From the Earth to the Moon (1998): Season 1, Episode 9 - For Miles and Miles - full transcript
Ten years after becoming the first American in space Alan Shepard battles back from health problems to command the Apollo 14 mission.
[John F. Kennedy]
We choose to go to the moon.
We choose to go to the moon.
We choose to go to the moon
in this decade and do the other things,
not because they are easy,
but because they are hard.
[man on radio] Look at that.
That's beautiful.
It's got to be one of the most proud
moments of my life. I guarantee you.
[man] With a flight
that lasted just 15 minutes,
Alan Shepard became
America's first astronaut.
In a parabolic suborbital arc,
his tiny Mercury spacecraft climbed
to an altitude of just 116 miles.
He experienced
only about four minutes of zero gravity,
couldn't see where he was going because
there was no forward-facing window,
and he splashed down just 302 miles
from where he had started.
Those 15 minutes
in the spring of 1961 were just a taste
of other longer flights America's
first astronaut planned on making.
But as fate would have it, Alan Shepard
would spend his next ten years wondering
if those 15 minutes
were all he was allowed
in humankind's voyage
from the Earth to the moon.
They should give you a manual
for this thing.
Damn thing.
Where on earth did you get that thing?
- You're getting old, boy.
- Stop messing with that thing.
I ain't gonna take
no damn picture anyway.
- Come on, take a picture for him.
- I'm not gonna take a picture.
Just take a picture, Bud, all right?
I promised my boy.
They probably ain't gonna bring him
nowhere near here.
No. Mr. Taylor said
that we could meet him.
Mr. Taylor told you that, did he?
Yes, he did. He wouldn't lie about that.
He's a straight-up guy.
If you ask me, Shepard's flight
wasn't such a big deal anyway.
Uh-oh!
Just a few more guys to meet and greet,
then I promise it's all business.
- More hands to shake?
- You should be used to it by now.
- I mean, he didn't orbit.
- That's right. He's right about that.
It was just like that monkey.
Well, all I know is he was first.
These gentlemen are our drillers.
Okey dokey.
[man] Hey, boys. How's it going?
- [man 2] Hey, Mr. Taylor.
- Hey, how are you?
Like for you to meet Alan B. Shepard,
our first astronaut in space.
- It's a pleasure.
- What's your name?
- It's Bud, sir.
- How are you?
It's a real honor to meet you.
My boy thinks the world of you.
All right.
How are you? Good to meet you.
You boys are working, huh?
- Yes, sir.
- Hot one, eh?
- Okay. Good to meet you.
- Good to meet you.
Finally give you a chance
to see what your money's buying.
- Hopefully oil.
- Commander Shepard.
Hey, is it true that you're gonna
command the first Gemini mission?
I'm sure whatever NASA's plans are,
they'll be announcing them soon.
Hey, maybe you'll be
first to the moon too.
I'm the best pilot they got.
[laughter]
I wouldn't bet against him
if I were you.
- Commander, could I get a picture?
- All right, guys. No more questions.
The man did come here for a reason.
[Alan] Okay, Ben,
what is this test we're gonna be doing?
We have a crew to check
for hydrocarbons in the well
which gives us a rough
idea of its potential.
They have a probe they'll be lowering
down to take a look at...
[voice fades]
[Taylor] Hey, you all right, Al?
[gags, groans]
I'm all right.
- Come on.
- [groans]
- Somebody get a doctor!
- [retches]
Charlie.
[clicks]
[man] Guess I'll have to learn
to fly left-handed.
God, I wish we'd had this
translational control on Mercury.
- Now you got a real window.
- Yeah.
Okay, here is the O2 high-rate recheck.
Whose job is that?
- I think that would be my function.
- Yes, sir. Good.
- This is a beautiful craft.
- Yes, sir.
I gotta go to the head.
Stepping out, boys.
Need you to log out as usual, Al.
Hey.
[water runs]
That son of a bitch
is like a little sports car.
- A little two-seater.
- Yeah. It's nice.
What's on your mind, Tom?
You sure have been
going to the head a lot lately.
I'm on a diuretic.
- You're taking medication?
- Yeah. I've had a couple dizzy spells.
I think it's a viral infection
in my ear.
- Flight surgeons know?
- Yeah.
Wow. Okay. They sure it's a virus?
I mean, is there a chance
they could ground you?
Tom, they don't know yet.
Uh... I've got some tests
I gotta do on Monday.
Just keep a lid on it until then, okay?
Okay. I mean, it's just, you know,
Deke doesn't want to split up the crews.
- I know.
- So if you were out, I could be out too.
I know.
[man] "Flight surgeon's report.
Patient: Shepard, Alan B.
Date: June 10, 1963.
Symptoms: hearing loss
and ringing in right ear,
occasional attacks
of extreme nausea and vertigo.
Diagnosis: excess fluid in inner ear
caused by Ménière's disease.
Flight surgeon's recommendation:
Immediate removal
from active flight status
"for all NASA air and spacecraft."
I'd like to start
by introducing the prime crew
for the first manned Gemini flight,
which will consist
of Virgil I. Grissom, command pilot,
and John W. Young, second pilot.
- Hi, Deke.
- As many of you may have surmised,
the big element
in the choice of Gus Grissom
for the command pilot of the prime crew
is of course the fact that he is
the astronaut who has been assigned...
Well, congratulations.
- On what?
- On your new status.
- I hear you can fly jets again.
- Yeah. With a copilot.
[laughs]
I never have trouble finding one.
These new guys all need stick time.
That's great.
They're not gonna let
you and I fly together.
- Nope.
- I asked them.
I know. You heard what they said, right?
Yeah.
"Two half pilots don't make a whole."
[laughter]
- You believe that?
- Oh, shit.
So you thought any more about the job?
Yeah.
Yeah, I... I'm thinking about it.
Come on, Al. Not that bad.
You get to be an arrogant son of a bitch
and boss everybody around. It's fun.
Yeah, well, that's why
you're such a great boss, Deke.
Well, it wasn't exactly my first choice,
you know?
And if you recall,
it wasn't exactly my idea either.
So now you're paying me back?
No. I'm doing exactly what you did.
I see a need.
I know the right man for the job.
I go after him.
So happens he's available.
We have high hopes of flying
by the end of the year.
These are milestones
that have to be satisfactorily met.
All right. [sighs]
All right.
[Cernan] Come on, Al, you remember
what it was like back in your day,
back in the days of Mercury.
Anyway, I only answered one question.
The guy cornered me at my house.
This Houston Chronicle reporter
cornered me. What am I gonna tell him?
Tell him you don't talk to the press
without your boss's approval, period.
You let us decide
what's good for the program, Gene.
Even if he's just fact-checking a story?
If you want to do a PR thing, I'll be
glad to take you out of the rotation.
That's fine. We could use a PR guy.
Jackie Gleason's a friend of mine.
We play golf.
Maybe I could get you on his show.
You could do a musical number
with the June Taylor Dancers.
- You'd like that?
- No, no, no.
We could get a pressure suit.
They could fly you in.
No. I'm just enthusiastic
about the program.
I know you're enthusiastic.
And we love that about you.
You haven't been here that long.
Am I right?
You love to talk, Gene.
You have a problem with that,
you know that?
You talk to the wrong people.
Didn't you get enough attention
as a child?
Stu.
This isn't the first time.
- You know what? I can come back.
- Stu, are you flying to the Cape Friday?
Yeah. Why?
[not audible]
Let's go.
I'm good, Al. How are you?
[Alan] Okay, let me guess.
Labyrinthine reactions
indicated by nystagmus
accompanied by continued tinnitus
suggest abnormal
endolymphatic fluid pressure
on the semicircular canal and cochlea.
Got it?
[laughter]
- [Alan] Hey, hey.
- [laughter]
Your mother said to save the dog.
Oh, Dad, I hope you have
a good time tonight.
- I wish I could go.
- You do?
No, you don't.
- Yeah.
- It's not gonna be any fun.
- I do, though.
- I want to go.
Why would you want to go
when I don't want to go?
Picasso, you don't want to go, do you?
- [dog barks]
- [girls laugh]
- Good night.
- Night.
- Want me to drive?
- No, I got it.
[engine starts]
[high-pitched whine]
[man]
May 5, 1961, the beginning of a new era.
[laughter]
[laughter]
[laughter and applause]
A. Bartlett Shepard's destiny
was first recognized
in a secluded field not far from home.
Soon after, Alan B. Shepard, Jr.
answered his country's call
and volunteered his talents
as a naval aviator.
[laughter]
In this capacity, he sallied forth
on mission after mission.
Onward to the fledgling space program,
- where only two had gone before.
- [laughter]
Fellow pioneers into the unknown...
Ham and Enos.
[laughter fades]
[laughter faintly audible]
This would be his legacy.
[applause]
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,
I'm Deke Slayton,
the only astronaut who's been in space
for less time than Alan Shepard.
[laughter]
[Deke chuckles]
[clears throat] Alan Shepard may only
have flown in space for 15 minutes,
but he's given this program seven years
of commitment and expertise.
And it gives me great pleasure
to introduce a great pilot
and a great astronaut and a good friend,
Mr. Alan B. Shepard, Jr.
- Okay, Al, baby, you're on.
- [applause]
- Schirra had nothing to do with this?
- I wouldn't think.
- Thank you all very much for...
- [camera pops]
- That's it, gentlemen.
- Come on.
- Oh!
- [laughter]
- No, thank you.
- No, sir.
Come on back. There's still liquor left.
I've never known the brass
to walk away from free liquor.
- [laughter]
- Well, in that case!
Maybe one.
No, seriously,
I want to say thank you for this.
It's...
It's been an honor and a great privilege
to be able to serve my country
working with all of you
and to further
man's exploration of space.
It's...
Well, I wouldn't trade
any of it for anything.
Thank you.
One thing I neglected to mention...
Is he retiring?
Not that I know of.
Why doesn't he?
I mean, he's got all that money,
and he's never gonna fly again.
I don't know. Maybe he is.
Gaye, that guy was driving me nuts.
I dumped it in Deke's lap.
- Deke's gonna take care of it.
- All right. Your lunch is on time.
The board meeting's pushed to 3:00.
So I got you the 5:00 tee time.
- That's good.
- You be in tomorrow?
- We'll see.
- [Gaye] Tom would like a minute.
- Hey, Tom.
- Hi, how are you doing?
- Okay. You want to walk with me?
- Yeah, sure.
This friend is now an ear, nose
and throat man in Los Angeles.
On my last trip out, I looked him up.
He let me scrub in
and watch some surgeries.
We got to talking, and he's
pretty curious about your problem.
What's the latest with that?
Uh, Tom, first off, thanks.
But believe me, I've been to my share
of doctors with this thing
and the general consensus is
that either it goes away on its own
or it doesn't.
I don't feel the symptoms anymore,
but every time I think I've got it beat,
some doctor tells me otherwise.
Has anybody suggested surgery?
For Ménière's disease,
there's no such thing.
What I do is I insert
a small silicone tube
right in the ear canal.
That drains off excess fluid
into the spinal column.
- And that works?
- Mm-hmm.
I predict about a 60% chance
of no future vertiginous episodes.
But I could lose my hearing?
In the affected ear, yes.
Yeah. There's a small possibility.
Look...
why don't you just take some time
and think about it?
If you have other questions,
I'd be glad to answer them.
[woman] I know,
the medication is making you drowsy.
- [whispers] Okay. Go ahead.
- [gas hisses]
[man]
Okay, I want you to breathe normally
and think of something pleasant.
A trip to Hawaii, perhaps.
You're doing just fine.
[woman 2] You don't have any idea
who that is, do you?
[woman 1 ] Him? Victor Poulos,
according to his bracelet.
[woman 2]
That is America's first astronaut.
[woman 1 ] Right...
I think I'd recognize John Glenn.
[not audible]
[man] Basically, there are a number
of steps that PGNCS automates
that on an AGS abort
must be performed manually,
like pitching you over,
switching the guidance system,
separating the stages
and throttling up to 100%.
Now, of course, the AGS computer
only has a fraction
of the PGNCS's 39-kilobyte capacity.
Six K, I think.
Bruce, I think it's five.
Five. Just enough to execute
a manual abort if the PGNCS fails.
Actually, I think we could land with it.
You'd have a tough time
finding the right place
without the TGO guidance algorithm.
We could get close.
Freddo and I have in the simulator.
[Alan] Sorry I'm late.
You're covering the guidance systems
operations today, right?
- Yeah, that's what we're doing now.
- Great.
Don't let me interrupt.
[whispers] What's he doing here?
[laughter and chatter]
Let me get this straight.
Shepard marches into Deke's office
and says, "Give me Apollo 13"?
Yeah, something like that.
[laughs]
"All right, Al. Let's see."
You haven't flown in eight years.
You never orbited the Earth.
Never set foot
in a Gemini or Apollo capsule,
or never served as backup.
"Why don't we make you the command pilot
for the next lunar landing?"
Guess he just stayed at the top
of the rotation this whole time, huh?
Did you hear that they offered McDivitt
a spot on Al's crew?
- What'd he say?
- Turned them down.
[laughs] He told Deke
he didn't think Shepard's ready.
Oh, man.
You don't have any problem
flying with Shepard?
Why should I have a problem with it?
Flight surgeons don't have a problem.
Deke doesn't have a problem with it.
Do you?
- Take it easy. I'm just asking you.
- I'm just answering you.
[scoffs]
Alan Shepard.
- Mitchell makes a lot more sense.
- [sighs]
He'll get Shepard up to speed on the LEM
or cover for him.
But it's gonna be like
having three rookies up there.
See you on the ground, Stu-ball.
[whistling]
Hey, hey!
- [laughter]
- [Alan groans]
- Hey, boss, give us the good news.
- Are we official?
[breathless] Yeah. We've been bumped.
Headquarters did not approve us for 13.
I thought it was just a formality.
Yeah, so did I
until a couple of hours ago.
They don't think we've got
enough time to train.
We got a year.
Eleven's got, what, seven months.
- Same with 12.
- They know that, Ed.
I told Deke that we'd be ready.
He says that he told them.
But they're giving it to...
They're giving it
to Lovell, Mattingly and Haise.
[gasps]
You've got to be kidding me.
We still got a good shot at 14.
We'll know about that soon.
- Did we do something wrong?
- No.
They know how sharp you guys are.
We all know how sharp you guys are.
Then what are they worried about?
[scoffs]
Put yourself in their position.
I don't get it. They've seen you train.
No. They're just being cautious.
How would it look if they gave me
the flight and something went wrong?
[man] I'm much younger
than Alan Shepard myself,
and I'm still in
excellent physical condition.
But there's been a lot of
empire-building going on and politics.
I would've loved to head
my own lunar flight.
But I'm not gonna compromise my belief
that a man should be
fully dedicated to the program...
beyond his own personal ambitions,
that's all.
Boy, harsh words
from a former colleague, Al.
Well, that's Gordo.
All right. What we're trying
to do here is a little tease.
We're trying to create a tease, a piece
of film we can put in the beginning,
where you maybe go into it...
it was a rough comeback,
and it seemed like you wouldn't make it,
and you finally did.
And I'm gonna try to think of a question
that hopefully will lead you into that.
- Hopefully.
- [laughs] Okay.
Maybe I'll ask something
about Apollo 13,
which at one point
was gonna be your mission.
Same thing with Apollo 1,
if you hadn't been grounded at the time.
So in retrospect,
two incredible strokes of luck.
We'll just go into it, all right.
Just ask me a question.
We'll see what happens.
We'll just see what comes up naturally,
okay? We rolling?
- Okay. You ready?
- I'm ready. Yeah, sure.
Two. One.
As the launch date
for Apollo 14 approaches,
NASA reels from cutbacks
and waning support.
America's first astronaut,
Alan Shepard, now 47,
prepares to become
the oldest American to fly in space.
It's been a long road back
to flight status for Al,
made possible
by an experimental ear surgery.
So, Al, tell me.
Given your medical history
and limited space experience,
would you have chosen yourself
to rescue the space program
after the near-tragedy of Apollo 13?
Well, Jules, I certainly feel
more than up to the task.
I've had my ups and downs,
Jules, like everybody else.
But those problems are behind me now.
In fact,
I'm in better physical condition
than I've been in years.
[man on radio]
Here we go. Twenty seconds.
Guidance still up.
The guidance system now going...
[Alan] You have to remember
that it's not just me going.
There's Edgar Mitchell...
Stu Roosa...
and thousands of people
involved in the Apollo program.
[man on radio]
Three, two, one, zero.
She's going. Everything's good.
Beautiful.
[man on radio]
Cabin pressure coming down.
Adjusting from sea level
to a space environment.
Status check in Mission Control
coming up all greens
on the Flight Director's console.
Communication has been a little dicey.
There's been some interference,
though it's been consistent.
So I'm not concerned about it at all
if you guys aren't.
You know, what I find disconcerting
is the delay in the relay.
It's a constant reminder
of how far we are from Earth.
Al, we thought you might be interested
in knowing we have a Dr. House here
at the surgeon's console.
He'll be monitoring the progress
of the mission for the next few minutes.
Good evening, William.
Glad to have you aboard.
- Thanks. Great to be here.
- He's waving back at you.
Tell him I'm okay, Freddo. I'm okay.
He rogers that.
[man on radio] Kitty Hawk, Houston.
You are go for undocking.
[Roosa on radio]
Roger, Houston. Go for undock.
And we're free.
Beautiful.
Very good.
[Roosa on radio] Okay, we had
a normal undocking, Houston.
[Alan] Dead band minimum. Verb-7-7.
Go to P-0-0.
Enter.
Okay.
Yaw left 60. Pitch up 90.
Okay, starting left yaw, Stu.
[Roosa on radio] Okay. Boy,
you look mighty pretty out there.
[Alan on radio]
And starting to pitch up.
- Flight, control.
- Rog, control.
Getting an indication here.
We're getting an abort command.
CAPCOM?
Antares, the abort switch
on the computer looks set.
Do you have a 1 in register one?
That's affirmative, Houston.
Neither of you boys has your thumb
on the abort button, now, do you?
That's a negative, Houston.
All right.
We'd like to proceed with the following
to reset the abort signal.
Okay, give me the word.
Okay, we need
the stop push button, push.
That's stop push button, push.
The next thing's the abort push button,
depress.
Then wait one on reset.
Abort push button, depress.
And standing by on that one.
Okay. You can reset.
Reset.
No change, Houston.
That didn't clear it, Flight.
Well, something had better
before the descent burn.
Or the computer will
initiate an auto-abort.
[sighs]
Suggestions?
You wanna have them tap on the panel
with something?
Maybe it's a loose solder or something
floating behind that switch.
All right. Let's do that.
All right, Ed, we'd like you
to tap on the panel right there
around the abort push button.
See if we can shake something loose.
[tapping]
Yes, Houston. it just changed
while I was tapping there.
- You sure tap nicely.
- [William snickers]
[Mitchell on radio]
I'm pretty good at that.
[man on radio] Antares, we'd kind of
like to sit here a minute and watch it.
Okay.
There's a way to lock that out.
- Lock out the switch?
- Yeah. Tell the computer to ignore it.
I hope so.
We get that during the descent,
this turns into a bad day.
I just don't know how quickly
they can come up with it.
Control, what have you got?
Flight, MIT's looking
at a software work-around.
If we can't keep
that switch from closing,
we have to make sure the computer
doesn't look at it
and abort the landing.
You got that right.
Find the guy who wrote the code,
get him on it.
We got one orbit left to do this.
Don?
Don!
What?
Somehow the abort discrete is set.
- Uh... The one in channel 30?
- Yeah.
Houston wants us to write something
to disable the switch
so the computer ignores it.
It can't ignore it during the burn.
Right. So the crew has to wait
and enter our changes after ignition.
Can you get up? Yeah.
Then race through the keystrokes
hoping the switch doesn't close again?
Hmm.
Okay. I need coffee. I need Saltzman.
I think we gotta start
from the beginning.
Houston, Antares.
LPD altitude shows 49,000.
Roger, Antares.
Okay, I have Cone crater,
Triplet and Doublet.
Copy that, Al.
Good Lord.
They look just like they're supposed to.
There they were,
right below us, big as life.
Don't worry. We're gonna see them again.
Freddo, I guess you'll advise us
on that abort switch?
[Freddo] Yes, I'm working
on a little spiel right now, Al.
All right. Whatever fix they give us,
I want to have as much time as possible
to get it entered before the burn.
You know, if they're trying
to lock out the switch,
we may have to wait till after the burn.
Why?
It's part of PDI.
It's in the computer. It'll look for it.
And if it closes then,
it'll abort the landing.
Okay, Ed, you and Al ready to listen
to words on the abort switch business?
Go ahead with it.
Okay, the procedure is
Verb-2-5-Noun-0-7, enter,
1-0-5, enter,
4-0-0, enter, 0, enter.
I'll read back.
"Verb-2-5-Noun-0-7, enter,
0-5, enter."
Is it 4-0-0-0, enter?
[man on radio] Okay, Ed.
It's 400, 4-0-0, enter.
That's 4-0-0.
Got it?
Okay, we have to let the burn
call up normally, get ignition,
then lock out the bit, hopefully
before it gets set, is that right?
- That's affirmative.
- That's a load.
No. No. They've got to come up
with a better solution.
If not, I'll just have to haul ass
punching it in and hope.
We don't want them
rushing with this, okay?
One wrong keystroke could cause
any number of problems,
all of them mission critical.
Can we just hold off?
Just let us hold off
until we come up with another fix.
No, I... All right.
What did they say?
They have to give the crew something
before they pass behind the moon.
We got 47 minutes
to come up with something better.
Let's just take it easy entering those
changes, make sure we get them right.
I will.
Now,
if the switch closes before you're done
and it aborts us...
there's nothing we can do, right?
Let's see if we can't get
ahead of ourselves on that checklist.
All right.
Guys, this is definitely the better fix.
If we set the program monitor
to 71 before the burn...
the computer is not even gonna look
at the abort monitor
because it already thinks
it's in the abort mode.
[scoffs]
So there'll be a little bit
of a cleanup on the descent,
but they're not gonna be
in a big rush doing it.
Antares, Houston.
Stand by, Houston.
Okay. Helmet and gloves on.
Cabin repress closed.
Cabin repress closed.
Go ahead, Houston.
[man on radio] Okay, we've got
more procedures to pump up
that are gonna alter
what you've already copied.
We think we found a slicker way
of doing this
to make the computer ignore
the abort command
in case the switch gets set again.
Okay. Stand by, Houston.
All right. Go ahead, Houston.
Noun-6-2...
Verb-2-1...
Noun-0-1, enter...
0-1-0-1, enter...
1 -0-1 -0, enter.
- That's it.
- Okay, Houston. It's in.
Roger, Antares.
And Antares standing by for PDI go.
[Alan on radio]
Antares standing by for PDI go.
Antares, standing by.
- Okay.
- Looks good here, Flight. We're a go.
Tell them.
Antares, Houston.
- You are go for Fra Mauro.
- [relieved laughter]
Phew!
Good show, Freddo.
- You troops do nice work down there.
- [Mitchell on radio] I'll second that.
[Alan on radio]
Four, three, two, one.
[Mitchell on radio] Ignition.
[Alan on radio]
We have auto-ignition.
[man on radio]
Antares, you are go at four.
And guidance looks good. Roger.
[Mitchell] Down to 32,000 feet.
Should be getting landing radar
very soon.
Come on, radar. Let's have a lock-on.
30, 000.
Okay. We still got altitude
and velocity lights.
Come on, radar.
We can land without radar.
I can do that if we have to...
We'd have to pitch over, anyway,
before we'd abort.
Let's just see where we are, right?
I mean, we can see our landing site.
Just that when we do pitch over,
let's hope to God
that we are at 7,000 feet
and not a lot lower.
[Mitchell] 20,000.
Flight, we need that radar
by 10,000 feet if we're gonna land.
Houston, we still have
altitude and velocity lights.
Come on, radar.
Control, what you got?
Flight, let's try resetting
the landing radar circuit breaker.
Do it.
Antares, Houston.
We'd like you to cycle
the landing radar breaker.
Copy that.
Okay, Houston. It's cycled.
[man on radio] Copy.
- Bingo!
- Okay. Got it.
Okay. Verb-57, enter.
How's that look, Houston? Can we accept?
Can we accept?
Stand by, Antares.
Okay, we'd like to accept the radar.
Okay.
Converge, proceed.
That was close.
[laughs]
And we have pitch-over, Houston.
Roger, Antares.
[Alan] Outstanding.
Right on the money. Here we go!
Fat as a goose.
- That's beautiful.
- 3,000 feet. Seventy-five feet a second.
Okay, I'm going
to move forward a little.
Coming through 1,000 feet.
Right a little.
[man on radio] Looks good from here, Al.
You're at 500 feet.
Fuel is good at 10%. You're at 170 feet.
Two feet per second down.
You're on your own.
[Alan on radio]
Starting down. Starting down.
[Mitchell on radio] it says 90 feet,
four feet per second.
Five feet per second.
- [Alan on radio] Okay.
- Sixty seconds of fuel remaining.
Three feet per second, 30 feet.
Looking great. Twenty feet.
Contact, Al.
[Alan on radio] Okay, Houston.
We made it through the landing.
- All right!
- I'm on the surface.
[applause]
[not audible]
You did it, Al.
[Alan laughs]
Wanna take a walk?
[Alan on radio] Okay, Houston.
Let me comment that it certainly is
a stark place here at Fra Mauro.
I think it's made more stark by the fact
that the sky is completely black.
[man on radio] Roger.
[Alan on radio]
Starting down the ladder,
I can see the reason we have a tilt
is because we landed on a slope.
The landing-gear struts appear
to be about evenly depressed.
[man on radio] Okay, Al. Beautiful.
I can see you on the surface.
Not bad for an old man.
It's been a long way, but we're here.
[Alan on radio]
Okay. Goes in very easy.
Take a picture this way, Ed.
Then we'll swing it around so they
can see it on the television. All right?
Okay, Houston.
We're proceeding onward now.
[man on radio] Roger, Al.
[Alan on radio] the rim of Cone
crater up there, about 30 miles ahead.
[Mitchell on radio]
How far behind our timeline are we?
[indistinct voices]
[indistinct voices]
[Mitchell on radio] Stand by.
[Alan on radio]
While you look that up,
you might recognize
what I have in my hand
as the handle
for the contingency sample return.
It just so happens to have
a genuine six-iron on the bottom of it.
In my left hand,
I have that white pellet
that's familiar
to millions of Americans.
I'll drop it down here.
This suit is so stiff,
I can't do this with two hands,
but I'm gonna try a sand trap here.
[Mitchell on radio] You got more
dirt than ball that time, Al.
[Alan on radio] Got more dirt than ball.
Here we go again.
There we go! Straight as a die!
Miles and miles and miles!
We choose to go to the moon.
We choose to go to the moon.
We choose to go to the moon
in this decade and do the other things,
not because they are easy,
but because they are hard.
[man on radio] Look at that.
That's beautiful.
It's got to be one of the most proud
moments of my life. I guarantee you.
[man] With a flight
that lasted just 15 minutes,
Alan Shepard became
America's first astronaut.
In a parabolic suborbital arc,
his tiny Mercury spacecraft climbed
to an altitude of just 116 miles.
He experienced
only about four minutes of zero gravity,
couldn't see where he was going because
there was no forward-facing window,
and he splashed down just 302 miles
from where he had started.
Those 15 minutes
in the spring of 1961 were just a taste
of other longer flights America's
first astronaut planned on making.
But as fate would have it, Alan Shepard
would spend his next ten years wondering
if those 15 minutes
were all he was allowed
in humankind's voyage
from the Earth to the moon.
They should give you a manual
for this thing.
Damn thing.
Where on earth did you get that thing?
- You're getting old, boy.
- Stop messing with that thing.
I ain't gonna take
no damn picture anyway.
- Come on, take a picture for him.
- I'm not gonna take a picture.
Just take a picture, Bud, all right?
I promised my boy.
They probably ain't gonna bring him
nowhere near here.
No. Mr. Taylor said
that we could meet him.
Mr. Taylor told you that, did he?
Yes, he did. He wouldn't lie about that.
He's a straight-up guy.
If you ask me, Shepard's flight
wasn't such a big deal anyway.
Uh-oh!
Just a few more guys to meet and greet,
then I promise it's all business.
- More hands to shake?
- You should be used to it by now.
- I mean, he didn't orbit.
- That's right. He's right about that.
It was just like that monkey.
Well, all I know is he was first.
These gentlemen are our drillers.
Okey dokey.
[man] Hey, boys. How's it going?
- [man 2] Hey, Mr. Taylor.
- Hey, how are you?
Like for you to meet Alan B. Shepard,
our first astronaut in space.
- It's a pleasure.
- What's your name?
- It's Bud, sir.
- How are you?
It's a real honor to meet you.
My boy thinks the world of you.
All right.
How are you? Good to meet you.
You boys are working, huh?
- Yes, sir.
- Hot one, eh?
- Okay. Good to meet you.
- Good to meet you.
Finally give you a chance
to see what your money's buying.
- Hopefully oil.
- Commander Shepard.
Hey, is it true that you're gonna
command the first Gemini mission?
I'm sure whatever NASA's plans are,
they'll be announcing them soon.
Hey, maybe you'll be
first to the moon too.
I'm the best pilot they got.
[laughter]
I wouldn't bet against him
if I were you.
- Commander, could I get a picture?
- All right, guys. No more questions.
The man did come here for a reason.
[Alan] Okay, Ben,
what is this test we're gonna be doing?
We have a crew to check
for hydrocarbons in the well
which gives us a rough
idea of its potential.
They have a probe they'll be lowering
down to take a look at...
[voice fades]
[Taylor] Hey, you all right, Al?
[gags, groans]
I'm all right.
- Come on.
- [groans]
- Somebody get a doctor!
- [retches]
Charlie.
[clicks]
[man] Guess I'll have to learn
to fly left-handed.
God, I wish we'd had this
translational control on Mercury.
- Now you got a real window.
- Yeah.
Okay, here is the O2 high-rate recheck.
Whose job is that?
- I think that would be my function.
- Yes, sir. Good.
- This is a beautiful craft.
- Yes, sir.
I gotta go to the head.
Stepping out, boys.
Need you to log out as usual, Al.
Hey.
[water runs]
That son of a bitch
is like a little sports car.
- A little two-seater.
- Yeah. It's nice.
What's on your mind, Tom?
You sure have been
going to the head a lot lately.
I'm on a diuretic.
- You're taking medication?
- Yeah. I've had a couple dizzy spells.
I think it's a viral infection
in my ear.
- Flight surgeons know?
- Yeah.
Wow. Okay. They sure it's a virus?
I mean, is there a chance
they could ground you?
Tom, they don't know yet.
Uh... I've got some tests
I gotta do on Monday.
Just keep a lid on it until then, okay?
Okay. I mean, it's just, you know,
Deke doesn't want to split up the crews.
- I know.
- So if you were out, I could be out too.
I know.
[man] "Flight surgeon's report.
Patient: Shepard, Alan B.
Date: June 10, 1963.
Symptoms: hearing loss
and ringing in right ear,
occasional attacks
of extreme nausea and vertigo.
Diagnosis: excess fluid in inner ear
caused by Ménière's disease.
Flight surgeon's recommendation:
Immediate removal
from active flight status
"for all NASA air and spacecraft."
I'd like to start
by introducing the prime crew
for the first manned Gemini flight,
which will consist
of Virgil I. Grissom, command pilot,
and John W. Young, second pilot.
- Hi, Deke.
- As many of you may have surmised,
the big element
in the choice of Gus Grissom
for the command pilot of the prime crew
is of course the fact that he is
the astronaut who has been assigned...
Well, congratulations.
- On what?
- On your new status.
- I hear you can fly jets again.
- Yeah. With a copilot.
[laughs]
I never have trouble finding one.
These new guys all need stick time.
That's great.
They're not gonna let
you and I fly together.
- Nope.
- I asked them.
I know. You heard what they said, right?
Yeah.
"Two half pilots don't make a whole."
[laughter]
- You believe that?
- Oh, shit.
So you thought any more about the job?
Yeah.
Yeah, I... I'm thinking about it.
Come on, Al. Not that bad.
You get to be an arrogant son of a bitch
and boss everybody around. It's fun.
Yeah, well, that's why
you're such a great boss, Deke.
Well, it wasn't exactly my first choice,
you know?
And if you recall,
it wasn't exactly my idea either.
So now you're paying me back?
No. I'm doing exactly what you did.
I see a need.
I know the right man for the job.
I go after him.
So happens he's available.
We have high hopes of flying
by the end of the year.
These are milestones
that have to be satisfactorily met.
All right. [sighs]
All right.
[Cernan] Come on, Al, you remember
what it was like back in your day,
back in the days of Mercury.
Anyway, I only answered one question.
The guy cornered me at my house.
This Houston Chronicle reporter
cornered me. What am I gonna tell him?
Tell him you don't talk to the press
without your boss's approval, period.
You let us decide
what's good for the program, Gene.
Even if he's just fact-checking a story?
If you want to do a PR thing, I'll be
glad to take you out of the rotation.
That's fine. We could use a PR guy.
Jackie Gleason's a friend of mine.
We play golf.
Maybe I could get you on his show.
You could do a musical number
with the June Taylor Dancers.
- You'd like that?
- No, no, no.
We could get a pressure suit.
They could fly you in.
No. I'm just enthusiastic
about the program.
I know you're enthusiastic.
And we love that about you.
You haven't been here that long.
Am I right?
You love to talk, Gene.
You have a problem with that,
you know that?
You talk to the wrong people.
Didn't you get enough attention
as a child?
Stu.
This isn't the first time.
- You know what? I can come back.
- Stu, are you flying to the Cape Friday?
Yeah. Why?
[not audible]
Let's go.
I'm good, Al. How are you?
[Alan] Okay, let me guess.
Labyrinthine reactions
indicated by nystagmus
accompanied by continued tinnitus
suggest abnormal
endolymphatic fluid pressure
on the semicircular canal and cochlea.
Got it?
[laughter]
- [Alan] Hey, hey.
- [laughter]
Your mother said to save the dog.
Oh, Dad, I hope you have
a good time tonight.
- I wish I could go.
- You do?
No, you don't.
- Yeah.
- It's not gonna be any fun.
- I do, though.
- I want to go.
Why would you want to go
when I don't want to go?
Picasso, you don't want to go, do you?
- [dog barks]
- [girls laugh]
- Good night.
- Night.
- Want me to drive?
- No, I got it.
[engine starts]
[high-pitched whine]
[man]
May 5, 1961, the beginning of a new era.
[laughter]
[laughter]
[laughter and applause]
A. Bartlett Shepard's destiny
was first recognized
in a secluded field not far from home.
Soon after, Alan B. Shepard, Jr.
answered his country's call
and volunteered his talents
as a naval aviator.
[laughter]
In this capacity, he sallied forth
on mission after mission.
Onward to the fledgling space program,
- where only two had gone before.
- [laughter]
Fellow pioneers into the unknown...
Ham and Enos.
[laughter fades]
[laughter faintly audible]
This would be his legacy.
[applause]
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,
I'm Deke Slayton,
the only astronaut who's been in space
for less time than Alan Shepard.
[laughter]
[Deke chuckles]
[clears throat] Alan Shepard may only
have flown in space for 15 minutes,
but he's given this program seven years
of commitment and expertise.
And it gives me great pleasure
to introduce a great pilot
and a great astronaut and a good friend,
Mr. Alan B. Shepard, Jr.
- Okay, Al, baby, you're on.
- [applause]
- Schirra had nothing to do with this?
- I wouldn't think.
- Thank you all very much for...
- [camera pops]
- That's it, gentlemen.
- Come on.
- Oh!
- [laughter]
- No, thank you.
- No, sir.
Come on back. There's still liquor left.
I've never known the brass
to walk away from free liquor.
- [laughter]
- Well, in that case!
Maybe one.
No, seriously,
I want to say thank you for this.
It's...
It's been an honor and a great privilege
to be able to serve my country
working with all of you
and to further
man's exploration of space.
It's...
Well, I wouldn't trade
any of it for anything.
Thank you.
One thing I neglected to mention...
Is he retiring?
Not that I know of.
Why doesn't he?
I mean, he's got all that money,
and he's never gonna fly again.
I don't know. Maybe he is.
Gaye, that guy was driving me nuts.
I dumped it in Deke's lap.
- Deke's gonna take care of it.
- All right. Your lunch is on time.
The board meeting's pushed to 3:00.
So I got you the 5:00 tee time.
- That's good.
- You be in tomorrow?
- We'll see.
- [Gaye] Tom would like a minute.
- Hey, Tom.
- Hi, how are you doing?
- Okay. You want to walk with me?
- Yeah, sure.
This friend is now an ear, nose
and throat man in Los Angeles.
On my last trip out, I looked him up.
He let me scrub in
and watch some surgeries.
We got to talking, and he's
pretty curious about your problem.
What's the latest with that?
Uh, Tom, first off, thanks.
But believe me, I've been to my share
of doctors with this thing
and the general consensus is
that either it goes away on its own
or it doesn't.
I don't feel the symptoms anymore,
but every time I think I've got it beat,
some doctor tells me otherwise.
Has anybody suggested surgery?
For Ménière's disease,
there's no such thing.
What I do is I insert
a small silicone tube
right in the ear canal.
That drains off excess fluid
into the spinal column.
- And that works?
- Mm-hmm.
I predict about a 60% chance
of no future vertiginous episodes.
But I could lose my hearing?
In the affected ear, yes.
Yeah. There's a small possibility.
Look...
why don't you just take some time
and think about it?
If you have other questions,
I'd be glad to answer them.
[woman] I know,
the medication is making you drowsy.
- [whispers] Okay. Go ahead.
- [gas hisses]
[man]
Okay, I want you to breathe normally
and think of something pleasant.
A trip to Hawaii, perhaps.
You're doing just fine.
[woman 2] You don't have any idea
who that is, do you?
[woman 1 ] Him? Victor Poulos,
according to his bracelet.
[woman 2]
That is America's first astronaut.
[woman 1 ] Right...
I think I'd recognize John Glenn.
[not audible]
[man] Basically, there are a number
of steps that PGNCS automates
that on an AGS abort
must be performed manually,
like pitching you over,
switching the guidance system,
separating the stages
and throttling up to 100%.
Now, of course, the AGS computer
only has a fraction
of the PGNCS's 39-kilobyte capacity.
Six K, I think.
Bruce, I think it's five.
Five. Just enough to execute
a manual abort if the PGNCS fails.
Actually, I think we could land with it.
You'd have a tough time
finding the right place
without the TGO guidance algorithm.
We could get close.
Freddo and I have in the simulator.
[Alan] Sorry I'm late.
You're covering the guidance systems
operations today, right?
- Yeah, that's what we're doing now.
- Great.
Don't let me interrupt.
[whispers] What's he doing here?
[laughter and chatter]
Let me get this straight.
Shepard marches into Deke's office
and says, "Give me Apollo 13"?
Yeah, something like that.
[laughs]
"All right, Al. Let's see."
You haven't flown in eight years.
You never orbited the Earth.
Never set foot
in a Gemini or Apollo capsule,
or never served as backup.
"Why don't we make you the command pilot
for the next lunar landing?"
Guess he just stayed at the top
of the rotation this whole time, huh?
Did you hear that they offered McDivitt
a spot on Al's crew?
- What'd he say?
- Turned them down.
[laughs] He told Deke
he didn't think Shepard's ready.
Oh, man.
You don't have any problem
flying with Shepard?
Why should I have a problem with it?
Flight surgeons don't have a problem.
Deke doesn't have a problem with it.
Do you?
- Take it easy. I'm just asking you.
- I'm just answering you.
[scoffs]
Alan Shepard.
- Mitchell makes a lot more sense.
- [sighs]
He'll get Shepard up to speed on the LEM
or cover for him.
But it's gonna be like
having three rookies up there.
See you on the ground, Stu-ball.
[whistling]
Hey, hey!
- [laughter]
- [Alan groans]
- Hey, boss, give us the good news.
- Are we official?
[breathless] Yeah. We've been bumped.
Headquarters did not approve us for 13.
I thought it was just a formality.
Yeah, so did I
until a couple of hours ago.
They don't think we've got
enough time to train.
We got a year.
Eleven's got, what, seven months.
- Same with 12.
- They know that, Ed.
I told Deke that we'd be ready.
He says that he told them.
But they're giving it to...
They're giving it
to Lovell, Mattingly and Haise.
[gasps]
You've got to be kidding me.
We still got a good shot at 14.
We'll know about that soon.
- Did we do something wrong?
- No.
They know how sharp you guys are.
We all know how sharp you guys are.
Then what are they worried about?
[scoffs]
Put yourself in their position.
I don't get it. They've seen you train.
No. They're just being cautious.
How would it look if they gave me
the flight and something went wrong?
[man] I'm much younger
than Alan Shepard myself,
and I'm still in
excellent physical condition.
But there's been a lot of
empire-building going on and politics.
I would've loved to head
my own lunar flight.
But I'm not gonna compromise my belief
that a man should be
fully dedicated to the program...
beyond his own personal ambitions,
that's all.
Boy, harsh words
from a former colleague, Al.
Well, that's Gordo.
All right. What we're trying
to do here is a little tease.
We're trying to create a tease, a piece
of film we can put in the beginning,
where you maybe go into it...
it was a rough comeback,
and it seemed like you wouldn't make it,
and you finally did.
And I'm gonna try to think of a question
that hopefully will lead you into that.
- Hopefully.
- [laughs] Okay.
Maybe I'll ask something
about Apollo 13,
which at one point
was gonna be your mission.
Same thing with Apollo 1,
if you hadn't been grounded at the time.
So in retrospect,
two incredible strokes of luck.
We'll just go into it, all right.
Just ask me a question.
We'll see what happens.
We'll just see what comes up naturally,
okay? We rolling?
- Okay. You ready?
- I'm ready. Yeah, sure.
Two. One.
As the launch date
for Apollo 14 approaches,
NASA reels from cutbacks
and waning support.
America's first astronaut,
Alan Shepard, now 47,
prepares to become
the oldest American to fly in space.
It's been a long road back
to flight status for Al,
made possible
by an experimental ear surgery.
So, Al, tell me.
Given your medical history
and limited space experience,
would you have chosen yourself
to rescue the space program
after the near-tragedy of Apollo 13?
Well, Jules, I certainly feel
more than up to the task.
I've had my ups and downs,
Jules, like everybody else.
But those problems are behind me now.
In fact,
I'm in better physical condition
than I've been in years.
[man on radio]
Here we go. Twenty seconds.
Guidance still up.
The guidance system now going...
[Alan] You have to remember
that it's not just me going.
There's Edgar Mitchell...
Stu Roosa...
and thousands of people
involved in the Apollo program.
[man on radio]
Three, two, one, zero.
She's going. Everything's good.
Beautiful.
[man on radio]
Cabin pressure coming down.
Adjusting from sea level
to a space environment.
Status check in Mission Control
coming up all greens
on the Flight Director's console.
Communication has been a little dicey.
There's been some interference,
though it's been consistent.
So I'm not concerned about it at all
if you guys aren't.
You know, what I find disconcerting
is the delay in the relay.
It's a constant reminder
of how far we are from Earth.
Al, we thought you might be interested
in knowing we have a Dr. House here
at the surgeon's console.
He'll be monitoring the progress
of the mission for the next few minutes.
Good evening, William.
Glad to have you aboard.
- Thanks. Great to be here.
- He's waving back at you.
Tell him I'm okay, Freddo. I'm okay.
He rogers that.
[man on radio] Kitty Hawk, Houston.
You are go for undocking.
[Roosa on radio]
Roger, Houston. Go for undock.
And we're free.
Beautiful.
Very good.
[Roosa on radio] Okay, we had
a normal undocking, Houston.
[Alan] Dead band minimum. Verb-7-7.
Go to P-0-0.
Enter.
Okay.
Yaw left 60. Pitch up 90.
Okay, starting left yaw, Stu.
[Roosa on radio] Okay. Boy,
you look mighty pretty out there.
[Alan on radio]
And starting to pitch up.
- Flight, control.
- Rog, control.
Getting an indication here.
We're getting an abort command.
CAPCOM?
Antares, the abort switch
on the computer looks set.
Do you have a 1 in register one?
That's affirmative, Houston.
Neither of you boys has your thumb
on the abort button, now, do you?
That's a negative, Houston.
All right.
We'd like to proceed with the following
to reset the abort signal.
Okay, give me the word.
Okay, we need
the stop push button, push.
That's stop push button, push.
The next thing's the abort push button,
depress.
Then wait one on reset.
Abort push button, depress.
And standing by on that one.
Okay. You can reset.
Reset.
No change, Houston.
That didn't clear it, Flight.
Well, something had better
before the descent burn.
Or the computer will
initiate an auto-abort.
[sighs]
Suggestions?
You wanna have them tap on the panel
with something?
Maybe it's a loose solder or something
floating behind that switch.
All right. Let's do that.
All right, Ed, we'd like you
to tap on the panel right there
around the abort push button.
See if we can shake something loose.
[tapping]
Yes, Houston. it just changed
while I was tapping there.
- You sure tap nicely.
- [William snickers]
[Mitchell on radio]
I'm pretty good at that.
[man on radio] Antares, we'd kind of
like to sit here a minute and watch it.
Okay.
There's a way to lock that out.
- Lock out the switch?
- Yeah. Tell the computer to ignore it.
I hope so.
We get that during the descent,
this turns into a bad day.
I just don't know how quickly
they can come up with it.
Control, what have you got?
Flight, MIT's looking
at a software work-around.
If we can't keep
that switch from closing,
we have to make sure the computer
doesn't look at it
and abort the landing.
You got that right.
Find the guy who wrote the code,
get him on it.
We got one orbit left to do this.
Don?
Don!
What?
Somehow the abort discrete is set.
- Uh... The one in channel 30?
- Yeah.
Houston wants us to write something
to disable the switch
so the computer ignores it.
It can't ignore it during the burn.
Right. So the crew has to wait
and enter our changes after ignition.
Can you get up? Yeah.
Then race through the keystrokes
hoping the switch doesn't close again?
Hmm.
Okay. I need coffee. I need Saltzman.
I think we gotta start
from the beginning.
Houston, Antares.
LPD altitude shows 49,000.
Roger, Antares.
Okay, I have Cone crater,
Triplet and Doublet.
Copy that, Al.
Good Lord.
They look just like they're supposed to.
There they were,
right below us, big as life.
Don't worry. We're gonna see them again.
Freddo, I guess you'll advise us
on that abort switch?
[Freddo] Yes, I'm working
on a little spiel right now, Al.
All right. Whatever fix they give us,
I want to have as much time as possible
to get it entered before the burn.
You know, if they're trying
to lock out the switch,
we may have to wait till after the burn.
Why?
It's part of PDI.
It's in the computer. It'll look for it.
And if it closes then,
it'll abort the landing.
Okay, Ed, you and Al ready to listen
to words on the abort switch business?
Go ahead with it.
Okay, the procedure is
Verb-2-5-Noun-0-7, enter,
1-0-5, enter,
4-0-0, enter, 0, enter.
I'll read back.
"Verb-2-5-Noun-0-7, enter,
0-5, enter."
Is it 4-0-0-0, enter?
[man on radio] Okay, Ed.
It's 400, 4-0-0, enter.
That's 4-0-0.
Got it?
Okay, we have to let the burn
call up normally, get ignition,
then lock out the bit, hopefully
before it gets set, is that right?
- That's affirmative.
- That's a load.
No. No. They've got to come up
with a better solution.
If not, I'll just have to haul ass
punching it in and hope.
We don't want them
rushing with this, okay?
One wrong keystroke could cause
any number of problems,
all of them mission critical.
Can we just hold off?
Just let us hold off
until we come up with another fix.
No, I... All right.
What did they say?
They have to give the crew something
before they pass behind the moon.
We got 47 minutes
to come up with something better.
Let's just take it easy entering those
changes, make sure we get them right.
I will.
Now,
if the switch closes before you're done
and it aborts us...
there's nothing we can do, right?
Let's see if we can't get
ahead of ourselves on that checklist.
All right.
Guys, this is definitely the better fix.
If we set the program monitor
to 71 before the burn...
the computer is not even gonna look
at the abort monitor
because it already thinks
it's in the abort mode.
[scoffs]
So there'll be a little bit
of a cleanup on the descent,
but they're not gonna be
in a big rush doing it.
Antares, Houston.
Stand by, Houston.
Okay. Helmet and gloves on.
Cabin repress closed.
Cabin repress closed.
Go ahead, Houston.
[man on radio] Okay, we've got
more procedures to pump up
that are gonna alter
what you've already copied.
We think we found a slicker way
of doing this
to make the computer ignore
the abort command
in case the switch gets set again.
Okay. Stand by, Houston.
All right. Go ahead, Houston.
Noun-6-2...
Verb-2-1...
Noun-0-1, enter...
0-1-0-1, enter...
1 -0-1 -0, enter.
- That's it.
- Okay, Houston. It's in.
Roger, Antares.
And Antares standing by for PDI go.
[Alan on radio]
Antares standing by for PDI go.
Antares, standing by.
- Okay.
- Looks good here, Flight. We're a go.
Tell them.
Antares, Houston.
- You are go for Fra Mauro.
- [relieved laughter]
Phew!
Good show, Freddo.
- You troops do nice work down there.
- [Mitchell on radio] I'll second that.
[Alan on radio]
Four, three, two, one.
[Mitchell on radio] Ignition.
[Alan on radio]
We have auto-ignition.
[man on radio]
Antares, you are go at four.
And guidance looks good. Roger.
[Mitchell] Down to 32,000 feet.
Should be getting landing radar
very soon.
Come on, radar. Let's have a lock-on.
30, 000.
Okay. We still got altitude
and velocity lights.
Come on, radar.
We can land without radar.
I can do that if we have to...
We'd have to pitch over, anyway,
before we'd abort.
Let's just see where we are, right?
I mean, we can see our landing site.
Just that when we do pitch over,
let's hope to God
that we are at 7,000 feet
and not a lot lower.
[Mitchell] 20,000.
Flight, we need that radar
by 10,000 feet if we're gonna land.
Houston, we still have
altitude and velocity lights.
Come on, radar.
Control, what you got?
Flight, let's try resetting
the landing radar circuit breaker.
Do it.
Antares, Houston.
We'd like you to cycle
the landing radar breaker.
Copy that.
Okay, Houston. It's cycled.
[man on radio] Copy.
- Bingo!
- Okay. Got it.
Okay. Verb-57, enter.
How's that look, Houston? Can we accept?
Can we accept?
Stand by, Antares.
Okay, we'd like to accept the radar.
Okay.
Converge, proceed.
That was close.
[laughs]
And we have pitch-over, Houston.
Roger, Antares.
[Alan] Outstanding.
Right on the money. Here we go!
Fat as a goose.
- That's beautiful.
- 3,000 feet. Seventy-five feet a second.
Okay, I'm going
to move forward a little.
Coming through 1,000 feet.
Right a little.
[man on radio] Looks good from here, Al.
You're at 500 feet.
Fuel is good at 10%. You're at 170 feet.
Two feet per second down.
You're on your own.
[Alan on radio]
Starting down. Starting down.
[Mitchell on radio] it says 90 feet,
four feet per second.
Five feet per second.
- [Alan on radio] Okay.
- Sixty seconds of fuel remaining.
Three feet per second, 30 feet.
Looking great. Twenty feet.
Contact, Al.
[Alan on radio] Okay, Houston.
We made it through the landing.
- All right!
- I'm on the surface.
[applause]
[not audible]
You did it, Al.
[Alan laughs]
Wanna take a walk?
[Alan on radio] Okay, Houston.
Let me comment that it certainly is
a stark place here at Fra Mauro.
I think it's made more stark by the fact
that the sky is completely black.
[man on radio] Roger.
[Alan on radio]
Starting down the ladder,
I can see the reason we have a tilt
is because we landed on a slope.
The landing-gear struts appear
to be about evenly depressed.
[man on radio] Okay, Al. Beautiful.
I can see you on the surface.
Not bad for an old man.
It's been a long way, but we're here.
[Alan on radio]
Okay. Goes in very easy.
Take a picture this way, Ed.
Then we'll swing it around so they
can see it on the television. All right?
Okay, Houston.
We're proceeding onward now.
[man on radio] Roger, Al.
[Alan on radio] the rim of Cone
crater up there, about 30 miles ahead.
[Mitchell on radio]
How far behind our timeline are we?
[indistinct voices]
[indistinct voices]
[Mitchell on radio] Stand by.
[Alan on radio]
While you look that up,
you might recognize
what I have in my hand
as the handle
for the contingency sample return.
It just so happens to have
a genuine six-iron on the bottom of it.
In my left hand,
I have that white pellet
that's familiar
to millions of Americans.
I'll drop it down here.
This suit is so stiff,
I can't do this with two hands,
but I'm gonna try a sand trap here.
[Mitchell on radio] You got more
dirt than ball that time, Al.
[Alan on radio] Got more dirt than ball.
Here we go again.
There we go! Straight as a die!
Miles and miles and miles!