Original subtitles

With a view like this, I don't know why

the capsule isn't made out of glass.

Enjoy it... last spin on the merry-go-Round.

Reentry insertion window minus 21 minutes,

10 seconds.

I made it, Madeline.

Aspire seven, we're reading a little bit of drift.

1.5 degrees per second.

Should I correct it manually?

Negative, we're going to stay fly-by-Wire.

Initiating one pound yaw left thrust.

Looks good...

it's stabilizing.

Say again, control.

I'm getting break up on Broad band h-F.

Roll horizon Scanner's down.

What the hell?

There's some kind of pyrotechnics out there.

It's not coming from the craft.

It's coming towards it.

My god, there's something out there.

It's getting inside.

I've got to abort.

I'm going to reenter.

Switching to Manual.

Firing retros.

That was the last we heard

from aspire seven, on that mission.

Until we regained control, brought you back,

and the drogue chute opened.

It must be very painful to listen to that,

even if it was, what, 38 years ago?

Well, what's painful, colonel... Wayne,

is that after four decades

I'm still having trouble

convincing people of what happened to me.

You've had enough time to think about

what caused you to send your craft spinning out of control.

Looking back, what do you think it was?

I know what it wasn't.

It wasn't what nasa said it could possibly be.

It was not oxygen deprivation, it was not space dementia,

I didn't black out, it was not an epileptic seizure.

The data didn't corroborate your version.

Clearly you have some theory.

Something was trying to reach out to me that day.

Whether it was a friend or foe or another world I do not know.

And if I had not panicked, I might have found out.

That's why it's important I go back up again.

It's the only way any one of us will ever, ever know.

Colonel Harris,

while we'll be selecting one of the original astronauts

for this shuttle flight,

there have been some reservations expressed

about your suitability for this mission.

I'm no spring chicken... I don't claim to be.

But I am in reasonably good health.

I think she was referring to your mental preparedness.

The record does reflect that

you were institutionalized after your original flight.

If enough people call you crazy

it becomes a self-Fulfilling prophecy.

However, that was past history.

I have submitted here

psychological evaluations.

and then there was

the incident where you hacked into a pentagon computer.

I was only looking at my own files.

In fairness to colonel Harris, those charges were dismissed.

Thank you.

One more thing I am curious about.

You indicated this morning

that it is, in your words, "Now or never."

Yes, ma'am.

The planetary alignments during my flight

were virtually the same

as will be in the next scheduled shuttle launch.

They will not be the same

for another 24 years,

at which time I'll be dead and buried, or should be.

So it is "Now or Never."

Uh, well, that... that should do it.

The committee should be making its decision shortly.

Please,

I need to know.

We all need to know.

Thank you, colonel Harris.

Mr. Powers.

How'd it go?

Did they turn him down?

Let's just say you should make room

in your own space flight for one more passenger.

That's fine.

There is nothing wrong with your television.

Do not attempt to adjust the picture.

We are now controlling the transmission.

We control the horizontal

and the vertical.

We can deluge you with a thousand channels

or expand one single image to crystal clarity

and beyond.

We can shape your vision

to anything our imagination can conceive.

For the next hour,

we will control all that you see and hear.

You are about to experience the awe and mystery

which reaches from the deepest inner mind

to the outer limits.

The burden of solitude is a mighty one,

be it a lone voice echoing in the dark,

or the cry of humanity in a desolate universe.

I did everything I could.

Your application will be considered for future flights.

Talk to them again, will you?

You can make them change their mind.

I'm sorry, Ted.

Yes?

Who is it?

Colonel Harris?

Colonel Harris, I wonder if...

No more interviews.

I'm not a reporter.

I represent Carlton powers, powers industries.

Yeah, so?

I understand you want to go back into space.

Come on in.

Our aerospace division

has an orbit capable space plane.

Yeah, xr-141.

No booster, single stage to orbit.

Scheduled to launch in six months.

That's what the press thinks.

We're ready for the inaugural flight now.

And Mr. Powers has extended an invitation for you to be aboard.

You're not jerking my chain?

Excuse me?

You're not jerking me around, are you?

I assure you, this is completely on the up and up.

What do I have to do?

Your tea, Mr. Powers.

Thanks, George, put it there.

I've got to hand it to you, Ted...

Mind if I call you "Ted"?

No.

Guys like you

who squeezed yourself into a tin bucket,

and let them shoot you

into the stratosphere

with computers that could hardly cut it...

That took guts.

Not like these hot shots we have nowadays.

Were you a pilot?

Yes, sir.

Best years of my life.

Matter of fact, some days I'd give up all this

just to hit Mach three in a blackbird.

You know, I'm going to copilot

the maiden flight of the daedalus.

But don't worry.

The damn thing's so automated

that you can't leave the head with your zipper down.

Not to look a gift horse in the mouth,

but why'd you pick me?

You're the real deal, Ted... A mercury astronaut.

I'm billing you as a host lecturer.

I won't lie to you.

This flight is going to make the privatization of space

a reality.

And I learned long ago the value of promotion.

Look at the hoopla surrounding the Glenn flight.

Two of my passengers had their names drawn out of a hat.

Won a contest.

Hell, I'm even taking a reporter along for the ride.

And I'm part of this circus?

You were snubbed by the shuttle committee,

and the controversy surrounding

your original mission...

You can't buy publicity like that.

You know what they say about me?

No worse than they say about me.

Just a lot of damned Fools shooting their mouths off.

I stopped listening to them years ago.

I have a feeling you did the same thing.

And you're willing to launch around my time window?

The bird's ready, you're ready,

I'm ready... Hell, yes.

What do you say we break out something stronger and make it

official?

No, no!

No!

No, no, no!

No, no!

Ahh!

No.

No.

Ahh!

Let's face it, Wayne,

I was the pariah of the mercury program.

The black stain of the project.

Nobody wanted to talk to me after I came back.

Well, I suppose by implication that includes me.

No, you were doing the best thing for the mission.

You were the only one who came to see me

when I was in the rubber room, except for my wife.

You two see each other any more?

Oh, a couple of times since she's gone back to Maryland.

Well.

No, go ahead.

Well, I didn't ask you out just to congratulate you, Ted.

I have something to get off my chest.

That experience that you went through in '63...

what I mean is,

you weren't the only one to go through something

they couldn't explain.

What are you talking about?

Well, I'm not talking the whole nine yards.

Not everything that you saw, but...

I was on my sixth Orbit

just coming up over the subsahara...

and I saw lights

outside the capsule.

And at first I thought it was the straps

burning off the retro-Pack,

but it wasn't.

You said nothing, and you could have changed everything.

I know,

and god knows

it's been weighing on me all these years.

Hey, Buddy.

It's okay, it's okay.

Listen, Ted.

You son of a bitch.

I understand, but the truth is that

I was afraid for my career.

I was afraid that I wouldn't get to suit up again.

Why'd you decide to tell me now?

I think it's important that you know

that somebody else understands

this overpowering urge you have to go back out there.

There's somebody else who needs some answers.

My god, you cut your hand.

Get out of here!

There he is... Mr. Powers, are you trying to show nasa up

by heading into space before the shuttle flight?

Nasa's got the resources

of the entire government behind it.

I'm just a lowly entrepreneur

trying to advance the cause of science.

Some of his colleagues are

claiming that he's delusional.

Does this concern you?

If I had a dollar for every insult hurled at me,

I'd be a richer man.

No, it does not concern me.

Colonel Harris is a man with a mission... So am I.

with all the embracement of cubism,

and his fierce rivalry with picasso,

one would expect even more vigor in his painting.

But the surprise is there is a serenity to this work

that's fairly atypical for this stage

in the artist's life.

Excuse me.

I'll catch up with you in a moment.

Ted.

Madeline, I'm sorry to...

What are you doing here?

I'm sorry to disturb you,

but it's kind of important.

Still doing your volunteer work, huh?

One wants to feel useful.

I guess you heard about my flight.

I've already been approached by the reporters.

Can't say it brings back

fond memories. I know what you mean.

I didn't sleep half the night thinking about what we had

and what we lost.

I can't do this.

Don't get me wrong.

I've given up trying to rehash

what we went through,

what I put you through.

No tears for me, Ted.

I was just another bystander.

You were

a one-Man train wreck.

Remember this?

You gave it to me... You had a premonition

things wouldn't go right.

What is it you want, Ted?

To be just not alone.

I've been in that angry room of mine over 30 years.

This is a chance to break out.

This is a chance to find some answers.

You're going to drive yourself crazy.

All that anguish, confusion...

It's all part of the past.

It's over. Like us.

It didn't happen yesterday.

It was more than 30 years ago.

People change.

I've changed.

I've got to go, Ted.

God speed.

As I told you in the first pre-Flight briefing, uh,

your variable tension Magnetic Boots will hold you

on the deck when we're at zero gs.

So you'll have to forgive me for any

discomfort you might feel.

These god awful unisex outfits I find painful.

Considering what I paid for this ticket,

you could have popped for a designer.

Well, you'll have to forego

the high fashion

for a couple of days, lil.

Now, then,

you all have your own private sleeping quarters,

but if you're like me,

you won't spend much time in the Sack.

Our newlyweds might have

a different idea.

Once we're in orbit we'll be doing

31 laps around the big marble.

We'll be logging three quarters of a million miles

at an average orbital

altitude of 136 miles.

That's about 30 miles short

of your apogee on the mercury.

Couldn't we go to a slightly higher orbit?

The flight plan is pretty tight.

We haven't zeroed out the risk factors,

so we'll stick with the program.

I'll start the pre-Flight checks.

What's the reason for the high orbit, colonel Harris?

I'd just like to

visit the old neighborhood.

Call me a sentimental fool.

I wouldn't be the first, now, would I?

No offense intended.

Mr. Reece is covering our trip for the national scope.

You're paid to be contentious.

What can I say? Rotting Minds want to know.

Strap in.

Launch window begins at 0900.

Well, see you folks in space.

Lock and load.

What?

Put your belt on.

You're not scared, are you?

Relax.

Do you think Carlton Powers would be going up with us

if there was any real danger?

Yeah, I guess you're right.

Nice, deep breaths.

You'll be fine, I promise.

I just keep thinking

about that teacher on challenger.

We're light years ahead of that technology.

Don't worry. Okay.

Roger, daedalus, we read primary fuel tank at 100%.

You're "go" For weather down range.

Fuel cell check complete.

Thruster gyros are 508.

Engines ready to fire.

This is control... Check list complete.

Daedalus, you're still "go."

T-minus 2 minutes and counting.

Tell me you love me, ty.

Of course I love you.

We've got to be the luckiest couple in the world.

You really mean that?

You know how many people entered that contest.

A free trip into space...

What are the odds?

We are moments away

from a whole new era in Private space flight.

t-minus one minute.

There may up to 12 flights over the next three years.

T-minus 30 seconds.

Pulitzer prize minus 6 months and counting.

T-minus ten,

nine, eight,

seven, six,

five, four,

three, two, one, ignition.

Aspire, this is Houston... You're looking good.

Altitude: 36 miles...

daedalus, you are now

at maximum thrust.

You should reach

escape velocity in one minute, 44 seconds.

All systems are performing perfectly.

and we have a successful launch of the maiden flight

of the reusable space plane, the daedalus.

Ladies and gentlemen,

welcome to weightlessness.

You're free to move about the cabin,

as long as you keep your boots on.

I'm back.

Dear god...

I'm back.

It's more beautiful than I ever could have imagined.

Pictures will never do it justice.

Is it just me, or have all

the sci-Fi movies I've seen

made me feel like I've "been there, done that"?

I get the feeling, Martin,

the first words you ever spoke were "ho-hum."

I wouldn't dare share this with my readers,

but entre nous, This isn't outer space... Not really.

It's a high altitude concorde without the flight attendant.

Fortunately, I, uh, brought my own...

Customized for the occasion.

Not that I'd want to dampen anyone's religious experience.

"despair is the scourge of little minds"

Who said that?

I believe I just did.

It beats the hell out of puerto vallarta.

The guys in the office are never going to get over this.

It's, uh, it's humbling.

You can't help but feel so small.

Yeah, I guess.

Congratulations, friends.

We've all just made history.

Space is no longer the province just of big government,

or the chosen elite.

And that's a good thing?

Are you kidding?

Nasa sends a shuttle into space...

Comes back minus $40 million worth of boosters.

Private Enterprise tries

its hand... Comes back with

a fully reusable craft.

Now, you tell me who's got better technology.

I'll reserve judgment till we're back on Terra firma.

It's a matter of priorities.

I've had my differences with nasa, but...

their basic desire is still

to discover, to explore,

and to uncloak the mysteries of space.

Come on, Ted.

They're not about uncovering black holes.

They are the black hole.

I'll put my "R and d" people up against nasa anytime.

You're both making the same assumption.

Uh-huh, what's that?

That science will provide all the answers.

What do you mean?

Take a look out there.

It's a big universe.

It's beyond arrogance to believe

all of this is quantifiable.

That every secret will yield

to the prodding and pushing of eggheads

who wouldn't know a Miracle if it bit them on the asteroid.

Pretty heavy stuff for a woman

who sells cosmetics.

Unless you're talking about the divinity of Miracle cream.

Give it a rest, Martin.

Hey, come on.

I want to show you something.

What?

Come on.

What is it, ty?

Oh, nothing, really.

I just found all that talk kind of Boring.

I was enjoying it.

Really?

I can think of something else

you'd enjoy even more.

Ty, this really isn't the time.

Why not?

No one's going to come in here.

It's time...

to join...

the ultimate...

mile-high club.

See that squall down there?

It's over the cape of good hope.

Talk about your ultimate weather map.

Yeah, we had to fight like hell for a window

in the mercury capsule.

There were those in the agency that felt

that astronauts were merely backup.

Well, maybe we are now.

This automatic pilot will initiate reentry procedures.

Even land if it has to.

What was that?

What?

I thought I saw a flicker of light.

Probably just a reflection off the glass.

Yeah.

Getting enough drift for an attitude correction.

Going Manual.

Roll right 3.8 degrees.

Right yaw Thrust

two seconds.

Nice,

smooth as the small of a woman's back.

Ending Manual control.

Returning to computer flight program.

I remember the night I was selected for the program

like yesterday.

I had a million things on my mind.

Who would go up first? If it was me, how would I react?

How would it change my life?

And then I walked

over to my car... I didn't get in

I looked up, and all of a sudden I saw a bushel of stars.

And I then knew that it was

not a space race, not about politics.

And science and technology was really All about...

all about us.

All about us reaching up

and touching God.

That's pretty corny.

Are you a religious man,

colonel Harris?

Not until then, no.

What about when you went up?

Do you feel like it happened?

Did you touch god?

It was close.

As in "Close encounter"?

You "Saw the light."

It was in All my reports, yeah.

You left off the attribution to mother goose.

Martin!

Just trying to pin him down.

It was pretty muddled

in the official debriefings I read.

It was not an hallucination.

Nasa's psychological evaluations say otherwise.

I've been called everything

from a "nut-Case" to a "cosmic Groupie".

Usually by people terrified that their cozy

Little worlds might not be so cozy after all.

One small step for bi-Polar disorders.

You have all the tact of a charging rhino.

Ted, it's lil.

May I come in?

I wouldn't let that slime bucket Martin get to you.

You know, some people believe

that the whole human race was seeded millions of years ago

by Visitors just waiting patiently for us to mature

before they contact us.

Ted, tell me what you saw back then.

Lights... Beautiful Violet lights.

Where were they coming from?

Everywhere, nowhere... I don't know.

What do you think it was?

They were growing. They were changing.

Into what?

I don't know. They were alive, they...

go ahead, Ted.

You're seeing it

right now, aren't you? No.

No!

What was that?

What the hell's going on?

We just rotated and fired all the aft thrusters.

Take it out of auto.

The computer... It won't let me override.

What's that?

We're heading away from earth.

That's for sure.

How could something like this happen?

Wait, the thrusters are ramping down.

We're rolling into earth orbit again.

You're on a trajectory to level into earth orbit at 166 miles.

You can't break though, Denver?

We've tried everything.

We're locked out. What about rebooting?

We've done it twice.

It doesn't have any effect.

You think it could be a virus?

Nothing we read here.

I don't get it.

This is not the orbit we programmed in.

Not the orbit we thought we programmed in, anyways.

Are you saying it's not a malfunction?

Whatever's overriding the flight

is following strict navigational protocols.

What do we tell the passengers?

No reason to panic them.

Not yet, anyway.

Has anybody noticed that we're

a lot higher than we were before?

I sure as hell am.

We're on a wider orbit.

Did you persuade the pilot to match

your altitude on mercury?

It did it on its own.

So, this is what it was like back in '63?

Less room.

Well, if you spot any space spooks...

you don't know when to quit, do you, Martin?

I've never been much of a quitter.

I've always been good at recognizing them though.

Recognize this, bucko...

The only reason you cut people up

with that tongue of yours is because you're afraid.

You've lost hope, noble scrivener.

You're afraid that what might be out there is out there.

I saw it... it is.

We've established that.

I saw something that no man was supposed to see.

Like Dorothy pulling back the curtain on the wizard.

So now we follow the yellow brick Road?

Don't treat her like that.

Don't treat her like some hollow, plastic doll.

And don't mistake her compliance for weakness or stupidity.

Treat her with respect.

What is it?

I feel dizzy.

It is getting stuffy in here.

Oxygen levels are dropping.

Can you Crank them up?

Nothing.

Mr. Powers, please,

we need your help.

Be right there.

There's not enough air in here.

Get me the emergency o-2.

Give her some room.

Come on, honey.

Breathe.

Oh, good, she's coming around.

Where's colonel Harris?

It's locked.

How could it be?

Colonel Harris?

Ted?

Ted, are you there?

Ted, talk to me.

Ted, I need to talk to you now.

You don't have to do this.

We can talk about it, just open the Hatch.

Damn.

Are we rolling?

We sure as hell are.

Lil, you try.

166 miles orbit.

Do you remember that figure?

Exactly aspire Seven's apogee.

Now we know what took over the autopilot.

You invite a lunatic onboard

and now he's flying the damn plane?

Ted, can you hear me?

You've got to open up.

Yeah, we're almost... almost there.

Almost where?

Bypass the lock.

Try the redundant system.

No, no, no, no! We're almost there.

No, no, no! Ahh!

I got him.

My god.

What?

Our navigation program.

He substituted his own.

That's why the reboots failed.

Get that disk back in the nav system and boot it up.

I hope we're not too late.

Sir, if anybody is hurt

by your irresponsible behavior, I guarantee

I'll prosecute you to hell and back.

Once we get the program on line, everything's going to be okay.

We're all going to die, aren't we?

Nobody is going to die!

What's happening, ty?

This is insane.

We never should have gone for something like this.

I should have trusted my instincts.

I would have been happy on a beach in mexico.

What about what I wanted?

Or doesn't that count?

Pumping oxygen to all cabins.

You know we were only a couple of minutes from his destination,

whatever that was.

I wonder what he's hoping to find.

The man's pathological.

You're not suggesting we hang around to find out?

No.

The attitude control fuel is at 20 percent.

We can't risk it.

Let's turn this baby around.

Firing right yaw thrust.

On my count.

Three, two,

one.

They're dropping down to a lower orbit.

This is my last chance.

Lil, if there is any part of you

that believes in what I am saying,

you've got to help me.

I don't know what I believe.

You've got to help me.

Cut me loose.

Please, help me!

We are back in the driver's seat, Denver.

You're "go" For primary coordinates.

Amen.

What is it?

Somebody just entered the air lock.

Where's Harris?

Patch me through.

Ted, I know you're upset.

Please don't do anything Rash.

No one needs to know what happened up here.

I'll stand by you, I swear.

My god.

There's no tether.

He came all the way up here to kill himself.

Oh, my god.

Major Sullivan,

Patch colonel Harris into the main cabin.

Daedalus... Daedalus, do you read?

We hear you, colonel.

This was my choice.

I'll never have the chance again.

I'm coming to get you.

No, look at your truster fuel.

You can't risk it.

Ted,

can you hear me?

Yes.

You've got to come back.

It's all right.

You did the right thing.

Tell Madeline that...

that I love her...

That I never stopped Loving her.

Will you do that for me, lil?

I promise.

I'm not alone.

For the first time, I'm not alone.

I know that doesn't make

any sense.

But I'm sure of it.

He's becoming delirious.

Oxygen deprivation.

Oh, my god!

They've come back.

They were waiting for me all the time.

What's that?

We have nothing to fear from them.

I have nothing to fear from them.

It's amazing.

It's wonderful.

They're all around him, everywhere.

I understand.

I understand.

Understand what?

Ted, we want to know.

We need to know.

They were only sent to watch.

They never meant to interfere.

It's a gift.

They're giving me a chance.

Another chance.

Welcome home, colonel Harris.

I'm alive.

Of course you're alive.

It was a perfect flight.

Take it easy.

We're going to get you out of there, okay?

What's the date?

It's September 16th.

No, the year.

What year is it?

It's 1963.

What did you expect?

It's only been

a day and a half.

Madeline... My wife.

She's waiting on the Carrier, sir.

Beautiful woman, your wife.

You're a lucky man.

Yes, I know.

I finally know.

Our lives are defined

by our choices...

Paths taken, worlds explored...

But once we commit, we can never go back and choose again.

Or can we?

Captioning performed by

Western captioning service ltd. Vancouver, B.C. 1999