will work for us.
514
00:43:23,720 --> 00:43:28,240
You flew on Mercury, flew on Gemini,
and now you're flying on Apollo.
515
00:43:28,280 --> 00:43:31,640
Does the law of averages,
so far as the possibility
516
00:43:31,680 --> 00:43:34,640
of a catastrophic failure,
bother you at all, sir?
517
00:43:34,680 --> 00:43:36,760
{\an8}No. You sort of have to put
that out of your mind, and...
518
00:43:38,000 --> 00:43:40,000
{\an8}...there's always a
possibility that, uh...
519
00:43:41,320 --> 00:43:43,800
{\an8}...you can have a catastrophic
failure, of course.
520
00:43:43,840 --> 00:43:44,840
{\an8}It can happen on any fight.
521
00:43:44,880 --> 00:43:47,880
It can happen on the last one
as well as the first one, so...
522
00:43:49,960 --> 00:43:53,680
{\an8}...you just plan as best you
can to take care of all of
523
00:43:53,720 --> 00:43:58,680
{\an8}these eventualities, and you get a
well-trained crew and you go fly.
524
00:44:11,840 --> 00:44:16,280
The Apollo One test, which we
considered to be non-hazardous,
525
00:44:16,320 --> 00:44:20,920
ran long because of various
problems during the afternoon.
526
00:44:20,960 --> 00:44:23,360
And then the comms system
was really acting up.
527
00:44:41,120 --> 00:44:44,360
I was in Mission Control.
I was a flight controller.
528
00:44:44,400 --> 00:44:49,240
We had gone round and round and
round on the communication issues.
529
00:44:49,280 --> 00:44:53,040
We could not get a clear voice.
We couldn't talk to each other.
530
00:45:06,320 --> 00:45:10,520
Gus was forever complaining
about the countdown
531
00:45:10,560 --> 00:45:12,040
and the communications.
532
00:45:21,520 --> 00:45:24,240
We knew that there was
bad workmanship.
533
00:45:24,280 --> 00:45:26,800
We knew that the wires were exposed.
534
00:45:28,040 --> 00:45:32,240
We knew that there was
a lot of stuff going on
535
00:45:32,280 --> 00:45:34,520
in that spacecraft
that we didn't like.
536
00:45:39,240 --> 00:45:42,720
I don't think any of us
recognised the seriousness
537
00:45:42,760 --> 00:45:45,720
of the danger we
had put the crew in.
538
00:46:20,680 --> 00:46:22,720
The whole ball of fire
that was inside
539
00:46:22,760 --> 00:46:25,240
that vessel came out like
sheets of flame.
540
00:46:28,200 --> 00:46:30,880
Technicians were burned.
Papers were set on fire.
541
00:46:32,840 --> 00:46:36,560
People were rushing in all directions
trying to get fire extinguishers.
542
00:46:45,520 --> 00:46:49,960
Six guys took it in turn two at a
time to try and get the hatches off.
543
00:46:52,320 --> 00:46:54,800
In the process, they were
burning their hands on the hatches.
544
00:46:56,960 --> 00:46:59,680
Then the fire came up the side
and filled the whole room
545
00:46:59,720 --> 00:47:00,720
with black smoke.
546
00:47:13,880 --> 00:47:16,160
And then, from then on, it was...
547
00:47:17,680 --> 00:47:19,800
...impossible to do
anything about it.
548
00:47:25,360 --> 00:47:29,960
I've seen death happen in
various ways, but not like that.
549
00:47:35,000 --> 00:47:37,840
Top space agency officials are
flying to Cape Kennedy tonight
550
00:47:37,880 --> 00:47:41,320
to begin the official investigation
into what caused a flash fire
551
00:47:41,360 --> 00:47:45,080
that killed the nation's first three
Apollo astronauts earlier tonight.
552
00:47:45,120 --> 00:47:49,520
Lieutenant Colonel Gus Grissom, 42,
Lieutenant Colonel Ed White, 36,
553
00:47:49,560 --> 00:47:52,520
and Lieutenant Commander
Roger Chaffee, 31,
554
00:47:52,560 --> 00:47:56,280
all died in moments, helplessly
trapped inside their spacecraft.
555
00:48:01,800 --> 00:48:04,160
ON RADIO: ..the first three
Apollo astronauts earlier tonight.
556
00:48:05,680 --> 00:48:09,240
It was just a news flash on
the radio in the car, and I...
557
00:48:10,320 --> 00:48:13,160
I slammed on the brakes and
pulled off to the side just
558
00:48:13,200 --> 00:48:18,680
before going under the runway, and
I just... I had to just sit there...
559
00:48:20,160 --> 00:48:24,360
...I think, for 15 or 20 minutes
before I felt I could,
560
00:48:24,400 --> 00:48:27,320
I could drive again.
561
00:48:27,360 --> 00:48:30,000
Uh, I mean, it was such a shock.
562
00:48:37,280 --> 00:48:43,600
All at once it was shock,
disbelief, confusion.
563
00:48:44,800 --> 00:48:49,280
I was more concerned with Mum
and Dad and how they were
564
00:48:49,320 --> 00:48:51,440
going to react to this.
565
00:48:53,160 --> 00:48:56,400
Surprisingly, I think Mum
handled it very well.
566
00:48:57,840 --> 00:49:00,040
Dad took it very, very hard.
567
00:49:01,720 --> 00:49:03,920
I don't think he ever
quite got over it.
568
00:49:09,640 --> 00:49:13,880
Jan Armstrong was in our driveway
when we came pulling up
569
00:49:13,920 --> 00:49:18,080
and she got Mum, and then they
just sent me and Ed to our room,
570
00:49:18,120 --> 00:49:20,720
and we were back there,
sitting in our rooms.
571
00:49:20,760 --> 00:49:22,920
We didn't know what was going on.
572
00:49:22,960 --> 00:49:28,720
And then I think at some point
Mum ended up coming in and I just...
573
00:49:28,760 --> 00:49:30,120
...yeah.
574
00:49:30,160 --> 00:49:33,720
It's... the worst thing you
could ever possibly hear.
575
00:49:40,920 --> 00:49:44,880
That was probably the worst night of
my life, without a doubt. For sure.
576
00:49:53,520 --> 00:49:56,640
I remember every single
second of that day.
577
00:50:01,960 --> 00:50:03,640
But I had to tell my kids.
578
00:50:21,280 --> 00:50:24,920
I remember the horses and
the carriage bringing the coffin.
579
00:50:30,120 --> 00:50:33,680
My grandparents were there,
and President Johnson.
580
00:51:17,040 --> 00:51:20,560
Mum did what my dad had wanted.
581
00:51:20,600 --> 00:51:23,640
He wanted to be buried
at West Point.
582
00:51:23,680 --> 00:51:24,880
That was his wish.
583
00:51:27,040 --> 00:51:30,920
Mum wanted to keep Dad's wish,
so we went that way.
584
00:51:48,000 --> 00:51:50,000
GUNSHOTS
585
00:51:57,400 --> 00:51:59,200
You had that feeling of guilt.
586
00:52:00,520 --> 00:52:02,400
You had that feeling of remorse.
587
00:52:02,440 --> 00:52:06,960
You had that feeling of, "My God,
why did we ever let that happen?"
588
00:52:07,000 --> 00:52:11,720
And there's those three men are
gone, and you had to deal with that.
589
00:52:30,280 --> 00:52:36,560
I was the designated engineer to
go into the spacecraft to try to
590
00:52:36,600 --> 00:52:40,360
identify where the source
of the ignition was.
591
00:52:49,440 --> 00:52:55,280
It was a very traumatic situation,
but at the same time,
592
00:52:55,320 --> 00:53:00,480
my focus and my concentration
was on my job.
593
00:53:21,080 --> 00:53:24,800
All the leaders in both NASA
and North American...
594
00:53:26,040 --> 00:53:30,040
...lost their jobs and they
brought in new people.
595
00:53:30,080 --> 00:53:33,640
They were all tough guys.
They took no rubbish from anybody.
596
00:53:33,680 --> 00:53:35,840
They ran a hard shop.
They had very little patience
597
00:53:35,880 --> 00:53:38,760
with people that screwed
up or didn't do the job,
598
00:53:38,800 --> 00:53:41,120
and they really took
over the program.
599
00:53:42,400 --> 00:53:46,520
I thought it was unnecessary
to move as many people as we did,
600
00:53:46,560 --> 00:53:47,600
but that's just the way it was.
601
00:53:47,640 --> 00:53:49,920
Politics is tough
in a situation like that.
602
00:54:00,720 --> 00:54:03,320
{\an8}In retrospect,
we put the story together -
603
00:54:03,360 --> 00:54:08,880
{\an8}is that a single spark ignited
either Velcro or the T0 netting
604
00:54:08,920 --> 00:54:13,480
and in a 100% oxygen environment,
instantly was like a fireball
605
00:54:13,520 --> 00:54:17,240
just going across that spacecraft
all the way to the other side.
606
00:54:17,280 --> 00:54:18,760
And it was instantaneous.
607
00:54:25,600 --> 00:54:28,800
NEWSREEL: In Washington, astronauts
Borman, McDivitt, Slayton, Schirra,
608
00:54:28,840 --> 00:54:31,680
and Shepard attend a congressional
subcommittee hearing
609
00:54:31,720 --> 00:54:35,240
probing the Apollo capsule disaster.
The questions...
610
00:54:35,280 --> 00:54:36,280
We went through a lot of trial.
611
00:54:37,680 --> 00:54:41,240
NASA, unfortunately,
as a bunch of civilians,
612
00:54:41,280 --> 00:54:44,280
didn't know how to take off
the black armband.
613
00:54:44,320 --> 00:54:48,880
And military people moan inside,
cry inside, bleed inside
614
00:54:48,920 --> 00:54:50,560
about losing a compatriot.
615
00:54:50,600 --> 00:54:53,280
But they wore the black armband
to the funeral, and that's it.
616
00:54:53,320 --> 00:54:54,480
It's gone.
617
00:54:54,520 --> 00:54:56,960
NASA wore the
black armband for a year
618
00:54:57,000 --> 00:54:58,600
and we kept saying,
"Look, take the band off.
619
00:54:58,640 --> 00:55:00,000
"We got to get back to work."
620
00:55:00,040 --> 00:55:03,200
Gus... Gus would be the first person
to say, "Let's get on with it."
621
00:55:13,120 --> 00:55:14,760
We were right up against it.
622
00:55:14,800 --> 00:55:20,080
I mean, the idea that we could
recover from that kind of accident
623
00:55:20,120 --> 00:55:23,000
and all of the work
that had to be done
624
00:55:23,040 --> 00:55:27,480
rebuilding things and still make
the end of the decade?
625
00:55:27,520 --> 00:55:30,560
Phew, man, that was...
It was really tight.
626
00:55:37,960 --> 00:55:39,520
EXPLOSION
627
00:55:40,680 --> 00:55:45,040
In a year that was really bad
in the United States, in 1968 -
628
00:55:45,080 --> 00:55:48,120
the riots, Vietnam
was going downhill -
629
00:55:48,160 --> 00:55:50,320
there was so much
negativity in the world.
630
00:56:06,560 --> 00:56:09,560
ENGINE ROARS
631
00:56:27,560 --> 00:56:33,720
Everything had to work right.
And miraculously, it did.
632
00:56:39,800 --> 00:56:43,440
And then in December of '68,
Borman, Lovell, and Anders
633
00:56:43,480 --> 00:56:44,600
took off to the Moon.
634
00:56:49,120 --> 00:56:52,400
To go from Earth orbit to the Moon,
it was a big jump.
635
00:56:55,400 --> 00:56:57,680
That was just... Just amazing.
636
00:57:09,600 --> 00:57:11,640
And then 11 came along.
637
00:57:23,320 --> 00:57:26,200
ARMSTRONG:
It's one small step for man...
638
00:57:27,840 --> 00:57:30,760
...one giant leap for mankind.
639
00:57:36,160 --> 00:57:38,720
How exciting that was.
640
00:57:38,760 --> 00:57:42,920
I can remember that
like it was yesterday.
641
00:57:42,960 --> 00:57:44,880
CHEERING
642
00:57:45,920 --> 00:57:47,680
INAUDIBLE
643
00:57:55,880 --> 00:57:59,600
I took great pride in the fact
that we did land on the Moon.
644
00:57:59,640 --> 00:58:01,920
I think that's what Gus
would have wanted...
645
00:58:03,640 --> 00:58:07,280
...to do it in the time frame
that Kennedy asked.
646
00:58:08,320 --> 00:58:13,400
I think that probably without
the sacrifice of Apollo One,
647
00:58:13,440 --> 00:58:16,120
we would have never made it
to the Moon in a decade.
648
00:58:19,880 --> 00:58:22,080
It was an incredible time.
649
00:58:24,440 --> 00:58:26,840
We were doing it for ourselves...
650
00:58:29,240 --> 00:58:32,120
...we were doing it for
our fellow crewmen
651
00:58:32,160 --> 00:58:34,680
who weren't around
any more to do it.
652
00:58:34,720 --> 00:58:37,520
We were doing it for humanity.
653
00:59:20,240 --> 00:59:23,840
As the missions went on
after Apollo 11,
654
00:59:23,880 --> 00:59:26,640
we became more focussed
on real exploration.
655
00:59:27,760 --> 00:59:31,560
And Dave Scott was a
very thoughtful guy.
656
00:59:31,600 --> 00:59:36,560
He left a tribute on the surface
to the fallen astronauts,
657
00:59:36,600 --> 00:59:39,080
which included the Apollo One crew.
658
00:59:50,480 --> 00:59:55,160
RADIO: T-Minus five, four,
three, two, one.
659
00:59:55,200 --> 00:59:58,280
Booster ignition
and lift-off of Discovery.
660
01:00:05,640 --> 01:00:06,720
The shuttle program.
661
01:00:07,720 --> 01:00:10,360
It was the most fantastic flying
machine you'd ever seen.
662
01:00:27,920 --> 01:00:29,520
We have main engine start.
663
01:00:29,560 --> 01:00:35,040
Four, three, two, one and lift-off.
664
01:00:35,080 --> 01:00:38,240
Lift-off of the 25th
Space Shuttle mission
665
01:00:38,280 --> 01:00:39,840
and it has cleared the tower.
666
01:00:43,600 --> 01:00:46,960
But NASA, they made
some really bad errors.
667
01:00:48,520 --> 01:00:50,200
EXPLOSION
668
01:00:53,960 --> 01:00:55,440
Challenger was one.
669
01:00:56,800 --> 01:00:58,400
Columbia was another one.
670
01:01:08,280 --> 01:01:12,120
You are putting your life on
the line because you believe
671
01:01:12,160 --> 01:01:13,680
in what it is you're doing.
672
01:01:13,720 --> 01:01:18,280
I mean, being at the
forefront of exploration
673
01:01:18,320 --> 01:01:22,680
is something that you're willing
to pay a price for.
674
01:01:29,560 --> 01:01:34,280
Here we have all 25 astronauts
recognised on our wall.
675
01:01:34,320 --> 01:01:37,960
I'd like to take a special moment
to recognise every one.
676
01:01:39,960 --> 01:01:45,080
NASA, in a very difficult way,
has had to learn
677
01:01:45,120 --> 01:01:48,040
some very tough lessons in
how you deal with disasters,
678
01:01:48,080 --> 01:01:49,520
and they're doing it quite well now.
679
01:01:49,560 --> 01:01:51,880
Hopefully they'll never
have to do it again,
680
01:01:51,920 --> 01:01:56,800
but they have a strong commitment
to supporting the families.
681
01:01:56,840 --> 01:01:58,960
Roger B Chaffee.
682
01:01:59,000 --> 01:02:00,160
BELL RINGS
683
01:02:02,720 --> 01:02:04,840
Virgil "Gus" Grissom.
684
01:02:04,880 --> 01:02:06,120
BELL RINGS
685
01:02:07,720 --> 01:02:09,760
Edward H White II.
686
01:02:09,800 --> 01:02:11,000
BELL RINGS
687
01:02:12,720 --> 01:02:16,440
We feel like we're a part of the
NASA family, and ultimately,
688
01:02:16,480 --> 01:02:19,760
we see our mission as helping
them fulfil their mission,
689
01:02:19,800 --> 01:02:23,680
which is human exploration,
which was the dream
690
01:02:23,720 --> 01:02:25,600
of those astronauts who'd perished.
691
01:02:30,080 --> 01:02:32,840
I'm glad that they've
got the memorial.
692
01:02:32,880 --> 01:02:35,560
It's just something to
look at and say,
693
01:02:35,600 --> 01:02:40,120
"Hey, he's remembered,"
and that's important.
694
01:02:57,200 --> 01:02:58,960
People want to remember him.
695
01:03:01,840 --> 01:03:04,400
He was the first American
to walk in space.
696
01:03:07,840 --> 01:03:12,360
Getting over it has been something
we've been able to do together.
697
01:03:12,400 --> 01:03:14,480
Bonnie has helped me
and I've helped her
698
01:03:14,520 --> 01:03:16,320
all that time, you know.
699
01:03:26,920 --> 01:03:32,120
Sometimes I see my dad in my dreams,
and they're always positive
700
01:03:32,160 --> 01:03:37,080
and urging me forward in my life,
which I appreciate
701
01:03:37,120 --> 01:03:38,960
that he does that every so often.
702
01:03:47,280 --> 01:03:50,880
I remember having dreams
that he would walk through
703
01:03:50,920 --> 01:03:54,720
the front door and, you know,
say, "Hey, I'm home."
704
01:03:54,760 --> 01:03:57,280
And he'd just have maybe
a bandage on his face
705
01:03:57,320 --> 01:03:58,960
or on his hand or something.
706
01:03:59,000 --> 01:04:02,280
And yeah, I had those dreams
quite frequently.
707
01:04:03,520 --> 01:04:09,800
You know they're around watching
you and guarding. They're angels.
708
01:04:36,920 --> 01:04:38,880
It's the light of life.
709
01:04:38,920 --> 01:04:42,880
They light one for Gus,
one for Ed and one for my dad.
710
01:04:42,920 --> 01:04:47,240
And I think that's just shining
their light when they, um,
711
01:04:47,280 --> 01:04:48,760
when those candles are lit.
712
01:04:58,440 --> 01:05:01,560
The last time I was there,
I looked up at the sky
713
01:05:01,600 --> 01:05:03,200
and there were three stars...
714
01:05:06,440 --> 01:05:07,640
...lined up.
715
01:05:09,000 --> 01:05:11,360
And it was really, really special.
716
01:05:16,160 --> 01:05:18,280
BUGLER PLAYS
717
01:05:22,800 --> 01:05:26,280
The Apollo fire is still a very
significant event in people's minds.
718
01:05:28,360 --> 01:05:31,280
When you look at the history of
the space program,
719
01:05:31,320 --> 01:05:34,800
the loss of those three guys is,
will always be, significant.
720
01:05:43,280 --> 01:05:46,040
I don't think the three
of them died in vain.
721
01:05:47,200 --> 01:05:49,280
I think they were the
stepping stones
722
01:05:50,320 --> 01:05:52,440
for the rest of the people
to go to the Moon.
723
01:06:07,040 --> 01:06:10,200
And now we have Artemis
going back to the Moon,
724
01:06:10,240 --> 01:06:13,440
this is all a great continuation.
725
01:06:13,480 --> 01:06:17,080
Ladies and gentlemen,
your Artemis Two crew!
726
01:06:17,120 --> 01:06:19,120
CHEERS AND APPLAUSE
727
01:06:22,160 --> 01:06:25,960
We're all family,
and it's a family of astronauts.
728
01:06:26,000 --> 01:06:30,120
Now a family not just of
white Christian men,
729
01:06:30,160 --> 01:06:32,240
but a lot of diversity.
730
01:06:32,280 --> 01:06:35,960
Men, women, people from
all over the world.
731
01:06:38,040 --> 01:06:42,000
Earth life is moving out
into the universe
732
01:06:42,040 --> 01:06:44,720
and Artemis is that next big step.
733
01:06:47,480 --> 01:06:51,320
This next step will be better
than what we did.
734
01:06:51,360 --> 01:06:53,360
Better tools, better technology.
735
01:06:55,000 --> 01:06:57,720
The lessons we learnt
on Apollo One
736
01:06:57,760 --> 01:07:02,960
have been with us ever since,
and I think every time
737
01:07:03,000 --> 01:07:06,960
that spacecraft launches,
we'll know it's got a little bit of
738
01:07:07,000 --> 01:07:09,040
Apollo One in it.
739
01:07:11,280 --> 01:07:13,680
ENGINES ROAR
740
01:07:45,120 --> 01:07:48,840
♪ Though the days are long
741
01:07:48,880 --> 01:07:52,560
♪ Twilight sings a song
742
01:07:52,600 --> 01:07:57,320
♪ Of the happiness that used to be
743
01:07:59,920 --> 01:08:04,920
♪ I'll see you in my dreams
744
01:08:07,920 --> 01:08:13,040
♪ Hold you in my dream. ♪
745
01:08:13,080 --> 01:08:15,080
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