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- I was born in El Paso, Texas,
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while my parents were there
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under special orders of Congress.
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"Operation Paperclip."
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They were living in William
Beaumont annex housing
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at Fort Bliss with the
Wernher von Braun team.
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About half of the team
were taken by bus, daily,
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out to White Sands Proving Grounds,
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so that they could share
with captains of industry
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and professors and various
ones that were interested
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in what is this unique thing, this rocket,
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that they built back in
Germany during the war.
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- There was no answer to the V-2.
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It was so fast and very destructive.
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I was born in 1936, so I
remember the war pretty well.
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Grew up through the Blitz in Portsmouth.
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Had my first experience
with injury when a V-1
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came down on my street.
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It killed all the neighbors and my uncle.
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It's kind of strange.
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I'm on the receiving end
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of the vengeance weapons of Germany,
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and 20 years later I'm sitting with
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Wernher von Braun in the block house.
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Von Braun was primarily the V-2.
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If the Germans had had it
a year or more earlier,
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it could have made an effect
on the results of the war.
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- I, myself,
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and everybody you see here,
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have decided to go west
and I think our decision
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was not one of expediency,
but a moral decision.
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We knew that we had created
a new means of warfare,
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and the question as to
what victorious nation
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we were willing to entrust
this brainchild of ours
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was a moral decision
more than anything else.
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- I don't
feel they were really happy
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working on what they thought was a weapon.
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But they saw it that it was
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the Americans against the
Russians in the Cold War
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that was starting to brew.
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And in that way, I feel
they thought that they could
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now maybe make amends for
what had occurred before.
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- The V-2 was streaks ahead of its time.
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That rocket was the foundation
for the Redstone rocket.
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The Redstone stepped into the Jupiter.
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We then took a Jupiter tank
and eight Redstone rockets
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and built a Saturn One.
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Then we took that whole concept
and built the Saturn Five.
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And Von Braun had his
hand in that from day one.
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- Amid the fertile
farmlands of Northern Alabama,
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the Army consolidates its
expanding missile activities
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late in 1949.
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World War II army ammunition
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and chemical warfare
instillations are joined
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and reactivated as Redstone Arsenal.
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Early in 1950, the Army moves
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the former German missile experts,
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other components of its missile team,
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and some military personnel here
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to continue rocket development.
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- When I graduated from Auburn University,
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jobs were hard to find.
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I ran a service station for a while
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trying to make a little money but
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one weekend I went home
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and a friend of mine told
me they were hiring people
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over in Huntsville.
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- I was interviewed by one
of the Germans, Dr. Hensey,
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and I was impressed by him.
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I was not impressed by
the facility though,
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nor the equipment they had.
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They were very austere.
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Quonset huts and concrete block buildings
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that had been part of the munitions.
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I deliberated over it,
and finally I decided,
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"Well, I believe it's worth a chance."
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And that, of course, was
about the best decision
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I ever made was to come, and so,
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I came in March of '52.
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- The
Germans had been exposed
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to several vehicles when
they were at White Sands,
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so I think they pretty much
had in mind the Redstone.
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- What the Russians did we had to counter.
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And the Russians, we had heard,
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had a 200 mile range guided missile.
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- We
assembled and checked out
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that Redstone vehicle.
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And then they would carry
it over to the test stand
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and do the firing.
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- Blast!
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- I never saw it in any
light except for space.
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The army may have but I certainly didn't.
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- It became evident quite early
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that even though our
mission was to develop
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a launch vehicle, Dr. Von
Braun's vision was space travel.
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- I remember going home on
weekends talking to guys.
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They always asked me the same question,
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they thought it was sort of
a "Buck Rogers" type thing.
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I pretty much convinced
them it wasn't Buck Rogers,
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we were going to do it.
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Moscow newspapers were first.
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Then headlines around the
world echoed the news.
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Russia had blasted a man-made
moon into outer space.
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On every continent and
in every land the story
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of Sputnik One dominated the front pages.
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In its orbit, 560 miles above the earth,
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the satellite reached a speed
of 18 thousand miles an hour,
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circling the globe once every 96 minutes.
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- I was still in graduate
school down at LSU
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when the Russians put up Sputnik.
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It was just a shock to the entire country.
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I've never seen it that way before.
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The Americans realized
that here was technology
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they could not stop.
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It was almost panic in the street.
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- We were all peeved off
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because we had just launched a Redstone,
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which we had to put a
dummy fourth stage in it
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to keep it from orbiting.
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- Eisenhower didn't want the
Germans to put up a satellite.
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So, they lent a whole
new contract to the Navy.
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And the Navy built a completely new rocket
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to put up a satellite about
the size of a grapefruit.
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- The only
rationale I can think of is
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that they were trying to
keep civilian space travel
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and military separate.
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But, they had extreme difficulties.
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- What would have been
the difference between
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the Navy and the Army,
from a military aspect?
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It's bad, a bad thing to
say, but I think it was
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more of a jealousy that
had been developed between
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Von Braun being a German
and the political people.
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- Mr. President, Snook,
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from the United Press.
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Russia has launched an earth satellite.
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I ask you, sir, what are
we going to do about it?
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- The Soviets have
proved again, and indeed,
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this launching of the
satellite proves that they can
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hurl an object but there
are a lot of other things
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00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:11,100
in the scientific inquiry
that are not yet answered
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00:09:11,100 --> 00:09:14,110
in which we are pushing ahead to answer.
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- Eisenhower thought it was a joke.
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But a month later, the
Russians put the dog up.
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And it was a several ton spacecraft.
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And it shocked everybody.
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And that's when the army got the go-ahead.
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- Good morning, gentlemen,
be seated please.
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I have a very important
announcement for you.
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We've been assigned the
mission of launching
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a scientific earth satellite.
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I promised the secretary of the army
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that we would be ready in 90 days or less.
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Let's go, Wernher.
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- Medaris knew that we had the capability
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with our little Redstone,
and so he authorized us
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to build an extra rocket that
would be used specifically
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to put up a satellite and we did.
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We designed it, built it, and
it was all done in secret.
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The Secretary of Defense asked him,
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"If you really think you
can put up a satellite,
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"how quick can you do it?"
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Medaris said, "Well, we
better take three months."
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He didn't admit he had it
already in the warehouse.
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- This is project command.
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At my command mark, the time
will be X minus 75 minutes.
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Mark, X minus 75 minutes.
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- We had a lot of confidence, you know,
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we had thoroughly tested
every part of that vehicle.
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Of course, I won't deny
that I wasn't a little bit
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on the nervous side.
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After all, it was a
little different then just
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putting a vehicle in the air.
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I was chief of electrical on the ground.
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I just knew that that stuff was ready.
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I'm sure that's the same
feeling all of them had.
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- Five, four,
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three, two, one.
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Firing command.
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Ignition.
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Lift-off!
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- It took time for me to realize
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what a significant night that was.
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I was...
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16.
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We were at a golf course.
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It was where all the high
schoolers went to make out.
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My brother comes roaring
in and just shouts,
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"We've put up the first
American satellite."
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Most of us don't use the
word "satellite" back then.
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"And they're having a
celebration downtown!"
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The whole idea was, "Let's
go downtown and party."
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- It was on my birthday.
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Here's this one little square
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with the old courthouse around it.
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00:12:15,970 --> 00:12:18,727
- All the firecrackers
going off, and I was saying,
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00:12:18,727 --> 00:12:21,687
"What are they doing there,
they're burning that scarecrow?"
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They said, "That's Charles E.Wilson,
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00:12:24,457 --> 00:12:27,950
"our secretary of defense who
let the Russians beat us."
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00:12:27,950 --> 00:12:30,020
But, you know, those old country guys,
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00:12:30,020 --> 00:12:32,320
they were just as excited
as high school kids.
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It was just such a,
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there was thousands of people down there.
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You would think,
"Everyone was really aware
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"we were striving to get
into space this much?"
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- It was a big boost for morale,
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particularly for those of us involved.
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We're in the space business now,
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not only military rocket business.
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So, it became more and
more open that we were
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headed for doing some
other things in space too.
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- There was a sea change
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at that point in time.
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People knew that space was
gonna be where it happened.
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And so there was a lot of pressure
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to do what needed to be done.
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- In the beginning,
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it was just too hectic
to think about myself.
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I had one child right after another.
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00:13:41,550 --> 00:13:44,680
I didn't have time to
think of what I wanted.
220
00:13:44,680 --> 00:13:47,493
But then, when my daughters
all got in school,
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00:13:48,370 --> 00:13:52,550
and I had this time to myself,
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I thought, "Gosh, I would
really like to be part
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"of the space program."
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00:13:58,560 --> 00:14:01,220
- I got involved in a science fair,
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00:14:01,220 --> 00:14:02,470
the first ever one, I think,
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00:14:02,470 --> 00:14:04,083
here at Titusville High School.
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00:14:05,140 --> 00:14:07,570
And I will tell you that my
father had a hand in this
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00:14:07,570 --> 00:14:10,410
because he did some things to help.
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00:14:10,410 --> 00:14:13,363
But I had a display of a rocket engine.
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00:14:14,440 --> 00:14:16,440
And the Army Ballistic Missile Agency
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00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:18,920
had people at that science fair.
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00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:23,070
And when that science fair
got over, I was offered a job
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at the Army Ballistic Missile
Agency at Cape Canaveral.
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00:14:26,550 --> 00:14:28,437
- My husband looked at me and he said,
235
00:14:28,437 --> 00:14:30,517
"What could you do?
236
00:14:30,517 --> 00:14:35,397
"You couldn't make enough
money to buy your own Kotex."
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00:14:36,430 --> 00:14:39,110
That's all the motivation I needed.
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We were divorced shortly after that.
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00:14:42,090 --> 00:14:46,750
And I was a single mother
raising three daughters,
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00:14:46,750 --> 00:14:51,750
on my own with very little
monetary assistance.
241
00:14:53,230 --> 00:14:56,346
And I just knew I had to make it.
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00:15:18,347 --> 00:15:21,080
- It was a launch every
third or fourth day
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00:15:21,080 --> 00:15:23,410
or a test every day.
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00:15:23,410 --> 00:15:26,193
I was a civilian employee
and I got to be a technician.
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00:15:27,260 --> 00:15:30,620
My first impression was it
was kind of like a big family.
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00:15:30,620 --> 00:15:33,230
I was really taken in, I
was the youngest guy by far,
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00:15:33,230 --> 00:15:34,373
17 years old.
248
00:15:35,270 --> 00:15:38,470
And I didn't know A from Z.
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But they were willing to teach me.
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It was special.
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00:15:42,660 --> 00:15:43,730
They cared about whether
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I was going to be successful or not.
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- I took a job as a Kelly girl.
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And you probably don't know what that is.
255
00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:52,980
It was a temporary position.
256
00:15:52,980 --> 00:15:54,380
And usually it was either a temporary
257
00:15:54,380 --> 00:15:57,270
either typist or secretary.
258
00:15:57,270 --> 00:16:01,280
I got several jobs with
different contractors.
259
00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:05,120
They would last anywhere from
three months to six months.
260
00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:07,813
And finally I got a job with IBM.
261
00:16:08,660 --> 00:16:11,350
I liked the way they treated people.
262
00:16:11,350 --> 00:16:14,283
I liked the company, the atmosphere.
263
00:16:15,170 --> 00:16:17,103
And they offered me a full-time job.
264
00:16:18,260 --> 00:16:21,183
And that turned out to
be a wonderful blessing.
265
00:16:29,441 --> 00:16:31,740
- Ladies and gentlemen,
266
00:16:31,740 --> 00:16:35,035
the President of the Unites States.
267
00:16:37,890 --> 00:16:40,073
- The momentum, thus gained,
268
00:16:41,300 --> 00:16:44,220
accelerates today under
the civilian management
269
00:16:44,220 --> 00:16:48,183
of the new National Aeronautics
and Space Administration.
270
00:16:49,230 --> 00:16:51,970
Marvel as we will at these
technical achievements,
271
00:16:51,970 --> 00:16:54,100
we must not overlook this truth.
272
00:16:55,240 --> 00:16:57,910
All that we have already accomplished,
273
00:16:57,910 --> 00:17:01,150
and all in the future
that we shall achieve,
274
00:17:01,150 --> 00:17:06,150
is the outgrowth, not of a
soulless, barren technology,
275
00:17:06,570 --> 00:17:09,633
nor of a grasping state imperialism.
276
00:17:10,690 --> 00:17:15,690
It is the product of unrestrained
human talent and energy,
277
00:17:15,730 --> 00:17:18,833
restlessly probing for the
betterment of humanity.
278
00:17:19,823 --> 00:17:22,830
In this tribute to a revered friend,
279
00:17:22,830 --> 00:17:27,830
I dedicate this the George C.
Marshall Space Flight Center.
280
00:17:33,737 --> 00:17:36,710
- I'm in my second year now,
I still don't know a lot,
281
00:17:36,710 --> 00:17:38,900
and we all get transferred from
282
00:17:38,900 --> 00:17:40,450
the Army Ballistic Missile Agency
283
00:17:40,450 --> 00:17:43,219
into this new agency called NASA.
284
00:17:43,219 --> 00:17:47,810
And NASA had two major
differences from the ABMA.
285
00:17:47,810 --> 00:17:51,550
Number one, it was aimed
at peaceful uses of space
286
00:17:51,550 --> 00:17:52,990
right from the beginning.
287
00:17:52,990 --> 00:17:56,683
And number two, exploration,
discovery and education.
288
00:17:57,570 --> 00:18:00,037
- I remember my parents
having those discussions,
289
00:18:00,037 --> 00:18:03,660
"Do you go? Do you stay with
army where it's a sure thing?"
290
00:18:03,660 --> 00:18:06,820
The ultimate decision was
291
00:18:06,820 --> 00:18:10,220
that NASA means going into space.
292
00:18:10,220 --> 00:18:13,690
Rather than the army building missiles
293
00:18:13,690 --> 00:18:16,040
and armaments for war.
294
00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:21,040
- We didn't even initially
have any new, specific focus.
295
00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:26,320
We were working on the
capability to put man in orbit.
296
00:18:27,600 --> 00:18:32,020
The big event was President
Kennedy's decision
297
00:18:32,020 --> 00:18:34,890
that we needed to do something to prove
298
00:18:34,890 --> 00:18:37,173
we were technologically
superior to the Russians.
299
00:18:37,173 --> 00:18:40,050
That's really what the genesis
300
00:18:40,050 --> 00:18:42,343
of the whole lunar program is about.
301
00:18:43,510 --> 00:18:44,930
- Well, I was very impressed with him.
302
00:18:44,930 --> 00:18:47,887
I remember when he laid out the goal,
303
00:18:47,887 --> 00:18:50,527
"Let's go to the moon in ten years
304
00:18:50,527 --> 00:18:52,810
"and return safely back to earth."
305
00:18:52,810 --> 00:18:55,343
I mean, that was the kind of
goal and the kind of thing
306
00:18:55,343 --> 00:18:57,963
that you could get yourself attached to.
307
00:18:58,810 --> 00:19:01,204
It was a big deal in the South,
308
00:19:01,204 --> 00:19:03,510
and I guess it gave people hope,
309
00:19:03,510 --> 00:19:04,810
which was the biggest thing.
310
00:19:04,810 --> 00:19:06,210
You know, once there's hope,
311
00:19:06,210 --> 00:19:07,960
you can make a lot of stuff happen.
312
00:19:08,841 --> 00:19:11,783
- It was just such an
incredibly exciting challenge.
313
00:19:13,269 --> 00:19:16,790
That the country was put
on notice to do this,
314
00:19:18,310 --> 00:19:20,840
and to do it within a particular time,
315
00:19:20,840 --> 00:19:22,370
and to commit.
316
00:19:22,370 --> 00:19:24,063
- In May of '61, I think it was.
317
00:19:24,930 --> 00:19:26,483
All we'd flown was Shepard,
318
00:19:27,490 --> 00:19:29,430
on a sub-orbital flight, and here we are,
319
00:19:29,430 --> 00:19:31,600
you know, making plans to go to the moon
320
00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:34,060
within nine years, basically.
321
00:19:34,060 --> 00:19:36,643
And, you know, at that
stage of the industry,
322
00:19:37,720 --> 00:19:40,330
I don't know how we're
ever going to do that.
323
00:19:40,330 --> 00:19:42,980
- Von Braun was essentially
dancing in the street.
324
00:19:42,980 --> 00:19:43,850
You know,
325
00:19:45,013 --> 00:19:46,363
he's finally arrived.
326
00:19:47,210 --> 00:19:51,897
He's got a real mission
now to get man in space
327
00:19:51,897 --> 00:19:53,190
in a serious way.
328
00:19:53,190 --> 00:19:57,010
But it was interesting,
the guys down in the ranks
329
00:19:57,010 --> 00:19:59,980
were saying, "What, what,
how are we going to do this?"
330
00:19:59,980 --> 00:20:03,330
- I don't think I was
savvy enough to understand
331
00:20:03,330 --> 00:20:07,040
what the real implications
were at that point in time.
332
00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:09,310
I was savvy enough to know that that meant
333
00:20:09,310 --> 00:20:10,400
there was a real
334
00:20:11,640 --> 00:20:14,700
thread of power
335
00:20:14,700 --> 00:20:17,070
and ambition and challenge
336
00:20:17,070 --> 00:20:20,323
that would become a part of my life.
337
00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:25,350
- Even though I realize
that this is in some measure
338
00:20:25,350 --> 00:20:28,010
an act of faith and vision.
339
00:20:28,010 --> 00:20:31,493
For we do not now know
what benefits await us.
340
00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:35,610
But if I were to say, my fellow citizens,
341
00:20:35,610 --> 00:20:38,170
that we shall send to the moon,
342
00:20:38,170 --> 00:20:41,650
two-hundred and forty thousand miles away,
343
00:20:41,650 --> 00:20:46,180
a giant rocket more than
three hundred feet tall,
344
00:20:46,180 --> 00:20:49,170
made of new metal alloys, some of which
345
00:20:49,170 --> 00:20:51,510
have not yet been invented.
346
00:20:51,510 --> 00:20:53,910
And do all this and do it right,
347
00:20:53,910 --> 00:20:57,480
and do it first before this decade is out,
348
00:20:57,480 --> 00:21:00,368
then we must be bold.
349
00:21:08,465 --> 00:21:09,540
It will be done.
350
00:21:09,540 --> 00:21:12,620
And it will be done before
the end of this decade.
351
00:21:12,620 --> 00:21:15,360
And therefore, as we set sail,
352
00:21:15,360 --> 00:21:18,660
we ask God's blessing
on the most hazardous
353
00:21:18,660 --> 00:21:21,430
and dangerous and greatest adventure
354
00:21:21,430 --> 00:21:22,980
on which man has ever embarked.
355
00:21:32,900 --> 00:21:35,543
- I went to work for the
Army Corps of Engineers.
356
00:21:36,530 --> 00:21:38,270
It was either one of the
generals or a colonel
357
00:21:38,270 --> 00:21:43,270
that came out and said: "JFK
wants to put a man on the moon.
358
00:21:43,347 --> 00:21:45,447
"They're going to build a
space center in Florida.
359
00:21:45,447 --> 00:21:47,017
"Any volunteers?"
360
00:21:55,750 --> 00:21:57,980
My father was in construction.
361
00:21:57,980 --> 00:22:01,370
He ran a transit mix concrete company.
362
00:22:01,370 --> 00:22:04,217
Always said, "Just remember the four 'C's.
363
00:22:04,217 --> 00:22:07,517
"Just be able to communicate, coordinate,
364
00:22:07,517 --> 00:22:10,560
"cooperate and have credibility."
365
00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:13,177
He said, "If you don't have
credibility to start with,
366
00:22:13,177 --> 00:22:14,487
"you'll never succeed.
367
00:22:14,487 --> 00:22:15,977
"You might make money,
368
00:22:15,977 --> 00:22:19,208
"but you're not gonna be a
success as a human being."
369
00:22:26,120 --> 00:22:28,280
It was just boondocks when we got here.
370
00:22:28,280 --> 00:22:32,470
I mean, two lane road into an
awful lot of orange groves.
371
00:22:32,470 --> 00:22:35,420
The Corps of Engineers
had a real estate office,
372
00:22:35,420 --> 00:22:39,320
and they were buying a lot of
property on Merritt Island.
373
00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:42,502
- It's not actually an
island, it's a peninsula.
374
00:22:42,502 --> 00:22:45,770
At the north end of
that peninsula is where
375
00:22:45,770 --> 00:22:49,890
the Merritt Island Launch
Area was established.
376
00:22:49,890 --> 00:22:52,300
Launch Complex 39.
377
00:22:52,300 --> 00:22:54,500
- Launch Complex 39,
378
00:22:54,500 --> 00:22:57,310
a new operational facility for launching
379
00:22:57,310 --> 00:23:00,710
large space vehicles at a more rapid rate.
380
00:23:00,710 --> 00:23:04,540
This new mobile concept calls for assembly
381
00:23:04,540 --> 00:23:07,280
of the moon rocket in the
controlled environment
382
00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:08,810
of a building.
383
00:23:08,810 --> 00:23:12,110
Then, with the rocket
mounted on a mobile launcher,
384
00:23:12,110 --> 00:23:15,930
a huge, tracked vehicle
transfers it to a distant pad,
385
00:23:15,930 --> 00:23:17,410
ready for launch.
386
00:23:17,410 --> 00:23:20,190
- The mobile concept was
different than any concept
387
00:23:20,190 --> 00:23:22,223
they had anywhere else out there.
388
00:23:23,100 --> 00:23:25,460
They calculated the explosive rating of
389
00:23:25,460 --> 00:23:29,380
a fully fueled Saturn Five as being
390
00:23:29,380 --> 00:23:32,950
a circle seven miles in diameter.
391
00:23:32,950 --> 00:23:36,850
They picked the locations
for Pad A and Pad B,
392
00:23:36,850 --> 00:23:40,670
so all the inhabitable
buildings had to be outside
393
00:23:40,670 --> 00:23:42,920
that seven mile circle.
394
00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:46,450
- It was a huge difference,
not just in scale of size,
395
00:23:46,450 --> 00:23:48,133
but in complexity as well.
396
00:23:49,140 --> 00:23:50,820
Hard to put in place.
397
00:23:50,820 --> 00:23:51,713
Expensive,
398
00:23:52,570 --> 00:23:54,280
with lots of growing pains.
399
00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:56,290
- So
it got to where you had
400
00:23:56,290 --> 00:24:01,290
to have a master schedule of
what was happening overall.
401
00:24:01,290 --> 00:24:03,770
- We had
"war rooms" they called it.
402
00:24:03,770 --> 00:24:06,040
- Are there
any changes to the schedule?
403
00:24:06,040 --> 00:24:09,500
- The tank
pressurization test will not start
404
00:24:09,500 --> 00:24:10,953
until thirteen hundred.
405
00:24:12,180 --> 00:24:14,230
- When do you
want to run the leak check?
406
00:24:14,230 --> 00:24:16,140
- First shift, Tuesday.
407
00:24:16,140 --> 00:24:19,660
- You would meet 6:30, quarter to seven.
408
00:24:19,660 --> 00:24:22,690
You tracked every job, whether
you were ahead of schedule,
409
00:24:22,690 --> 00:24:25,200
on schedule, behind schedule.
410
00:24:25,200 --> 00:24:28,480
- Everybody knew what the final goal was.
411
00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:31,350
And nobody wanted to be
412
00:24:31,350 --> 00:24:34,961
the cause for having to move that goal.
413
00:24:34,961 --> 00:24:38,350
- We
started building launchpads,
414
00:24:38,350 --> 00:24:41,990
having to make channels in two
and three hundred feet high
415
00:24:41,990 --> 00:24:46,540
piles of sand to surcharge
over the swamp areas.
416
00:24:46,540 --> 00:24:49,640
- Keep in mind
now, it was a wildland area.
417
00:24:49,640 --> 00:24:52,820
And the water systems had to be diverted.
418
00:24:52,820 --> 00:24:55,210
We cut off north/south flow.
419
00:24:55,210 --> 00:24:59,260
That didn't go over very well
for some of our naturalists.
420
00:24:59,260 --> 00:25:02,630
We put a huge crawler way,
421
00:25:02,630 --> 00:25:04,410
three miles long,
422
00:25:04,410 --> 00:25:06,120
ten feet deep.
423
00:25:06,120 --> 00:25:09,800
And it is the size of a four-lane highway.
424
00:25:09,800 --> 00:25:12,900
- My boss, Mr. Donald Buchanan,
425
00:25:12,900 --> 00:25:16,470
was the design engineer of
the crawler transporter.
426
00:25:16,470 --> 00:25:19,740
It was patterned after some
of these big steam shovels
427
00:25:19,740 --> 00:25:23,400
that they used to use to
dig coal mines and such.
428
00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:25,460
Dimensionally, it was about the size
429
00:25:25,460 --> 00:25:27,940
of a baseball infield.
430
00:25:27,940 --> 00:25:31,190
And the belt on the track,
two of them on each one,
431
00:25:31,190 --> 00:25:33,563
was about the size of a Greyhound bus.
432
00:25:34,490 --> 00:25:37,280
I remember the first
time we ever moved it.
433
00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:40,870
We started having problems
with a little heavier load
434
00:25:40,870 --> 00:25:43,074
than we had designed for.
435
00:25:43,074 --> 00:25:45,143
And the bearings were wearing out.
436
00:25:46,390 --> 00:25:50,250
And that's when this ingenious
young engineer decided,
437
00:25:50,250 --> 00:25:53,490
if we canget some river rock,
438
00:25:53,490 --> 00:25:56,500
and put a layer on the crawler ways.
439
00:25:56,500 --> 00:25:59,040
The river rock would
act like ball-bearings
440
00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:01,793
between the tracks and the ground.
441
00:26:02,907 --> 00:26:05,080
And you could hear those rocks popping.
442
00:26:05,080 --> 00:26:07,228
They were being pulverized.
443
00:26:14,020 --> 00:26:16,310
And we've used that river rock ever since
444
00:26:16,310 --> 00:26:18,180
to save our bearings.
445
00:26:18,180 --> 00:26:19,013
- That was only a part of it,
446
00:26:19,013 --> 00:26:20,850
the Launch Control Center was apart of it,
447
00:26:20,850 --> 00:26:24,050
the launch pads themselves,
50 feet above sea level,
448
00:26:24,050 --> 00:26:28,560
underneath a whole catacomb
of wires and piping.
449
00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:29,933
It's a little city out there.
450
00:26:29,933 --> 00:26:33,950
- And it was all happening
at the same time.
451
00:26:33,950 --> 00:26:36,680
It's not step-by-step.
452
00:26:36,680 --> 00:26:39,130
It's somebody's working on the structural,
453
00:26:39,130 --> 00:26:41,300
while somebody's working
on the mechanical,
454
00:26:41,300 --> 00:26:43,503
while somebody's working
on the electrical.
455
00:26:44,470 --> 00:26:46,513
- Construction people are a
bunch of different people.
456
00:26:46,513 --> 00:26:49,730
I tell ya, some of them are a wild group.
457
00:26:49,730 --> 00:26:53,000
But most of them had a lot
of pride in their work.
458
00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:55,710
Lot of jobs, worked a lot of overtime.
459
00:26:55,710 --> 00:26:57,840
I really am not trying
to be the "rah rah,"
460
00:26:57,840 --> 00:26:59,977
but I think there was a spirit that said,
461
00:26:59,977 --> 00:27:01,960
"We're gonna beat the
Russians to the moon."
462
00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:05,320
It wasn't a case of, "Hell it's a job."
463
00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:08,960
Yeah, there were a few people
like that, but not very many.
464
00:27:11,999 --> 00:27:16,999
- Today, I have stood where
once Jefferson Davis stood,
465
00:27:17,056 --> 00:27:19,840
and took an oath to our people.
466
00:27:19,840 --> 00:27:22,480
In the name of the greatest people
467
00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:25,130
that have ever trod this earth,
468
00:27:25,130 --> 00:27:27,580
I draw the line in the dust
469
00:27:27,580 --> 00:27:30,760
and toss the gauntlet
before the feet of tyranny,
470
00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:33,600
and I say "segregation now,
471
00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:37,572
"segregation tomorrow,
and segregation forever."
472
00:27:41,492 --> 00:27:44,420
- You know, the first time
George Wallace ran for governor,
473
00:27:44,420 --> 00:27:48,347
he was I guess a moderate,
inclusive type guy
474
00:27:48,347 --> 00:27:50,260
and all that stuff, you know?
475
00:27:50,260 --> 00:27:52,170
And then he lost.
476
00:27:52,170 --> 00:27:54,007
And he made a statement that
477
00:27:54,007 --> 00:27:58,620
"I will never lose another
election by supporting blacks."
478
00:27:58,620 --> 00:28:00,585
You know, he used the "N" word.
479
00:28:06,470 --> 00:28:08,180
- We lived on Pulaski Pike.
480
00:28:09,790 --> 00:28:14,790
During that time, all of
Huntsville was segregated.
481
00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:20,000
The way we went to school
482
00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:21,823
was going down the railroad track.
483
00:28:22,950 --> 00:28:25,940
You wouldn't be going through
anybody's neighborhood.
484
00:28:31,740 --> 00:28:35,010
- If you didn't have
at least eight students
485
00:28:35,010 --> 00:28:38,490
taking a class, the state of
Alabama wouldn't pay for it.
486
00:28:38,490 --> 00:28:41,350
So once you got past basic math,
487
00:28:41,350 --> 00:28:43,610
we didn't have enough
students for the state
488
00:28:43,610 --> 00:28:45,250
to pay for our teacher.
489
00:28:45,250 --> 00:28:48,170
But we had this one teacher, Frank Harley,
490
00:28:48,170 --> 00:28:51,300
and I give him a lot of
credit for being here today.
491
00:28:51,300 --> 00:28:55,100
He came back afterschool
to teach us trigonometry,
492
00:28:55,100 --> 00:28:57,120
for free of charge.
493
00:28:57,120 --> 00:29:00,940
- High school I had this teacher,
494
00:29:00,940 --> 00:29:01,773
Mrs. Fields,
495
00:29:02,750 --> 00:29:03,850
and she would tell me,
496
00:29:04,947 --> 00:29:06,447
"You got a good head on your body
497
00:29:06,447 --> 00:29:09,050
"for being a mathematician."
498
00:29:09,050 --> 00:29:10,583
And I guess that stuck.
499
00:29:12,282 --> 00:29:13,782
And that's what I tried to do.
500
00:29:15,998 --> 00:29:17,150
Because of the influx
501
00:29:17,150 --> 00:29:20,480
of highly educated workers,
today Huntsville combines
502
00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:22,270
the charm and relaxed atmosphere
503
00:29:22,270 --> 00:29:24,240
of a quiet, Southern community
504
00:29:24,240 --> 00:29:26,670
with the intellectual
curiosity and activity
505
00:29:26,670 --> 00:29:28,310
of a major university city.
506
00:29:28,310 --> 00:29:31,630
- We are confronted
primarily with a moral issue.
507
00:29:31,630 --> 00:29:33,620
It is as old as the scriptures,
508
00:29:33,620 --> 00:29:36,203
and is as clear as the
American Constitution.
509
00:29:37,182 --> 00:29:39,340
The heart of the question is
510
00:29:39,340 --> 00:29:42,260
whether all Americans are
to be afforded equal rights
511
00:29:42,260 --> 00:29:44,183
and equal opportunities,
512
00:29:45,350 --> 00:29:47,960
whether we are going to
treat our fellow Americans
513
00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:49,210
as we want to be treated.
514
00:29:50,100 --> 00:29:52,400
Now the time has come for this nation
515
00:29:52,400 --> 00:29:53,613
to fulfill its promise.
516
00:29:54,600 --> 00:29:57,322
The events in Birmingham and elsewhere
517
00:29:57,322 --> 00:30:00,620
have so increased the cries for equality,
518
00:30:00,620 --> 00:30:04,420
that no city, or state or legislative body
519
00:30:04,420 --> 00:30:06,363
can prudently choose to ignore them.
520
00:30:07,490 --> 00:30:09,890
A great change is at hand,
521
00:30:09,890 --> 00:30:14,590
and our task, our obligation
is to make that revolution,
522
00:30:14,590 --> 00:30:18,380
that change, peaceful
and constructive for all.
523
00:30:18,380 --> 00:30:21,317
- President John F. Kennedy
issued Executive Order
524
00:30:21,317 --> 00:30:23,900
"Ten, Nine Twenty-Five,"
525
00:30:23,900 --> 00:30:27,350
establishing a new program of
equal employment opportunity
526
00:30:27,350 --> 00:30:29,320
in the federal service.
527
00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:30,873
Its meaning is quite clear.
528
00:30:31,840 --> 00:30:35,120
As federal employees,
you should be mindful
529
00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:38,700
that the executive order,
like the civil service act,
530
00:30:38,700 --> 00:30:41,270
carries with it a strong injunction
531
00:30:41,270 --> 00:30:44,063
against discriminatory acts
in the federal service.
532
00:30:47,882 --> 00:30:50,041
- Marshall got threatened
that if they didn't do
533
00:30:50,041 --> 00:30:52,770
a better job of integrating,
they was gonna move
534
00:30:52,770 --> 00:30:55,340
the space center somewhere else.
535
00:30:55,340 --> 00:30:58,687
They didn't want to lose all
those jobs and all that stuff.
536
00:30:58,687 --> 00:31:01,780
So, money always makes a difference
537
00:31:01,780 --> 00:31:03,974
in getting things changed, you know?
538
00:31:09,910 --> 00:31:12,240
- I think it was a great thing.
539
00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:14,520
A lot of African Americans
never think they would
540
00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:18,040
be able to start working for NASA.
541
00:31:18,040 --> 00:31:20,300
Clyde Foster, Richard Hall
542
00:31:20,300 --> 00:31:24,410
and Norman Fletcher, now those
were some of the first ones
543
00:31:24,410 --> 00:31:27,530
that were able to get out there.
544
00:31:27,530 --> 00:31:30,400
And I think it opened the door for other
545
00:31:30,400 --> 00:31:33,267
African Americans in our communities.
546
00:31:33,267 --> 00:31:35,080
- You know they helped me a lot.
547
00:31:35,080 --> 00:31:36,330
Especially Clyde, you know,
548
00:31:36,330 --> 00:31:38,293
he kind of helped mentor me along.
549
00:31:39,140 --> 00:31:41,230
My first job was a computer operator.
550
00:31:41,230 --> 00:31:43,190
So, I go into this room.
551
00:31:43,190 --> 00:31:45,640
You know, we had lights
flashing and tapes going,
552
00:31:45,640 --> 00:31:47,163
and I was scared to death.
553
00:31:48,142 --> 00:31:50,800
A guy from Auburn started
the same day I did
554
00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:53,110
and his major was math.
555
00:31:53,110 --> 00:31:55,763
And I soon found out that
I knew as much as he did.
556
00:31:56,860 --> 00:31:59,790
- They did set
up this co-op program,
557
00:31:59,790 --> 00:32:04,640
which allowed students from
universities and colleges
558
00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:08,550
to apply for summer work.
559
00:32:08,550 --> 00:32:10,670
- I didn't really see it
as breaking color barriers.
560
00:32:10,670 --> 00:32:14,213
I just saw it as achieving
as much as I could.
561
00:32:15,550 --> 00:32:19,385
When I became Deputy
Center Director at Kennedy,
562
00:32:19,385 --> 00:32:22,240
it wasn't like I wanted to
be Deputy Center Director
563
00:32:22,240 --> 00:32:23,190
because I was black.
564
00:32:23,190 --> 00:32:24,979
I wanted to be Deputy Center Director
565
00:32:24,979 --> 00:32:27,690
because that was the
next job up, you know?
566
00:32:27,690 --> 00:32:31,960
But I always knew that I
carried a certain responsibility
567
00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:34,720
by being a black in certain positions.
568
00:32:34,720 --> 00:32:36,690
I couldn't afford to fail.
569
00:32:36,690 --> 00:32:39,800
So, I always did whatever
it took to be successful.
570
00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:42,070
I never worked eight hour days.
571
00:32:42,070 --> 00:32:46,450
My hours were like ten to twelve
hour days all of my career.
572
00:32:46,450 --> 00:32:47,813
- When I became supervisor,
573
00:32:48,850 --> 00:32:52,780
I had about four African
American students,
574
00:32:52,780 --> 00:32:56,760
most of them are female
at that, working under me
575
00:32:56,760 --> 00:32:59,380
in the computation lab.
576
00:32:59,380 --> 00:33:03,470
Some of the employees, friends now,
577
00:33:03,470 --> 00:33:05,687
would come up and tell me,
578
00:33:05,687 --> 00:33:10,187
"I'm so glad that you
were there to help me.
579
00:33:10,187 --> 00:33:13,937
"If you hadn't been there to
put in a good word for me,
580
00:33:13,937 --> 00:33:15,947
"or tell me what to do,
581
00:33:15,947 --> 00:33:17,697
"I probably wouldn't have made it."
582
00:33:30,500 --> 00:33:32,253
- I was in the laboratory.
583
00:33:33,850 --> 00:33:36,350
Somebody came running in,
584
00:33:36,350 --> 00:33:38,297
and said, "Kennedy has been shot."
585
00:33:41,020 --> 00:33:44,453
I just visualized it as a minor wound.
586
00:33:49,780 --> 00:33:51,130
We could hardly believe it.
587
00:33:57,487 --> 00:33:59,237
- Hard to talk about.
588
00:34:00,152 --> 00:34:01,250
- I bet.
589
00:34:01,250 --> 00:34:02,083
- But...
590
00:34:04,120 --> 00:34:05,760
you know, it just...
591
00:34:07,230 --> 00:34:08,573
It just wasn't right.
592
00:34:11,877 --> 00:34:14,300
And we were all affected by it.
593
00:34:14,300 --> 00:34:15,740
- It made me feel
594
00:34:16,650 --> 00:34:19,383
a degree of insignificance.
595
00:34:20,460 --> 00:34:22,240
If people who are in the limelight,
596
00:34:22,240 --> 00:34:25,660
who are doing great
things, can be so easily
597
00:34:27,450 --> 00:34:28,733
disposed of,
598
00:34:29,730 --> 00:34:30,580
then who am I?
599
00:34:30,580 --> 00:34:32,583
It just kind of put that in perspective.
600
00:34:33,750 --> 00:34:35,220
There's a price for notoriety.
601
00:34:35,220 --> 00:34:37,850
When you get to be known,
there's a vulnerability.
602
00:34:37,850 --> 00:34:38,683
Assassination is one of them.
603
00:34:38,683 --> 00:34:41,170
That's the ultimate vulnerability.
604
00:34:41,170 --> 00:34:43,610
Especially if you're
doing something that's
605
00:34:43,610 --> 00:34:47,560
against the grain of a
certain set of people.
606
00:34:47,560 --> 00:34:50,039
- You know, this was a guy
that we as black people
607
00:34:50,039 --> 00:34:54,500
had hung our hopes on, that
was going to change things
608
00:34:54,500 --> 00:34:56,290
and make life better for us.
609
00:34:56,290 --> 00:34:59,110
And all of the sudden,
he was gone, you know?
610
00:34:59,110 --> 00:35:03,320
- I don't know, maybe I was
so shocked over the event,
611
00:35:03,320 --> 00:35:06,160
I didn't even think a
whole lot about its effect
612
00:35:06,160 --> 00:35:07,363
on the space program.
613
00:35:08,540 --> 00:35:13,290
We certainly lost the one
man who was our biggest fan.
614
00:35:13,290 --> 00:35:16,550
Because we were all working
toward fulfilling his dream.
615
00:35:16,550 --> 00:35:18,543
And his dream had become our dream.
616
00:35:19,760 --> 00:35:21,890
- The greatest leader of our time
617
00:35:22,840 --> 00:35:24,710
has been struck down
618
00:35:26,070 --> 00:35:29,943
by the foulest deed of our time.
619
00:35:31,670 --> 00:35:33,850
No words are sad enough
620
00:35:35,130 --> 00:35:37,663
to express our sense of loss.
621
00:35:39,460 --> 00:35:41,970
No words are strong enough
622
00:35:43,920 --> 00:35:46,600
to express our determination
623
00:35:48,010 --> 00:35:53,010
to continue the forward thrust
of American that he began.
624
00:36:01,510 --> 00:36:02,930
Johnson was not gonna let
625
00:36:02,930 --> 00:36:04,023
the program die.
626
00:36:05,200 --> 00:36:07,610
And I think we have to give him credit
627
00:36:07,610 --> 00:36:10,950
for pushing to keep going.
628
00:36:29,187 --> 00:36:32,743
- The dream of conquering
the vastness of space.
629
00:36:34,040 --> 00:36:35,943
This is our challenge.
630
00:36:37,150 --> 00:36:38,473
Not to hesitate.
631
00:36:39,380 --> 00:36:40,223
Not to pause.
632
00:36:41,390 --> 00:36:44,573
Not to turnabout and linger
over this evil moment.
633
00:36:45,800 --> 00:36:49,100
But to continue on our course,
634
00:36:49,100 --> 00:36:52,610
so that we may fulfill the destiny
635
00:36:52,610 --> 00:36:54,273
that history has set for us.
636
00:37:17,810 --> 00:37:21,683
John Kennedy's death commands
what his life conveyed.
637
00:37:22,600 --> 00:37:25,053
That America must move forward.
638
00:37:26,230 --> 00:37:28,400
To honor his memory and the future
639
00:37:28,400 --> 00:37:32,270
of the works that he started, I have today
640
00:37:32,270 --> 00:37:36,520
determined that the NASA launch
operations center in Florida
641
00:37:36,520 --> 00:37:38,850
shall hereafter be known as
642
00:37:38,850 --> 00:37:41,313
the John F. Kennedy Space Center.
643
00:37:42,750 --> 00:37:45,370
I have also acted today
with the understanding
644
00:37:45,370 --> 00:37:49,730
and the support of my friend,
the governor of Florida,
645
00:37:49,730 --> 00:37:52,223
to change the name of Cape Canaveral.
646
00:37:53,580 --> 00:37:56,923
It shall be known
hereafter as Cape Kennedy.
647
00:38:19,030 --> 00:38:22,143
- I would have paid for the
job, it was so wonderful.
648
00:38:24,350 --> 00:38:27,180
Just the excitement, every
time I'd go through the gates
649
00:38:27,180 --> 00:38:30,240
of Kennedy Space Center and show my badge,
650
00:38:30,240 --> 00:38:33,233
I thought I was the luckiest
person in the world.
651
00:38:35,130 --> 00:38:39,090
I was called a communication specialist.
652
00:38:39,090 --> 00:38:42,280
I wrote all the press releases.
653
00:38:42,280 --> 00:38:47,280
I interviewed engineers and
programmers and top personnel.
654
00:38:47,700 --> 00:38:50,510
It took some education,
655
00:38:50,510 --> 00:38:53,420
but finally I understood that
656
00:38:53,420 --> 00:38:57,380
the IBMers there did
the final system testing
657
00:38:57,380 --> 00:38:59,880
for the IU, the Instrument Unit,
658
00:38:59,880 --> 00:39:02,870
which provided the
navigation and trajectory
659
00:39:02,870 --> 00:39:04,373
for the Saturn Five.
660
00:39:06,530 --> 00:39:08,950
- I was in awe, to tell you the truth.
661
00:39:08,950 --> 00:39:12,970
I was in awe because I had no sense
662
00:39:12,970 --> 00:39:15,030
before getting to Kennedy Space Center
663
00:39:15,030 --> 00:39:16,163
what it would be like.
664
00:39:17,200 --> 00:39:19,970
I was apart of the telemetrics department.
665
00:39:19,970 --> 00:39:22,480
And Doctor Blaine Sweat,
I'll never forget him.
666
00:39:22,480 --> 00:39:24,950
He was my department manager.
667
00:39:24,950 --> 00:39:26,520
He made it very clear.
668
00:39:26,520 --> 00:39:28,667
He says, "I love excellence.
669
00:39:28,667 --> 00:39:31,477
"I want people who are gonna come in here
670
00:39:31,477 --> 00:39:35,067
"and not only help us to
achieve our objective,
671
00:39:35,067 --> 00:39:37,917
"but to bring what wisdom you have
672
00:39:37,917 --> 00:39:40,560
"to help us improve upon that."
673
00:39:40,560 --> 00:39:42,310
- Now I'm biased.
674
00:39:42,310 --> 00:39:46,320
I did my masters and my
doctorate in management, okay?
675
00:39:46,320 --> 00:39:50,370
And I will tell you that the
technical feats were fabulous.
676
00:39:50,370 --> 00:39:54,070
The organization feats
were equally fabulous.
677
00:39:54,070 --> 00:39:56,670
To be able to put together a team,
678
00:39:56,670 --> 00:39:58,950
made up of all these different companies
679
00:39:58,950 --> 00:40:02,500
and organizations, that
would function together.
680
00:40:02,500 --> 00:40:04,510
And that happened during Apollo.
681
00:40:04,510 --> 00:40:07,870
It had to, how would you
grow it at the size and speed
682
00:40:07,870 --> 00:40:10,130
that it needed to without bringing a lot
683
00:40:10,130 --> 00:40:11,779
of different people in?
684
00:40:27,966 --> 00:40:30,127
- You know, I wasn't the
swinging single of course.
685
00:40:30,127 --> 00:40:32,830
But back when my wife and
I first got here in '65
686
00:40:32,830 --> 00:40:34,540
for the Apollo program,
687
00:40:34,540 --> 00:40:36,540
we really wanted to live in Cocoa Beach.
688
00:40:39,950 --> 00:40:40,920
- It was a little rowdy.
689
00:40:40,920 --> 00:40:44,640
We had entertainment at
a lot of these motels.
690
00:40:44,640 --> 00:40:46,693
We had the astronauts here obviously.
691
00:40:46,693 --> 00:40:47,526
- Did the astronauts
692
00:40:47,526 --> 00:40:49,150
have kind of a free reign?
693
00:40:49,150 --> 00:40:50,402
- You betcha.
694
00:40:53,890 --> 00:40:57,337
It was commonplace for those
guys to get in that sports car
695
00:40:57,337 --> 00:40:59,313
and run these roads around here.
696
00:41:01,460 --> 00:41:05,340
A lot of them, us workers
included, we'd work hard
697
00:41:05,340 --> 00:41:07,280
during the daytime.
698
00:41:07,280 --> 00:41:09,980
But at night, when we wanted
to relax, we'd play hard.
699
00:41:13,096 --> 00:41:14,607
- Our
adventure was the Mouse Trap.
700
00:41:14,607 --> 00:41:16,210
- The Mouse Trap.
- The Mouse Trap.
701
00:41:16,210 --> 00:41:17,060
- The Rat House.
702
00:41:17,060 --> 00:41:18,350
- The Mouse Trap.
- The Mouse Trap.
703
00:41:18,350 --> 00:41:19,998
- Mouse Trap, yeah.
704
00:41:23,180 --> 00:41:25,940
- I wasn't in that crowd.
705
00:41:25,940 --> 00:41:28,100
But I was aware of what was happening.
706
00:41:28,100 --> 00:41:30,770
- It was like a who's
who in the space program.
707
00:41:30,770 --> 00:41:34,330
- On Fridays, anyone that came
in with their ties still on,
708
00:41:34,330 --> 00:41:36,150
got it cut off.
709
00:41:36,150 --> 00:41:39,380
There would be a lot of
hooping and hollering.
710
00:41:39,380 --> 00:41:42,253
- We talked about things
and we laughed about things.
711
00:41:43,200 --> 00:41:46,800
It never occurred to
me that an environment
712
00:41:46,800 --> 00:41:51,790
could be so caught up in this commitment
713
00:41:51,790 --> 00:41:54,343
because I hadn't seen it like that before.
714
00:41:55,330 --> 00:41:59,403
The dynamics of Kennedy
Space Center was unity.
715
00:42:00,400 --> 00:42:03,107
Everybody said, "You're a team member.
716
00:42:03,107 --> 00:42:06,167
"You play a role in helping
us to be successful."
717
00:42:19,490 --> 00:42:20,790
North American Aviation
718
00:42:20,790 --> 00:42:22,413
won two contracts on Apollo.
719
00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:25,933
They had the second stage, the S-II.
720
00:42:28,360 --> 00:42:30,643
And they had the Command
and Service Module.
721
00:42:31,850 --> 00:42:34,150
So, you know, they had a tremendous part
722
00:42:34,150 --> 00:42:36,243
of the whole Apollo vehicle.
723
00:42:37,124 --> 00:42:39,360
- You know, one of the things
about the Command Module
724
00:42:39,360 --> 00:42:42,130
is its limited space.
725
00:42:42,130 --> 00:42:43,770
It's extremely crowded.
726
00:42:43,770 --> 00:42:45,920
I mean, you had three guys.
727
00:42:45,920 --> 00:42:48,780
So we did an awful lot of simulation work.
728
00:42:48,780 --> 00:42:51,770
And the problem was knowing
the latest configuration
729
00:42:51,770 --> 00:42:54,890
with regards to the
interior of the capsule.
730
00:42:54,890 --> 00:42:57,970
Because one minute an
instrument would be over here.
731
00:42:57,970 --> 00:42:59,810
And study would show that that was not
732
00:42:59,810 --> 00:43:02,080
the proper place for it, it
should have been over here.
733
00:43:02,080 --> 00:43:03,650
And they would move it.
734
00:43:03,650 --> 00:43:05,460
- We were a month away from launch.
735
00:43:05,460 --> 00:43:07,430
We were still doing
modifications to the vehicle.
736
00:43:07,430 --> 00:43:10,250
We had been trampling in
and out of that vehicle
737
00:43:10,250 --> 00:43:12,010
for six months.
738
00:43:12,010 --> 00:43:14,240
And that does generate mistakes,
739
00:43:14,240 --> 00:43:16,143
it generates foolish decisions.
740
00:43:17,020 --> 00:43:18,400
It's almost like you're running too fast
741
00:43:18,400 --> 00:43:20,670
and you're starting to lose your balance.
742
00:43:20,670 --> 00:43:23,700
I think that's what we felt
a little bit back in 1967.
743
00:43:47,080 --> 00:43:50,040
That night, I was on station.
744
00:43:50,040 --> 00:43:53,250
And I just finished running
a simulated static fire
745
00:43:53,250 --> 00:43:56,850
with Gus Grissom and Skip
Showvan, the test conductor.
746
00:43:56,850 --> 00:43:58,823
And the communications were really bad.
747
00:43:59,670 --> 00:44:00,910
Gus was getting ticked.
748
00:44:00,910 --> 00:44:04,224
He'd been in the cockpit
all afternoon and evening.
749
00:44:04,224 --> 00:44:06,012
- Hey, how are
we going to get to the moon
750
00:44:06,012 --> 00:44:09,429
if we can't talk between three buildings?
751
00:44:12,385 --> 00:44:15,514
- They can't
hear a thing you're saying.
752
00:44:15,514 --> 00:44:17,647
- Jesus Christ.
753
00:44:17,647 --> 00:44:19,333
- And Skip said, "Let's take a break here
754
00:44:19,333 --> 00:44:22,127
and see if we can't square
this comm system away
755
00:44:22,127 --> 00:44:24,320
"before we go into the terminal count."
756
00:44:24,320 --> 00:44:29,210
- Somehow or other, a spark started
757
00:44:29,210 --> 00:44:32,263
in one of the lower areas
underneath one of the couches.
758
00:44:33,500 --> 00:44:37,290
And unfortunately, we had
saturated the atmosphere
759
00:44:37,290 --> 00:44:41,235
inside that capsule with
one hundred percent oxygen.
760
00:44:41,235 --> 00:44:43,980
- That was based on the heritage
761
00:44:43,980 --> 00:44:46,060
of both Mercury and Gemini.
762
00:44:46,060 --> 00:44:48,920
Even though Mercury and
Gemini were very small volume
763
00:44:48,920 --> 00:44:50,933
compared to the Apollo capsule.
764
00:44:51,930 --> 00:44:54,185
And when you're at one
hundred percent oxygen
765
00:44:54,185 --> 00:44:55,843
and something ignites,
766
00:44:55,843 --> 00:44:58,330
it's almost like an explosion.
767
00:44:58,330 --> 00:45:02,030
- We had discussed the
procedure for getting out
768
00:45:02,030 --> 00:45:04,450
of the capsule in an emergency,
769
00:45:04,450 --> 00:45:06,580
and the NASA wanted a redundant system;
770
00:45:06,580 --> 00:45:09,370
they wanted a hatch on the outside
771
00:45:09,370 --> 00:45:11,750
that opened to the outside.
772
00:45:11,750 --> 00:45:13,730
And they wanted a hatch on the inside
773
00:45:13,730 --> 00:45:15,613
that opened to the inside.
774
00:45:16,820 --> 00:45:20,600
When the fire started, however,
the pressure was so great
775
00:45:20,600 --> 00:45:23,793
that it just made it
seal that much tighter.
776
00:45:25,070 --> 00:45:28,540
Ed White was a strong man.
777
00:45:28,540 --> 00:45:29,990
There was no way in the world
778
00:45:30,830 --> 00:45:34,510
that he could possibly get that hatch off.
779
00:45:34,510 --> 00:45:36,800
- The pressure vessel actually ruptured.
780
00:45:36,800 --> 00:45:39,010
And the fire blew out of all of the ports
781
00:45:39,010 --> 00:45:41,460
on the outside of the Command Module.
782
00:45:41,460 --> 00:45:43,640
Burned technicians outside.
783
00:45:43,640 --> 00:45:45,003
Set papers on fire.
784
00:45:46,857 --> 00:45:48,843
- It
didn't last very long.
785
00:45:49,780 --> 00:45:54,033
But they knew, they knew
they were in trouble.
786
00:45:58,465 --> 00:45:59,440
- After the pad fire
787
00:45:59,440 --> 00:46:01,557
that killed the three
astronauts, NASA says,
788
00:46:01,557 --> 00:46:05,233
"If we have another disaster
of like nature that kills crew,
789
00:46:06,177 --> 00:46:07,877
"Congress will cutoff our funding,
790
00:46:07,877 --> 00:46:09,840
"that will be the end of the Program."
791
00:46:09,840 --> 00:46:10,850
And that was true.
792
00:46:10,850 --> 00:46:12,330
Everybody had that attitude.
793
00:46:12,330 --> 00:46:15,553
They knew that it was that
close to the end of the program.
794
00:46:17,720 --> 00:46:20,990
- It didn't take long before
our orders came through.
795
00:46:20,990 --> 00:46:22,860
This isn't going to happen again.
796
00:46:22,860 --> 00:46:25,860
We're going to take
another look at everything.
797
00:46:25,860 --> 00:46:28,120
And "everything," I mean everything.
798
00:46:28,120 --> 00:46:32,030
We spent almost an entire
year looking back over
799
00:46:32,030 --> 00:46:34,980
all of the things we had drawn and built,
800
00:46:34,980 --> 00:46:38,410
all of the management
decisions that were made.
801
00:46:38,410 --> 00:46:40,665
- I was requested by NASA to join a group
802
00:46:40,665 --> 00:46:45,190
called the Sneak Circuit Analysis Program.
803
00:46:45,190 --> 00:46:48,860
To learn how to identify
hidden catastrophes
804
00:46:48,860 --> 00:46:50,833
and find them before they occur.
805
00:46:51,980 --> 00:46:54,650
If you've never seen engineering drawings,
806
00:46:54,650 --> 00:46:55,783
you've been blessed.
807
00:46:56,760 --> 00:46:59,340
Because they don't show
what any group needs,
808
00:46:59,340 --> 00:47:02,030
they show a composite all mashed together.
809
00:47:02,030 --> 00:47:06,173
And nobody can visualize the
total effect of what that does.
810
00:47:08,090 --> 00:47:10,643
So I was allowed to try
something different.
811
00:47:11,750 --> 00:47:15,777
I thought, "If I'm an electron
traveling on that wire,
812
00:47:15,777 --> 00:47:18,497
"that wire can be a hundred
miles long and I don't care,
813
00:47:18,497 --> 00:47:21,407
"I can see the end of
it from the beginning.
814
00:47:21,407 --> 00:47:25,897
"If I can just depict that
the way the electron sees it,
815
00:47:25,897 --> 00:47:29,137
"a simples ketch of a circuit
that has power at the top,
816
00:47:29,137 --> 00:47:30,767
"ground at the bottom,
817
00:47:30,767 --> 00:47:33,427
"I'll know everywhere current can flow,
818
00:47:33,427 --> 00:47:35,347
"and under what circumstance."
819
00:47:36,560 --> 00:47:39,250
All together, I don't know
how many true sneak circuits
820
00:47:39,250 --> 00:47:41,293
we found on all the Apollos.
821
00:47:42,770 --> 00:47:45,110
It was in the neighborhood of a thousand.
822
00:47:45,110 --> 00:47:48,100
- I guess the change I
saw was that people became
823
00:47:48,100 --> 00:47:50,350
even more dedicated to doing
824
00:47:50,350 --> 00:47:52,510
what needed to be done correctly.
825
00:47:52,510 --> 00:47:53,440
If there were any doubt,
826
00:47:53,440 --> 00:47:56,060
you would want to go back and look again.
827
00:47:56,060 --> 00:47:58,640
These three guys gave their lives.
828
00:47:58,640 --> 00:48:00,470
We owe them our very best efforts.
829
00:48:00,470 --> 00:48:02,230
- On the
spacecraft side of the house,
830
00:48:02,230 --> 00:48:03,997
we did a real good assessment.
831
00:48:03,997 --> 00:48:06,640
"What did we need to change
to make a safer vehicle?"
832
00:48:06,640 --> 00:48:07,473
And we did.
833
00:48:07,473 --> 00:48:09,370
- It took quite a while to accomplish it,
834
00:48:09,370 --> 00:48:11,800
but we went to a single hatch.
835
00:48:11,800 --> 00:48:15,240
A device which we call an over-center lock
836
00:48:15,240 --> 00:48:18,930
makes it possible to actually
have the internal pressure
837
00:48:18,930 --> 00:48:22,340
seal the hatch that much tighter.
838
00:48:22,340 --> 00:48:26,210
- And we had to start looking
at all of our components
839
00:48:26,210 --> 00:48:29,910
that we used in the breathing systems.
840
00:48:29,910 --> 00:48:33,450
Some things that we had no
idea that would be flammable
841
00:48:33,450 --> 00:48:36,890
or explosive when they were
in a pure o2 environment,
842
00:48:36,890 --> 00:48:37,803
would burn.
843
00:48:38,800 --> 00:48:41,790
We got a wealth of
knowledge from that accident
844
00:48:41,790 --> 00:48:46,333
that we have used to
redesign every oxygen system
845
00:48:46,333 --> 00:48:48,640
in the world since then.
846
00:48:52,600 --> 00:48:56,160
- In retrospect, you look
back now and you realize
847
00:48:56,160 --> 00:48:58,500
that maybe if we hadn't
had that fire that night
848
00:48:58,500 --> 00:49:00,630
and lost those three guys,
849
00:49:00,630 --> 00:49:02,280
we wouldn't have got to the moon.
850
00:49:03,260 --> 00:49:06,120
What I'm afraid of is
that somewhere downstream,
851
00:49:06,120 --> 00:49:07,570
we may have had another fire.
852
00:49:08,760 --> 00:49:11,210
Or another situation where
we lost the crew in orbit,
853
00:49:11,210 --> 00:49:13,430
or on the way to the moon.
854
00:49:13,430 --> 00:49:18,120
And I think the program would
have stopped right there.
855
00:49:32,880 --> 00:49:34,770
- Mind-boggling.
856
00:49:34,770 --> 00:49:37,043
I have always seen it piecemeal.
857
00:49:45,450 --> 00:49:48,030
The first day, when they
drove me out to the pad
858
00:49:48,030 --> 00:49:49,300
as part of my introduction,
859
00:49:49,300 --> 00:49:52,083
and I went up on the 180 foot
level, and I looked down,
860
00:49:53,430 --> 00:49:54,760
and I looked up,
861
00:49:54,760 --> 00:49:57,887
I thought, "You know, there
ain't no way in the world
862
00:49:57,887 --> 00:50:00,737
"this thing is going
to get off the ground.
863
00:50:00,737 --> 00:50:03,117
"Seven million pounds.
864
00:50:03,117 --> 00:50:05,040
"How could it ever get off the ground?"
865
00:50:05,040 --> 00:50:08,490
- I took one look from the top of the pad.
866
00:50:08,490 --> 00:50:10,790
And this is the pad where Apollo 11
867
00:50:10,790 --> 00:50:13,530
was going to lift off someday.
868
00:50:13,530 --> 00:50:15,680
It was just such a magnificent sight
869
00:50:15,680 --> 00:50:19,070
and I'm sure only a
few women have seen it.
870
00:50:19,070 --> 00:50:21,560
- Early in the Saturn Five program,
871
00:50:21,560 --> 00:50:25,270
the decision was made to
go to an "all up" testing.
872
00:50:25,270 --> 00:50:26,870
- This was kind of pushed on us
873
00:50:26,870 --> 00:50:29,363
by Dr. Mueller from headquarters.
874
00:50:30,330 --> 00:50:33,167
He said, "Hell, you
Germans, you're too slow.
875
00:50:33,167 --> 00:50:35,393
"You just do one stage at a time.
876
00:50:36,587 --> 00:50:38,320
"Fly it all."
877
00:50:38,320 --> 00:50:40,987
- So rather than: "S" one "C" only.
878
00:50:40,987 --> 00:50:43,076
"S" one "C", "S" two.
879
00:50:43,076 --> 00:50:46,560
"S" one "C", "S" two, "S" four "B".
880
00:50:46,560 --> 00:50:49,967
Right from the very
beginning, "fire them all."
881
00:50:49,967 --> 00:50:53,080
- It was a nerve-wracking situation,
882
00:50:53,080 --> 00:50:54,876
you might say to some extent.
883
00:50:54,876 --> 00:50:57,980
To think that your particular
hardware, your area,
884
00:50:57,980 --> 00:51:00,930
might cause a catastrophic failure.
885
00:51:00,930 --> 00:51:04,760
I just have to say, yes
it was a constant dread.
886
00:51:04,760 --> 00:51:08,093
You know, this was an
extremely complex vehicle.
887
00:51:10,350 --> 00:51:13,710
- When we started the countdown
for the actual launch,
888
00:51:13,710 --> 00:51:16,707
I walked into this HOSC building.
889
00:51:16,707 --> 00:51:19,763
And I never came out for
three days and three nights.
890
00:51:20,790 --> 00:51:23,260
Von Braun did a tour.
891
00:51:23,260 --> 00:51:26,383
Here's all these engineers
asleep on the console.
892
00:51:27,730 --> 00:51:31,037
Von Braun said, "Let 'zem sleep.
893
00:51:31,037 --> 00:51:34,507
"I want them to be ready
when the time comes."
894
00:51:35,630 --> 00:51:40,090
- I was at a control console with my boss.
895
00:51:40,090 --> 00:51:43,320
And we got down to about
T-minus 30 seconds,
896
00:51:43,320 --> 00:51:47,479
and I thought, "Excuse
me, I'll be right back."
897
00:51:49,110 --> 00:51:51,200
I went down the stairs and out in front
898
00:51:51,200 --> 00:51:52,650
of the Launch Control Center,
899
00:51:53,530 --> 00:51:56,777
and stood there watching the launch.
900
00:51:56,777 --> 00:51:58,360
- 12, 11,
901
00:51:58,360 --> 00:51:59,193
10.
902
00:52:00,774 --> 00:52:02,196
Ignition sequence, start.
903
00:52:03,371 --> 00:52:04,239
Five,
904
00:52:04,239 --> 00:52:05,072
four,
905
00:52:05,072 --> 00:52:06,326
we have ignition.
906
00:52:07,947 --> 00:52:09,530
All engines are go.
907
00:52:11,907 --> 00:52:15,023
- The reverberation was
just pounding my chest.
908
00:52:15,860 --> 00:52:20,860
- Imagine 350 horse-power
cars, bumper-to-bumper,
909
00:52:21,610 --> 00:52:25,030
from the Atlantic coast
to the Pacific coast,
910
00:52:25,030 --> 00:52:27,063
pressing that pedal to the metal.
911
00:52:27,934 --> 00:52:31,260
That's seven and a half
million pounds of thrust.
912
00:52:31,260 --> 00:52:33,183
That's a lot of juice.
913
00:52:39,650 --> 00:52:41,360
- And
when it did finally go,
914
00:52:41,360 --> 00:52:44,190
it was so frustratingly slow.
915
00:52:44,190 --> 00:52:45,400
It's not like a shuttle
916
00:52:45,400 --> 00:52:46,891
that leaps off that's doing
a hundred miles an hour
917
00:52:46,891 --> 00:52:49,450
by the time it gets past the tower.
918
00:52:49,450 --> 00:52:51,300
You begin to wonder if it's even moving.
919
00:52:51,300 --> 00:52:52,823
It's just barely climbing.
920
00:52:53,711 --> 00:52:55,900
- You
watch it through staging.
921
00:52:55,900 --> 00:52:59,537
You think of all the
hours that went into that,
922
00:52:59,537 --> 00:53:02,210
all the work, all the contemplation,
923
00:53:02,210 --> 00:53:05,163
the arguments, the changes.
924
00:53:06,050 --> 00:53:06,883
And it worked.
925
00:53:08,370 --> 00:53:09,863
- I looked at the records.
926
00:53:10,930 --> 00:53:13,870
Looked just like I had
done them on my simulator.
927
00:53:13,870 --> 00:53:14,903
Nothing was wrong.
928
00:53:15,970 --> 00:53:18,040
First time it had ever flown.
929
00:53:18,040 --> 00:53:18,873
- A lot of people don't realize
930
00:53:18,873 --> 00:53:21,820
that that was the same year as the fire.
931
00:53:21,820 --> 00:53:24,140
That we went from the
absolute lowest point
932
00:53:24,140 --> 00:53:26,930
in terms of program morale and spirit,
933
00:53:26,930 --> 00:53:29,040
to launching that giant rocket.
934
00:53:29,040 --> 00:53:31,670
And we put an unmanned spacecraft on it.
935
00:53:31,670 --> 00:53:34,590
Literally the Phoenix
rising out of the fire.
936
00:53:34,590 --> 00:53:35,760
- Once that was completed,
937
00:53:35,760 --> 00:53:39,900
I think an awful lot of
people said, "We can do this."
938
00:53:39,900 --> 00:53:42,900
And I think it set the stage
for all the ones that followed.
939
00:53:43,760 --> 00:53:47,140
- That, for me, was the
most exciting launch because
940
00:53:47,140 --> 00:53:48,760
essentially we had arrived.
941
00:53:49,990 --> 00:53:53,420
Everything was progressing
like it should be,
942
00:53:53,420 --> 00:53:56,357
and the future looked brighter than ever.
943
00:53:58,642 --> 00:54:01,325
- Do they know about Martin Luther King?
944
00:54:06,800 --> 00:54:08,550
Could you lower those signs please?
945
00:54:10,860 --> 00:54:14,390
I have some very sad news for all of you,
946
00:54:14,390 --> 00:54:18,450
and I think sad news for
all of our fellow citizens
947
00:54:19,420 --> 00:54:23,320
and people who love
peace all over the world.
948
00:54:23,320 --> 00:54:26,060
And that is that Martin Luther King
949
00:54:26,060 --> 00:54:28,594
was shot and was killed
tonight in Memphis, Tennessee.
950
00:54:54,890 --> 00:54:56,831
- It was an awful year.
951
00:54:56,831 --> 00:54:58,230
We had the assassinations.
952
00:54:58,230 --> 00:54:59,750
Vietnam was stoking up.
953
00:54:59,750 --> 00:55:00,843
We had the riots.
954
00:55:02,910 --> 00:55:06,100
And yet, I won't say we were
captured by the program.
955
00:55:06,100 --> 00:55:07,997
But that's all we were worried about was,
956
00:55:07,997 --> 00:55:10,887
"Okay, we can't take care
of all these issues outside,
957
00:55:10,887 --> 00:55:14,506
"but at least we can see if
we can get man on the moon."
958
00:55:14,506 --> 00:55:16,550
And that was our focus.
959
00:55:16,550 --> 00:55:18,077
- You did whatever needed to be done.
960
00:55:18,077 --> 00:55:20,400
And you didn't watch the clock.
961
00:55:20,400 --> 00:55:23,230
There were times when I spent
more than a 24 hour shift
962
00:55:23,230 --> 00:55:25,417
at the Kennedy Space Center.
963
00:55:25,417 --> 00:55:28,630
So, I missed some of my kids' up bringing.
964
00:55:28,630 --> 00:55:32,680
- People weren't being forced
to work these long hours.
965
00:55:32,680 --> 00:55:34,990
But they did so by choice.
966
00:55:34,990 --> 00:55:37,250
And I think they were so engrossed
967
00:55:37,250 --> 00:55:39,090
with what they were doing,
968
00:55:39,090 --> 00:55:41,875
and the need to accomplish the work,
969
00:55:41,875 --> 00:55:45,603
when eight hours ended,
they didn't want to quit.
970
00:55:47,450 --> 00:55:49,080
- I loved my job.
971
00:55:49,080 --> 00:55:51,633
It came first and foremost.
972
00:55:52,560 --> 00:55:55,753
Especially those of us that
had families, it was hard.
973
00:55:57,470 --> 00:56:02,203
And I regret not being
able to be there more.
974
00:56:04,610 --> 00:56:08,230
- Well, probably the most dramatic change
975
00:56:10,520 --> 00:56:11,720
was in my personal life.
976
00:56:12,615 --> 00:56:14,765
It was almost like I
was married to Apollo.
977
00:56:15,730 --> 00:56:18,423
Eventually, it resulted in a divorce.
978
00:56:19,500 --> 00:56:22,623
My former wife and my two
daughters went back to England.
979
00:56:23,790 --> 00:56:26,680
I sometimes wonder how
my children grew up.
980
00:56:26,680 --> 00:56:29,393
I just don't remember a lot
of events in their lives.
981
00:56:30,590 --> 00:56:33,640
- I too suffered from having
to go through a divorce.
982
00:56:33,640 --> 00:56:35,900
I hate to think it was the space program,
983
00:56:35,900 --> 00:56:37,800
and again, we each have our reasons
984
00:56:37,800 --> 00:56:40,320
to having to go through that event.
985
00:56:40,320 --> 00:56:41,153
But...
986
00:56:42,270 --> 00:56:44,500
There were a lot of divorces here.
987
00:56:59,485 --> 00:57:01,452
- At almost
midday eastern time,
988
00:57:01,452 --> 00:57:03,590
NBC news projected Richard Nixon
989
00:57:03,590 --> 00:57:05,423
the 37th president of the United States
990
00:57:05,423 --> 00:57:08,610
when it became evident
he had carried Illinois.
991
00:57:08,610 --> 00:57:10,670
- Having lost a close one eight years ago,
992
00:57:10,670 --> 00:57:12,470
and having won a close one this year,
993
00:57:12,470 --> 00:57:15,755
I can say this, winning is a lot more fun.
994
00:57:26,904 --> 00:57:29,600
- We had four kids in five years.
995
00:57:29,600 --> 00:57:31,333
So a lot fell on my wife.
996
00:57:32,300 --> 00:57:34,890
When she was pregnant
with our fourth child,
997
00:57:34,890 --> 00:57:37,910
I was in the countdown for Apollo 8.
998
00:57:37,910 --> 00:57:41,157
This would have been
December the 20th, 1968
999
00:57:41,157 --> 00:57:44,253
and we launched on December
the 21st, the morning of.
1000
00:57:45,580 --> 00:57:48,050
I go home at the built-in hold
1001
00:57:48,050 --> 00:57:49,650
while we're fueling the vehicle.
1002
00:57:51,090 --> 00:57:54,253
She delivers our fourth
child in about 45 minutes.
1003
00:57:55,720 --> 00:57:59,920
I congratulate her and me, and
I go back to the firing room,
1004
00:57:59,920 --> 00:58:01,590
and we launch Apollo 8.
1005
00:58:03,590 --> 00:58:06,929
I called it the best scheduling
I have ever heard of.
1006
00:58:27,280 --> 00:58:29,843
- Well, I'll start with what I was doing.
1007
00:58:29,843 --> 00:58:33,430
When Apollo 8 was getting ready to launch,
1008
00:58:33,430 --> 00:58:37,180
I was doing testing off of the VAB.
1009
00:58:39,743 --> 00:58:41,963
And, I got the news that my father died.
1010
00:59:09,530 --> 00:59:11,980
- We'd flown the Saturn 5 twice.
1011
00:59:11,980 --> 00:59:14,290
And now, we're going to
put men on top of it.
1012
00:59:14,290 --> 00:59:16,160
And we weren't just going
to go into low-earth orbit,
1013
00:59:16,160 --> 00:59:17,973
we were going to go around the moon.
1014
00:59:17,973 --> 00:59:21,212
We'd never sent men out of earth orbit,
1015
00:59:21,212 --> 00:59:24,290
and we're going to do all this
on this first manned flight.
1016
00:59:24,290 --> 00:59:27,490
- When they went around and
came out on the other side
1017
00:59:27,490 --> 00:59:31,260
and renewed communication,
we knew we'd made it.
1018
00:59:31,260 --> 00:59:34,607
And then they gave us
an image of the earth,
1019
00:59:34,607 --> 00:59:38,220
the first time it had ever
been seen by human eyes
1020
00:59:38,220 --> 00:59:41,360
from outer space you might say.
1021
00:59:41,360 --> 00:59:45,680
I mean, even in earth orbit
you don't get the full concept.
1022
00:59:45,680 --> 00:59:48,353
- Just to see the earth rise.
1023
00:59:51,671 --> 00:59:53,403
It just builds you up.
1024
00:59:54,660 --> 00:59:55,493
You know,
1025
00:59:57,469 --> 01:00:00,802
what I'm doing is worthwhile.
1026
01:00:00,802 --> 01:00:05,055
- We are
now approaching lunar sunrise.
1027
01:00:05,055 --> 01:00:08,810
And for all the people back on earth,
1028
01:00:08,810 --> 01:00:11,645
the crew of Apollo 8 has a message
1029
01:00:11,645 --> 01:00:14,478
that we would like to send to you,
1030
01:00:16,396 --> 01:00:21,147
"In the beginning, God created
the heaven and the earth.
1031
01:00:21,147 --> 01:00:24,442
"And the earth was without form, and void,
1032
01:00:24,442 --> 01:00:27,826
"and darkness was upon
the face of the deep.
1033
01:00:27,826 --> 01:00:28,912
"And the spirit of God--"
1034
01:00:28,912 --> 01:00:31,973
- That
was on Christmas Eve, 1968.
1035
01:00:33,458 --> 01:00:38,458
- The whole country seemed to
be coming apart at the seams.
1036
01:00:38,570 --> 01:00:41,103
Apollo was about the only bright spot.
1037
01:00:43,110 --> 01:00:45,753
It was a bright spot in all of our lives.
1038
01:00:46,920 --> 01:00:50,010
- Maybe nothing compares to
the actual man on the moon.
1039
01:00:50,010 --> 01:00:53,866
But, I'd say that
instant stands out as one
1040
01:00:53,866 --> 01:00:55,783
that I'll never forget.
1041
01:01:14,567 --> 01:01:16,810
- Apollo 11 was special because we knew
1042
01:01:16,810 --> 01:01:18,270
we were going to land on the moon.
1043
01:01:18,270 --> 01:01:20,500
But it wasn't really very different
1044
01:01:20,500 --> 01:01:23,253
from a launch vehicle standpoint.
1045
01:01:33,137 --> 01:01:35,640
- I was on the backup crew,
which meant I was done
1046
01:01:35,640 --> 01:01:38,560
just as things were
beginning to get exciting.
1047
01:01:38,560 --> 01:01:41,830
I left to see what kind
of crowds were there.
1048
01:01:41,830 --> 01:01:44,840
All along the roadway,
from the edge of the gate,
1049
01:01:44,840 --> 01:01:47,950
on into town, I could hardly get through.
1050
01:01:47,950 --> 01:01:50,520
There were people everywhere.
1051
01:01:50,520 --> 01:01:52,690
- I was in the control room.
1052
01:01:52,690 --> 01:01:54,420
It was just another launch.
1053
01:01:54,420 --> 01:01:56,828
I don't recall anything
standing out about it.
1054
01:01:56,828 --> 01:01:59,310
- Liftoff on Apollo 11.
1055
01:01:59,310 --> 01:02:01,327
- Obviously, we still
had some trepidation,
1056
01:02:01,327 --> 01:02:02,710
"Will it all go right?"
1057
01:02:02,710 --> 01:02:06,180
But it was surprisingly
similar to the prior ones.
1058
01:02:06,180 --> 01:02:08,501
Each time we did it,
we felt more confident
1059
01:02:08,501 --> 01:02:10,263
that we could do it again.
1060
01:02:10,263 --> 01:02:11,923
- Apollo
11, this is Houston.
1061
01:02:11,923 --> 01:02:14,006
You are go for TLI, over.
1062
01:02:15,014 --> 01:02:16,176
Ignition.
1063
01:02:18,935 --> 01:02:22,357
We confirm ignition and the thrust is go.
1064
01:02:22,357 --> 01:02:26,210
- Roger,
things look real close.
1065
01:02:26,210 --> 01:02:28,090
- I was at work,
1066
01:02:28,090 --> 01:02:30,980
and I knew it was gonna happen that day.
1067
01:02:30,980 --> 01:02:34,040
So I told my manager I was going home.
1068
01:02:34,040 --> 01:02:35,547
He didn't argue with me.
1069
01:02:35,547 --> 01:02:38,420
I went home and I was watching on TV,
1070
01:02:38,420 --> 01:02:40,211
all through the sequence.
1071
01:02:40,211 --> 01:02:42,870
- Roger, throttle down.
1072
01:02:42,870 --> 01:02:43,950
Better than in the simulator.
1073
01:02:43,950 --> 01:02:47,267
- The main thing I remember is,
1074
01:02:47,267 --> 01:02:51,077
"Why in heaven's name
did they choose to do it
1075
01:02:51,077 --> 01:02:53,097
"sometime after midnight?"
1076
01:02:54,940 --> 01:02:57,853
Which was very much a
personal sort of thing.
1077
01:02:59,050 --> 01:03:00,780
- 40 feet
down, two and a half.
1078
01:03:00,780 --> 01:03:01,957
Picking up some dust.
1079
01:03:04,157 --> 01:03:05,324
Contact light.
1080
01:03:06,710 --> 01:03:08,205
Okay, engine stop.
1081
01:03:08,205 --> 01:03:09,083
APA at a descent.
1082
01:03:10,530 --> 01:03:13,140
Both auto descent command override off.
1083
01:03:13,140 --> 01:03:14,660
- I don't recall the exact hour,
1084
01:03:14,660 --> 01:03:17,787
but it was like three
o' clock in the morning.
1085
01:03:17,787 --> 01:03:21,520
The daughters were, you
know, already in bed.
1086
01:03:21,520 --> 01:03:25,540
And were saying, "No,
they can't miss this."
1087
01:03:25,540 --> 01:03:29,030
So we dragged them out,
put them in front of the TV
1088
01:03:29,030 --> 01:03:31,737
and said, "You've got to watch this.
1089
01:03:31,737 --> 01:03:33,926
"This is history in the making."
1090
01:03:33,926 --> 01:03:34,808
- Okay, Neil,
1091
01:03:34,808 --> 01:03:36,613
we can see you coming down the ladder now.
1092
01:03:38,440 --> 01:03:39,680
- I think they're thankful.
1093
01:03:39,680 --> 01:03:42,853
But at the time, all they
wanted to do was sleep.
1094
01:03:44,160 --> 01:03:46,720
- I'm at
the foot of the ladder.
1095
01:03:46,720 --> 01:03:50,590
The LEM footpads are only
depressed in the surface
1096
01:03:50,590 --> 01:03:52,860
about one or two inches.
1097
01:03:52,860 --> 01:03:55,241
Although the surface appears to be
1098
01:03:55,241 --> 01:03:58,753
very, very fine grained,
as you get close to it.
1099
01:03:58,753 --> 01:04:00,920
It's almost like a powder.
1100
01:04:04,909 --> 01:04:07,742
I'm going to step off the LEM now.
1101
01:04:16,096 --> 01:04:18,596
That's one small step for man.
1102
01:04:21,232 --> 01:04:23,482
One giant leap for mankind.
1103
01:04:54,430 --> 01:04:57,160
- I was actually at the space center.
1104
01:04:57,160 --> 01:04:59,990
We were on the top floor of
1105
01:04:59,990 --> 01:05:02,860
the central instrumentation facility.
1106
01:05:02,860 --> 01:05:04,660
And I tell you what,
1107
01:05:04,660 --> 01:05:07,686
it was like an eruption of joy.
1108
01:05:12,110 --> 01:05:13,152
- Man.
1109
01:05:15,050 --> 01:05:18,010
Great admiration for the
people who were willing
1110
01:05:18,010 --> 01:05:20,073
to go do that.
1111
01:05:20,073 --> 01:05:22,160
The whole purpose was to
put two men on the moon
1112
01:05:22,160 --> 01:05:24,040
and get them back safely,
1113
01:05:24,040 --> 01:05:25,520
and we couldn't have done
that if they hadn't gotten
1114
01:05:25,520 --> 01:05:28,100
in that spacecraft and said, "Let's go."
1115
01:05:28,100 --> 01:05:31,040
I really admire our astronauts.
1116
01:05:31,040 --> 01:05:32,250
- But you
helped get them there.
1117
01:05:32,250 --> 01:05:33,990
- Yeah, I did but
1118
01:05:33,990 --> 01:05:35,783
it wouldn't have mattered
if they hadn't gone.
1119
01:05:38,009 --> 01:05:39,247
- Tell me if
you get a picture, Houston.
1120
01:05:39,247 --> 01:05:42,224
- We got
a beautiful picture, Neil.
1121
01:05:42,224 --> 01:05:45,097
It was the climax, yeah.
1122
01:05:45,097 --> 01:05:47,601
Like winning the championship.
1123
01:05:47,601 --> 01:05:49,018
- I pat myself on the back.
1124
01:05:51,797 --> 01:05:53,309
- And then go
back to work the next day?
1125
01:05:53,309 --> 01:05:54,280
- That's right.
1126
01:05:55,670 --> 01:05:58,430
- The fact that we landed successfully
1127
01:05:58,430 --> 01:06:01,170
was one of the highlights of my life,
1128
01:06:01,170 --> 01:06:04,027
as far as having the feeling that
1129
01:06:04,027 --> 01:06:06,593
I had a little something to do with it.
1130
01:06:07,480 --> 01:06:09,230
I was proud.
1131
01:06:09,230 --> 01:06:12,760
And I cried in the happiness
of it all, you know?
1132
01:06:12,760 --> 01:06:15,593
In the accomplishments of
what these men had done.
1133
01:06:16,926 --> 01:06:20,553
And then I started worrying
about the return trip.
1134
01:06:26,057 --> 01:06:28,151
- Apollo 11,
Apollo 11, this is Hornet,
1135
01:06:28,151 --> 01:06:29,199
Hornet, over.
1136
01:06:29,199 --> 01:06:31,317
- This is Apollo 11
1137
01:06:31,317 --> 01:06:32,813
reading you loud and clear.
1138
01:06:32,813 --> 01:06:35,367
Our position: one, three, three, zero.
1139
01:06:35,367 --> 01:06:37,117
Six, five, one, five.
1140
01:06:38,739 --> 01:06:40,010
- I didn't really take
1141
01:06:40,010 --> 01:06:41,410
a deep breath until that.
1142
01:06:41,410 --> 01:06:43,497
I think everybody felt that,
1143
01:06:43,497 --> 01:06:47,538
"Get 'em back on ground, and
let 'em have their parade."
1144
01:07:01,080 --> 01:07:03,891
- I was
standing on the courthouse square.
1145
01:07:03,891 --> 01:07:05,350
- A
couple of the city elders
1146
01:07:05,350 --> 01:07:09,543
picked Von Braun up and
carried him on their shoulders.
1147
01:07:10,400 --> 01:07:12,980
- That
vision sticks with me.
1148
01:07:12,980 --> 01:07:14,600
Great excitement.
1149
01:07:14,600 --> 01:07:16,120
Pride.
1150
01:07:16,120 --> 01:07:19,903
Knowing that Saturn,
the propulsion system,
1151
01:07:20,830 --> 01:07:23,993
the community had been such
an integral part of that.
1152
01:07:25,450 --> 01:07:28,477
- It demonstrated that with
the will of the people,
1153
01:07:28,477 --> 01:07:32,250
and the backing of the
politicians and the money,
1154
01:07:32,250 --> 01:07:34,913
the nation can accomplish
wonderful things.
1155
01:07:36,260 --> 01:07:38,247
That's the way most of us
look back on it and say,
1156
01:07:38,247 --> 01:07:40,547
"Indeed, we made it happen.
1157
01:07:40,547 --> 01:07:43,017
"We were part of that
and we're proud of it."
1158
01:07:44,426 --> 01:07:46,470
- Oh,
we're going some places.
1159
01:07:46,470 --> 01:07:47,303
- You've got a go orbit,
1160
01:07:47,303 --> 01:07:48,730
you're looking good.
1161
01:07:48,730 --> 01:07:49,778
- I tell you one thing,
1162
01:07:49,778 --> 01:07:52,800
this is a first class ride, Houston.
1163
01:07:52,800 --> 01:07:54,780
- In '69,
1164
01:07:54,780 --> 01:07:59,090
when we landed on the moon,
things started to close down.
1165
01:07:59,090 --> 01:08:03,880
And I saw a lot of friends and
contractors lose their jobs,
1166
01:08:03,880 --> 01:08:06,510
and have to move away.
1167
01:08:06,510 --> 01:08:08,380
- You wanna know how I feel?
1168
01:08:08,380 --> 01:08:09,253
I'm pissed.
1169
01:08:10,470 --> 01:08:12,280
Pure and simple.
1170
01:08:12,280 --> 01:08:16,190
We were working on this
second stage in the VAB.
1171
01:08:16,190 --> 01:08:18,620
We had a page "to report to your office."
1172
01:08:18,620 --> 01:08:21,333
And there was one of our personnel people
1173
01:08:21,333 --> 01:08:24,370
with a list of pink papers.
1174
01:08:24,370 --> 01:08:27,947
And it said, "Pack up
your personal effects,
1175
01:08:27,947 --> 01:08:31,097
"and be ready to surrender
your badge in 30 days.
1176
01:08:31,097 --> 01:08:32,683
"You're outta here."
1177
01:08:33,516 --> 01:08:35,820
We've had a problem here.
1178
01:08:35,820 --> 01:08:36,979
- Say again, please.
1179
01:08:36,979 --> 01:08:38,830
- Houston,
we've had a problem.
1180
01:08:38,830 --> 01:08:40,300
- Like all things,
1181
01:08:40,300 --> 01:08:42,553
there's a beginning and there's an end.
1182
01:08:43,570 --> 01:08:46,670
When I was given the word that my services
1183
01:08:46,670 --> 01:08:48,910
were no longer needed,
1184
01:08:48,910 --> 01:08:51,430
I left with a heavy heart.
1185
01:08:51,430 --> 01:08:53,980
And yet, with a sense of accomplishment
1186
01:08:53,980 --> 01:08:57,163
that we had done what we set out to do.
1187
01:08:58,515 --> 01:09:00,252
- And on the surface.
1188
01:09:00,252 --> 01:09:01,759
Not bad for an old man.
1189
01:09:01,759 --> 01:09:02,592
- In my left hand
1190
01:09:02,592 --> 01:09:04,258
I have a feather.
1191
01:09:04,258 --> 01:09:06,030
In my right hand, a hammer.
1192
01:09:06,030 --> 01:09:08,730
And hopefully they'll hit
the ground at the same time.
1193
01:09:10,740 --> 01:09:12,100
How about that?
1194
01:09:12,100 --> 01:09:14,679
Man, we've come a long way.
1195
01:09:14,679 --> 01:09:16,990
Look at the size of that rock.
1196
01:09:16,990 --> 01:09:18,040
- There was already
1197
01:09:18,040 --> 01:09:20,270
the waning public sentiment.
1198
01:09:20,270 --> 01:09:24,260
My father took my sister and
me down to Apollo 15 launch.
1199
01:09:24,260 --> 01:09:26,610
The excitement you could
tell had already died off
1200
01:09:26,610 --> 01:09:28,060
from what it had been before.
1201
01:09:28,930 --> 01:09:31,813
- I think you have to
put it all in context.
1202
01:09:32,740 --> 01:09:34,073
The Russians were beaten.
1203
01:09:34,980 --> 01:09:39,980
We had fulfilled Kennedy's audacious goal,
1204
01:09:40,009 --> 01:09:41,793
and we did it in style.
1205
01:09:42,700 --> 01:09:45,610
We were using about
four and a half percent
1206
01:09:45,610 --> 01:09:48,683
of the nation's overall budget.
1207
01:09:49,640 --> 01:09:54,640
We didn't have a good
vision of what to do next.
1208
01:09:55,050 --> 01:09:58,340
- I remember going back
into my boss's office.
1209
01:09:58,340 --> 01:10:01,770
He said, "Apollo is
eventually coming to an end."
1210
01:10:01,770 --> 01:10:03,747
I said, "No, no.
1211
01:10:03,747 --> 01:10:06,247
"We're gonna build bigger
rockets and go to Mars."
1212
01:10:07,540 --> 01:10:11,857
He said, "Well, I want
you to start thinking
1213
01:10:11,857 --> 01:10:13,787
"about something other than Apollo."
1214
01:10:14,955 --> 01:10:16,397
I said, "Okay, boss."
1215
01:10:17,670 --> 01:10:18,503
And,
1216
01:10:19,410 --> 01:10:22,124
Apollo did come to an end.
1217
01:10:26,050 --> 01:10:27,310
I'd always worked in
1218
01:10:27,310 --> 01:10:30,200
the Huntsville Operations Support Center.
1219
01:10:30,200 --> 01:10:31,683
I'd never seen a Saturn fly.
1220
01:10:32,724 --> 01:10:34,920
So, I took annual leave,
1221
01:10:34,920 --> 01:10:39,365
and I took my son to see
the last shot to the moon.
1222
01:10:46,150 --> 01:10:50,320
Miles away, sitting out
on all this wasteland,
1223
01:10:50,320 --> 01:10:53,200
here was this tall, slim Saturn.
1224
01:10:53,200 --> 01:10:56,040
Pure white, so white you
could hardly look at it.
1225
01:10:56,040 --> 01:10:57,470
- The countdown continuing
1226
01:10:57,470 --> 01:10:58,790
to move along smoothly.
1227
01:10:58,790 --> 01:10:59,640
T-minus 90--
1228
01:10:59,640 --> 01:11:02,060
- There
were tens of thousands
1229
01:11:02,060 --> 01:11:03,910
of people out there.
1230
01:11:03,910 --> 01:11:06,490
No matter how late it was,
or if there was a delay,
1231
01:11:06,490 --> 01:11:07,830
nobody cared.
1232
01:11:07,830 --> 01:11:12,050
- Eight, seven,
ignition sequence started.
1233
01:11:12,050 --> 01:11:12,990
All engines are started.
1234
01:11:12,990 --> 01:11:15,490
- When the countdown went down to zero,
1235
01:11:15,490 --> 01:11:18,400
you could see all the fire and the smoke.
1236
01:11:18,400 --> 01:11:20,353
Fire as bright as a welding torch.
1237
01:11:21,445 --> 01:11:24,013
And smoke just blowing for miles.
1238
01:11:24,894 --> 01:11:26,430
People were silent.
1239
01:11:26,430 --> 01:11:27,580
They were just stunned.
1240
01:11:29,070 --> 01:11:31,473
And then, unexpectedly,
1241
01:11:32,500 --> 01:11:34,706
a wall of sound hits us.
1242
01:11:37,680 --> 01:11:39,760
People were staggering, trying to stand up
1243
01:11:39,760 --> 01:11:43,100
like they were on a ship,
rocking in the waves.
1244
01:11:43,100 --> 01:11:45,290
You could see their lips moving.
1245
01:11:45,290 --> 01:11:48,600
But even from that
distance, it was so loud
1246
01:11:48,600 --> 01:11:52,381
that you could hear
nothing but that sound.
1247
01:11:57,349 --> 01:12:00,432
And then it starts tilting downrange.
1248
01:12:01,650 --> 01:12:03,272
- 30
seconds, we're going up.
1249
01:12:03,272 --> 01:12:04,817
And away.
1250
01:12:04,817 --> 01:12:06,817
30 seconds and 17 is go.
1251
01:12:08,112 --> 01:12:10,270
- 17, you're go.
1252
01:12:10,270 --> 01:12:12,659
- And then it was over.
1253
01:12:12,659 --> 01:12:16,554
We didn't know it was all
over, but it was all over then.
1254
01:12:16,554 --> 01:12:17,665
Stand by for the report.
1255
01:12:17,665 --> 01:12:19,381
- Okay.
1256
01:12:27,660 --> 01:12:30,950
- We all realize that
the first lunar landing
1257
01:12:32,290 --> 01:12:35,348
will be a hard act to follow.
1258
01:12:35,348 --> 01:12:37,391
There's only one moon,
1259
01:12:37,391 --> 01:12:41,223
and I'm afraid we can't
offer many more spectaculars
1260
01:12:41,223 --> 01:12:44,364
like that in the years to come.
1261
01:12:44,364 --> 01:12:47,481
The interest and the
attention of the space program
1262
01:12:47,481 --> 01:12:50,057
will now be turned to put all
that new capability to use,
1263
01:12:52,359 --> 01:12:54,735
for earth-related applications,
1264
01:12:54,735 --> 01:12:59,318
for the benefit of man, for
the benefit of the taxpayer
1265
01:13:00,277 --> 01:13:02,793
and his less favorite brother,
1266
01:13:02,793 --> 01:13:06,340
an underdeveloped and hungry country.
1267
01:13:06,340 --> 01:13:09,080
- When it ended, this brilliant team,
1268
01:13:09,080 --> 01:13:12,423
this one-of-a-lifetime team,
1269
01:13:13,390 --> 01:13:14,990
was split up.
1270
01:13:14,990 --> 01:13:17,440
And we had brilliant engineers
1271
01:13:17,440 --> 01:13:20,800
who started selling typewriters.
1272
01:13:20,800 --> 01:13:22,980
- When you lose the team,
1273
01:13:22,980 --> 01:13:25,470
you start from zero.
1274
01:13:25,470 --> 01:13:27,670
We lost the team.
1275
01:13:27,670 --> 01:13:30,680
People with the correct
educational backgrounds.
1276
01:13:30,680 --> 01:13:32,520
People with the right characteristics
1277
01:13:32,520 --> 01:13:34,770
in terms of their dedication.
1278
01:13:34,770 --> 01:13:36,310
People with a lot of hope
1279
01:13:36,310 --> 01:13:40,290
in their hearts to want to succeed.
1280
01:13:40,290 --> 01:13:41,150
- And the young people.
1281
01:13:41,150 --> 01:13:46,020
You know, Apollo was done by
people 30 and under primarily.
1282
01:13:46,020 --> 01:13:49,210
So you had all these folks
that's willing to work
1283
01:13:49,210 --> 01:13:53,120
12, 18 hours a day to make this happen.
1284
01:13:53,120 --> 01:13:58,120
And I just don't see another
project out there like that.
1285
01:13:59,120 --> 01:14:03,400
- You know, I wasn't
an integral part of it.
1286
01:14:03,400 --> 01:14:06,920
I had my job, which was to
1287
01:14:06,920 --> 01:14:08,923
write about these brilliant people.
1288
01:14:09,780 --> 01:14:12,800
And I do, I felt like I was the witness.
1289
01:14:12,800 --> 01:14:14,163
I was the voice.
1290
01:14:15,460 --> 01:14:18,680
I think it's the greatest
technological team
1291
01:14:18,680 --> 01:14:21,123
that's ever been formed.
1292
01:14:24,570 --> 01:14:28,070
- I have no hesitation in saying
1293
01:14:28,070 --> 01:14:31,660
the Apollo Program was
good for the nation.
1294
01:14:31,660 --> 01:14:34,610
- It created new management philosophies,
1295
01:14:34,610 --> 01:14:36,860
new management approaches,
1296
01:14:36,860 --> 01:14:38,610
a lot of technical breakthroughs.
1297
01:14:38,610 --> 01:14:42,060
- And camaraderie.
1298
01:14:42,060 --> 01:14:43,523
The nation came together.
1299
01:14:44,410 --> 01:14:48,060
There were half a million people involved.
1300
01:14:48,060 --> 01:14:49,170
- That's what we need.
1301
01:14:49,170 --> 01:14:54,000
We need national goals, not
unlike the Apollo Program.
1302
01:14:54,000 --> 01:14:55,710
Apply it to health.
1303
01:14:55,710 --> 01:14:57,440
Apply it to education.
1304
01:14:57,440 --> 01:14:59,620
Bring everybody in on the act.
1305
01:14:59,620 --> 01:15:02,350
They can have a sense of
pride, a sense of belonging,
1306
01:15:02,350 --> 01:15:06,230
a sense of ownership and
a sense of responsibility.
1307
01:15:06,230 --> 01:15:08,040
- I think the potential is there.
1308
01:15:08,040 --> 01:15:12,200
I don't know how to make
the case for enough people.
1309
01:15:12,200 --> 01:15:15,360
Because we have, currently I guess,
1310
01:15:15,360 --> 01:15:17,243
a real focus on individuals.
1311
01:15:18,310 --> 01:15:19,650
That attitude is not gonna cut it
1312
01:15:19,650 --> 01:15:21,943
if we're trying to reach beyond ourselves.
1313
01:15:22,820 --> 01:15:25,327
And so you go back to Apollo and say,
1314
01:15:25,327 --> 01:15:26,547
"What made it special?
1315
01:15:26,547 --> 01:15:28,417
"Why did it happen?
1316
01:15:28,417 --> 01:15:31,637
"What can we do today that puts us back
1317
01:15:31,637 --> 01:15:33,950
"on a track like we had?"
1318
01:15:33,950 --> 01:15:36,350
And maybe one of us will
come up with an answer.
1319
01:15:37,190 --> 01:15:39,160
It may not be the answer
but it's one of them.
1320
01:15:39,160 --> 01:15:41,951
Let's go down that road
and see what we find.
102218
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