All language subtitles for Woman.in.Motion.Nichelle.Nichols.Star.Trek.and.the.Remaking.of.NASA.2019_English

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we're go.

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12, 11, 10, 9.

Ignition sequence start.

[dramatic music]
Six, five, four, three, two,
one.

[Saturn rocket engine roars]

[metal clangs]

♪

[cameras clicking]

♪

[separation charge explodes]

- [Armstrong] That's
one small step for man,

one giant leap for mankind.

[indistinct radio chatter]

♪

- [man] Did you open up?

[rocket engine roars]

♪

♪

- [Shatner] Space,
the final frontier.

[crowd cheers]

- Nichelle Nichols is
just absolutely fantastic.

- One of my reasons for going
to MegaCon

was to see Nichelle.

- Because, let's face it,

a woman with a title
in charge is pretty cool.

- That's the thing.

That's what's so great
about Lieutenant Uhura.

- She was my favorite
character from the show.

- When you meet Nichelle,
it's like meeting a queen.

Still gorgeous,
still has so much presence.

And, uh, she--her line
was longer than mine.

I was like, "Okay, Nichelle."

- For most of the world,
you know,

Nichelle Nichols
is Lieutenant Uhura,

pop culture icon.

But what they don't know is that

she changed
the space program forever.

♪

- We owe a great debt of
gratitude to Nichelle Nichols,

not just through her acting,

but it was what
she personally chose to do.

- I loved Uhura on Star Trek,

but I wasn't aware of everything
that she did off the screen.

- I think it's one of
the most fantastic stories

to be told
to the American people.

[film reel clicking]

[tone beeps]

- [Miles] Well, uh, thanks for
being you, number one.

We'd love to hear how
you went from Star Trek to NASA

and the things you did
with them.

- Hmm.

I guess it's sort of like
going from fantasy to fact

and then wondering
which is the fantasy

and which is the fact.

So this gets sort of
schizophrenic, you see. [laughs]

[laughing]

[chuckles]

We're about to shoot, okay?

♪

I'm from Chicago, Illinois,
born and raised.

[trolley bell rings]

I love Chicago.

It's more than
a Midwestern town.

It's like a New York
moved to the Midwest.

- Nichelle was born before
World War II,

before Jackie Robinson,

before the armed forces
were integrated,

a time of great segregation
in America.

- [Nichols] My father is
Samuel L. Nichols,

and he was from
a well-to-do family.

And my mother was not
going to marry my father

because...were not of
the same class,

and my father was determined
to marry my mother.

And thank God he did

because together, they had
six children, and I'm one.

And I was my father's pet,

so nobody would ever
not know that [laughs]

who my father was, because
he was always saying,

"This is my daughter.

She's going to grow up
to be a star."

I took ballet from
the time I was a young girl.

I was determined to be
the first black ballerina.

The class that I went to,

I think I was the only
African American in the class.

♪

I grew up believing that
I could become

anything that I wanted to be.

And of course,
my father told me that

from the time I was a child.

And my mother used to say,
"Sam, Samuel,

please don't put those ideas
in that child's brain."

And he said, "She's going
to be what she's going to be."

And he said, "Remember
when they told you, Lisha,

don't marry Samuel Nichols?"
[laughs]

[crowd applauds]

- Most people don't know
that she started out

as a dancer and a singer.

- [Nichols] I love
musical theater.

So dance was now
just a component

of singing, dancing, acting.

And I discovered that I had
this very strange voice

because I could sing
high soprano.

And I had this nice low voice
and I could [vocalizes],

and I could sing down here,

♪ Moaning low

[laughs]

I had my first
professional job

when I was 14 years old
in Chicago

at the um, downtown
at the Sherman House.

When all of
the great talent came,

they played the Sherman House.

It was the only hotel

that allowed black people
to come and--and stay.

I was fortunate and honored

to meet so many
great performers then.

Without question, however,

the highlight was meeting
the great Duke Ellington.

♪

He was performing at
the Chicago Theater

and asked the publicist
to find me.

And he was looking for
someone like me, evidently,

but older, so I got older.
[laughs]

[camera shutter clicking]

He gulped, looked me straight
in the face and said,

"Well, that's just about
the range we're looking for."

He wanted me to perform
a ballet to one of his suites.

So I got two guys and
we did this fantastic ballet.

Every night, I used to go stand
in the--in the curtain

just before I went on and
watch this tall willowy gal,

who was the band singer, sing

and the way she wrapped herself
around the microphone.

I was just in awe.

♪

Towards the end of the tour,
which was about three months,

Mr. Ellington called me
to his dressing room

and he said,
"Sing something for me."

And I looked at him and
I said, "Sing what?"

And he said, "Well,
you can sing, can't you?"

He said, "You've still got
that little gold dress

that you wore before we left?"

And I said, "Oh, yes,
I've even got the gold shoes."

And he said, "Great.

You go on tonight."

♪

I said, "Do what?"

And he says, "The singer's sick.

She had to leave the band.

She's not going to
finish the tour.

You are."

I've never been so scared
in my life,

but I was determined
to never show it.

And so I went on [vocalizes]

and I would get
wonderful applause,

but I noticed that the band
was kind of going[snorts].

And Duke Ellington is
actually playing piano for me.

His back is kind of sideway--
to the audience,

and he tried not to show it.

He finally comes to me and said,

"What are you doing
with that microphone?"

And I said, "I'm...

singing."

He said, "The gal--
last gal who did that

was twice as tall as you.

And the only reason
she hung on to that mic

is because she would have
fallen down."

He says, "You don't need
to hug the mic

"and [laughs] and do
all of those gyrations.

You've got a voice.

Now, just sing. Do your thing."

And that's when I first learned
not to be like anybody else,

to be yourself.

And it was the greatest thing
that ever happened.

♪

I was booked in Hawaii,
and I was so excited.

But at that time, you couldn't
fly from Chicago to Hawaii.

You had to come to Los Angeles,
and that changed my life.

[airplane engine roaring]

While I went to Hawaii
and loved Hawaii,

I couldn't wait to get back
to California.

I thought it was the most
beautiful place.

I wound up, of course,
moving to Los Angeles.

I found acting was something
that I loved and wanted to do

and began to excel at.

♪

- Gene Roddenberry had a TV
show calledThe Lieutenant,

and he did an episode
that centered on race

that Nichelle was actually in.

- [Nichols] The Lieutenant was
my first role on television,

and it was a wonderful role.

Hey, guess what.

- Hmm?

- I found a job already.

- At the county?

- It's not that easy.

- [Nichols] I was so new
to the business

that when the director told me

to step into my key light,
I didn't know where to turn.

I thought after a few years,

a person would start
to grow a little.

- [Nichols] Working
in television

was not that pleasurable
for me.

It's a wonderful medium,

but it really throws
a-a-a theater actor,

a performer at first.

♪

Oh, Ernie.

- [Nichols] We were shooting
at night,

and this person kept
hovering over me.

And I said, "Look, you,"
and then I noticed

that this guy was smoking
with a cigarette between--

- [Interviewer] A-ha.
- ...his finger.

And I'd only seen
one other person do that.

And I turned around and said,
"Look, you!

[gasps] Mr. Roddenberry!"
[laughs]

It was this one. [laughs]

♪

- I became essentially
who I became

through Gene Roddenberry.

♪

He, I--I guess you could say,
discovered me.

It--it was meant to be.

And we knew that from day one

because he talked
exactly like my father.

- [Crump] Because that episode
centered on race

was so controversial,
they didn't actually air it.

♪

[indistinct shouting]

That so aggravated
Gene Roddenberry

that he decided he would
figure out how to tell

those types of stories
in a different way.

[keys clacking]

- [Nichols] On several
occasions, Gene remarked,

"I've got something in mind

that I think
is going to come about.

And if it does,

there'll be something
important in it for you."

I always knew that where
he was going

was going to be fresh and new
and exciting but enlightening.

He was brilliant in that way.

He loved to talk
politics with me.

[telephone rings]

We talked and talked
and talked.

- [Gene on phone] ...world of
the future portrayed--

- [Nichols] I remember him
talking about something

that had people of all races.

And I said, "Cool.
That's a--let me know.

You know, that's...that's what
I'm talking about here."

♪

I'd just finished a marvelous
engagement in London

and gone on to Paris

when a couple of
telegrams found me.

"Come home immediately,"
my agent had wired.

"They're doingStar Trek ."

"Star what?" I wondered.

When I went to read for
the part, it was very funny.

They had not written Uhura,
she was not named.

They said, "Would you be so kind

as to read the role of Spock?"

And I said, "Well, tell me
something about this character.

What is she like?"

And they stopped
and looked at me.

And so the director said,

"No, no, no, you won't
be playing Spock.

Spock is a man."

Could it be a woman?

And they said, "Yes,

but Leonard Nimoy
would not like it."

And I said, "Fine, but
tell me about Spock,

because you can't tell me

about the female
communications officer

'cause you haven't
created her yet."

And they looked at me like,
you know,

like the dog looks at you.
[laughs]

You know, every time
you see a little doggy

and talk to him, he goes.
[laughs]

And the next thing I know,
I'm reading for it.

And I get to the bottom
of the page.

Finally, Joe Sargent,
who was the director, said,

"Come on, big talent.

Let's go to lunch.

You had it when you walked
in the door."

I had a big book
when I came in.

It was calledUhuru,

and"Uhuru" is Swahili
for freedom.

Gene asked to see me
and he said,

"I really liked this,
the book you brought in.

But what I really am
interested in is the name,

Uhuru."

He says, "I want to do something
with it that involves you."

I said, "Well, why don't
you do an alliteration of it

and soften the end with
an A and it'll be Uhura."

And I named the character.

[chuckles]

♪

- Gene Roddenberry was an
enormously gifted storyteller.

He used science fiction
as a metaphor

for the realities of the time.

- That was one of
the core things

that Gene Roddenberry
wanted to have in the show,

was more diversity,
more cooperation,

a positive, exciting view
of the future.

- My father looked at life

I think the way we
should all look at life,

which is to embrace
the diversity

whether it's in physical
feature and form

or thought, idea.

- The concept of Star Trek

is--is--is quite extraordinary
and unprecedented.

I can't think of anything

that has had
that kind of lifespan.

- The fact that it was set
in a distant time and place

gave it access to the present

in a way storytelling of
the present would not.

- It was one of the first
mainstream science fiction shows

that really dealt
with the issues

that we were dealing with
at the time.

- Lokai is of an inferior breed.

- [Spock] The obvious visual
evidence, Commissioner,

is that he is of
the same breed as yourself.

- Are you blind,
Commander Spock?

Look at me.

I am black on the right side.

Lokai is white on the right.

All of his people are
white on the right side.

- When I started watching
Star Trek

was right at the beginning,

show one, year--year one.

I saw it,
and I watched every episode.

- I couldn't believe
the diversity

that was on the bridge
at the time.

- [Takei] North America
represented by the Captain.

Europe represented by
a Scottish engineer,

Asia represented by
my character.

But we also saw another
part of the world

that rarely gets represented
in that kind of mix,

Africa represented by
an African woman.

- Nichelle at that time

was one of the faces
that we had to see.

- The world got to see that
like our women are strong, yes,

but they're also smart.

- She was the best person
for that job.

And it didn't matter if
she was male or female.

- [electricity zapping]
- Progress report.

- Mr. Spock, I haven't done
anything like this in years.

If it isn't done just right,

I could blow the entire
communications system.

It's very delicate work, sir.

- I can think of no one

better equipped to handle it,
Miss Uhura.

[chuckles]

Any time Uhura got to
get off the bridge. [laughs]

- I submitted several episodes,

and they bought one for

the second season.

♪

The great part about it

was that I got to meet Nichelle
before I got to script.

And she was wearing
that incredible

two-piece bikini outfit,

from "Mirror, Mirror" episode.

So I got to see much
more of Nichelle

than I ever expected to.

My God, that woman was
the most beautiful woman

I had ever been in
the presence of.

And, you know,
here's this awkward geeky kid,

still in college
and very nerdy.

And I come into the presence
of this incredibly beautiful,

talented woman, and I was just
heart-stopping speechless.

- Nichelle Nichols had
that effect on people.

- Personally, when I saw
Nichelle on the show, I got,

yeah, I could date a woman
like that.

- Lieutenant Uhura,
I was in love with.

She was a knockout.

- [beeping]
- Actresses for 2,000.

- [Trebek] In the 1968 episode,

"Plato's Stepchildren,"

she went where few women

had gone before,

one of TV's first
interracial kisses.

Margie.
- Who is Nichelle Nichols?

- [Trebek] Yes!
- [dings]

- That was still a time
in television

where contact between
people of different races

and different sexes
was very controversial.

TV affiliates in the Southern
states would react.

- They were stuck in
that mind frame

um,

that "minorities" had to be

in a subservient position.

- This was a challenging time
for people of color

trying to make their way
in film and television.

There weren't a lot of roles.

- [Nichols] Uhura was a new
kind of television woman.

Yet, it was becoming
uncomfortably obvious

that whatever ambitious plans
Gene had for my character,

Uhura's role was constantly
being diminished.

Even in the enlightened 23rd
century of Gene's imagination,

a strong, independent black
woman was not welcome.

To me, it seemed there
were always "female roles,"

but roles were male roles,

and then there were
the "female roles."

Well, this was not
a "female role,"

and I refused to treat
it that way.

We're not just fancy little...

[chuckling] We are tough broads,
you know.

We're human beings,
and we come in all forms.

Directors tried to even
change me,

make me more feminine,
[laughs] make me--

- Would Uhura? [laughs]

- I tried often
to write scenes for her.

Usually, I tried to make them

emotional, personal
kinds of scenes

where there was some
conflict going on

that the women had to resolve

or that they were
strongly involved in.

- [Nichols] There were
marvelous scripts.

And so you'd get it and you'd
see this wonderful script

that involves you so well.

And then you'd get
the revisions,

and then you'd get
the pink revisions,

and then you'd get
the orchid revisions,

and then you're down to--

Hailing frequencies open, sir.

Hailing frequencies open, sir.

Hailing frequencies, sir.

Hailing frequencies.

Hailing frequencies.

Hailing frequencies open, sir.

Hailing frequencies open.

- Lieutenant Uhura.

- Hailing frequencies
still open, sir.

- And there's a legendary story
about one day,

Nichelle turns to
the camera and says,

"If I have to say 'open hailing
frequencies' one more time,

I'm gonna blow up this console."

She was so frustrated with
not getting to do more.

- Miss Uhura,
your last subspace log

contained an error in
the frequencies column.

- Mr. Spock, sometimes I think

if I hear that word "frequency"
once more, I'll cry.

- The unfortunate part
of it is that her role

seems to have been diminished
because she was a black woman,

and that character was viewed
as perhaps more expendable

than the other characters.

- I told them they
were doing that.

And they said, "Oh no, this
has nothing to do with you."

And I said, "You're not me.

It has everything
to do with me."

- She was told that
she was gonna be

more significant to this show
than she was, you know.

We were the movable
furniture to a great degree.

- She's the chief
communications officer

and she can't talk?

What good is she?

And I said, "That's what they
wanna do with the character,

I want out."

I didn't have all this

wonderful thought process
going before.

I got a job.

I was an actress, got a job,
right on, you know.

I thought my career would be
in musical theater

until Star Trek
interrupted my career.

And that's the way
I looked at it.

And I'll have other
opportunities

to grow in--in--with my talents,

you know, of singing
and dancing.

And I'll go to Broadway,

and I'll do big pictures
and that kind of thing.

Well, a funny thing happened
on the way there.

- [Dawson] An NAACP event
that was being held,

organizers of the event
were trying to get her

to meet this fan, and
she said, "Wait a minute.

I don't wanna meet fans
right this minute."

- This person came up to me

and said he needed
to talk to me.

[clears throat]
And I said, "I'm sorry,"

and I turned around and
I was looking in the face

of Dr. Martin Luther King.

[laughs]

- And what's typical
about Nichelle

when she meets celebrities
of all types,

um, they want to tell her about
how she affected their life.

Dr. King was telling her
Star Trekis the only show

that he lets his children watch.

- It was always a wonderful
experience because

Dad did not have a lot of time

to actually watch anything with
us because he was so engaged

in civil and human rights
campaigns and the struggle.

But I guess, in retrospect,
it was important to him,

but it certainly was
important to us

to have time with our dad.

- She then says to him,

"Well, I'm so glad
you feel this way."

And you know, "I'll be going
off into another career move."

And he's stunned.

He says, "What do you mean?"

She said, "Well, I just
turned in my resignation."

Dr. King says, "No, you can't.

You can't leave."

- And my first thought was,
"What are you talkin' 'bout,

Dr. Martin Luther?"
[laughs]

He's gonna tell me
how to run my life now.

- She says,
"Well, the work I'm doing

is I'm just delivering a line
or two in each show.

I'm really not using my craft
to any great extent."

- He said, "You don't understand

the effect that you are having,
not only on black people,

not only on young women,
but on everybody.

Everybody's mind and attitude
is changed immeasurably

simply because you are there."

- Lieutenant Uhura was the most
important person on the bridge

because she was the
only one who could say--

- Captain.

- ...and everybody would stop
what they were doing

and turn around to hear
what she was gonna say next.

- But also because
she appealed to us

by making us understand that
we were going to be present

in whatever future
was being imagined.

- I was a little boy
at that time,

and it was at a time where,

my mother was from the South.

I was from the North.

They could just barely get
to the front of the bus then.

And that's what
Dr. King was saying

because he could see
where it was going.

- "You're looked up to,
and you're a role model,

and people aspire to be you,

that person that they see
on television.

So don't leave, don't go away.

You stay right where you are."

He was a man of such wisdom.

And when he made
a statement like that,

he had a good reason
for doing it.

- And it's the first time

that I really talked to
anyone important

about what was going on.

It was equally as important

as anything I could possibly
have done.

So I stayed,
and I never regretted it.

Uhura and I...

became friends.

It was the character that
I had the blessing to create

and never failed me.

[doors whirring]

[electronics beeping]

And the show only went
two more seasons,

and then we were gone.

In show business, everything
ends sooner or later,

you learn to say goodbye
and look to the future.

After all, you never know
what's around the corner.

- [Miles] How did
they sort of notify you of

your introduction to NASA? Did--

- Well, again, Star Trek had
a little bit to do with that.

The--the response to it
going off the air

was unbelievable.

- Rumors that it was
going off the air

brought more than
one million letters

of outraged fan mail to NBC.

- [Reporter] The universe it
created was self-consistent,

imaginative, and makes its
viewers long to be part of it,

and they didn't want to
see it come to an end.

[crowd cheering]

♪

- Some of the most incredible
people on the planet

are Star Trek fans.

[crowd cheers]

Fans started holding
Star Trek conventions.

- Oh, I am
a Denebian slime devil.

- I'm Ambassador X
from Ecosystem Four.

- I think it's the extreme
logic of the characters.

- I was one of the fans
waiting in line

for an autograph
or a photo or something.

If you were a science and
a science fiction geek

and Star Trekperson, this
was where you wanted to be.

- It's just the happiest
day of my entire life.

Like, it's just so beautiful.

[sobbing] I can't help it.

- [Nichols] But in '75,
I was invited to go to Chicago

to what turned out to be

the largest Star Trek
convention ever.

- By the '75 convention,
it was a full-fledged movement.

- It was also the first time
that NASA had seen fit

to allow one of
their scientists

to come as a speaker.

The day before the convention
was to begin,

we held a press conference.

I noticed a tall, handsome,

white-haired gentleman
on our panel.

I discovered he was
Dr. Jesco von Puttkamer,

NASA's Director of Science.

And the press asks
this scientist,

"Dr. von Puttkamer,
I mean, this is fantasy.

What's a man of your stature
doing here?"

So Dr. von Puttkamer said,
and he's this tall man

with a shock of white hair
and mustache, you know,

and he looks down the way
and he says,

"Well, I tell you,

aside from the dream
that Gene Roddenberry had

that put all humankind
in the future,

I came for something
more important than that."

He said, "I came because
I had to find out

if Lieutenant Uhura had
the most beautiful legs

that I think she has
on the screen."

And of course, the press
sat there and looked at him.

And we all on the panel are
going, "What did he say?"

I said, "What did he say
about Uhura?" [laughs]

And I was cinched.

I said, "I've got to meet
that person."

- Jesco von Puttkamer was
a charismatic advocate

for space flight and
a wonderful voice

for what NASA was doing.

- When he and Nichelle first
got together,

uh, I think that was a kind
of a natural partnership,

a mentorship and a partnership.

- [Nichols] I sat through

Dr. von Puttkamer's
presentation

in utter awe.

♪

I saw all of
this wondrousness.

♪

I remember something happening
back then saying

humankind stepped on the moon.

It wasn't just Neil Armstrong
and Buzz Aldrin.

I stepped on the moon.

And I sat there thrilled
and impressed

as I watched the presentation

of where we had gone
as human beings.

And I didn't see me.

And out of that awe
and out of that thrill

came a feeling of
disenfranchisement.

I did not see myself in
the present space program.

I didn't see myself
as a black,

and I didn't see myself
as a woman.

Here I was involved in
projecting a future

of what our space program,
could--where it could take us.

And I wanted to be there,
not in fantasy,

not 300 years from today,
but now.

- Oh, I dreamed of becoming
an astronaut,

but NASA said that women
weren't being considered

for the job.

- The Russians already
had women in space.

When is America gonna
put a woman in space?

When is American gonna put
a black person in space?

- The argument was made

uh, by the National Institute of
Sciences and in the mid-'70s

that there were no
qualified black people.

- I resented that

and decided I was gonna
do something about it.

I started writing about it,

and they got printed in Ebony,

and they got printed in various
magazines and newspapers.

And suddenly media,
the press wanted to interview me

because as you have
probably noticed,

I have a lot to say. [laughs]

In early 1977, I was appointed
to the board of directors

of the National Space
Institute.

That January, I gave a speech
before NSI's

annual joint board
council meeting.

I was talking before two or
3,000 people it felt like,

but it was a huge audience.

- She looked out in the audience

and there were very few women

and probably no people of color.

- There were scientists there.

There were NASA officials there.

And the call went out.

- [Nichols] I challenged
everyone

to answer the question,

space, what's in it for me?

And I was not talking about
becoming an astronaut.

I was talking about if
those guys are doing it,

then we're supposed to be there.

Then where are we?

- And she's saying,
"Where are my people?"

- Where are my people?

And I meant that then,
and I mean it now.

- [Dr. Joels] That was
the spark

that caused NASA to say,

"Okay, you've got
a good point.

How do we go about this?"

- Well, coming out of that,
I was invited to Washington

to meet the administrator
of NASA.

He said, "We were in
the audience, listening to you.

So was the director."

Suddenly, I'm at
NASA headquarters,

and I'm seeing women

and men in every level,

from administration
and management.

I was fascinated.

And I said to them, "Why
doesn't your public know this?"

- NASA was in a huge
period of transition.

- [Narrator] As the last
Apollo crew

worked on the moon,

the engineers on earth

prepared for
tomorrow's day in space.

- [Dr. Joels] They had already
done the Skylab missions.

Apollo-Soyuz flew in 1975,

and then the Apollo mission
was over.

The country was engaged in
a lot of economic dislocation.

You had a lot of people
that were downsized

after the Apollo program.

Now, they were entering
the shuttle era

and we need talent.

- I have a model here
of the space shuttle.

- [Dr. Weitekamp]
In the 1970s,

NASA needed to recruit

a new class of astronauts for
the space shuttle program,

and this would be
a very different class

than had been
previously recruited.

- The Astronaut Corps was really
kind of the all boys club.

It was all white,
Anglo Saxon male.

They all have come out
of test pilot school.

- [Dr. Weitekamp]
For the shuttle program,

this was a new vehicle

that allowed
new kinds of work,

which meant that they wanted
not only pilot astronauts

but mission specialists,

people with PhDs,
medical degrees,

researchers who would
be doing the experiments

on the vehicle.

And NASA,
when they started looking into

the application pile,

realized that they were
dealing with a legacy

of historic discrimination.

- They were not getting
the response that they wanted.

And they said this was
already eight months underway

and they only had
four more months.

And they said, "We're not
going to have any black people.

We're not gonna have any women

because no one's responding.

Why?"

And I said,
"We don't believe you."

- [Lewis] During the '60s,
to be able to ride

and take a seat on a--
on a bus, any place on a bus,

we would be beaten,
arrested, and jailed.

[indistinct shouting]

- [Capt. Scott] I could
remember days of--

of blatant racism.

And going into
the drugstore one day

and buying an ice cream cone
and a comic book,

and a lady came out from
behind the counter and said,

"You can't sit here.

You have to get up and leave."

I remember just turning around
to walk out of the store

and she yelled at me, "That's
the best thing you can do.

Just get outta here!"

- [Maj. Bolden] Walking into
the Naval Academy,

a place where I had wanted so
badly to go from seventh grade

when I first saw
the program Men of Annapolis

and getting in there
in Plebe Summer, calling home,

crying to my mom and dad
saying, "I made a bi--

I made a big mistake.
I wanna come home."

And my--they would ask me,
they said,

"But you've always
wanted to go there."

I said, "Yeah, but they
don't want me here.

And I don't wanna be here."

Those are the kinds of
things that I remember.

- [Funk] I applied to NASA
four different times

to be turned down
four different times

because NASA reorganized their
nomenclature, so to speak,

that you had to have
jet test pilot time.

This was impossible for a girl
to have in those days.

Now, let's go back to
the men, the Mercury.

There were 159 men selected
from the armed services

to go through these tests
at Lovelace.

How many passed?

Seven.

25 women were selected
and how many passed?

Thirteen.

We could have done it
if they would just let us.

- They said, "How can
we get people to apply?

How can we correct that?"

And I said, "I think you need
to get someone immediately

with credibility
and high visibility

whom they would believe
when they speak.

They know that they
would not talk to them

if NASA was not serious."

And NASA said,

"How about Lieutenant Uhura?"

♪

And I just laughed
because I said,

"No, no, people might
think it's a gimmick."

Oh, I said, "Don't, not me.

They'll laugh at you."

And they said, "Not if they
hear you speak five minutes."

- One of the things that
Nichelle was very keen on

is she did not want to be seen

as like an assistant or
a mascot of NASA.

She didn't want NASA
people around her

when she was out there
recruiting.

- I cannot have a NASA
representative taking me around

and...and propping me up
with a prepared speech.

I won't do that.

And I said, "I will accept it,

but I'll do it under my company,
Women in Motion,

and I'll be your PI."

Women in Motion was
a company that I began

when I wanted to
make a difference.

- It became the vehicle for
this--this NASA contract.

- And I said,

"I will bring you
so many qualified people,

you will have no choice.

And if I have done my work

and it's still an all-white
male Astronaut Corps,

I will be your worst nightmare

because I will file a class
action lawsuit against you.

I will go and...and speak
before Congress

and I will expose what...
what I have done."

And Dr. Fletcher
gave me his hand

and he said,
"And I'll go with you."

And John Yardley said,

"And so shall I."

♪

And on that basis,
I, for the next four months,

'cause we only had
four months left,

I completely stopped my career,
canceled all engagements

and set up a grueling schedule.

- [Dawson] There was a good
old boy attitude within NASA

that we know what's best,
and we'll--we'll do the hiring,

thank you very much.

- Some of them shared with
me the fact that, you know,

when this Hollywood star
walked in,

they really were not inclined
to initially take it seriously

until they started
talkingr.

- I needed some
astronaut training

to know what I was talking
about to astronauts, you know.

And when I said that
first to them,

they kind of went like...
[chuckles]

♪

Astronaut Alan Bean has
agreed to show me

some of the training
and evaluation

that new astronaut candidates
will be undergoing.

♪

[laughs]

- Why don't you take
the commander's seat over there.

- All right.
-You can handle it.

I get to be a captain at last.
[laughs]

- [Dawson] She was able
to land

this space shuttle
orbiter simulator.

Later on, I asked,
"How did you do that?"

"Oh, you know, it wasn't me.

It was Uhura that did it."
[chuckles]

♪

- [Nichols] The credibility,
of course,

in minority community

has been very low.

Uh, I'm sure that they--
- The--our--NASA's credibility?

- NASA's credibility.

How do you feel about--

- Well, first, I'm kinda--

- A woman coming on board.

- I think that's a good idea.
- [laughs]

- But I think if they think
they got any kind of chance,

you know, they should apply,
definitely.

- [Nichols] I think
the problem is that

most people just don't think
it means them this time.

- It does mean them.

- Once she got NASA
to accept the fact

that they needed to have
people of color,

she faced the battle of
going out and convincing

qualified young men
and women of color

that--that they would find
a place, a welcome place,

if they chose to apply.

♪

- I went to every university
that I could get to.

I went to every
woman's organization,

every professional
science organization,

organization of black
engineers and scientists.

I went to LULAC.

I went to the Asian community.

I went to the Spanish-American
community.

I went to the black community.

I went to the Organization
of Black Pilots.

And fortunately,
many of these people

were having their annual
conventions at that time,

and many had admitted
that they allowed me to come

because I was Uhura,

but they finished up because
I was Nichelle Nichols

speaking for
our space program.

♪ Show me, I say

- I think that's
the perseverance

that Nichelle showed
in going around,

being willing to go
into the deep South

and try to recruit.

- I went to a university
where they were livid with me.

They wanted to hurt me,
and they told me that.

And I said, "That's fine."

I said, "Let's stay civil.

But I'm not here
to convince you.

I'm here to find that one person
who'll take a chance."

Many of them said, "NASA
is using you, Ms. Nichols."

And I said, "I know,
and I'm using them.

Now, I'm gonna use you."

- Nichelle's personal mission

uh, was to help
these people understand

that NASA needed them.

♪

- Hello, this is
Nichelle Nichols.

NASA needs astronaut pilots
and mission specialists

for the space shuttle that
becomes operational

in the 1980s.

These people wrote me and said

they would have never
thought they qualified

until they heard me speak
or saw me on television.

In every city that I visited,
we contacted the media.

I went on tel--
on every talk show.

Then I'd might go on and they'd
wanna talk about my career,

and I said, "Thank you so much

because my career is so
important to me.

It has taken
an incredible turn."

"Oh, what are you doing now?"

"I'm helping NASA recruit
the first women

and minority astronauts for
the space shuttle program."

And they'd go, [laughs]

I said, "No, it's not funny.
It's true."

Even the network stations,
many of them

played my--my public service
announcements in primetime

because they had Uhura,
you know.

- Nichelle Nichols
came on TV one day,

and I'm just sitting there
watching her.

And she was in
a blue flight suit.

- Hi, I'm Nichelle Nichols.

- And she pointed at me
and she said,

"I want you to join
the astronaut program."

- This is your NASA.

- And immediately, I knew
she was talking to me.

Other people have claimed
she was talking to them.

No, she was talking to me.

- When various men and women

heard me on
a--a television talk show

in which I spoke about

the military recruitment and
the civilian recruitment,

you see, the military had
their own recruitment drive

for NASA and eliminated people

and then gave NASA
their selection.

They invited me
to the Pentagon

when I first took on
the contract

to let me know they
didn't want me interfering

with the military recruitment.

They didn't want me
out recruiting military,

so I didn't.

- They made it
quite clear to her

that they had their ways
of picking astronauts

and they wanted her
to stay out of their way.

But she found a loophole.

- [Nichols] Just as I was
about to leave, I said,

"Oh, if you have
your own recruitment

and your own selection,

what about the men and women
who aren't selected by you?

Would they be able to
apply directly to NASA

as American citizens?"

And they went, "Yes." [laughs]

So everywhere I went,
I simply talked about that.

- And Fred kind of pulled
an end run and applied

through NASA as a civilian.

- And I got a call from
General Tom Stafford.

And I remember his--
the first words he said,

he said, "Who the hell are you?"

And I said, "Well, sir, I'm...
[laughs]

I'm Major Fred Gregory."
[laughs]

And I mean, I never met
the man in life.

He said, "But why did you
apply as a civilian?"

I said, "Because if
I had been in the Air Force

and I'm in the selection
committee,

I probably would not have
selected me

because I was an unknown."

He says, "Well, that's
all I wanted to know,"

and that was the end of
the conversation. [laughs]

- [laughs] Fun, huh? [laughs]

- During the recruitment
process,

NASA public affairs
pulled out all the stops

trying to get Nichelle exposure,
and the crown jewel of that

was an appearance on
Good Morning America.

♪

- Recently, I had an opportunity
to do something

that very few people have--
get the chance to do.

A week or so ago,

I visited the Lyndon B.
Johnson Space Center

in Houston, Texas.

And one of the people
that I met there

was Nichelle Nichols,

a star of television series,
Star Trek.

Over the last few years,
Ms. Nichols has gone

from science fiction
to science fact.

why did you choose
to become involved

in the NASA space program?

- Well, Sandy, a couple of years
ago, a friend of mine and I

formed a company called
Women in Motion.

And all of the things that
I had talked with them about,

about the potential,
they included

about why women should apply,

why minorities should apply.

I think it's very important

that at this selection
for astronauts status,

of having a woman astronaut

and a completely
integrated Astronaut Corps.

The old Star Trek idea,

I see infinite diversity
and infinite combinations.

- And June 30th is the last day

for women and other minorities
to apply for the program.

- I was sitting in
my office at NASA

and I got a call from Nichelle

and she said, "Kerry,
I just found out

we're supposed to do
a final report.

What is a final report?"
[chuckles]

So I said, "When is this due?"

She said, "In a week."
[chuckles]

I said, "Okay."

She said, "Can you come
and help?"

I said, "Sure."

[keys clacking]

This was an era of typewriters
and Xerox machines.

So we were literally
having to type the report

and take all the photographs
and the documents.

And they weren't in emails

where you could cut
and paste them.

You actually had to physically
Xerox them and stack them.

It was very labor intensive.

I could tell that she was
driving really, really hard.

She was doing media
constantly.

She was traveling constantly.

And she was doing
presentations constantly.

It was an incredible grind.

I [scoffs] I went to sleep
at two in the morning.

She got me up at five,
took me to the airport,

and I was back at
my desk at eight.

I realized,
from a historical perspective,

this was gonna be important.

[printer whirring]

They finished it.

They got it in.

I think she didn't know

how it would turn
out at that point.

- [Dr. Bluford] I was a kid

out of the inner city
of Philadelphia,

Air Force officer who wanted
to be an aerospace engineer.

January of '78,
I was driving to work,

and I heard on the radio

that NASA had selected
35 astronauts.

I was curious at who those
people were, you know.

- [Maj. Gregory] I was a pilot

and enjoyed flying airplanes
a lot.

And that's the reason
I was interested

in the space shuttle program,
because it had a wing on it.

- [Dr. Bluford] So
I got to work.

And I was probably in
the office maybe an hour or so

when I got this call
from this strange guy.

[phone rings]

- And I thought, "Oh my
goodness, okay.

This is the, you know,
this is the call." [laughs]

Mr. Abbi gets on the phone
and he says, "Fred."

I said, "Yes, sir."

He says,

"You're still interested
in this job down here?"

I said, "Yes." [laughs]

And he says, "You've--okay,
you've been selected

to be in this first class,

but you can't tell anybody
until noon."

And this was like 7:30
in the morning.

I think I kept my word
for five minutes.

And I... [laughs]

- [Nichols] One day,
on television,

it came on as news.

- [Reporter] 35 people
were ultimately chosen

to become astronauts.

- [Nichols] They mentioned
my name,

and my son came running to me

and said, "Mom, Mom, come quick!

Your--your people
are on television."

And I said, "Wha--?" I think
he's talking about my TV show.

And I said, "Of course
we're on TV, darling."

He says, "No, no, no!

Uh, uh. Your people that go up."
[laughs]

And I came running, and
I saw and there they were.

[camera shutter clicking]

Well, this might sound
a little corny,

but it felt like my children.

And my heart, it pounded,

and I knew the world will
never be the same again.

We would go on to great heights.

And to think that...

I had the slightest thing
to do with it...

♪

[sighs]

makes me know that all
things good are possible.

♪

- In '78, we got together
for the first time

in February of '78.

- When I saw the picture of us,
to me, that looked like

a very representative
group of Americans.

And so from my point of view,

I saw brothers and sisters
up there on that platform.

- We had six women.

I got to meet Fred Gregory,
and I got to meet Ron McNair.

- Ron was actually impressed
and--and encouraged

to come into the space program

due to the work that
Nichelle did

in traveling
around the country

and trying to help
recruit for NASA.

The difference that
Nichelle played

was the fact that
she--she helped to make it real,

to make it a true possibility
for him.

- [McNair] Times have changed
to the point where a black man

can enter areas
that were heretofore,

some sorta--you might say,
prohibited.

- [Interviewer] Do you feel
that three is an adequate number

at this point in time?

- Well, certainly, I don't
feel three is adequate.

I think as many as you can
get in, but a three is a start.

Let's do it.

- The first United States space
shuttle was rolled out today

from Palmdale, California,
in the Mojave Desert.

- [Announcer] President Ford
may indeed be a fan

of the showStar Trek.

When he was asked to approve

the name of the first
American space shuttle craft,

the President chose the name
The Enterprise.

- That was the first time
the crew

was actually sort of
featured along with NASA

in--in--in a public story.

- We were absolutely thrilled.

There was the band there,
and they started to play a tune.

♪

It was the opening tune from
the Star TrekTV series.

- And around a corner,
a truck came into view

and it was towing this huge,
enormous thing

that I had never seen
the likes of which before.

And across the nose of
the ship, it said Enterprise.

And we just burst into cheers.

I think we came close
to tears, actually.

- It was an exciting

and deeply, profoundly
moving experience for us.

- [Koenig] We felt like,
goodness,

we really are a part of
something that is real,

that is important, that is
not science fiction alone.

♪

- [man] Incoming.

- [man 2] Doors opened and
they're all down. Comin' down.

Touchdown here.

[indistinct radio chatter]

Four, three, two, drop.

- [man 3] Hey, that was great.

♪

[lights thunking]

- [Maj. Gregory] I was part of
the launch team

for the first launch.

- [man] T minus ten, nine,
eight, seven,

six, five, four.

Go for main engine start.

[engines roaring]

[birds squawking]

- [Maj. Gregory] We were all
used to Saturns.

And I can remember when the
shuttle came out of the cloud

for the first time,
it was so short and stubby

that I thought maybe the real
one was gonna come back up

and come out later.

♪

- And after we got through
maybe STS two or three,

there was a lot of
pressure going on

as to when are you gonna fly
the first woman in space.

- Well, you helped bring
the women into the program then.

What--how do you feel they're
going to do in this man's world?

- I think it's not
a man's world.

- [Announcer] The six
women astronauts chosen

were Dr. Sally Ride,
Dr. Judith Resnik,

Dr. Kathy Sullivan,
Anna Fisher, Rhea Seddon,

and Dr. Shannon Lucid.

- I wanna get up as
soon as I can.

So that means that I'd like
to be the first woman up.

- How does it feel to realize

that you are going to become

a footnote in history

and a trivia question
subject forever?

- Gosh, that's quite an honor.

I was, I have to admit,
not prepared

for all the attention
that I received.

- Please welcome Sally Ride.

- Sally Ride's flight aboard
STS-7 in 1983

uh, was a moment where there
were people lined up

across Florida highways and
around Kennedy Space Center

with signs that said,
"Ride Sally Ride."

♪

[engines roaring]

- John Young, head of
the astronaut office,

came up and said, "Hey,
George wants to talk to you.

Go over to his office at 10:30."

I sort of said to myself,

"Oh, I wonder what I did wrong,"
you know.

And we were waiting
outside his office, and

we all came in and
we sat down around his table.

And George said,
in a very humbling way,

"You know, I need
somebody to fly on STS-8.

Do you wanna, do you
guys wanna fly for STS-8?"

Yeah!

♪

- The flights of those
as the firsts

were both moments of
extraordinary pressure

on the individual who had
the burden and the opportunity

of being the first to do
something so significant,

um, but they were also, I think,

met with a lot of
public enthusiasm.

- [Dr. Bluford] Well, one,
I was pleased

to be selected to be, uh,
to fly on STS-8

and to recognize that I would be
opening the doors

for other African Americans
who would be flying in space.

- [Mission Control]
Challenger,

the President is on the line.

- [Reagan] Guys,
congratulations.

You, I think, are paving
the way for many others,

and you're making it
plain that

we are in an era
of brotherhood.

I can't help but
express my gratitude.

[crowd applauding]

- [Maj. Gregory] The press
loved it.

"Well, what's it feel like
being the only?

Well what's it feel like
starting

or breaking the glass barrier?"

You could not have found
a better selected group.

- My sister, Judy Resnik,
was a scientist

and found the ultimate job
as an astronaut,

being the second American
woman to go into space.

Nichelle should be proud
of what she did

in her part in recruiting
Judy and others

because she gave them
the opportunity

to do exactly what
they wanted to do.

- [Dr. Joels] The importance

and the historical
significance

of Nichelle's efforts
with NASA

is probably best summarized

by the moment where
she was given

the Public Service Award.

♪

It was Judy that actually

presented the medal
to Nichelle.

And she and Judy
were--were close.

And she always
appreciated the fact

that they had stayed close
after the recruitment.

- When I got in the Orbiter
in the Challenger

from my first mission,

I was--went in there
actually pretty cocky.

I would say that we were 90 to
95 percent aware of what it was

that we were gonna see
and experience.

But they left out
the five percent or 10 percent,

and that was
the actual experience.

[engines roaring]

When the main engine started
and we looked out the window

and the Orbiter tipped,
we called it a plane,

and when it came back in zero
and the solids ignited,

there was no doubt you were
going someplace really fast.

And it shook and rattled

and I said
it was something like

an old wooden rollercoaster.

And by this time,
we are screaming.

At two minutes after liftoff,

those solid rockets have
burned all of their fuel

and they have blown away
from the tank.

And you see the flash
through the windows,

and suddenly that rattle,
that shake, rattle and roll,

goes into just a very,
like an electric motor.

Now you're accelerating,

but you just begin
to feel it in your chest,

and it just gets more
and more.

At about a minute or so
before main engine cutoff

and when you've reached
orbital velocity,

you have a steady three Gs
and everybody is going...

[panting]

At about eight and a half
minutes, which is all the time

it takes to get to space,
main engines cut off...

[ship clanking]

...and you go immediately
from three Gs to zero Gs.

And your arms just
float up like this,

and any debris just
floats around like this.

And then you're in space.

And you look out the window
for the first time

and you see the Earth
beneath you,

this beautiful blue marble.

♪

You go around the world
in a hour and a half,

every 90 minutes.

You know, your whole concept of
neighbors changes, you know.

A neighbor that you walk
to might take five minutes.

In five minutes, you're across
the Atlantic Ocean.

Your concept of
who a friend is, an enemy,

your concept of faith,
all of these things change

when you have the privilege
and honor

to do something like that.

And you know, from
the political point of view,

I wish we could send
politicians up there

and they realize that
what we're talking about

is people in the world
down here

as opposed to
factions of this,

and I think it would have
fantastic influence on them

as they make decisions.

It all makes sense when you--
when you look at it

from--from the space point.

So this was just my first,
you know,

my--like my first five minutes
on my first mission.

It just makes you come
home and just go wow.

♪

- By the time we flew the 24th
flight of the space shuttle,

Charlie, Franklin, and I were
the rookies on that flight.

- [Reporter] Florida
Congressman Bill Nelson

is the second
congressional observer

to fly on the shuttle.

- It so happened that our
CAPCOM was Fred Gregory.

So after four tries
to get off the ground,

four scrubs over
the better part of a month,

the first time that two
shuttles were on the pad,

on the fifth try, we launched.

Eight and a half minutes
later, we were in space.

The first words coming
from Fred Gregory was,

"Welcome to space, rookies."

- [woman breathing heavily]
- [birds chirping]

It's now just 10 days after
we've returned to Earth.

A Challenger has been
sitting on the other pad

because we were so late
getting off the pad

with all of those scrubs.

- [woman breathing heavily]
- [heart thumping]

- It was a cold day,
end of January.

- [Reporter] Some of
the icicles

which have built up on the--

- [Maj. Gregory] I was
the lead CAPCOM.

Uh, the--all of the CAPCOMs
work for me.

- I had a friend had
come into town,

was staying at my house,

and I had gone for
my morning walk.

[indistinct radio chatter]

- [Reporter] Countdown
going very smoothly

here at the Kennedy
Space Center.

Uh, all of the crew members

are onboard the Orbiter
Challenger now.

♪

- [woman breathing heavily]
- [heart thumping]

[machinery whirring]

- [man] T minus 10,
nine, eight, seven, six.

We have main engine.

[engine roaring]

Four, three, two, one.

And liftoff.

Liftoff of the 25th
space shuttle mission

and it has cleared the tower.

- [Maj. Gregory]
The Challenger lifted off.

Everything looked great.

After the 10-second rise,

the Orbiter rolls over
on its back

and begins this--this trip out
over the Atlantic Ocean.

And the commander of
the mission will say,

"Roll program, Houston,"

and the CAPCOM will say,
"Roger, roll."

So that's the first
conversation that occurs

between mission control in
Houston and the Orbiter.

- [Commander] Roll program.

- Roger, roll, Challenger.

- And then the next thing
that occurs

is as we go through
the speed of sound mach one,

the main engines
throttle back.

But then when we get through
mach one,

we'd go back to 100 percent
and it's throttle up.

- [Mission Control]
Challenger,

go with throttle up.

- And it was right after that,
at 71 seconds, that suddenly...

[indistinct radio chatter]

[explosion]

...it disappeared.

♪

- [man] Flight controllers
here looking very carefully

at the situation,

obviously a major malfunction.

- [Nichols] It was like
part of your family,

hearing something happen

to a member of your--
your family.

[sighs]

Um...

And--and we have to deal with
it.

Judy Resnik was...

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

♪

- [Interviewer] You wanna
take a little break, Nichelle?

- I was thinking yes,

but we owe to Judy Resnik
and her like kind

the blessing that God

meant for her.

[sobbing] I can't do it.

I'm sorry.

- [Interviewer] It's okay.

Stop.
- [man] Stop.

- [Sen. Nelson] Everybody
was gone.

It's still tough.

And I said to myself,

"Why were we spared?"

Because we had been through
so many near misses.

- And perhaps we've forgotten
the courage it took

for the crew of the shuttle.

But they,
the Challenger Seven,

were aware of the dangers

and overcame them and
did their jobs brilliantly.

- Three of her recruits,

um, Ron McNair,

Ellison Onizuka,

and Judith Resnik,

um, all passed away
in that one mission,

and that was a very
painful experience for her

at that point.

- It caught everybody
such by surprise

that it really kinda
shook your faith

in human nature a little bit,
in your ability

to actually do the things
and command the things

and master the things that

you have to do
for space flight.

- [man] Okay, everybody,
start pulling it together.

- [Dr. Phillis] Because
you think about your friends,

you know, I think about
the conversation that I had

with my friend, Ron about,

"Hey, we're gonna form
a business together."

And I used to jokingly say,

"Well, would it be
Phillips McNair,

or would it be
McNair Phillips?"

So who's the most important,
you know.

We used to joke about that.

But I knew Ron's family
and you think,

wow, you multiply that
sense of loss

over the number of families
that were affected.

When there are people
involved, it gets tough.

♪

- [man] Ladies and gentlemen,

I'd like to introduce
the Vice President, Mr. Bush.

- When George Bush came to
visit us in the crew quarters--

- Thank you very much.

And I'm now gonna go
pay my respects to the families.

- [Scobee Fulgham] My mom
stepped forward and just said,

"Please don't let this
end the space program

because this meant so much
to our loved ones.

Please keep going."

- The crew of the space
shuttle Challenger

honored us with the manner
in which they lived their lives.

We will never forget them

nor the last time we saw them
this morning

as they prepared for their
journey and waved goodbye

and slipped
the surly bonds of earth

to touch the face of God.

Nothing ends here.

Our hopes and
our journeys continue.

- There's a progression of
shock and grief immediately.

And you have to get through
that before you get on with,

okay, we're gonna fix it
and get on with the program.

- I was privileged to have
an opportunity

to go over to
the safety division

at the Johnson Space Center

and become
the Director of Safety.

And my primary responsibility
was to oversee

the return to flight from
a safety perspective.

And so that became my charge

for the next two years
after the accident.

- I wanted--I made a commitment
to the people on the Challenger

that I would, you know,
stay there

to make sure that
we returned to flight.

- I always have optimism

because I only know that
if something is not right,

you can change it.

- Let's not kid ourselves

that there is no potential
danger in this!

- Do you wish that
the first Apollo mission

hadn't reached the moon, or
that we hadn't gone on to Mars

and then to the nearest star?

Dr. McCoy is right

in pointing out
the enormous danger potential.

But I must point out that
the possibilities, the potential

for knowledge and
advancement is equally great!

♪

Risk,

risk is our business.

That's what this starship
is all about.

- [man] We are confident
we will launch

and come back safely.

But there are no guarantees
associated with that

and there can't be.

The only way you can
guarantee that much safety

is to never launch.

[engines roaring]

- [Mission Control] We have
main engine start.

Three, two, one.

- [man] We have liftoff!

Liftoff!
America's return to space!

♪

- [man 2] Roger roll,
Discovery.

[indistinct radio chatter]

- [Hauck] Today, up here
where the blue sky

turns to black,
we can say at long last,

dear friends,
your spirit and your dream

are still alive in our hearts.

It sure does feel good to see

the Challenger mission
continue

and America back in space.

♪

- [woman] Children, this is
the Air and Space Museum.

Now, have a good time
and use your imagination.

[children]
♪ Then I travel out in space

♪ Exploring the whole galaxy

- [Nichols] I have always been
involved with young people,

and I've always been invited
to talk to young people

about stay in school
and this kind of thing.

Suddenly, I had something
wonderful to talk to them about,

their future.

[beam whirring]

- Ms. Nichols has kept up,

over especially the last
10 or 20 years,

a busy and active
schedule of outreach,

and she has had a wonderful
relationship with NASA.

- I'm Nichelle Nichols.

I'm Nichelle Nichols.

I'm Nichelle Nichols.

I'm Nichelle Nichols.

I'm Nichelle Nichols.

♪

- [Dr. Ellenbogen] I've
actually spent a lot of time

studying the evolution
of science education

in the United States
after Sputnik.

And to find out that
Nichelle Nichols actually formed

one of the early companies,
was the first woman

to run a STEM education
company like that

in an era when there were
so many things going on

to transform STEM education
in the United States,

uh, that was a great shock
to me.

[gasps]

♪

[beam whirring]

[crowd cheering]

- [Whoopi] How are you doing?

[speaks indistinctly]

- [Whoopi] Yeah, it's just me.

- You are--

- No, no, no, this is about you.

[crowd laughs]

Let's just talk about what
you've done for women.

- [Col. Collins] Well, I can
tell you a li--a little story.

The--the director of
Johnson Space Center

called me up to his office,
told me I was gonna be

the first woman space
shuttle commander,

"The reason I'm talking to you

is the First Lady of
the United States

would like to announce
your mission

at the White House on Monday,"
which was three days away,

"Make some remarks from
the White House," so. [chuckles]

- In December 1998, when
the Shuttle Columbia takes off,

Colonel Eileen Collins will take
one big step forward for women

and one giant leap for humanity.

[crowd applauds]

- Dr. Mae Jemison,
the first woman African American

to become an astronaut,

directly credits
Nichelle Nichols's campaign

with her decision
to become an astronaut.

- I was very much
a Star Trekfan.

And then to finish the whole
story off and go full circle,

I appeared on Star Trek.
[chuckles]

Phase distortion is dropping.

The next transport window
opens in 42 seconds.

- I admired her so much.

And we fortunately became
very, very good friends

and still are today.

- My mom and dad told me,

"One day, you too can be
President of the United States."

I knew that was crap,
uh, you know,

'cause I hadn't seen
a--a black president.

And--and it was sort of
like, okay, yeah, right.

I would have said no way
in the world

I'm gonna be an astronaut,
no way in the world

I will end up being
the NASA administrator

appointed by a black president
of the United States.

- Who turned out to be a fan.
[laughs]

So it wasn't me trying
to meet the President.

The President said,

"I'm in a position to meet
anybody I want.

I wanna meet Nichelle Nichols."

And I was like, "Oh my God."

It was wonderful.

- I hope that people
continue to thank Ms. Nichols

for helping African-Americans
and for helping women

in their pursuits of what
we would now call STEM fields.

- STEM stands for science,
technology,

engineering, and mathematics.

It's a convenient moniker
for something that is vital

to the future of
the human race overall.

- Having men, women,
different ethnicities

all as astronauts

and hearing about
their journeys going to space

really made an impact
on me as a little girl

and really taught me that
it doesn't matter what,

whether you're male, female,
or what race you are.

Anyone can go to space.

Space is for everyone.

- Today, I'm pleased to announce
that NASA has selected

America's next generation
of space explorers.

- Today, astronaut classes
are more equally balanced,

and they include
both women and men,

much like the diversity

on the bridge of
the Starship Enterprise.

♪

- [Nichols] I was at
the last launching

of the space shuttle.

It's like visiting family.

They know you.

You know them.

You don't see your family
all the time.

[laughter]

Being at a launch
is like the rarest thing

that you can think of that
you would enjoy the most.

- [Announcer] Two, one, zero,
and liftoff!

The final liftoff of Atlantis.

[engines roaring]

♪

- [man] Houston
now controlling

the flight of Atlantis.

The space shuttle spreads
its wings one final time.

♪

- [Maj. Bolden] I have been
with the shuttle

from almost
its very first day.

And--and I can remember
sitting with her a few times,

uh, sharing tears as
we recognize the fact

that we were about to
bring down the curtain

on something that had
been absolutely incredible

in fulfilling a dream
that she had

for making space
available for all people.

[sonic booms]

♪

- [Announcer] Piercing
the predawn sky

as the space shuttle announces
its arrival at the launch site

with its signature sound
of twin sonic booms.

The space shuttle pulls into
port for the last time,

its voyage at an end.

- [Maj. Bolden] Everybody
thinks about the space shuttle

as this incredible
feat of technology.

I believe that the shuttle's
legacy forever will be

the fact that it opened up
the world of space exploration

in a way that I don't
think many of us,

short of Nichelle Nichols,
had dreamed.

- The space program
will go on and on and on

because our space program
is our future.

We haven't even begun to begin.

♪

- It's very easy to look
along a path

that someone else has taken.

It's a very different thing

when you're trying to do it
alone the very first time.

Without people like
Nichelle Nichols,

a lot of us would
not have been able to follow

those extraordinary footsteps.

- We can come together

and be what Dr. King called
the beloved community.

We're one people.

We're one family.

We all must learn
to live together

on this little piece of
real estate we call Earth,

on this little planet.

- I think in the
not-too-distant future,

things are really, really,
really gonna change.

- What is a change in society?

A change is you cannot
even imagine a world

any other way.

That's when you know
you've really changed.

- Human mind power and
the best of the best

is...is essential to
the exploration of space.

- Space flight is for
philosophical reasons.

It's for answering
the big questions.

It's what's out there,

and what is
humanity's place there.

- Space is not
the final frontier.

The final frontier
is the human soul.

Space is where we can
meet the challenge.

- That's the mission.

It's up to the greatness in us.

Mindful of our fallibility

and with knowledge
of that fallibility,

try to prepare for
those issues to come up

as we push forward,

boldly go where no one
has gone before.

- This is your NASA, a space
agency embarked on a mission

to improve the quality of life
on planet Earth right now.

- What a public service Nichelle
rendered for this country.

- It is so inspiring for
our sons and daughters

to learn from the examples
of Nichelle Nichols

as a testament as to what
one person can do

when they believe in
the spirit of diversity

and the betterment for
all of our children.

- All I can do is think
of Nichelle Nichols

as a force of nature
unto herself.

- Nichelle Nichols,
Lieutenant Uhura

has and will always be
a woman in motion.

- She went into it
to be an actress.

She ended up changing the world.

♪

♪

- [Nichols] Long before
they hired me,

I said if they let me
in the door,

I will open it so wide,
they will see the world.

And to know that
I had really touched

the future by
changing the present,

by just believing and being me

and saying we have--
we have lifted off

and we'll never be
earth-bound again,

and suddenly, there I was,
doing exactly what I fantasized.

It became a reality.

- [Miles] Whoo, cut.

[tone beeps]

♪

♪

- [recording engineer]
Nichelle Nichols,

"Fly Me to the Moon."

♪

♪ Fly me to the moon

♪ And let me play
among the stars ♪

♪ Let me see what
spring is like ♪

♪ On Jupiter and Mars

♪ In other words

♪ Hold my hand

♪ In other words

♪ Baby, kiss me

♪ Fill my heart with song

♪ And let me sing forevermore

♪ You are all I long for

♪ All I worship and adore

♪ In other words

♪ Please be true

♪ In other words

♪ I love you

♪ Bay-baby

♪ Ba ba boo dee

♪ Fill my heart with song

♪ Let me sing forevermore

♪ You are all I long for

♪ All I worship and adore

♪ In other words

♪ Please be true

♪ In other words

♪ In other words

♪ Fill my heart with song

♪ And let me sing forevermore

♪ You are all I long for

♪ All I worship and adore

♪ In other words

♪ Please be true

♪ In other words

♪ I love you

♪ Hey, yeah

[laughs]

- [man over intercom] Wow.
- [group cheering]

- [man 2 over intercom]
Oh, that's gold!

[group applauds]

- [man over intercom] Whoo!

I'm gonna have
you sing me to sleep tonight.

[laughter]

- Okay.

♪

♪