All language subtitles for The Astronaut WC Afl.1.English

We have liftoff. The clock has started.

Mrs. Shepard? Mrs. Shepard?

And there he goes.

Our cameras have lost visual contact

with the capsule, but we are getting

constant updates from
inside mission control.

Mrs. Shepard, any words
you'd like me to record

- for our readers at Life?
- ...But, of course, the most dangerous leg

- of the journey still lies ahead.
- Mrs. Shepard?

As astronaut Shepard leaves
the earth's atmosphere,

we wait for news of his safe re-entry.

_

Alan.

Hey, Louise.

Mr. Donlon from NASA called.

There was no answer here.

I thought you'd want to know right away.

Thanks.

Hey.

Don't you want to hear
what he has to say?

Yes, sir.

I understand.

I...

Thank you. Goodbye.

I got it.

Oh!

You're going to be an astronaut.

Subtitle sync and corrections
by awaqeded for www.addic7ed.com.

A red moon shines over the
United States of America.

The Russians have launched
the first artificial

earth satellite, taking
photos, recording conversations,

even delivering a nuclear bomb.

Who knows what this eye
in the sky is capable of?

The United States
attempts to launch a rocket

carrying its own satellite.

Let's dub this one "kaputnik."

And this one "stayputnik."

Meanwhile, as the Russian dog Laika

becomes the first canine in space,

Eisenhower vows that

the U.S. will put men into orbit.

But who, how, and when?

Today, we are introducing
to you and to the world

these seven men, who have been selected

to begin training for
orbital space flight.

These men, or the nation's
project Mercury astronauts...

...Are here after a long
series of evaluations

which told our medical
consultants and scientists

of their superb adaptability
for their upcoming flight.

Which one of these men will
be first to orbit the earth?

I cannot tell you. They
do not know themselves.

NASA's hosting this?

No, Life magazine. They
got our story exclusive.

- Honor to meet you, Mr. Shepard.
- Hello.

Hello, Alan. It's an honor.

- I guess that's a big deal.
- Commander Shepard.

Seven military families
becoming American royalty.

That's the Mercury story.
Now we need the wives.

- Hello. Nice to see you.
- A pleasure, sir.

You work for NASA.

I thought you were gonna tell them.

It would be better coming from you.

They're not gonna want to do it.

It invades their privacy.

It subjects their families
to public scrutiny.

Okay, maybe it won't be
better coming from you.

Don't say any of that. Be positive.

Sell the vision. You're a writer.

I'm a journalist. I deal with facts.

Here's a fact.

This is a big opportunity for you.

Opportunity?

I'm gonna be the ghostwriter
for a bunch of wives.

They couldn't love you more.

I don't know why they even bothered

to have six others.

- Mrs. Carpenter, over here.
- Mr. Carpenter?

Lieutenant Carpenter. Lieutenant?

Alan, hey.

Meet my wife. Rene.

Rhymes with "peachy keen."

Louise.

Rhymes with "Louise."

I love your dress. Tres chic.

And yours. Tres pink.

Excuse us.

Nice to meet you.

Look, a lot of

important people need this to work,

including the president.

Johnson and Kennedy are all over Ike,

saying he blew it with Sputnik.

They're using it as a platform

to attack his handling
of the entire cold war.

Eisenhower's older than the automobile.

He's not gonna win
us the race for space.

Get those ladies on board.

This is John Glenn.

This is my wife, Louise.

And this is Annie.

So nice to meet you.

Annie was just telling
me how excited she was

to meet all the other
wives, weren't you, dear?

Well, I look forward to it.

We'll catch up later.

No, you don't.

No, I don't.

I'm about to be forced
into bridge and bake sales

with a bunch of wives.

Hard to say who's facing
the bigger challenge.

That's Gordo Cooper.

Guy's on 24 hours a day.

He's a hell of a test pilot.

Don't think I've seen you
in a dress since our wedding.

Well, you try flying
a plane in a petticoat.

Just shut up and keep smiling.

Are those pantyhose?

You know that's not part of the deal.

Love you, hon!

Love you more.

I can't be away from him
for even five minutes.

Commander. Deke.

This is my wife, Louise.

- How do you do?
- Pleasure.

Hey, Al.

See?

That's Wally.

Pleasure.

So nice to meet you. Hey, come on.

I hear some ambassador's
handing out Cubans.

- Funny every time.
- You'll be all right?

Peachy keen.

Here we are, boys.
Moving up in the world.

You guys, huh? Huh?

How about that, yeah?

Hi.

I'm Betty Grissom, Gus' wife.

Louise Shepard.

Champagne?

I didn't even have
champagne at my wedding.

So, there I was at 4:00 in the morning,

typing a letter for MacArthur
in slippers and a robe,

and I didn't make one mistake.

Well, that is a great story.

And now, was this in
Germany where you met Deke?

It was Japan, before Deke.

Overseas and unmarried.

That must have been an adventure.

I'm sorry, are we in your way?

Louise Shepard. Hi.

I'm Trudy Cooper. This is Marge Slayton.

Our husbands were at Edwards together,

the flight-test center.

Jo. Schirra.

Wally's wife. Buzz-buzz.

Oh.

We call him jolly Wally,
but he's not funny.

You're Gordo's wife.

Alan tells me he's the real competition.

Oh.

Hmm.

Gordo has no competition.

I'm afraid you're quite mistaken.

- Hi.
- Hi.

Hi.

Gordo says Alan is a desk jockey.

Alan's got a desk

at fleet command because he's
on track to become an admiral.

Gordo doesn't care
about rank, just hours.

He's flown 2,300 of them.

Alan's got 3,600.

Well, what about John Glenn?

Now, he flew across the country

at supersonic speed...
I think that's amazing.

He's not even your husband.

I know.

Well, nothing against my Wally,

but I think John will be up first.

Oh, where is Annie?

She's the wife I want to meet.

I'm not sure about that
one. She didn't even say hi.

Hi!

Jo Schirra.

Look, our husbands all
want to go up first.

It's our job to help
them get what they want.

Oh, I don't think of it as a job.

I'm Scott's wife, not his employee.

- Honey, every girl works for a living.
- Excuse me?

I'm a mother of four,
and I've attended college.

Ladies. I see you've met.

I'm Max Kaplan, reporter. Life magazine.

Greetings, astro wives.

- Gosh. Don't you just love
the sound of that? - I, um...

I thought we could get to know
each other a little better.

- Maybe I can explain the deal.
- Oh, we know the deal.

$100,000 life-insurance policy

and half a million
dollars for the magazine's

exclusive story rights,
split seven ways.

If you ask me, I think you're overpaying

to hear the inner thoughts
of a bunch of rocket jockeys.

That would be a lot of money
if it was only their thoughts,

but it's all of you.

We'd be in the magazine?

Front and center.

Well, our husbands are the heroes.

It wouldn't be right to
step into their limelight.

Would it?

I wouldn't ask if it
was just for the money

or the perks that come with fame,

and, yes, there are some good ones,

but... I will ask you
to do it for America.

NASA's determined to win this space race

with the Russians... In
the air and in the press.

Wives and children put a
friendly face on things.

Baseball, apple pie...

Astronauts.

Sounds like we're propaganda.

Who's to say that putting your
best foot forward wouldn't be

a real factor in your husband's success?

Besides, it's not like
you ladies have a lot of

bad habits or big secrets.

Of course not.

We're just a bunch of housewives.

Well, if it benefits my husband,

I'm in.

Me, too.

We're all in.

Good to see you, Mrs.
Shepard. You're early.

Always.

Where do you want me to stand?

Do I have lipstick on my teeth?

No. You're okay.

It's been a while since
I've had my picture taken.

I'm more worried about the interview.

Well, when somebody asks me something

I don't want to answer,

I just bat my eyes and say,
"sorry, that's classified."

Well, if NASA only wants
family men with model marriages,

that's exactly what they're
gonna get from the Coopers.

Gordo may be arrogant and infuriating...

That's why they call them ass-tronauts.

...but he deserves to be here.

No one needs to know the truth.

Well, there's nothing in "The Navy Wife"

about what to wear on the
cover of a national magazine,

so I just went with
pearls and new white shoes.

Uh, Mrs. Schirra, can you...?

That's my Bible, "The Navy Wife."

Annie! Hi!

Come stand by me.

Who knows? If I play nice now,

maybe one day it'll
be me going into space.

Darling,

Gordo may let you put-put
around in that bonanza

and race other girls
in a powder puff derby,

but pigs will fly in
space before a woman does.

Pigs have flown in space.

Well, mice and rabbits. And dogs.

Chimps, fruit flies.

- What?
- It's our time.

Ladies.

- Marge.
- Hello.

Looks like I'm fashionably late.

The... The memo said a...

A pastel shirtwaist dress.

Oh, well, they're NASA,
not Christian Dior.

I'm just doing my job.

Magazine covers, photo
shoots, and talk shows.

Whichever man is first
in space, making history

means making headlines
for America's astro family.

Vroom.

We've got seven, all matching.

My very own car? Well, that's something.

It is. Thank you.

Well, that's certainly very generous,

but I thought that we
would be choosing a car

that expresses our...
Unique personalities.

NASA thinks this sends
the right message.

There's lots of room for kids,

groceries, dogs, if you have one.

If you don't have one, you
should think about getting one.

- People love dogs.
- Marge has a dog.

But he's German.

They're renaming this
color... "Moon glow."

Well, it's better than "toilet bowl,"

which is what I was getting off of it.

But free is free.

What do the guys get?

Come on, slick!

Whoo! Oh, you're a cheat!

- I got it!
- What are you doing? I won.

The race was to the water!

Whoo!

Nice car.

Hi.

Hi.

You want some corn?

- Ambrosia salad?
- Ooh.

Mrs. Slayton's place looks good,

considering there's no man around.

Mr. Kaplan, our husbands
are military test pilots,

always away, always risking their lives.

The last thing I want Gus
to do when he comes home

is mow the lawn.

Come on, hurry up.

Out of the car.

Come on.

Sorry. I'm late. I know.

But I matched my outfit to the dessert!

We should get a picture of that.

Oh, go on. Don't let me keep you.

We all know the photos
are the only reason

we're having this party.

Oh.

Looks good. Is that a family recipe?

Yes.

Girls.

Those are Mrs. Slayton's.

Those aren't playthings.

Kent said we could.

Oh, Kent is a baby.

Would you mind going into the yard?

Okay. Take this off.

Put them back carefully.

Oh.

Who's..."P-V-T

J. Flannigan"?

I think this stuff belongs to his wife.

- What's going on in here?
- I'm so sorry.

They were just playing. I gave
them heck as soon as I saw.

What did mommy tell
you? These aren't toys.

These are beautiful.

So are you in this photo.

Thank you.

I won't say anything.

Say whatever you want.

I doubt it'll make a difference.

A difference?

Have you seen the latest pictures?

Annie drives the boat
while John water-skis.

It's adorable.

And Gordo and Trudy, young
and sexy with each other.

Oh, and then there's Rene.

Down-home Betty.

Jo, the admiral's daughter.

And you... perfect, poised lady Louise.

How do I compete with that?

Let me help you.

It has to be done a certain way.

Oh, yeah. Whoo!

This is the first time

we're sending up a rocket
with a Mercury capsule on top.

It they're sending up the capsule,

then a manned launch will be next.

Whoo! You mean a Gordo'd launch,

'cause that man is gonna be me.

Oh... Take me with you.

Might be a little tight in the capsule.

Not that I would mind.

I can't believe I'm
here with an astronaut.

I went to the beach and met superman.

Superman? I don't wear tights.

Be proud of me, Trude.
I been working hard,

staying out of trouble.
Hold on a second.

You've got a double.
I've got two singles.

You mind switching rooms?

- It's not easy being a superhero.
- It's not.

I'm gonna help him relax.

We'll be back.

Hey, Trude?

Hello.

Hi, Mr. Porter, this is Trudy Cooper.

Oh, hello, Mrs. Cooper.

I thought it would be great

if the wives came down to the Cape

for the Mercury atlas
test launch coming up.

Yeah, sure, that would
make a nice picture.

The ladies on the beach.

Oh, and we'd like it to
be a surprise for the guys.

Sure, why not?

Thanks.

I can't wait to see the
look on Gordo's face.

Oh, this humidity is already killing me.

Let's go find the guys.

Is there a party happening?

I don't... know.

What the h-e double hockey sticks?

Oh, my gosh. There's John and Scott.

Hi, girls. How you doing, girls?

Oh. Ha ha.

Uh...

Working hard?

Hon!

Hi. Look who's here.

I didn't know you were coming.

Yeah, we wanted to surprise
you. I think we succeeded.

For me? I'm touched.

Mwah.

We had it out on the river.

The water was a little choppy,

and everybody was spilling their drinks.

Mm-hmm.

It was Wally's idea.

I'm gonna go for a drink. All right?

All right.

Don't fall in.

Darling, hi!

- Cheers.
- Whoo! Cheers!

I'm going to unpack.

I'll take another.

It's been a long day.

If Louise lets Alan and that...

Cape cookie get away with it,

what message does it
send to the other guys?

As mad as she may be, she'd
never take away Alan's shot.

Never mind raising
those girls on her own,

getting some sort of job... As what?

Louise is too damn
smart to get divorced.

No offense.

Why would Trudy take offense?

Marge.

S...

When Gordo volunteered, I
was already filing the papers.

Technically, the divorce wasn't final,

so he didn't exactly lie, but...

I'm only back for his career.

Gordo groomed the neighbor's poodle.

It's not funny.

He cheated, Marge. He is a cheater.

I am sorry, but life is long,

and that man of yours is beautiful.

Forget the roundheel back in California.

Getting some is the best
thing about being married.

What he did I will
never forgive, or forget.

Mrs. Glenn. I-I'm with the Sun.

There's, uh, speculation your husband's

going to be picked to man
the first Mercury flight.

Any, uh... Any comment?

Just a word or two, come on.

What? Hey.

Don't be rude.

Or, on second thought, go right ahead.

I can run with that story, too.

Maybe the world should know
that America's sweetheart

is actually sour.

No, I... I... d-but...

D-d-d-d-d-d...

D-d-d... d-d-d-d-d...

D-don't.

P-please.

Well, excuse me.

You have upset this poor woman so much

that she can barely speak.

You need to leave right now.

- Well, I...
- No.

Now, go on.

Thank you.

Th... Th-Th-Th...

Th-Th-Th... thank... thank... Thank you.

You're welcome.

There are the guys.

I'm gonna go get ready
for that test launch.

Scott.

- Sweetheart!
- Oh!

Oh, my goodness! Scott,
what are you doing?!

Aah! Please stop! Stop!

Everybody warned me about you.

My family.

Your family.

The coxswain on the Navy rowing team.

But I married you anyway.

Because I love you.

And I think you can be amazing.

So don't humiliate me.

Not in private,

but especially not in public.

I'm sorry.

Good.

Excited crowds gather to watch

the first unmanned
mission before an astronaut

heads into space.

T-minus 30 and counting.

- Mercury capsule, go.
- Range operations, go.

10, 9, 8...

Ignition sequence start.

Engines on... 5, 4, 3...

2, 1.

All engines running. Launch commenced.

Liftoff. We have liftoff.

Would you look at that?

The men must be thrilled.

Next time, it'll be
one of them up there.

At least the monkey wasn't in that one.

No more photos.

Today's off the record.

Are they kidding?

They're gonna put a man up there?

I think my heart stopped beating.

Wally is never going up in that thing.

Do they know what they're doing?

I'm sure they'll learn
from their mistakes.

It's why they do tests. It's fine.

It's not fine.

That could have been my Gus up there!

I've got to get out of here

before I say something I'm gonna regret.

A rocket explodes, "it's fine."

- Your husband's unfaithful.
- That's fine, too.

Alan loves me.

You don't have to put up
with him running around.

Being a modern wife means
challenging your husband

to be better.

My husband is better. He's the best.

We are partners,

in our marriage and in this competition,

so may the best man and woman win.

NASA has announced our first spacemen.

The field of seven has
been narrowed to three.

Now the nation is on pins and needles.

Who will be the first to go up?

This is great!

Daddy! You're home!

Alan.

What are you doing here?

I had some news that couldn't wait.

Girls, your father is gonna
be the first man in space.

- Yay!
- Yay!

I want you to know I couldn't
have done this without you.

It's your win, too.

I want you to come to the cape with me.

Oh.

Yeah?

What's going on?

I need a statement.

A statement about what?

It's the Russians.

They got a man into
space. We just heard.

Yuri Gagarin.

They're saying...
They're saying he orbited.

Maybe a statement can
wait until the morning.

I don't know what to say

except that now the country needs this,

needs you, more than ever.

It's bad enough

the Russians got into space first.

Now Life's putting Yuri on the cover?

Whose side are they on?

Edged out of the history
books by three weeks.

- Even I feel bad for Alan.
- How's Louise?

Down at the cape, but
I haven't talked to her.

With the flight coming
up, I thought she'd call

or send a card, but
there's been nothing.

She's not thinking of going
through that launch alone.

You know Louise.

She doesn't need anyone.

I called a cab.

What? I'm gonna drive you.

The airport's so far,
and... you need to rest,

clear your head.

Look at me.

I'm not worried.

Then I'm not worried, either.

Good.

Wait, what?

You're doing the countdown?

Yep. Got my finger on the button.

That's a huge responsibility.

The whole launch depends on you.

10, 9, 8...

How do I sound?

That sounds good.

I've really missed this, Trudy.

Honestly, Gus,

as much as I wanted it for you,

I'm glad Alan's going up first.

Come home safe.

The 37-year-old Navy
test pilot seems to be

the calmest man of hundreds

involved in the launching
as he walks to the elevator

that will carry him
65 feet to the capsule.

Hundreds of missiles

have been launched from Cape Canaveral.

But for the first time,
there is to be a man aboard,

just three weeks after the Russians

say they orbited Yuri
Gagarin around the earth.

While that flight took
place in complete secrecy,

all of America is eager to
see our first man in flight.

Hi.

It's us.

Annie made ham loaf.

And I made my bacon banana hollandaise.

We've got enough food for an army.

Just because NASA doesn't
allow wives down at the cape

doesn't mean you should be alone.

No one can really know
what you're going through.

But hopefully, we're
the next best thing.

I mean that.

Well, as much as I
appreciate the gesture,

I'm fine.

Louise?

Do you know the difference
between a redstone rocket

and a nuclear missile?

Nothing.

Alan is sitting on the
world's biggest firecracker

and they're about to light the match,

so I really wouldn't... turn up my nose

at a little human kindness right now.

If you want to be kind...

You'll respect my privacy.

Thank you.

Party at my place?

Are you sure you want to send them away?

The last thing I need in my house

is six giddy women
and their deviled eggs.

I'm assuming that's off the record.

The gantry is moving
away from the rocket

as we anticipate the
countdown at any moment now.

- You don't smoke.
- Today I do.

And here we go.

The countdown is starting!

- 10, 9, 8, 7...
- 10, 9, 8, 7...

...6, 5, 4, 3...

...2, 1.

We have liftoff. The clock has started.

Go! Go! Go! Go!

He's up.

Now we just need you to come down.

Mrs. Shepard, any words
you'd like me to record

for our readers at Life?

Mrs. Shepard?

You know, I think I'll just

listen to the radio in the other room.

Fuel is go, 2.5 g, cabin 5.5.

Oxygen is go, and the main bus is 24.

We are just, uh, waiting for an update.

Anytime now.

G buildup, 6... 9.

Freedom 7, this is
capcom. Do you read me?

This is capcom. Do you read?

The capsule's holding.
All the readings are good.

Don't do this to me, Shepard.

I'm not talking to you!

Scott and Wally are
still in the chase planes.

What are they gonna do?

It's the g's.

Is it supposed to take so long?

Does the station know anything?

Freedom 7, this is capcom. Do you read?

Copy that, capcom. This is freedom 7.

Yes!

- We got him.
- Just relaying my condition is still good.

- I'm getting ready for impact.
- We got him.

Mission control is in communication

with astronaut Shepard, and he is okay.

We are hearing that
everything is a-okay.

You promised the press a comment.

Louise?

Mm.

Ohh.

Louise?

Alan can never know I was scared.

No one can.

They won't.

Hey, let... let me handle the reporters.

No, I can do it.

There she is.

All right, everyone stop pushing.

Stop pushing. Everyone
take three steps backwards.

Mrs. Shepard's not saying anything

till she gets some breathing room.

Here, move. Move, there.

All right.

Ma'am, could we get a statement, please?

I am very grateful for the efforts

of the entire Mercury program.

Today is a victory,
not just for my husband

but for America and the free world.

Thank you.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I want to express, uh,
the great pleasure we have

in welcoming commander Shepard
and Mrs. Shepard here today.

I want to, uh, again
express my congratulations,

uh, to Alan Shepard.

- Well, she looks good.
- Uh, we're, uh, very proud of him.

Hmm. You'll get there.

- We all will.
- As the first United States astronaut...

There they are...

The first lady and the
first lady of space.

First lady?

Well, isn't that something?

I can't believe this room.

I can't believe this day.

I'm tired.

This was wonderful, but exhausting.

Yeah. Big day.

I mean, all of it...

Mercury, the mission.

You did it. You were amazing.

Now we can take a step
back, just breathe.

Louise, tonight the president asked me

if I thought we could
put a man on the moon.

I told him we can.

We are going to the moon,

so there is no breathing.

Right.

Well...

...we'll get through this together.

That's why we have each other.

Yeah.

There's a transpo plane leaving tonight.

I'm gonna catch it.

I want to wake up at the
cape and get right to it.

I'll call you tomorrow, usual time.

I bet they wouldn't launch a rocket

if it wasn't safe.

Well, it's as safe as we can make it,

but we're doing something
that's never been done before.

So there's a chance you could die?

Yeah, a pretty good one.

That sounds scary.

It's more lonely than scary,

not that Gordo here would know.

Hi, I'm Alan.

Shepard. I know. Wow-oh-wow.

The first man in space.

First American man.
Russians got there first.

Also Ham the chimp...

...Some rodents, canines,
a couple dozen fruit flies.

And yet, still, not you.

There's a party at Ramon's tonight.

You and your friend should come.

- An astronaut party?
- Yeah.

I'd love to.

Oh.

Coming?

I'll go for a little bit.

I saw your lights on.

What you said about human kindness...

Does your offer still stand?

What about your privacy?

I can't change who I am, Trudy,

but we're going to the moon.

The moon.

We wives are gonna need each other.

- Hello?
- Look out your window.

Is Trudy Cooper having
some kind of a party?

If she is, she didn't invite me.

Should we pop by?

Knock, knock.

We couldn't sleep. We
thought we heard music.

- Oh, you did.
- Come on in, Betty.

The girls are in bed, but you boys

can go on inside.

Hi.

Oh, looks like Annie's got some moves.

I think if we had a
contest, she would win.

I'll put a dollar on Annie.

Betty? It's for you.

Gus.

Looks like someone traded
in the station wagon.

Less room for groceries,
but it goes from 0 to 60

in eight seconds.

Why is dad calling so late?

I don't know, sweetie.
Is something wrong?

Hey, hon.

Are you okay?

Gus is going up next.

I'm gonna be the second lady of space!

Betty.

You have to tell me everything.

Well, you don't have
to. I read the article.

It just seemed like the
best day of your life.

It was, yes. The best.

Right, well.

Come on. That's seriously how you dance?

There won't always be nights like this.

Dancing.

Now.

The queen has spoken.

That's good.

Mrs. Shepard, what does it feel like

to be headed out on such
a historic adventure?

Well, we don't know
what our path will be

or what toll this journey
will take on each of us,

but we have to trust
it will be successful.

And if we ever feel
lost, all we need to do

is look around and see that
we're not traveling alone.

Subtitle sync and corrections
by awaqeded for www.addic7ed.com.