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We choose to go to the moon.

We choose to go to the moon.

We choose to go to the moon in this decade
and do the other things,

not because they are easy
but because they are hard.

- Look at that.
- That's beautiful.

It's gotta be one of the most proud moments
of my life. I guarantee you.

For most of human history,
a voyage to the moon was the fantasy

of the addle-brained or foolhardy,

for only divine beings
and supermen could make the journey.

But then humans went aloft
on mechanical wings,

defying gravity
and redefining the realm of possibility,

and the moon was within the grasp

of whoever would build the machine
to take them there.

The main requirement for making
the fantasy a fact? Perseverance.

The wherewithal
to solve the problems one by one

over the long course of the endeavor.

Problems such as how to make
that first exploratory leap

into the lifeless void of outer space.

For without surviving that,
no one would ever dare make

the foolhardy yet divine voyage
from the Earth to the moon.

- What do you do here at the base, sir?
- I'm an astronaut.

Are you one of the seven astronauts
that have been chosen?

That's right. I'm one of the seven.

They're gonna shoot me out
into space, into the blue.

Up above buildings!

Now, sir, just one moment. One moment.

Sure. I'm a little nervous.
I'm afraid I'm gonna lose my life.

- Sir, may I ask you something?
- Sure.

I saw the pictures of the seven astronauts
that appeared in Life.

- You saw them, yeah.
- You are not among them.

None of them are them.

- You mean those are not the real...
- No, those are models.

You see, they can't take pictures of us.
We're monkeys, man.

- What do you mean?
- Let me explain something.

- Those are seven handsome men.
- They take pictures of them

so that we're not ashamed for Russia
to show such ugly little astronauts.

- You're not a very good-looking man.
- No, I'm a monkey!

Sir, I'm a little disturbed that they're
sending you up to be the first man in space.

You seem ill-equipped to be an astronaut.

What do you mean?
I got gloves and everything.

There is historic news
from behind the Iron Curtain.

Man has traversed the reaches of outer
space, and that man is a communist.

Soviet pilot Yuri Gagarin
in the spacecraft Vostok I

successfully lifted off
the face of the Earth,

flew his craft around
the globe in 90 minutes

and landed safely in the Soviet Union.

As with the flight of
Sputnik four years ago,

this latest Russian achievement

has caught those in the American
space programme by surprise.

The seven astronauts
of the Mercury space programme

suddenly find themselves
jockeying for second place.

It has been reported
that either Gus Grissom,

John Glenn or Alan B Shepard

will be the first to fly
the one-man Mercury space capsule.

Just when the flight will take place
has been the subject of much speculation.

Tonight President Kennedy
is meeting with officials

of the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration

to discuss not just
why we are losing the space race

but perhaps if it has already been lost.

- The Russian went into orbit.
- One orbit, yes.

We can't even match that.

Not yet.

Gentlemen...

The president has been keeping up with your
hearings before Congress and committees.

Tonight we can dispense with small talk.

He will want to know how we can catch
the Russians, or better, leapfrog them.

We can put a man on the moon
before the Russians. How about that?

It will take a concerted national effort.

Something along the lines
of the Manhattan Project.

- How much would it cost?
- Somewhere between 10 and 20 billion dollars.

Pumping that much cash into the
private sector could be popular.

He will ask if there's anything we can
do for less of the taxpayers' dollars.

What if we put up
a space laboratory of some kind?

They'll beat us.

If we get into a race
over heavy-lifting capabilities,

which is all that putting up
a space station will demonstrate,

we're going to lose
for at least the next five years.

Hugh, were you as sure about this
under Eisenhower?

No, but the Soviets
hadn't put a man in space then.

Most assuredly,
the moon is their ultimate objective.

Red moon, huh?
Who wants that hanging over our heads?

As head of the president's
science advisory,

I've gotta tell him that politics aside,

there's no reason
to put a man on the moon.

The only thing we'll get
for our money is some rocks.

So, put a probe up,
scoop some out, bring 'em back

and tour the world with them
for propaganda purposes.

You don't need to send a man a quarter
of a million miles away to do that.

And it sure as hell won't
cost 20 billion dollars.

Certainly the president realizes
that the moment a man steps on the moon

will be a definitive one
in the history of the world.

Especially when he sticks
Old Glory in it and salutes.

He's ready for us.

Can the president count on anything
in the immediate future?

Yes, 2nd May.
We'll have an American up on 2nd May.

- Command carrier on.
- Roger. Command carrier on.

Turn off telemetry transmitters
when sep is complete.

Roger. Flight transmitters are off.

Summary status check.

Check ALO switch position.

Roger. ALO switch position on.

Liftoff is on.

We have ignition.

We have liftoff.

- You're on your way, José.
- Roger.

Liftoff, and the clock has started.

This is Freedom 7 I Fuel is go!
1.2G

Cabin pressure 1 4psi.

Oxygen is go! Freedom 7, it is still go!

Roger. Copy.

This is 7. Fuel is go!

1. 8G. 8psi, cabin, and the oxygen is go.

Cabin pressure holding at 5.5.

Cabin holding at 5.5.

Cabin valves sealed.
Environment's holding.

I understand. Cabin holding at 5.5.

We are still go, CAPCOM.

Fuel is go!
2.5G. Cabin, 5.5.

Oxygen is go. The main vessel's 24
and the isolated battery is 29.

- OK, it's a lot smoother now.
- Roger. We are at max speed.

Fuel is go. 5.5, cabin. Oxygen is go.

All systems are go.

All systems are go. The trajectory is OK.

Tower jettison. Cap sep green.

- Flight, we'll be coming up at zero G.
- Very good.

I'll turn jet off,
and the turnaround has started.

ASCS is OK. No movement.

Roger.

OK. I have got a visual on the periscope.

- What a beautiful view.
- I'll bet it is.

Cloud cover over Florida. Three to
four tenths near the eastern coast.

I can see Okeechobee,
identify Andros Island, identify the reefs.

Manual flight control.
Roll and yaw are OK.

Feels great to fly.
Start retro sequence.

In retro attitude.

- Control is smooth.
- Roger.

Down to retro. Five, four, three, two, one.

Retro fire.

- Retro one, very smooth.
- Roger.

- Retro two.
- Retro two.

Retro three. All three retros are fired.

- All right on the button.
- Retro jettison is red to arm.

- CAPCOM, go fly by wire.
- Switching to fly by wire.

- Fly by wire.
- Roger!

- All is OK.
- Roger.

Roger. I do not have a light.

Understand that you do not have a light.

I saw the straps falling away.
I heard a noise.

- I will use override.
- Roger.

OK, buster, re-entry. ASCS normal.

- Roger.
- Periscope is retracting.

- ASCS is OK.
- Understand.

- Switching to UHF on radio.
- On UHF. Back to UHF.

OK, this is Freedom 7. G buildup.

Three.

Six.

Nine!

Eleven!

OK!

OK.

1 1.5 max G.

- This is 7. I'm OK.
- Coming through loud and clear.

30,000 feet.

OK.

Freedom 7, your impact
will be right on the button.

The drogue is freed at 21,000 feet.

I've got 70% auto, 90% manual.

Oxygen is still OK.

CAPCOM, can you read?

CAPCOM, can you read?

- I read.
- How do you read now?

CAPCOM, glad to be here aboard.

The main chute is green.

Main chute is green.
Main chute is good!

All right. All right. All right.

Rate of descent is about
35 feet per second.

I'm at 7,000 feet. Landing bag
is on green. My peroxide is dumped.

My condition is good.

Mr Speaker.
The President of the United States.

Mr Webb, Dr Gilruth is here.

- Bob.
- Hey.

He's just getting into it.

Good. Can you turn it up, please, Jim?

...their large rocket engines,
which gives them many months of lead time,

and recognizing the likelihood that they
will exploit this lead for some time to come

in still more impressive success.

We, nevertheless, are required
to make new efforts on our own.

For while we cannot guarantee
that we shall one day be first,

we can guarantee that any failure
to make this effort will make us last.

I therefore ask the Congress

above and beyond the increases
I requested for space activities

to provide the funds needed
to meet the following national goals.

First, I believe that
this nation should commit itself

to achieving the goal
before this decade is out

of landing a man on the moon
and returning him safely to the Earth.

There can be no space project in this period
that will be more impressive to mankind

or more important
for the long-range exploration of space

and none will be so difficult
or expensive to accomplish.

- Whoa, buster.
- They sure didn't waste any time.

If we had gotten Shepard into space
before Gagarin, it'd be over.

We'd have beaten them.
That would have been that.

We wouldn't be talking about
going to the moon for another 20 years.

Between this and the Bay of Pigs...

Does anybody want my job?

That five-page memo from LBJ

pressing us to do it by 1967.

Before we get near the moon we'll need to
put thousands of man-hours into space.

So far we got 15 minutes and 22 seconds.

I'm serious now.
Who here wants my job?

Bob, can we do this?

We'll need thousands of people,

special facilities,

technology and material
that haven't been invented yet.

Yeah.

Can we do it?

Put a man on the moon in nine years.

Yes.

Absolutely.

We have to.

Damn.

Here's what we're gonna have to do,

folks, to get a man to the moon ahead
of the Soviets.

We've all been planning, meeting, talking,
dreaming, but here is the brass tacks

so we're all on the same page.

To get a man to the moon,
we first have to get him into orbit.

Our friends from Russia already did that.
Good for them.

Popgun shot with Al Shepard was a nice start.
But we all know we don't get cigars for that.

The Mercury flights coming up
will get us into orbit

long enough for us to figure out
how to stay up for a bit.

We do that,
we have objective number one made.

EVA, spacewalk.

Objective number two.

Once in orbit, we get out
of the spacecraft. Go for a walk.

See if we can build a suit
to protect a man outside.

See if he can manoeuvre,
see if he can get back in.

We need this for emergencies but we ain't going
to the moon to sit inside, take pictures.

We're gonna walk around up there. We'll need
the equipment to allow a man to do that.

Rendezvous.
Two spacecraft meeting up in orbit.

You wanna have fun?
Come over to my house.

You stand in the back yard.
I'll stand in the front yard.

You throw a tennis ball over my roof.

I'll try to hit it with a rock
as it comes sailing over.

That's what we're going to have to do.

Two spacecraft flying at five miles
a second hundreds of miles up

with a communication system spread all over
the world like so many trading stamps.

Then we're gonna have to dock.

Join up.

Develop the specs and hardware
for two spacecraft to first rendezvous,

then to come together all safe and stable.

Objective five, long duration space flight.

Take two weeks to fly to the moon and back.

What is being in zero G that long
gonna do to the human body?

Will the crews' hearts stop beating?

Can they take a crap
without fouling up the flight controls?

I'm betting they can.

Still, we need to prove it. We need to prove
them all proficiently over and over again.

We have to get so good at it that we bet
the lives of our crews without flinching.

We get 'em up there,
we accomplish the mission objectives

and we get them back home every time.

Oh, there's one more thing.

You know those daring, dashing young throttle
jockeys who call themselves astronauts?

Well, we're gonna need
a whole bunch of new ones.

My name's Max Peck.
I believe you've got a room for me.

Yes, Mr Peck. We've been expecting you.

Howdy.

I'm Max Peck and I need a room.

Of course, Mr Peck,
and we've been holding one for you.

Er, Peck. Max Peck.

Good afternoon. I'm Max Peck.

Mr Peck, of course.

Hi. I have a reservation for a single room.
My name is Max Peck.

You're who?

Mr Max Peck. Max Peck.

I don't think so.

Er, no, really.

Yep, that's me. Good old Max Peck.

I'll handle this one, Sheila.

Mr Peck, how nice to see you.

I believe you're expected
in the Corral Room up in the mezzanine.

You guys are drinking in bad company
if Pete Conrad's buying.

Good God, not Jim Lovell.

Space programme isn't safe
if shaky here can pass muster.

- Good to see you, Pete.
- Jim, come on in.

- Hi, Jim Lovell.
- Ed White.

- Jim McDivitt.
- Jim.

- It's a pleasure.
- Elliott See.

- Pleasure.
- Nice to meet you.

- Frank Borman.
- Hello, Frank.

- Tom Stafford, John Young.
- Nice to meet you.

Max Peck.

What's the point of having top-secret
code names if we don't use 'em?

Well, heck, what'd I say, Jim Lovell?
I meant Max Peck.

- Max Peck. Makes more sense.
- Nice to meet you.

So I say, "Who is it?"
She says, "He won't say."

I say, "Well, ask again."
She says, "I did."

He was sure it was Dialling For Dollars.

I get to the phone. "Jim, this is Deke Slayton.
Would you be interested in flying for us?"

I said, "Well, Deke,
let me think about that. Yes."

- "Yeah, how soon do you want me?"
- Exactly.

Think about it. He's in training
for his Mercury mission.

Yanked from the flight line.
Just like that he's grounded.

Yeah, well, some doctor
had a piece of paper saying,

"Deke Slayton shouldn't fly because
of something called heart fibrillations."

Doesn't everybody's heart fibrillate?

I'm guessing it'll be a variation
on military rotation for Gemini.

You back up prime crew. You skip a couple
of flights and end up prime yourself.

Getting on that rotation
in the first place? That's the trick.

The original seven's gonna fly
way before any of us new nine.

Deke Slayton runs the office.
Carpenter's history.

John Glenn's leaving NASA.
He's gonna run for president someday.

If he leaves, he's got my vote.

What do you think? Will Glenn be
satisfied with just president?

Let's ask Armstrong.

Hey, Neil, would you vote
for John Glenn for president?

Glenn for president, huh?

That would depend. Who'd
be running for king?

A great leader is dead.

A great nation must move on.

And as we bow our heads
in submission to divine providence,

let us also thank God

for the years that He gave us inspiration
through His servant John F Kennedy.

And to honour his memory
and the future of the works that he started

have today determined
that Station Number One

of the Atlantic Missile Range

and the NASA Launch Operation Center
in Florida

shall hereafter be known
as the John F Kennedy Space Center.

If there is a word that expresses
the Washington reaction

to the Russian space spectacular today,
it is admiration.

The actual getting out of the capsule itself
was more or less the next thing to happen.

A more accurate word is envy.

Soviet scientists are talking
about landing a man on the moon.

It was going to happen sooner or later.

The Russians started ahead of us
in space ventures.

Today proves they are still ahead.

The Gemini capsule would be equipped
to perform the same type...

On the fourth flight, which could be this year,
one of the American pilots will step outside.

Extravehicular activity!

That's just a fancy way of saying,
"Let's go outside for a walk."

The trouble is, it's cold out in space.

See? Even chilly. Freezing!

And there is no air to breathe out here.

That's right, Woody.
If Americans are ever to walk on the moon,

the deadly vacuum of space
must first be conquered.

- Captain See?
- Captain's not necessary.

I'm a civilian.

We're having our PTA book fair on the 22nd.

We'd love it if NASA could arrange
an astronaut visit.

I'd be happy to pass this along
to the Public Affairs Office.

When I told the kids Astronaut Elliott See
was coming, they all said, "Who?"

They think every astronaut is John Glenn.

But I'm sure they will be glued to the TV
when you make your space shunt.

With such a suit, why,
anyone could take a walk in space

or even a walk on the moon.

There you are, snug as a bug in a rug.
For a penguin, I mean.

Hey, where are you going?

My suit's at 3.5psi and holding.

Great.

Yeah, mine's just about the same.

All right, you dirty dog, ready to go ahead
and finish with the cabin depress?

- Yeah, I'm ready.
- All right. Let's go.

- Hawaii, Houston Flight.
- Go, Flight.

Tell him we're ready
to have him come out when he is.

Roger. Understand.

- Delta, give us a mark.
- Gemini 4, CAPCOM.

Come on out, Ed. Make us all look good.

Gemini 4, CAPCOM.
You are good for EVA on your mark.

OK, I'm separating from the spacecraft.

OK, my feet are out.

I think I'm dragging a little bit
but I don't wanna fire the gun yet.

OK, I put a little roll in there.
It took me right out.

- Am I in your view, Jimbo?
- Ed, I can't see through the window.

Don't sweat it. I'm coming over to you.

There goes what looks like a thermal glove.

- That's what it is, Ed.
- All right.

I'm coming above the spacecraft now.

It looks like we're coming up
on the coast of California.

I'm under my own control.

There's no disorientation
associated with it. None.

OK, I'm kicking down
underneath the spacecraft.

It's all very soft.

Particularly as long as
you move nice and slow.

I feel very thankful to have
the experience to be doing this.

- You look beautiful, Ed.
- I feel like a million dollars.

Gemini 4, Houston CAPCOM.

Gemini 4, Houston CAPCOM.

He's been out twice as long as Leonov.

Very good. They're running out of daylight
up there. CAPCOM, let's get him back in now.

Gemini 4, Houston CAPCOM.

Gemini 4, Houston CAPCOM.

I don't know exactly where we are but it
looks like we're back over Texas again.

Gemini 4, Houston CAPCOM.

As a matter of fact, yeah,
that looks a lot like Houston down there.

Gemini 4, Houston CAPCOM.

Gus, I don't know if you read, but we're over
Houston. Why don't you run out and look?

Yeah, that's Galveston Bay right there.

Gemini 4, Houston CAPCOM.

I could stay out here all day.

- Let's see what Flight Director says.
- Flight Director says get back in.

Tell that son of a bitch to get back in.

Gemini 4, Houston.

Gus, this is Jim.
You got any message for us?

- Gemini 4, get back in.
- OK.

Ed, Houston wants you to come back in.

Back in? Roger that.

Been talking for a while.

Coming in.

This is the saddest moment of my life.

All right. All right.

Ladies and gentlemen,
Commander Roger Chaffee

is from the third class
of brand-new astronauts.

He's flown in special from Houston
to tell us all how America

is gonna beat the Russians to the moon.

Who the hell is Roger Chaffee?

- I came to see a real astronaut.
- He's an astronaut.

He just hasn't been up yet.

He ain't flown outer space yet.
He ain't no astronaut.

Thank you very much.

Ed White's extravehicular activity
cleared a major hurdle.

Man can work in the vacuum
of outer space

and in a few years,
on the surface of the moon.

Just last December, Borman and Lovell
in Gemini 7 were met in orbit

by Tom Stafford and Wally Schirra
of Gemini 6.

But what they didn't do was
literally link up or dock.

This NASA has yet to accomplish.

To do that, we have to develop
a special docking mechanism,

which we have here in diagram form.

You know, I...

I brought along someone
who I think can explain all of this

one heck of a lot better than I can.

Blastoff!

That's good.

I just remembered.
I'm allergic to cheese.

Now comes the hard part.
Getting back home.

The lunar lander will fly up from the moon

and have to not only find
the orbiting capsule

but actually grab on to it.

- Howdy, fuzz!
- Hey! Hello!

And home we go!

This is Emmett Seaborn
with a special bulletin from St Louis.

American astronauts Elliott See
and Charles Bassett

have died in a crash
of their T-38 jet aircraft.

The astronauts
were flying to Lambert Field

to inspect their space capsule
at the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation

when the plane carrying the two astronauts
smashed into the roof of the assembly plant.

As crew of Gemini 9,

the pair were to have flown into space
in early June.

They tried to keep the field in view...

...while doing a turnaround under
the cloud ceiling and overshot the runway.

Elliott tried to land VFR
under that low overcast.

He hit the building and
smashed into the park.

Where the spacecraft
was being assembled. Good God!

It's a miracle more people weren't killed.

Does that mean we're pushing too hard with
our guys flying all over in bad weather?

They fly through a lot worse
than overcast skies. It was an accident.

Two astronauts who hadn't
even been in space yet are dead.

You don't think Congress is gonna ask me
how that happened?

They'll slow us down,
cancel missions to look good.

This is the first time a backup crew will go
into space. Are Stafford and Cernan ready?

This is exactly why we have backup crews.
Gene and Tom will be ready.

There are gonna be two
very public funerals.

Then the press will have a field day

about NASA wasting
not just tax dollars but human lives.

Still, we dodged a bullet.

If they had been killed
during a space mission?

Congress would shut NASA down
and Russia gets to the moon in a cakewalk.

We have Neil Armstrong and Dave Scott
going up in Gemini 8 in two weeks.

There is no reason to slip the launch.

We have to rendezvous and dock with Agena,
otherwise we are way behind.

All right.

We go on just as we have to.

I'll fight with whoever tries
to close us down in Washington

if for no other reason than to buy time,

time to rack up
a couple of successful missions

so no one has anything to complain about.

But at the same time, gentlemen,
let's all say some prayers

for nothing else to go wrong.

Bus arm to dock.

Eight. CAPCOM, we copy.

CDA Control, switch is off. Agena docking
light is green. Agena power light is green.

Gemini 8, we have telemetry solid.
Looking good on the ground.

You're still go for docking.

OK, contact light.
We have capture and rigidising.

Flight, we are docked with the Agena.

It was really a smoothie.

Roger, Dave.

Hey, congratulations. This is real good.

You can't have the thrill down there
that we have up here.

We have you at loss of signal
in ten seconds.

- We'll acquire over CSQ.
- Very good.

The letters LOS stand for loss of signal.

Armstrong and Scott are going to be
out of communication

as Gemini travels from the tracking station

toward the one on board the ship,
Coastal Sentry Quebec or CSQ.

Where are they now, Armstrong and Scott?

It looks as if they're just below
the coast of India, crossing over.

Neil, we're rolling. We're in a bank.

Plus 30 degrees. What the hell is this?

- We shouldn't be moving like this.
- Shut down the Agena.

I did. Command 400.

It's down.

Then what the hell is this?

Our rate is picking up.
It's just getting worse.

Let's hope it's something wrong
with the Agena. We better disengage.

You ready?

- Yes, sir.
- Undock.

- Hey, Deke!
- Pete. Better get in here and do some work.

Work. I heard of that.
Spelled with a W, isn't it?

- I can't stop it. Wanna try?
- I got it.

Man, what is this?

- Gemini 8, CSQ CAPCOM, how do you...
- We have serious problems here.

We're tumbling end over end.

We've separated from the Agena.

We're rolling up and we can't turn anything
off. We are continuously increasing left roll.

- CSQ, Flight.
- Go ahead, Flight.

Did he say he could not turn the Agena off?

No, he said that he separated from the Agena
and is in a roll and he can't stop it.

His reg pressure is down to zero.
Gemini 8, CSQ.

We are in a violent left roll here.
We can't turn the OAMS off or fire them.

- One of the OAMS must be stuck on.
- I'm isolating the attitude system.

I'm shutting it down.

- Did I hear a stuck hand controller?
- Affirmative, Flight.

We can't get any valid data here.
They're in a violent tumble.

- The Agena?
- Flight Surgeon!

Go ahead.

That roll's too violent. There's a danger
of tunnel vision and blacking out.

We can't take much more of this.

Not it. All we have left
is the re-entry control system, Dave.

We bring up the RCS,
they'll abort the mission.

Not much choice here.

- OK.
- Good, Neil. You're bringing it down.

OK, we're regaining control
of the spacecraft slowly on RCS direct.

Roger, Captain.

We're pulsing the RCS slowly here,
trying to kill our roll rate.

Understand, Gemini. We show you
manoeuvring on your RCS. Affirmative.

If they've brought up the RCS,
the flight's over.

That's mission rules.
We gotta bring them in.

Gemini 8, CSQ. How much RCS
have you used and are you just on one ring?

We are on one ring,
trying to save the other ring.

We started out on two rings
but we are now on one ring.

- And the RCS?
- Doesn't matter. End of story. We bring 'em in.

- What about the RCS, Houston?
- We're down to about 1, 7 00 pounds...

- Recovery, are you getting all this?
- Roger.

CSQ, Flight. Let's get
that spacecraft sea-band beacon on.

Re-entry sea-band beacon on.

We've lost contact with the spacecraft.

- OK. We'll get 'em over Hawaii.
- Let's hope so.

The re-entry program isn't in the computer.

Dave will have to enter the pad
then verify the self-tests with us.

They can't do that and get secure
in one orbit. They need time.

- All right?
- Right.

Two passes over Rose Knot Victor, then.
They're the secondary recovery zones.

Let's bring them down in 7-3.

Na-ha Rescue 1, Gemini 8.

Na-ha Rescue 1, Gemini 8.

They ain't out there.

Three-to five-foot waves, sure.

They didn't say anything
about these swells.

The fumes from the heat shield really help.

You think they even know we're here, Neil?

Not to worry, Dave. If nothing else,
we'll just float along to China.

Oh, God, give me that bag.

Na-ha Rescue 1, this is Gemini 8.

Na-ha Rescue 1, this is Gemini 8.

Neil Armstrong did
everything a pilot should.

He probably saved the space programme
in the process.

But I want a Mercury veteran
to fly the first Apollo mission, Gus.

It's simple as that. A
brand-new spacecraft.

Who'd be the choices for my crew?
I want the best, Deke.

I was thinking of Donn Eisele

but he went and broke his shoulder
in the Vomit Comet, so...

- What about Ed White?
- Eddie? I'll take him. Who else you got?

I'm mighty impressed with Roger Chaffee.

He flew photo missions over Cuba
during the Missile Crisis.

He's smart too.

Wears down the engineers
when he starts talking about their systems.

And there's one last thing, Gus,
about the rotation.

We won't know the flight schedule
for some time.

But I'd sure like to have one
of the original Mercury astronauts

still flying when Apollo
makes that first moon landing.

Interesting you should say that, Deke.

Just so happens,
I'm one of the original Mercury astronauts.

Roger Chaffee is a rookie astronaut chosen
out of a field literally of thousands.

Ed White is a veteran astronaut.

He's made our first spacewalk
back on Gemini 4.

Gus Grissom, the Apollo 1 commander,

has already flown
both Mercury and Gemini spacecraft.

This three-man crew
and the engineers

are well into the development and training
phase of Apollo procedures and hardware.

Therefore I can say yes,
we are winning the space race.

We have not only caught up with the Soviets,
we have surpassed them in many areas.

We have kept men in space longer,

we have achieved orbital rendezvous
of two spacecraft

and the docking of two vehicles in orbit.

These are not only firsts
in their own right

but important steps to our long-range goal

of landing on the moon
with the Apollo programme.

Miss Hedges, a follow-up.

Should the Russians beat us to the moon,
Mr Webb,

will the costly Apollo
programme be continued?

Landing the first man on the moon
is the priority of NASA

and the American taxpayers.

I do not see their support wavering
until we do so.

Gavin O'Rourke.

Mr Webb, NASA achievements
and taxpayer will aside,

are we gonna beat the Russians
in this contest?

Will the United States
put the first man on the moon?

It is my job and the job of 400,000
men and women around the country

to see to it that we do.

We have ignition.

We have liftoff.

And liftoff!

There it is!

America is closer to the moon
with the launch of Gemini 1 2.

Flight Commander Jim Lovell
is a veteran astronaut.

Pilot Edwin Aldrin
makes his first journey into space.

From Houston,
Science Editor Emmett Seaborn.

In one of the luckiest coincidences
of this space programme,

Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin,
who had worked on orbital rendezvous

for his doctoral thesis at MIT,

was seated in the right-hand seat
of Gemini 12

when the onboard computer refused
to accept data from the rendezvous radar.

Using an 8-power sextant and charts

developed in the case
of just such a malfunction,

Aldrin guided Commander Jim Lovell
to a successful rendezvous and docking

with the Agena target vehicle.

This was an important moment for NASA

as it proves the skills honed
during the ten Gemini missions

can overcome
potentially catastrophic problems,

problems that could arise
on a flight as crammed as Gemini 1 2.

In four days, the crew is expected
to dock twice more with the Agena,

using its rocket engine to send them
into an even higher orbit around the Earth.

Three spacewalks,

Dr Rendezvous himself, Buzz Aldrin,
will perform experiments,

photograph star fields

and remain outside the capsule
longer than any astronaut to date

using modified handrails and equipment
specifically designed for work in zero gravity.

For Lovell, who will remain
inside the spacecraft,

these four days of orbiting the Earth,

together with the 1 4 days
aboard Gemini 7,

will make him the most
travelled man in history.

Jimbo, gonna clean your windshield.

Hey, Buzz, check the oil too, would you?

And so the curtain rings down on this
second act of man's voyage to the moon.

NASA officials are confident
that the third act, Project Apollo,

will place a human being,
in the form of an American astronaut,

on the moon sometime before midnight
New Year's Eve, 1969.

From Houston, I'm Emmett Seaborn.

- Good morning.
- How you doing?

Some crowd, huh?

They think you're announcing
your return to the flight rotation.

You can announce mine while you're at it.

- At least I can teach a couple of 'em.
- Yes, you could.

Owen Maynard
and the Mission Operations Division

has laid out a plan for the Apollo flights
that will lead up to the landing on the moon.

Each of these missions has a letter.

The A and B missions
will be unmanned tests.

The C mission will be the first manned
flight of the command and service module.

Gus, Ed and Roger in Apollo 1.

The D mission will be
the first dual flight of the CSM

with the lunar module
in low-Earth orbit to test it out.

The E mission will do the same in
high-Earth orbit for re-entry procedures.

The F mission will go all the way
to lunar orbit with the LEM but won't land.

That will be the objective
of whoever takes the first G mission.

Now, each of these missions
must be successfully completed

before we can move on
to the next type of mission.

If we have problems with
the rendezvous radar

or the backpacks or the retracting probe,

we will go to a D-1 or a D-2
or even a D-3 mission

before we attempt the first E mission.

So, even though there are
only five manned missions laid out,

it does not necessarily mean that the
fifth group will make the first landing,

which brings me to the
point of this meeting.

Assembled here are those
of you that are left

from the original seven Mercury astronauts,

as well as the new nine or the next nine,

or whatever you guys call yourselves,

and some of the third group.

The crew assignments that will be made
concern you in the following manner.

The men in this room
will be making moon landings.

Two of you will be first.

I don't know which two that will be.

But I do know that the first man
to walk on the moon

walked into this room today
and is looking at me right now,

as well as the second,

the third and the fourth and so on.

Just thought you might wanna know that.

That is all, gentlemen.