1 00:00:05,772 --> 00:00:08,206 Through the centuries, to leave Earth 2 00:00:08,375 --> 00:00:10,673 was an impossible fantasy. 3 00:00:13,580 --> 00:00:16,310 Then two rival scientists became locked in a race 4 00:00:16,483 --> 00:00:18,781 to realize that dream. 5 00:00:19,819 --> 00:00:22,447 Their struggle would make history. 6 00:00:24,591 --> 00:00:25,489 Fire! 7 00:00:29,763 --> 00:00:32,254 At the end of World War Two, Russia and America 8 00:00:32,432 --> 00:00:35,959 raced to capture the secrets of Germany's rocket technology. 9 00:00:36,136 --> 00:00:38,070 Who's the brains behind all this? 10 00:00:38,438 --> 00:00:42,772 Wernher von Braun was a rocket genius years ahead of his time. 11 00:00:47,247 --> 00:00:48,714 When he surrendered to the Americans, 12 00:00:48,882 --> 00:00:51,874 he brought with him his dreams for space. 13 00:00:52,252 --> 00:00:54,482 We have other rockets at the theoretical stage. 14 00:00:54,721 --> 00:00:57,349 In time other rockets will leave Earth orbit altogether 15 00:00:57,524 --> 00:00:59,048 and explore other planets. 16 00:00:59,225 --> 00:01:01,819 But von Braun's vision had come at a price. 17 00:01:01,995 --> 00:01:04,463 Were you ever a member of the National Socialist Party? 18 00:01:04,631 --> 00:01:05,757 Yes I was. 19 00:01:05,932 --> 00:01:07,092 The SS? 20 00:01:07,267 --> 00:01:09,531 Yes, I held the rank of Major. 21 00:01:11,438 --> 00:01:15,238 Slave labour was used to construct von Braun's rockets. 22 00:01:15,408 --> 00:01:18,468 You were aware of the existence of the V2 mass production plant? 23 00:01:18,645 --> 00:01:20,169 You saw the conditions. 24 00:01:20,346 --> 00:01:23,474 Don't you imagine someone else would've done the work if I had refused? 25 00:01:24,350 --> 00:01:26,045 Unknown to von Braun, 26 00:01:26,219 --> 00:01:28,949 the Soviets had a space visionary of their own. 27 00:01:29,756 --> 00:01:31,018 Your confession. 28 00:01:31,224 --> 00:01:34,091 Sergei Korolev was sentenced to ten years in the gulag 29 00:01:34,260 --> 00:01:36,490 for crimes he did not commit. 30 00:01:38,198 --> 00:01:39,256 Once released, 31 00:01:39,432 --> 00:01:42,299 he became the chief designer of Russia's rocket program 32 00:01:42,469 --> 00:01:47,065 and was so successful that his very existence was hidden from the West. 33 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:48,673 In the interest of State security 34 00:01:48,842 --> 00:01:50,867 no one must know your identity. 35 00:01:51,044 --> 00:01:52,841 It must be as if you don't exist. 36 00:02:12,065 --> 00:02:13,555 After the Second World War, 37 00:02:13,733 --> 00:02:16,702 an iron curtain fell across the ruins of Europe, 38 00:02:17,036 --> 00:02:18,401 separating the Communist East 39 00:02:18,571 --> 00:02:20,539 from the Capitalist West. 40 00:02:26,446 --> 00:02:29,176 Two superpowers, America and the Soviet Union 41 00:02:29,349 --> 00:02:32,216 became locked to the new arm race. 42 00:02:34,521 --> 00:02:39,925 The cold war became fear as the nuclear strike by the other. 43 00:02:43,429 --> 00:02:46,455 In 1952, the Americans tested the most powerful weapon 44 00:02:46,633 --> 00:02:50,399 that the world had ever seen - the hydrogen bomb. 45 00:02:52,372 --> 00:02:55,102 The year is now 1953 46 00:03:06,486 --> 00:03:10,115 Of 12 August. The Soviet Union also exploded the first H-bomb. 47 00:03:10,957 --> 00:03:13,858 The race is on for nuclear supremacy. 48 00:03:22,268 --> 00:03:23,292 Congratulations comrades. 49 00:03:23,469 --> 00:03:24,367 Good job well done. 50 00:03:24,537 --> 00:03:27,700 May all such future devices explode as successfully, hm? 51 00:03:32,412 --> 00:03:34,539 He's here, in person? 52 00:03:35,815 --> 00:03:37,077 The h-bomb test leads 53 00:03:37,250 --> 00:03:39,775 to a momentous meeting for Sergei Korolev, 54 00:03:39,953 --> 00:03:41,921 the Soviet's chief rocket designer. 55 00:03:42,121 --> 00:03:43,554 Good morning Comrade Marshal. 56 00:03:43,723 --> 00:03:45,156 What an unexpected surprise. 57 00:03:45,325 --> 00:03:46,485 Please. 58 00:03:49,462 --> 00:03:51,020 Korolev's military paymasters 59 00:03:51,197 --> 00:03:53,665 set him the challenge of a lifetime. 60 00:03:56,336 --> 00:04:00,397 Five tons? You are proposing a five-ton warhead? 61 00:04:00,573 --> 00:04:02,438 It's what our physicists are telling us 62 00:04:02,609 --> 00:04:05,237 that the next generation of hydrogen bomb will weigh. 63 00:04:05,612 --> 00:04:09,275 The Defence Ministers looked into aircraft as a delivery system. 64 00:04:09,682 --> 00:04:11,547 But we've concluded that aircraft are too slow 65 00:04:11,718 --> 00:04:13,549 and too easily targeted. 66 00:04:14,053 --> 00:04:15,577 What we need is a rocket 67 00:04:15,755 --> 00:04:18,781 that can deliver it over a distance of eight thousand kilometres, 68 00:04:19,325 --> 00:04:21,418 capable of reaching America, 69 00:04:22,061 --> 00:04:26,361 and in this way, safeguard ourselves against our enemies. 70 00:04:26,966 --> 00:04:32,233 With respect, the Ministry does understand that there is nothing currently under development 71 00:04:32,405 --> 00:04:34,805 that has anything like that capability? 72 00:04:35,708 --> 00:04:37,107 Obviously. 73 00:04:38,244 --> 00:04:40,144 So the question is a simple one. 74 00:04:40,613 --> 00:04:41,978 Can it be done? 75 00:04:51,858 --> 00:04:53,416 Of course, Comrade. 76 00:05:00,133 --> 00:05:01,225 Korolev hopes if he had achieved 77 00:05:01,401 --> 00:05:02,868 the military needs, 78 00:05:03,036 --> 00:05:06,233 he would be able to fulfuill his lifelong ambition 79 00:05:06,406 --> 00:05:08,601 tojourney to space. 80 00:05:10,877 --> 00:05:15,280 The first step would be to launch a satellite to orbit the earth. 81 00:05:17,850 --> 00:05:21,217 Then manned space flight will follow. 82 00:05:26,626 --> 00:05:29,322 But on the other side of the world in America, 83 00:05:29,495 --> 00:05:31,986 Korolev knows he has a rival. 84 00:05:35,868 --> 00:05:37,130 What he doesn't know 85 00:05:37,303 --> 00:05:40,033 is that his rival faces a crisis. 86 00:05:47,580 --> 00:05:49,241 Restricted by the U.S. Army 87 00:05:49,415 --> 00:05:52,350 to develop only small, short-range rockets, 88 00:05:52,518 --> 00:05:55,385 Wernher von Braun's ambitions are crushed. 89 00:05:55,555 --> 00:05:59,286 Trajectory is stable. Gyros functioning normal. 90 00:05:59,459 --> 00:06:01,017 Von Braun has brought his team from Germany 91 00:06:01,194 --> 00:06:03,389 hoping to pursue a space programme. 92 00:06:03,563 --> 00:06:05,053 - Bridge is clear. - Good. 93 00:06:05,631 --> 00:06:07,155 We have hours of data collection ahead of us. 94 00:06:07,333 --> 00:06:09,301 Let's uh, have a short break. 95 00:06:10,002 --> 00:06:11,936 Besides I have some news to pass on to you. 96 00:06:12,872 --> 00:06:16,364 But their employers, the U.S. Army, have sidelined them. 97 00:06:17,777 --> 00:06:19,210 Are they serious? 98 00:06:19,812 --> 00:06:21,905 We're simply not a priority at the moment. 99 00:06:22,081 --> 00:06:23,605 They want the funds elsewhere. 100 00:06:23,783 --> 00:06:26,684 Nonetheless, I remain convinced, they will see sense eventually. 101 00:06:26,853 --> 00:06:28,286 We'll get our shot. 102 00:06:30,523 --> 00:06:34,584 They're cutting back our funds even for military missiles. 103 00:06:34,994 --> 00:06:37,895 How are you going to convince them that we should launch a satellite? 104 00:06:38,297 --> 00:06:41,164 I don't see any evidence that they even want a space programme. 105 00:06:45,405 --> 00:06:46,599 Until von Braun's team 106 00:06:46,773 --> 00:06:49,367 get a chance to build a bigger rocket, 107 00:06:49,642 --> 00:06:51,940 they have no hope of launching a satellite. 108 00:06:52,845 --> 00:06:54,210 YOU WOMEN HAVE HEARD OF JALOPIES, 109 00:06:54,380 --> 00:06:55,745 YOU'VE HEARD THE NOISE THEY MAKE. 110 00:06:55,915 --> 00:06:58,577 BUT LET ME INTRODUCE MY NEW ROCKET EIGHTY-EIGHT. 111 00:06:58,751 --> 00:07:02,016 CAN'T PLAY IT STRAIGHT, JUST WANNA WAIT. 112 00:07:02,188 --> 00:07:04,986 EVERYBODY LIKES MY ROCKET EIGHTY-EIGHT. 113 00:07:05,158 --> 00:07:07,752 We are losing some of our best people. 114 00:07:09,562 --> 00:07:14,898 Money in the private sector is powerful allure to an engineer with the right expertise. 115 00:07:15,468 --> 00:07:17,368 I don't know what else to try. 116 00:07:18,471 --> 00:07:21,804 The military just don't- don't see the significance. 117 00:07:21,974 --> 00:07:23,339 The only people who've shown any interest in space 118 00:07:23,509 --> 00:07:25,306 are in Walt Disney's studio. 119 00:07:30,116 --> 00:07:31,811 Maybe that's the answer. 120 00:07:32,452 --> 00:07:35,182 Sell the idea direct to the American public. 121 00:07:36,522 --> 00:07:39,184 Show them there's more to it than missiles. 122 00:07:39,725 --> 00:07:45,789 Show them space as America's new frontier. 123 00:07:48,868 --> 00:07:50,460 Von Braun doesn't know... 124 00:07:50,636 --> 00:07:52,900 ...he has a rival in the Soviet Union. 125 00:07:55,608 --> 00:07:57,508 We're going to need a radically new approach. 126 00:07:58,244 --> 00:07:59,438 To send five times the weight 127 00:07:59,612 --> 00:08:00,909 over fifteen times the range 128 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:02,274 we need twice the velocity, 129 00:08:02,448 --> 00:08:04,780 twenty times the energy of our biggest rocket. 130 00:08:05,384 --> 00:08:08,182 For Korolev and his deputy Vasily Mishin, 131 00:08:08,354 --> 00:08:11,152 the new rocket will stretch science to breaking point. 132 00:08:11,691 --> 00:08:13,318 You know something Vasily? 133 00:08:14,627 --> 00:08:18,461 The rocket will have to be nearly half the size of that building over there. 134 00:08:23,803 --> 00:08:25,464 You're truly convinced of this? 135 00:08:26,706 --> 00:08:27,934 Hold your nerve, Vasily. 136 00:08:28,107 --> 00:08:30,905 And remember, when we have it built, 137 00:08:31,744 --> 00:08:34,838 we'll finally be able to launch a satellite. 138 00:08:37,917 --> 00:08:40,943 Of course you know who we'll have to work with. 139 00:08:41,787 --> 00:08:44,722 Mm. Glushko. 140 00:08:54,734 --> 00:08:58,500 To have a chance of success, Korolev first has to enlist the help 141 00:08:58,671 --> 00:09:02,107 of the Soviets' leading rocket engine designer. 142 00:09:03,743 --> 00:09:08,112 One of the very men who had denounced him during Stalin's purges: 143 00:09:08,314 --> 00:09:10,305 Valentin Glushko 144 00:09:22,395 --> 00:09:23,862 Very Jules Verne. 145 00:09:24,030 --> 00:09:27,591 To carry such a weight such a distance, we need to get radical. 146 00:09:27,767 --> 00:09:29,234 Well, I'm all in favour of that. 147 00:09:29,402 --> 00:09:30,664 But you'll never get one engine 148 00:09:30,836 --> 00:09:32,497 to carry a five-ton warhead. 149 00:09:32,672 --> 00:09:34,435 What if we use several engines 150 00:09:34,607 --> 00:09:36,598 firing together to share the load? 151 00:09:40,179 --> 00:09:43,114 But there's no telling on the impact of one engine on another. 152 00:09:43,282 --> 00:09:44,510 It's never been tried. 153 00:09:44,684 --> 00:09:46,709 Well that's a challenge for you, Valentin. 154 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:51,923 What I propose is four clusters of main engines strapped to the main body of the rocket. 155 00:09:52,191 --> 00:09:55,217 Once they've accelerated the rocket to sufficient speed, 156 00:09:56,095 --> 00:09:57,585 the clusters drop away, 157 00:09:57,897 --> 00:09:58,864 shedding the dead weight, 158 00:09:59,031 --> 00:10:02,364 allowing the central core to continue at a faster velocity. 159 00:10:07,740 --> 00:10:12,336 Look. I need your help with these engines. 160 00:10:12,912 --> 00:10:14,880 Alright, it is ambitious. 161 00:10:15,081 --> 00:10:18,710 But if we combine our forces, we just might make history. 162 00:10:19,752 --> 00:10:21,447 It's a huge gamble. 163 00:10:21,954 --> 00:10:25,856 But if they succeed they will have the means to get to space. 164 00:10:26,092 --> 00:10:29,619 The engines will be my department and mine alone. 165 00:10:41,774 --> 00:10:44,402 Alright. I'll do it. 166 00:11:03,295 --> 00:11:06,526 Korolev's new rocket, designated the R7, 167 00:11:06,699 --> 00:11:09,167 will be so huge, even its launch site 168 00:11:09,335 --> 00:11:11,360 has to be designed from scratch 169 00:11:11,537 --> 00:11:14,870 at a remote site fourteen hundred miles from Moscow. 170 00:11:17,543 --> 00:11:20,808 Well, it's certainly bleak. 171 00:11:24,817 --> 00:11:26,216 Better get used to it, Vasily. 172 00:11:26,385 --> 00:11:28,216 This is going to be home. 173 00:11:28,487 --> 00:11:30,921 Marshal Mitrofan Nedelin supervises the project 174 00:11:31,090 --> 00:11:35,151 reporting directly to Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. 175 00:11:35,428 --> 00:11:37,896 Thirty-six hours by train and dirt track. 176 00:11:38,130 --> 00:11:41,065 This rocket better be everything you promise, Sergei Pavolovich. 177 00:11:41,867 --> 00:11:43,892 The R7 is a bold design, 178 00:11:44,236 --> 00:11:47,899 but the defence of the Motherland deserves nothing less. 179 00:11:51,544 --> 00:11:55,071 I have a proposal that could be of great benefit to the military. 180 00:11:57,349 --> 00:11:59,180 This rocket has applications 181 00:11:59,351 --> 00:12:01,615 well beyond the delivery of warheads. 182 00:12:02,722 --> 00:12:06,351 Imagine being able to spy on any region of the earth. 183 00:12:06,592 --> 00:12:07,854 It's beautifully simple. 184 00:12:08,027 --> 00:12:09,051 With our R7 rocket 185 00:12:09,228 --> 00:12:11,822 we could launch a small object into orbit, 186 00:12:11,997 --> 00:12:13,396 fitted with a camera. 187 00:12:19,105 --> 00:12:20,470 Throw anything into the air, 188 00:12:20,639 --> 00:12:21,867 it will climb in an arc, 189 00:12:22,041 --> 00:12:24,908 and the speed can no longer match the force of earth's gravity 190 00:12:25,077 --> 00:12:26,977 and it's pulled back down to earth. 191 00:12:27,513 --> 00:12:30,004 Stone or missile, the effect is the same. 192 00:12:30,182 --> 00:12:32,446 But with this rocket, we will have the means... 193 00:12:32,618 --> 00:12:36,054 to throw something much faster and higher 194 00:12:38,457 --> 00:12:41,551 right out through the earth's atmosphere. 195 00:12:41,727 --> 00:12:44,195 There it will orbit the earth, 196 00:12:44,363 --> 00:12:48,663 held in place by the balance of its outward speed and the force of Earth's gravity. 197 00:12:48,834 --> 00:12:52,702 Now, imagine if we launched a satellite like that. 198 00:12:53,139 --> 00:12:54,436 It would circle the planet 199 00:12:54,607 --> 00:12:57,075 photographing everything we would want to see, 200 00:12:57,243 --> 00:13:01,043 even those things the Americans would rather we did not see. 201 00:13:02,314 --> 00:13:04,714 They are not sleeping over there, neither are we. 202 00:13:04,884 --> 00:13:06,317 This is a military commission. 203 00:13:06,485 --> 00:13:09,352 We need to place nuclear warheads on American soil. 204 00:13:09,522 --> 00:13:11,285 We don't want spaceships. 205 00:13:15,127 --> 00:13:17,994 Von Braun is also on the offensive. 206 00:13:18,164 --> 00:13:21,031 In an attempt to outflank his military employers, 207 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:22,792 he persuades Walt Disney Productions 208 00:13:22,968 --> 00:13:26,836 to sell his dreams of space direct to the American public. 209 00:13:27,006 --> 00:13:28,473 Once the satellite achieves orbit, 210 00:13:28,641 --> 00:13:31,269 the earth, more than one thousand miles below, 211 00:13:31,443 --> 00:13:35,743 will appear a gigantic glowing globe, an awe-inspiring sight. 212 00:13:35,915 --> 00:13:40,215 North America will look like a great patchwork of green and brown, 213 00:13:40,386 --> 00:13:43,184 stretching all the way to the snow-covered Rockies, 214 00:13:43,355 --> 00:13:46,791 bordered by the brilliant blue of the seas. 215 00:13:47,026 --> 00:13:48,516 On the earth's night side, 216 00:13:48,694 --> 00:13:52,357 the world's cities will appear as twinkling points of light. 217 00:13:52,698 --> 00:13:57,533 The earth itself will be framed by the absolute black of space. 218 00:13:58,070 --> 00:14:01,767 The real prize is the conquest of space. 219 00:14:02,041 --> 00:14:03,770 And if we don't do it, another nation, 220 00:14:03,943 --> 00:14:07,344 possibly a less peace-minded nation, will. 221 00:14:08,414 --> 00:14:09,938 With a high-powered telescope, 222 00:14:10,115 --> 00:14:12,982 you can see all points on the surface... 223 00:14:16,622 --> 00:14:17,520 And cut. 224 00:14:18,724 --> 00:14:20,954 Enthralling forty million viewers 225 00:14:21,126 --> 00:14:22,491 on primetime television, 226 00:14:22,661 --> 00:14:25,221 von Braun becomes a household name. 227 00:14:26,298 --> 00:14:30,098 And behind the scenes, things begin moving his way. 228 00:14:32,204 --> 00:14:33,171 Unlike the Soviets, 229 00:14:33,339 --> 00:14:37,036 the Americans secretly plan to develop spy satellites. 230 00:14:39,178 --> 00:14:43,308 As cover they announce a peaceful, scientific satellite programme. 231 00:14:43,682 --> 00:14:48,244 The President today approved plans by this country of going forward 232 00:14:48,420 --> 00:14:52,720 for the launching of a small, unmanned earth-circling satellite 233 00:14:52,892 --> 00:14:55,986 in the region beyond the earth's atmosphere. 234 00:14:57,396 --> 00:14:59,921 The news alarms Korolev, 235 00:15:00,032 --> 00:15:03,559 afraid of losing his chance to be the first in space. 236 00:15:03,836 --> 00:15:05,895 Look at what the Americans are up to now. 237 00:15:07,940 --> 00:15:08,998 Look. 238 00:15:10,976 --> 00:15:11,943 They have von Braun, 239 00:15:12,111 --> 00:15:14,579 so we know they have the technological expertise. 240 00:15:14,747 --> 00:15:16,681 For all we know, they could be launching a spy satellite 241 00:15:16,849 --> 00:15:18,908 over Moscow within a month. 242 00:15:19,385 --> 00:15:20,716 May I suggest to the committee 243 00:15:20,886 --> 00:15:24,947 they give me permission to use the new rocket to launch a satellite. 244 00:15:25,257 --> 00:15:29,193 You are obliged, and will continue your work as ordered. 245 00:15:31,597 --> 00:15:33,929 No one is irreplaceable, Comrade. 246 00:15:38,570 --> 00:15:40,003 Unknown to Korolev, 247 00:15:40,172 --> 00:15:43,767 von Braun has to compete for the satellite contract. 248 00:15:45,644 --> 00:15:49,740 You understand that this interview will be recorded as a matter of permanent record? 249 00:15:51,016 --> 00:15:56,454 He hopes his application to become an American citizen will improve his chances, 250 00:15:56,989 --> 00:15:59,549 despite his Nazi background. 251 00:16:01,060 --> 00:16:02,925 I only ever met Hitler twice. 252 00:16:03,095 --> 00:16:05,689 That is now firmly in my past. 253 00:16:06,231 --> 00:16:09,359 The FBI question von Braun's neighbours. 254 00:16:09,969 --> 00:16:13,336 Well it's my opinion that he is an avowed member of the Nazi Party. 255 00:16:13,605 --> 00:16:15,835 Once a Nazi always a Nazi, if you ask me. 256 00:16:16,008 --> 00:16:17,441 He'd sure be a greater danger to America 257 00:16:17,609 --> 00:16:19,304 if he became a national of some other country. 258 00:16:19,478 --> 00:16:21,412 I am a scientist, not a soldier. 259 00:16:21,580 --> 00:16:23,047 A rocket is just a vehicle. 260 00:16:23,215 --> 00:16:27,151 What it carries is outside my province. 261 00:16:27,853 --> 00:16:31,755 To use my knowledge for the benefit of America is my only concern. 262 00:16:38,464 --> 00:16:41,194 Subject seems to have little interest in political affairs. 263 00:16:41,367 --> 00:16:43,562 He is considered loyal to the United States. 264 00:16:43,736 --> 00:16:44,794 Based on this interview, 265 00:16:44,970 --> 00:16:48,462 I see no reason to doubt the subject's sincerity in applying for residence. 266 00:16:52,511 --> 00:16:54,172 Sign, please. 267 00:17:00,886 --> 00:17:03,946 Ten years after he was spirited out of Germany, 268 00:17:04,123 --> 00:17:07,559 von Braun hopes he has bought his ticket to space. 269 00:17:08,027 --> 00:17:09,051 Congratulations. 270 00:17:09,228 --> 00:17:12,391 You are now citizens of the United States of America. 271 00:17:12,564 --> 00:17:14,862 God bless you and God bless America. 272 00:17:19,738 --> 00:17:21,069 But his satellite bid 273 00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:24,869 faces stiff competition, from the US Navy. 274 00:17:25,577 --> 00:17:27,010 Well gentlemen, what do we think? 275 00:17:27,646 --> 00:17:31,639 In my mind, von Braun holds the ace card here. 276 00:17:32,351 --> 00:17:34,251 His team's certainly the best we've got. 277 00:17:34,420 --> 00:17:36,684 He has the greater expertise. 278 00:17:37,122 --> 00:17:41,058 So we're agreed then? Von Braun's our man. 279 00:17:41,226 --> 00:17:42,784 If I may speak frankly? 280 00:17:42,961 --> 00:17:45,259 I don't think we should be seen developing a rocket 281 00:17:45,431 --> 00:17:50,630 being modified from Nazi vengeance missiles, by German engineers. 282 00:17:50,803 --> 00:17:54,534 America's first satellite launcher should be exactly that. 283 00:17:54,706 --> 00:17:56,537 An American product. 284 00:17:58,043 --> 00:17:59,101 Von Braun. 285 00:17:59,344 --> 00:18:00,675 Yes, Doctor von Braun. 286 00:18:00,846 --> 00:18:02,677 I have some bad news I'm afraid. 287 00:18:02,848 --> 00:18:04,679 I've been asked to inform you the US Navy 288 00:18:04,850 --> 00:18:07,250 have been awarded the satellite contract. 289 00:18:07,486 --> 00:18:09,351 - We're sorry. - Thank you. 290 00:18:11,857 --> 00:18:14,155 Von Braun is back to square one, 291 00:18:14,393 --> 00:18:18,796 just when his Russian rival is on the verge of his biggest break. 292 00:18:32,978 --> 00:18:34,673 Convinced that long range rockets 293 00:18:34,847 --> 00:18:38,305 provide the best means of destroying the United States, 294 00:18:38,550 --> 00:18:42,987 Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev checks up on Korolev's progress. 295 00:18:46,058 --> 00:18:48,492 Powered by... Valentin Glushko's clustered engines, 296 00:18:48,660 --> 00:18:53,188 the R7 will carry the next generation of nuclear warheads. 297 00:18:53,832 --> 00:18:57,131 May I introduce the R7. 298 00:19:00,038 --> 00:19:04,168 This is a mock-up of the actual rocket, but completely to scale. 299 00:19:07,446 --> 00:19:12,440 A truly impressive machine, Sergei Pavolovich. 300 00:19:13,051 --> 00:19:13,881 How much does it weigh? 301 00:19:14,052 --> 00:19:16,543 Two hundred and eighty tons at lift-off. 302 00:19:17,189 --> 00:19:20,920 Thrust at lift off will be over four hundred and three tons, 303 00:19:21,093 --> 00:19:22,788 more than anything achieved before. 304 00:19:22,961 --> 00:19:24,895 What is that in horsepower? 305 00:19:25,063 --> 00:19:28,794 That would be approximately six point four million, Nikita Sergeyevich. 306 00:19:35,641 --> 00:19:39,099 We will run them off the production lines like sausages. 307 00:19:44,750 --> 00:19:46,581 As you know, Nikita Sergeyevich, 308 00:19:46,752 --> 00:19:49,346 we are designing it to carry a five ton warhead. 309 00:19:49,521 --> 00:19:51,682 But that is only one of its applications. 310 00:19:52,791 --> 00:19:55,259 There's something else I would love to show you. 311 00:20:01,133 --> 00:20:06,537 The R7 provides us with a chance to make scientific as well as military history. 312 00:20:06,772 --> 00:20:09,070 The world's first satellite. 313 00:20:09,274 --> 00:20:12,835 The real thing would be seven times the size of this model 314 00:20:13,745 --> 00:20:15,679 What do we have to gain from such a device? 315 00:20:15,847 --> 00:20:17,007 It's beautifully simple. 316 00:20:17,182 --> 00:20:20,049 It would orbit the earth at an incredible speed, 317 00:20:20,219 --> 00:20:23,017 eighteen thousand miles an hour. 318 00:20:23,188 --> 00:20:27,147 And would be able to spy on any region of the earth's surface. 319 00:20:27,326 --> 00:20:30,124 All we need is the go-ahead to build it. 320 00:20:31,663 --> 00:20:34,723 It would get in the way of the missile programme. 321 00:20:37,536 --> 00:20:38,503 Nikita. 322 00:20:38,670 --> 00:20:43,130 Nikita Sergeyevich, as we speak, the Americans are spending millions on such a project. 323 00:20:43,308 --> 00:20:44,935 Once the R7 is flying, 324 00:20:45,110 --> 00:20:49,308 all we need to do is replace the warhead with the satellite and launch. 325 00:20:54,519 --> 00:21:00,082 So, the Americans have uh, shiny new cars, 326 00:21:00,259 --> 00:21:03,626 and we have a shiny new satellite. 327 00:21:07,032 --> 00:21:15,599 But, remember Sergei Pavolovich, you better make sure that it works. 328 00:21:29,721 --> 00:21:35,216 Comrades, to our satellite. To our satellite. 329 00:21:36,395 --> 00:21:37,953 With Khrushchev' blessing, 330 00:21:38,130 --> 00:21:41,429 Korolev wastes no time starting to build his satellite, 331 00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:44,068 codenamed Object D. 332 00:21:44,736 --> 00:21:49,366 Dozens of different Soviet institutes are involved in the prestigious project. 333 00:21:50,075 --> 00:21:53,135 Nll-885 Radio Guidance Systems. 334 00:21:53,478 --> 00:21:55,446 SKB-567, Telemetry. 335 00:21:55,614 --> 00:21:57,639 Nll-592, Automatics. 336 00:21:57,816 --> 00:22:00,250 OKB-10, Applied Mechanics. 337 00:22:00,419 --> 00:22:04,116 Nll-4, Ballistic and Control Measuring Devices. 338 00:22:06,558 --> 00:22:10,289 As the Cold War arms race intensifies in the mid-fifties, 339 00:22:10,462 --> 00:22:14,296 both sides test ever more powerful nuclear weapons. 340 00:22:17,436 --> 00:22:19,631 You know how bad sunburn can feel. 341 00:22:19,805 --> 00:22:23,866 The atomic bomb flash could burn you worse than a terrible sunburn. 342 00:22:24,042 --> 00:22:27,307 We all know the atomic bomb is very dangerous. 343 00:22:27,546 --> 00:22:28,945 Since it may be used against us, 344 00:22:29,114 --> 00:22:30,581 we must get ready for it. 345 00:22:30,749 --> 00:22:34,344 First you duck, and then you cover. 346 00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:36,810 Remember what to do, friends. 347 00:22:36,988 --> 00:22:38,216 Now tell me right out loud, 348 00:22:38,390 --> 00:22:41,086 what are you supposed to do when you see the flash? 349 00:22:41,259 --> 00:22:44,592 Duck, and cover. 350 00:22:46,665 --> 00:22:47,962 With the deepening crisis 351 00:22:48,133 --> 00:22:52,194 the American military decide to build medium-range missiles. 352 00:22:52,371 --> 00:22:55,067 At last von Braun is given funds. 353 00:22:56,274 --> 00:22:57,707 But to build a larger rocket 354 00:22:57,876 --> 00:22:59,935 to carry warheads. 355 00:23:00,112 --> 00:23:01,943 The Jupiter C. 356 00:23:03,315 --> 00:23:05,977 Although far less powerful than Korolev's R7, 357 00:23:06,151 --> 00:23:08,881 it could launch a small satellite. 358 00:23:09,721 --> 00:23:12,383 But von Braun still faces opposition. 359 00:23:12,924 --> 00:23:18,692 Then a firing squad of Hungarian soldiers took aim at the Red Star on unintelligible. 360 00:23:18,864 --> 00:23:21,833 Please be informed that on the dates you intend for the test firing, 361 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:26,699 inspectors will arrive and will remain throughout the test period. 362 00:23:27,939 --> 00:23:29,702 You know what this is about, don't you? 363 00:23:30,041 --> 00:23:32,509 They're checking we don't launch a satellite. 364 00:23:33,011 --> 00:23:35,309 They think we might do it accidentally. 365 00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:38,142 Well we might, mightn't we? 366 00:23:38,750 --> 00:23:41,275 Not with Pentagon inspectors around. 367 00:23:47,292 --> 00:23:49,089 To prevent von Braun secretly launching 368 00:23:49,261 --> 00:23:51,752 a satellite ahead of the US Navy, 369 00:23:52,431 --> 00:23:53,728 Pentagon inspectors monitor 370 00:23:53,899 --> 00:23:55,867 the maiden flight of the Jupiter C. 371 00:23:56,034 --> 00:23:56,830 Everything seems fine. 372 00:23:57,002 --> 00:23:58,663 Good. Let's get on with it. 373 00:24:29,835 --> 00:24:33,032 Range, three thousand three hundred and thirty-five miles. 374 00:24:33,405 --> 00:24:36,897 Altitude, six hundred and eighty-two miles. 375 00:24:37,075 --> 00:24:38,599 Yes! 376 00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:44,339 That, gentleman, is an altitude record. 377 00:24:44,516 --> 00:24:47,041 Feel free to report back to Washington that if they'd allowed us 378 00:24:47,219 --> 00:24:49,779 to realize the Jupiter C's full potential, 379 00:24:49,955 --> 00:24:52,253 they could have made space history today. 380 00:24:52,657 --> 00:24:53,351 We could have launched 381 00:24:53,525 --> 00:24:57,325 the world's first satellite, for America. 382 00:25:04,970 --> 00:25:10,704 In Soviet Union, all hopes of launching a satellite depend on the R7 rocket, 383 00:25:11,042 --> 00:25:13,636 and the clustering of its engines. 384 00:25:17,282 --> 00:25:19,773 If this first test of the flying cycle works, 385 00:25:19,951 --> 00:25:23,819 then your idea of clustering may very well be the way forward. 386 00:25:46,945 --> 00:25:48,276 Shut off the fuel lines. 387 00:25:53,818 --> 00:25:54,648 What do you think? 388 00:25:54,819 --> 00:25:56,252 Fuel line rupture. 389 00:26:06,464 --> 00:26:09,228 I have to have equal flow rate to all engines. 390 00:26:09,401 --> 00:26:10,993 It takes one valve to fail 391 00:26:11,169 --> 00:26:12,761 and you can blow the lot. 392 00:26:12,938 --> 00:26:14,803 I warned you clustering was dangerous. 393 00:26:14,973 --> 00:26:15,905 Look at it. 394 00:26:16,074 --> 00:26:18,406 One test, four engines ruined. 395 00:26:18,610 --> 00:26:20,976 I've only got so much manpower, so many parts. 396 00:26:21,246 --> 00:26:22,907 So what's your point, Valentin? 397 00:26:23,081 --> 00:26:24,639 You want innovation? 398 00:26:25,417 --> 00:26:27,544 Well innovation takes time. 399 00:26:27,719 --> 00:26:29,448 Clustering was your choice. 400 00:26:29,621 --> 00:26:33,057 I'm not sure we can prove that clustering will ever work. 401 00:26:33,224 --> 00:26:34,248 Worse still, 402 00:26:34,426 --> 00:26:40,231 Korolev's satellite design reaches crisis-point. 403 00:26:40,231 --> 00:26:40,526 Korolev's satellite design reaches crisis-point. 404 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:44,592 It's just too big, by seven centimetres. 405 00:26:44,769 --> 00:26:47,135 Unless we remove the Geiger counter system, 406 00:26:47,305 --> 00:26:48,738 it just won't fit. 407 00:26:52,110 --> 00:26:54,271 Idiots. Idiots! 408 00:26:55,947 --> 00:26:57,847 Why don't they take our orders seriously? 409 00:26:58,016 --> 00:27:01,952 How the hell are we going to succeed if they don't look at our specifications? 410 00:27:02,120 --> 00:27:03,519 They are ignorant lumberjacks! 411 00:27:03,688 --> 00:27:06,179 They're not worth the bullets it would take to shoot them! 412 00:27:07,325 --> 00:27:09,054 And who's responsible for this? 413 00:27:09,227 --> 00:27:11,161 How much extra weight has this introduced? 414 00:27:11,329 --> 00:27:13,627 Anyone would think we have a goods train here, 415 00:27:13,798 --> 00:27:15,356 not a satellite. 416 00:27:18,770 --> 00:27:20,635 We should change it, then. 417 00:27:22,974 --> 00:27:25,442 Make it lighter and simpler. 418 00:27:25,944 --> 00:27:30,881 Let's strip it to the bone, remove the scientific experiments. 419 00:27:31,583 --> 00:27:33,414 It will work then. 420 00:27:40,992 --> 00:27:42,755 It has taken just two years 421 00:27:42,927 --> 00:27:47,762 to transform Baikonur from a wasteland into the world's first spaceport. 422 00:27:50,535 --> 00:27:51,763 Despite the problems, 423 00:27:51,936 --> 00:27:55,929 Glushko finally delivers the first engines to the launch site. 424 00:27:57,108 --> 00:27:59,975 The engine clusters will provide thrust. 425 00:28:01,012 --> 00:28:02,843 Smaller, revolutionary steering engines 426 00:28:03,014 --> 00:28:05,642 will set the R7's course. 427 00:28:10,321 --> 00:28:12,289 With thirty-two engines and weighing 428 00:28:12,457 --> 00:28:14,448 a massive two hundred and eighty tons, 429 00:28:14,626 --> 00:28:17,993 some believe the R7 will never achieve lift-off. 430 00:28:26,271 --> 00:28:27,329 If it does, 431 00:28:27,505 --> 00:28:31,339 Sergei Korolev will get the chance to launch his satellite, 432 00:28:32,243 --> 00:28:36,270 the first stepping stone in man's journey to space. 433 00:28:51,196 --> 00:28:55,462 The Pentagon continue to reject von Braun's requests to launch a satellite, 434 00:28:55,633 --> 00:28:58,761 despite the success of his Jupiter C. 435 00:28:58,937 --> 00:29:00,427 Special delivery. 436 00:29:03,374 --> 00:29:05,069 Direct from our missiles. 437 00:29:06,077 --> 00:29:08,671 I wrapped this up and placed it inside the nose cone. 438 00:29:09,314 --> 00:29:12,545 It survived re-entry and splashed down in the Atlantic. 439 00:29:13,351 --> 00:29:14,841 The first rocket mail. 440 00:29:15,153 --> 00:29:16,552 It's not even singed. 441 00:29:17,122 --> 00:29:18,749 So the heat shield works. 442 00:29:21,359 --> 00:29:22,621 We have to persuade them. 443 00:29:22,794 --> 00:29:24,853 We can launch a satellite. 444 00:29:32,337 --> 00:29:38,799 So, why don't we divert some of the component parts from the assembly line. 445 00:29:40,445 --> 00:29:42,003 Keep them for later? 446 00:29:46,618 --> 00:29:48,643 When the Navy's rocket fails, 447 00:29:48,820 --> 00:29:50,412 they'll be thanking us. 448 00:29:52,257 --> 00:29:54,020 Von Braun risks court-martial 449 00:29:54,192 --> 00:29:56,217 by concealing parts of his rocket, 450 00:29:56,494 --> 00:29:58,257 such is his determination to be ready 451 00:29:58,429 --> 00:30:00,863 if the US Navy fails. 452 00:30:02,834 --> 00:30:05,029 His rival is pushing ahead. 453 00:30:05,670 --> 00:30:09,436 All Korolev has to do now is to test fly his rocket. 454 00:30:10,041 --> 00:30:15,001 But first, a long-held Russian tradition to christen the launch. 455 00:30:54,586 --> 00:30:56,781 I am picking something up here. 456 00:31:01,559 --> 00:31:05,325 A lot of heat. Could be a fire. 457 00:31:10,602 --> 00:31:14,333 The R7 disintegrates ninety seconds into flight. 458 00:31:21,179 --> 00:31:22,476 Likely cause? 459 00:31:24,115 --> 00:31:25,377 Possibly a fuel leak. 460 00:31:25,550 --> 00:31:27,017 An engine problem? 461 00:31:27,485 --> 00:31:30,352 There is absolutely no way of knowing that at this stage. 462 00:31:30,521 --> 00:31:33,149 There could be any number of contributing factors. 463 00:31:34,192 --> 00:31:37,025 Well, let's collect what wreckage we can. 464 00:31:37,762 --> 00:31:39,059 We'll soon find out. 465 00:31:47,105 --> 00:31:48,367 Comrade Marshal. 466 00:31:48,573 --> 00:31:50,598 I'm sorry. 467 00:31:53,011 --> 00:31:54,308 I have one failed launch, 468 00:31:54,479 --> 00:31:56,538 thirty-two wrecked engines. 469 00:31:56,714 --> 00:31:58,238 If things go on this way 470 00:31:58,416 --> 00:32:00,213 my entire production line will collapse. 471 00:32:00,385 --> 00:32:02,250 And my position on this was always clear. 472 00:32:02,420 --> 00:32:03,614 It's too ambitious. 473 00:32:03,788 --> 00:32:06,120 Irresponsibly, wastefully ambitious. 474 00:32:06,291 --> 00:32:07,690 L- I can't see it working. 475 00:32:08,092 --> 00:32:10,390 The whole thing's been badly mismanaged. 476 00:32:10,595 --> 00:32:12,324 If I had been in charge from the very beginning, 477 00:32:12,497 --> 00:32:14,761 I don't think we'd be in this mess now. 478 00:32:19,170 --> 00:32:22,037 In June, things get even worse. 479 00:32:24,542 --> 00:32:28,603 Mechanical failures prevent take-off of three more test flights. 480 00:32:35,219 --> 00:32:38,245 In July an R7 clears the launch pad. 481 00:32:47,532 --> 00:32:49,466 But thirty-three seconds later, 482 00:32:49,634 --> 00:32:53,764 an engine cluster detaches too early from the rocket's central core. 483 00:33:20,865 --> 00:33:22,856 Feeling the strain, Sergei Pavolovich? 484 00:33:24,002 --> 00:33:25,128 I'm fine. 485 00:33:25,536 --> 00:33:28,369 And what about the rocket? Is that fine? 486 00:33:29,607 --> 00:33:30,835 This can't go on. 487 00:33:31,009 --> 00:33:34,308 These failures are costly both in money and time. 488 00:33:35,747 --> 00:33:38,113 You had assured me your calculations were correct. 489 00:33:38,282 --> 00:33:40,409 There are many innovations, Comrade. 490 00:33:40,985 --> 00:33:42,646 I have to warn you, Comrade. 491 00:33:42,954 --> 00:33:46,788 Carry on like this and I'll shut down your entire test program 492 00:33:46,958 --> 00:33:50,223 and have the missile removed and reworked elsewhere. 493 00:33:51,329 --> 00:33:53,263 We need results. 494 00:33:56,401 --> 00:34:02,135 Korolev is given one more test launch, one last chance. 495 00:34:07,145 --> 00:34:10,945 But his satellite has gone through a transformation. 496 00:34:21,225 --> 00:34:23,750 After abandoning the heavyweight Object D, 497 00:34:23,928 --> 00:34:27,694 the team had built a replacement in less than a month. 498 00:34:28,766 --> 00:34:30,461 We got the weight down. 499 00:34:31,002 --> 00:34:34,699 It's nowjust over eighty-three kilograms. 500 00:34:48,853 --> 00:34:49,945 Perfect. 501 00:34:56,561 --> 00:34:59,553 Stripped of all complex instrumentation, 502 00:34:59,730 --> 00:35:02,756 carrying just a single radio transmitter: 503 00:35:02,934 --> 00:35:06,893 It becomes known as the simple Sputnik. 504 00:35:21,686 --> 00:35:25,486 Korolev's career, and his dream of conquering space, 505 00:35:25,656 --> 00:35:28,784 hang on the sixth and final test launch. 506 00:35:45,076 --> 00:35:49,012 The R7 flies over six thousand kilometres. 507 00:35:52,483 --> 00:35:54,610 Further than any rocket ever before, 508 00:35:54,785 --> 00:35:56,980 hitting its test target in Siberia. 509 00:35:57,155 --> 00:35:58,645 Successful launch. 510 00:35:59,157 --> 00:36:02,388 Flying far enough to reach America. 511 00:36:02,660 --> 00:36:04,127 Now you can have your Sputnik. 512 00:36:12,170 --> 00:36:14,764 To prove to the world his Sputnik is in orbit, 513 00:36:14,939 --> 00:36:18,340 Korolev needs it to transmit a signal from space. 514 00:36:18,843 --> 00:36:19,434 Comrade Korolev. 515 00:36:19,610 --> 00:36:20,702 It's all right Vyacheslav. 516 00:36:20,878 --> 00:36:22,106 Please, continue. 517 00:36:24,182 --> 00:36:25,240 I couldn't sleep. 518 00:36:27,485 --> 00:36:28,713 Can I hear it? 519 00:36:28,886 --> 00:36:30,353 Of course. 520 00:36:36,327 --> 00:36:37,453 It's really very simple. 521 00:36:37,628 --> 00:36:40,961 It's just a single beep repeated at regular intervals. 522 00:36:56,747 --> 00:36:58,237 At ten twenty-eight PM, 523 00:36:58,416 --> 00:37:02,978 the engines ignite and the R7 flawlessly clears the pad. 524 00:37:03,588 --> 00:37:05,920 Not as a weapon of mass destruction, 525 00:37:06,090 --> 00:37:09,651 but as a carrier of one man's life-long dreams. 526 00:37:17,368 --> 00:37:19,029 The rocket's dead on course. 527 00:37:19,337 --> 00:37:20,998 We should know in ninety minutes. 528 00:37:38,256 --> 00:37:40,486 There is so much left to do, Vasily. 529 00:37:41,058 --> 00:37:44,221 I only hope I'm given enough years to make sure they happen. 530 00:38:25,169 --> 00:38:28,502 A teapot of vodka for every man on the site! 531 00:38:30,975 --> 00:38:32,067 Every man! 532 00:38:32,376 --> 00:38:34,970 At three minutes past midnight Moscow time, 533 00:38:35,279 --> 00:38:36,405 Sputnik One becomes 534 00:38:36,580 --> 00:38:40,676 the first ever manmade object to orbit Earth. 535 00:38:57,835 --> 00:38:59,302 Herr Doctor, they've done it. 536 00:39:00,838 --> 00:39:01,736 Done what? 537 00:39:01,906 --> 00:39:02,634 The Russians. 538 00:39:02,807 --> 00:39:04,172 It's just been announced over the radio 539 00:39:04,342 --> 00:39:07,573 that the Russians have put a satellite into space. 540 00:39:16,053 --> 00:39:17,452 I was in a position a year ago 541 00:39:17,621 --> 00:39:20,419 to put a satellite up with my Jupiter C rocket. 542 00:39:22,293 --> 00:39:23,851 And I tell you something else, Mr Secretary. 543 00:39:24,028 --> 00:39:25,791 The President is counting on the Navy's rocket. 544 00:39:25,963 --> 00:39:28,955 I tell you right now the Vanguard will never make it. 545 00:39:29,367 --> 00:39:29,890 But we can. 546 00:39:30,067 --> 00:39:32,535 We can put a satellite up in sixty days. 547 00:39:32,703 --> 00:39:35,137 Leave it to me, I'll take it to Washington. 548 00:39:37,808 --> 00:39:42,871 Scanning the horizon in Moscow, while the world watches the flight of the satellite. 549 00:39:43,047 --> 00:39:44,810 They call it Sputnik. 550 00:39:45,049 --> 00:39:47,847 Russia hails its own achievement with loud praise. 551 00:39:48,018 --> 00:39:50,111 Defence Minister Marshal Zukov declares 552 00:39:50,287 --> 00:39:54,223 Soviet science makes possible newest weapons for its armies, 553 00:39:54,392 --> 00:39:57,327 including the inter-continental ballistic missile. 554 00:39:57,962 --> 00:40:01,591 Until two days ago that sound had never been heard on this earth. 555 00:40:01,866 --> 00:40:04,334 Suddenly it has become as much a part of twentieth century life 556 00:40:04,502 --> 00:40:06,800 as the whir of your vacuum cleaner. 557 00:40:06,971 --> 00:40:08,131 It gets the American people alarmed 558 00:40:08,305 --> 00:40:11,706 that a foreign country, especially an enemy country, can do this, 559 00:40:11,876 --> 00:40:14,242 and it- we fear this. 560 00:40:14,478 --> 00:40:17,447 It's a devastating blow to American national pride. 561 00:40:17,615 --> 00:40:18,946 President Eisenhower is immediately 562 00:40:19,116 --> 00:40:22,483 under pressure to close the so-called Missile Gap. 563 00:40:22,653 --> 00:40:27,886 Uh, Mr President, are you saying you are not concerned about our nation's security? 564 00:40:28,259 --> 00:40:32,992 As far as the satellite itself is concerned, it does definitely prove 565 00:40:33,164 --> 00:40:40,671 the possession by the Russian scientists, of a very powerful threat in their uh, rocketry. 566 00:40:40,671 --> 00:40:40,966 The possession by the Russian scientists, of a very powerful threat in their uh, rocketry. 567 00:40:42,740 --> 00:40:44,264 Uknown to the Americans, 568 00:40:44,442 --> 00:40:47,502 Korolev has launched a second Sputnik. 569 00:40:47,778 --> 00:40:50,372 This time with a passager. 570 00:40:55,252 --> 00:40:56,378 Laika. 571 00:41:04,228 --> 00:41:07,197 Once sealed inside a makeshift capsule 572 00:41:07,865 --> 00:41:10,163 Laika sits on the pad for two days 573 00:41:10,334 --> 00:41:12,632 while the R7 is fuelled beneath her. 574 00:41:19,810 --> 00:41:22,005 Just four weeks after launching Sputnik, 575 00:41:22,179 --> 00:41:27,048 Korolev succeeds in putting the first living creature into space. 576 00:41:31,622 --> 00:41:35,422 The Soviet Union has launched a second Earth satellite. 577 00:41:35,593 --> 00:41:37,288 Do you admire the Russians for doing it or not? 578 00:41:37,461 --> 00:41:38,325 No, definitely not. 579 00:41:38,496 --> 00:41:41,021 I said we should've been the first ones to have it if there's such a thing. 580 00:41:41,198 --> 00:41:43,689 This satellite should be long remembered 581 00:41:43,868 --> 00:41:47,964 as a symbol of the torture the animal world must go through. 582 00:41:48,205 --> 00:41:49,900 And I don't mean to be facetious at all 583 00:41:50,074 --> 00:41:54,204 but there's a female up there circling Mother Earth. 584 00:41:54,512 --> 00:41:56,707 Laika survives just over five hours in orbit 585 00:41:56,881 --> 00:41:58,781 before dying of heat exhaustion. 586 00:41:58,949 --> 00:42:01,281 What do you think about America not being able to do the same? 587 00:42:01,452 --> 00:42:03,750 Well if I was in military service and fell down on the job like that, 588 00:42:03,921 --> 00:42:05,354 I could stand a court-martial. 589 00:42:05,523 --> 00:42:07,013 Somebody's falling down on the job. 590 00:42:07,591 --> 00:42:09,923 Ironically, with another Soviet coup, 591 00:42:10,094 --> 00:42:14,224 von Braun finds himself blamed for the American failure. 592 00:42:14,598 --> 00:42:16,156 Doctor von Braun, 593 00:42:16,600 --> 00:42:19,797 what is your current assessment of the Soviet's missile capability? 594 00:42:19,970 --> 00:42:21,494 Based on recent events, 595 00:42:21,672 --> 00:42:26,905 I would say the Soviets have the capacity to put a hydrogen warhead on Washington, today. 596 00:42:29,914 --> 00:42:33,008 You're in charge of the Army's missile programme. 597 00:42:33,183 --> 00:42:37,847 Any responsibility for a missile lag must rest squarely with you. 598 00:42:38,088 --> 00:42:40,955 You yourself could have informed the President and Congress 599 00:42:41,125 --> 00:42:45,061 that we were not making satisfactory progress under your direction. 600 00:42:45,996 --> 00:42:48,464 Dr. Von Braun, perhaps you'd like to explain to this committee 601 00:42:48,632 --> 00:42:51,658 what exactly you think you've been doing for the past ten years? 602 00:42:52,269 --> 00:42:53,600 We... 603 00:42:54,438 --> 00:42:56,770 From the moment we set foot on US soil, 604 00:42:56,941 --> 00:43:00,069 I and my team have been under funded and underutilized. 605 00:43:00,244 --> 00:43:03,543 I have spent years trying to make myself heard. 606 00:43:03,714 --> 00:43:05,841 I cannot be held accountable if my employers, 607 00:43:06,016 --> 00:43:07,483 which is the US military, 608 00:43:07,651 --> 00:43:10,347 fails to take advantage of my abilities. 609 00:43:12,756 --> 00:43:16,453 At last von Braun gets the go-ahead to launch a satellite. 610 00:43:16,694 --> 00:43:19,322 But the US Navy is to have first shot. 611 00:43:21,999 --> 00:43:23,466 With only weeks to turn it around, 612 00:43:23,634 --> 00:43:28,128 von Braun is joined by the scientists, William Pickering and James Van Allen, 613 00:43:28,439 --> 00:43:30,930 who will design the instruments onboard. 614 00:43:31,842 --> 00:43:32,774 I can't persuade the Pentagon 615 00:43:32,943 --> 00:43:34,877 to let us launch our satellite before the Navy, 616 00:43:35,045 --> 00:43:35,807 but I want to be ready 617 00:43:35,980 --> 00:43:37,379 as soon as they've had their go. 618 00:43:37,548 --> 00:43:39,482 The scientific instruments, the radio transmitter, 619 00:43:39,650 --> 00:43:42,084 everything must fit inside this space. 620 00:43:43,320 --> 00:43:44,810 I'm calling it The Explorer. 621 00:43:46,123 --> 00:43:47,886 How quickly can you get this done? 622 00:43:50,995 --> 00:43:53,759 In an attempt to restore America's shattered pride, 623 00:43:53,931 --> 00:43:57,697 the US Navy rushes its satellite towards launch. 624 00:44:03,207 --> 00:44:05,801 The Vanguard rocket has never been tested before 625 00:44:05,976 --> 00:44:07,603 but the world's media are promised 626 00:44:07,778 --> 00:44:11,509 that the launch will be the biggest TV spectacle in history. 627 00:44:25,496 --> 00:44:28,192 Having risen just three feet from the pad, 628 00:44:28,365 --> 00:44:30,424 the only thing to survive the explosion 629 00:44:30,601 --> 00:44:32,330 is the satellite. 630 00:44:33,103 --> 00:44:36,903 Blown clear, it begins to transmit from the ground nearby. 631 00:44:38,042 --> 00:44:39,031 Flopnik. 632 00:44:40,310 --> 00:44:41,242 Dudnik. 633 00:44:42,012 --> 00:44:42,944 Oopsnik. 634 00:44:43,180 --> 00:44:46,240 And my personal favourite, Kaputnik! 635 00:44:47,317 --> 00:44:48,807 We've been given a launch, 636 00:44:48,986 --> 00:44:51,045 but it's only a three-day window. 637 00:44:51,288 --> 00:44:52,550 We have to launch by the end of January. 638 00:44:52,723 --> 00:44:53,314 If we miss it, 639 00:44:53,490 --> 00:44:56,288 the Navy's second attempt is scheduled for the very next day. 640 00:44:59,630 --> 00:45:01,029 This will not happen to us. 641 00:45:01,832 --> 00:45:03,857 If successful, Von Braun's Explorer 642 00:45:04,034 --> 00:45:05,831 will outdo Korolev's Sputnik 643 00:45:06,003 --> 00:45:09,166 by collecting scientific data from space. 644 00:45:12,309 --> 00:45:13,708 On the eve of the big day, 645 00:45:13,877 --> 00:45:17,040 von Braun is ordered to Washington to deal with the media. 646 00:45:24,388 --> 00:45:25,912 But for two days, bad weather 647 00:45:26,090 --> 00:45:27,648 prevents the launch. 648 00:45:33,664 --> 00:45:35,154 The last day of January, 649 00:45:35,332 --> 00:45:37,596 von Braun has until midnight. 650 00:45:37,768 --> 00:45:41,397 After that, the US Navy will get a second chance. 651 00:45:42,005 --> 00:45:43,199 It's Debus. 652 00:45:43,507 --> 00:45:44,701 This is a crazy way to do business, 653 00:45:44,875 --> 00:45:46,433 launching rockets by telephone. 654 00:45:46,610 --> 00:45:48,601 Kurt. Tell me this is good news. 655 00:45:48,779 --> 00:45:50,474 We just got word from the weather office. 656 00:45:50,647 --> 00:45:54,242 Winds have dropped and we're ready to go. 657 00:45:56,153 --> 00:45:56,847 At last. 658 00:45:57,020 --> 00:45:57,782 Good luck, Kurt. 659 00:45:57,955 --> 00:45:59,445 I only wish I could be there. 660 00:46:12,970 --> 00:46:15,939 Four months after Korolev launched Sputnik, 661 00:46:16,106 --> 00:46:19,439 von Braun's satellite is bound for space. 662 00:46:21,011 --> 00:46:22,740 How long can we expect to wait? 663 00:46:25,015 --> 00:46:26,004 This is Antigua Island, 664 00:46:26,183 --> 00:46:27,480 fourth stage has fired, 665 00:46:27,651 --> 00:46:29,551 Explorer should be on its way. 666 00:46:30,287 --> 00:46:34,747 Okay gentlemen. All we can do is wait. 667 00:46:35,192 --> 00:46:37,319 It should be over the next tracking station in California 668 00:46:37,494 --> 00:46:39,394 in an hour and a half. 669 00:46:46,804 --> 00:46:50,934 Until its radio signal reaches the tracking station in California, 670 00:46:51,141 --> 00:46:53,109 von Braun will have no confirmation 671 00:46:53,277 --> 00:46:55,643 that Explorer is actually in orbit. 672 00:46:56,713 --> 00:46:58,442 There is a ninety minute wait. 673 00:47:12,062 --> 00:47:13,552 Well, I make that one and a half hours. 674 00:47:13,730 --> 00:47:14,890 Where's our signal? 675 00:47:16,867 --> 00:47:18,994 California, do you hear her? 676 00:47:20,337 --> 00:47:21,429 Nothing. 677 00:47:22,806 --> 00:47:25,400 I think we should give it a few minutes leeway. 678 00:47:43,126 --> 00:47:44,218 Wernher, what happened? 679 00:47:44,394 --> 00:47:46,055 Do we have a satellite or don't we? 680 00:47:50,167 --> 00:47:51,191 Pickering. 681 00:47:53,804 --> 00:47:55,066 We did? 682 00:47:55,239 --> 00:47:57,173 Gentlemen, we made it to space. 683 00:48:02,246 --> 00:48:03,110 The reason for the delay 684 00:48:03,280 --> 00:48:05,908 is that we made a higher orbit than anyone anticipated. 685 00:48:06,083 --> 00:48:07,710 I guess you just made it back into the history books. 686 00:48:07,885 --> 00:48:08,943 Well done. 687 00:48:21,331 --> 00:48:23,993 Gentleman, I am proud to announce 688 00:48:24,167 --> 00:48:27,330 the successful launch of Explorer 1, 689 00:48:27,504 --> 00:48:29,836 America's first man-made satellite, 690 00:48:30,007 --> 00:48:31,838 into Earth's orbit last night. 691 00:48:33,410 --> 00:48:37,813 I have long seen my purpose in life as the promotion of space flight. 692 00:48:38,015 --> 00:48:41,576 Well today we have answered the Soviet challenge and in doing so, 693 00:48:41,752 --> 00:48:43,720 opened the gates to the heavens. 694 00:48:45,122 --> 00:48:47,750 At last von Braun has a satellite. 695 00:48:47,925 --> 00:48:49,483 Are we happy with the dimensions? 696 00:48:49,660 --> 00:48:53,687 But still no idea of the identity of the man who was beaten into it. 697 00:48:56,566 --> 00:48:59,330 Apparently the Americans have evened the score. 698 00:49:00,003 --> 00:49:03,166 It would appear that we are in a race to space. 699 00:49:03,407 --> 00:49:06,476 A race that we, of course intend to win. 700 00:49:06,476 --> 00:49:08,876 A race that we, of course intend to win.