Original subtitles

Thank you.

Authorities in Australia report that the solar storm electromagnetic pulse

overloaded power stations all along Australia's eastern coast.

Though the storm occurred some hours after sundown local time, the high

-energy burst was apparently diverted around the curvature of the Earth to

strike Sydney after dark.

The young woman was killed instantly.

Now the intensity and effect of this solar storm is reminiscent of the

geomagnetic storm that was a result of a coronal mass ejection on March 9th, 1989

that knocked out power to the Canadian province of Quebec. That storm

originated on Earth with extremely intense auroras at both poles that were

visible as... Really?

Well, I know we're going through a peak in the solar cycle, but it generated a

storm. Is this changing anything for the flight tomorrow?

I don't think so.

Go home.

Go to sleep. I need you tomorrow.

You're on launch diagnostic systems and fuel disbursement backups.

I need you.

When you talk like that?

Oh. You're like Tim Spade. Denise.

Let's just go back to your place and order some Chinese.

Would you stay?

Fine, let's just go back to your place and do more TikTok. Denise.

I know. I'm too young. I could get hurt. Yada, yada, yada. Listen, I told you

when we started working together, you don't want to. hang out with me okay you

remember that yeah i thought you were just being mysterious how was i supposed

to know you're incapable of lying i told you that too yes you did you told me

that yes do you know that

biologically two people can tell a lot from each other by the transfer of

genetic information that occurs through kissing it's the miracle of darwinian

selection what's my dna telling you right now

But, uh, one day I'm gonna get to you, and when I do, you're gonna be in my

trouble.

Okay. You think this is the first time a kiss got me in trouble?

Thanks.

Slow down.

Don't you think we're moving a little fast?

No, and now kiss me.

Well, it's only been our third date.

You want a fourth one to kiss me? We don't have a lot of time. Until what?

What the hell?

Temple is recovered, returning to castle.

Temple, I thought you told me your name was Lyra Smith.

Miss Matheny, please come with us.

Matheny?

Lyra Matheny.

I've been dating the president's daughter?

Awesome!

Making out with some boy in the backseat of a car, really?

Nothing happened.

Hey, you just slipped your Secret Service detail and you just ran off.

Do you even realize the risk you put yourself at?

I was being discreet.

You're the president's daughter. You're held to a higher standard.

I didn't ask for any of that.

I want a normal life.

Well, you can have one in a year, five if I'm re-elected. We'll talk about your

behavior when I get back.

Wish me luck.

Yeah, good luck on your publicity stunt.

Hey, hey!

It's okay. Just leave her.

Wouldn't you like that at 16?

Worse.

You're sure this is gonna be safe?

Roebling's a genius.

He's poached the best minds from NASA.

And his program's better funded than any other government agency.

I'd go in a second if I could.

I know.

Well, I'll see you Thursday.

I don't think I hold you enough.

So hold me now.

I'm really excited for you and... No, I really am. Yeah, no, I am, really, yeah.

Yeah, I think he's just trying to make up for the G-force test he put me

through. Well, I think that's what you get when you're the eldest member of the

group, right?

Does your back still hurt?

Uh, now it's my shoulder.

Um, one second. Can you wait?

Paul? Yeah? Can you just, uh, take care of these guys?

Sure. Yeah, I'm Rima.

You know, um...

If you think it's too much for you, you could pull out.

No way.

We both know what the camp runs on.

Food, used clothing donations.

Publicity. And this little trip of mine is going to raise awareness for our work

to new heights.

Literally.

Just come back soon, preferably in one piece.

Did you hear from JJ?

No.

I thought he'd at least call to wish me luck.

Wow.

Gotta go.

I'll call when I'm back.

Okay.

Good morning, everyone.

Good morning.

My name is Peter Roble, and I want to welcome you to this, the most exciting

day of... well, the most exciting day of all our lives.

Today marks the beginning of a new era in civilian spaceflight.

No longer will manned flights belong exclusively to governments or special

interests. As of today, space belongs to the people.

Yeah.

Now, I would like to introduce Dr. Craig Backus, formerly a senior engineer with

NASA, but now Roebling Spaceport senior designer and head engineer. He's going

to talk you through today's flight.

Thank you, Peter, and thank you all for coming out today, and good morning.

The Roving Clipper is, without a doubt, the most advanced civilian aircraft ever

built. It's designed to take off and fly just like a regular airplane, but also

to be able to leave and re-enter the Earth's atmosphere.

Taking off from our runway just outside here, Command Pilot Fiona Henslau, let's

give her a hand.

Thank you.

She'll take the Clipper up to an altitude of 50,000 feet, and from there

she'll fire a rocket.

That'll take her and the Clipper up to 70 miles above the Earth's surface.

Jeff Gustis, WLDQ Network.

Hi, Jeff.

Craig, is this the scalar drive that we've been hearing about?

No, it's not the scalar drive. It's a special hybrid designed to get us into

low orbit. And once we're in low orbit, then we fire the scalar drive.

John Davis, CNJ News. Can you tell us the difference between a scalar drive

and a regular rocket engine?

That's a good question.

Well, a regular rocket engine burns fuel.

so no fuel no propulsion but the scalar drive uses solar radiation and there's

plenty of that out in space let me tell you think of the scalar drive a little

bit like a music amplifier but instead of making your neighbor's crappy tunes

louder what it does is that it takes the energy from radiation and it amps that

up take bad music and put it into an amplifier you get a headache you take

solar radiation you put it into the scalar drive you get massive

acceleration

Cindy Powers, NTX News.

How fast are you talking about?

1,300 miles a minute.

Which is about 1 ten-thousandth the speed of light.

And that's, uh... Well, that's pretty damn fast, isn't it?

The trip around the moon and back today should take just under seven hours.

Dr. Backus, is scalar technology safe?

It's about as safe as your drive out here today, Jeff.

Maybe safer.

Thank you, Dr. Marcus.

Joan?

She just walked in.

Uh, family?

Parents?

I don't know.

Let's get her to medical. Just make sure she's okay.

What's your update?

We'll get a ton of rice in a couple of days, but it's crap quality.

I really don't care. Just so long as they bring in the water purification

tablets. Ah, they're gone.

Mirzad's men had them hijacked off the aid supply trucks.

High-energy biscuits, too.

Can you text him? Can we set up a Skype call?

It's really hard to save a thousand of his starving people while he's stealing

our supplies.

I guess if you're a warlord selling aid supplies on the black market, you don't

care about killing off a few of your countrymen. Clearly.

Just wish he'd steal the crappy rent.

Ladies and gentlemen, please join with me and help welcome a true legend of the

U.S. space program, Commander Don Wincroft.

Did you know Wincroft was coming?

Are you kidding me? On a pistoskeleton.

19.

Thank you. Thank you.

Good morning, everyone.

A special good morning to you, our civilian astronauts.

In a few hours, they will do what most people only dream of. Break free from

the Earth's grasp and fly.

He sure talks pretty.

You take with you all the Earth's best hopes, dreams, and ambitions.

Godspeed.

Crew and passengers of the Roebling Clipper.

When I first found out that I was picked from all of Virginia to go on this

flight, I was pretty shocked.

Especially since I didn't know that my wife had entered me in the lottery.

But what she didn't know is that I entered her, too. Oh.

Okay, well, I'll see you later.

Don't you know never to say that to a girl? I'll see you later sounds like a

shutdown. Like, I'll see you never.

Yeah, I'm sorry.

Okay. I'll call you sometime.

I will see you soon.

Dr. Backus.

Jeff. How about a few words with you and Commander Wincroft?

I'm sorry, I'm busy.

The hardest part, I think, is leaving my wife in Afghanistan.

We hope that my being here today will help...

draw attention to the needs of the refugees that we're helping.

Do you have any concerns about last night's events in Sydney?

Oh, none at all. And besides, I know the Roebling Clipper inside out.

If there's any problem, I know where to kick it to fix it.

So you have no concerns, even though this launch is happening during a spike

in solar activity?

Oh, none whatsoever.

And besides, if there was anything working wrong, we'd have scrubbed the

mission.

How about that son of a bitch asking about the spike in solar activity?

It's a reasonable question.

What, are you saying that we're at risk?

No, I'm saying it's a reasonable question, Peter. It's space travel.

There's always risks.

Craig, is there any solid data that we're in danger?

No.

Okay, would you get on the flight?

You know I would.

Well, that's good enough for me.

We've been following Mr. Roebling's successes for some time now, and

personally, I'm thrilled that Peter invited me to come.

My husband and I have absolute confidence that this will be a safe and

exciting journey.

Dr. Backus?

Excuse me, Dr. Backus. I'm Reg Walker.

Reggie. Reginald, if you'd like.

Hi, Reginald. I'm a communications technician, and we met a couple of weeks

ago. Dr. Backus, I need you to take a look at this.

Anyways, I'm going to be working integrated communications today.

Great.

I'd just like to say, Dr. Backus, it's a real honor to be serving with you on

this mission.

Thanks.

You're still here.

Um, well, look, I'm a doctoral student at the Polytech, and I was wondering if

you'd maybe consider looking over my... Reggie, it's a big day for both of us

here today. I need you to focus in, okay?

Absolutely. Abs... No, I'm focused.

No, I didn't... Not today.

I... I'm just thinking sometime in the near future.

Um, you know, why don't you give me your cell phone number, and then I can text

you my contact info, huh?

I don't have a cell phone.

It's a brilliant life choice.

Yeah. You know what? I'm going to give you my cell phone number, and you can

just call me whenever you'd like. How about that?

You're not at your workstation?

Yeah, right.

Yeah. Okay.

All right, everybody, let's get this party started.

Com loop check time.

He looks cool in that spacesuit. Yes, hello.

Yep. She'll have to call you back later.

Who was that? Dr.

Gallagher's office.

That could have been important.

Today, you're not a nurse. Today, you're an astronaut's wife. Besides, we have to

keep the sign free. Relax, Mom. The PR company will call. They said they will.

You know, things are really going to change around here. Jose said he might

even write a book about his experiences.

All right, a book.

He can barely write his name.

Mom.

Well, it's true, isn't it?

Yes, hello.

She'll call you back.

Get a shot of you.

Mind if I watch?

Yes. What are you doing here, anyway?

NASA sent me as a personal favor to President Metheny.

Serves me right for voting for him.

So, how you been?

Really?

It's just the conversation that we're going to have?

What's next? Woody banter about the weather? If you excuse me, I've got a

spaceship to fly.

Well done. Almost like a real space program.

Bite me.

It'd be nice if the world is watching.

What are you doing here anyway?

Seriously.

You're late.

Sorry.

MSNBC needed a statement.

Well, I guess it must be a pretty busy day being the president's science

advisor. Yes, Mr. President.

Television seems to really love your husband there, Cheryl.

Which one?

Sorry, that was awkward.

It's fine, Mr. President.

Craig and I divorced years ago. We're both past it.

Well, in that case, the one on the left.

In that case, thank you, Mr. President.

Okay, this is flight.

I need a launch status check. TBC.

TBC is go.

Fido. Go.

Guidance. Go.

Inco.

Inco is go, flight.

Right. That's it. We are go for launch. Roving one.

We have clearance for takeoff.

Roger that, flight.

And, sir, we have liftoff.

All right, everybody.

Just like we trained for.

Now, once we get to 50,000 feet, that's when the show really begins.

What do you think, Fiona?

This beat's working for the Air Force, huh?

Absolutely. Though I did like the Air Force flight suits better.

Well, you know, I think these suits help to fire up the imagination of the

public, not to mention our investors.

Always looking out for the bottom line, huh, Peter?

Altitude reading.

Cruising up to 22,000 feet.

How you doing, Mr. Hernandez?

Pretty good.

Except for the fact that my heart's about to jump out of my chest.

Back at the press conference, you said you weren't scared.

I lied.

So, uh, is this, uh, your first time flying into space?

Yes. And yours?

It's my first time flying.

Period.

Well, if you get really nervous, you can grab onto my hand.

And piss off the President of the United States.

I got enough trouble.

29,000 feet and climbing.

Hey, Alan.

Why don't you wave to the folks at home?

Donate now to the Elias Refugee Camp.

Send this man your money. He will save refugees.

And he might even win himself another humanitarian prize.

How we doing, Denise?

Eh, okay, boss.

Madam First Lady?

Doing just great.

Jose?

Algo para tu familia?

Los quiero mucho.

How's she flying, Fiona?

Beautifully.

Here we are aboard the Roebling Clipper approaching 50,000 feet.

I'm sorry, Mr. Miller, but trading on all exchanges has been halted.

Is there some kind of electrical glitch in the system?

No, I'm sure it's absolutely nothing.

On camera, we see Alan Elias. Mr.

Elias.

Yes, yes, I have those documents here in my hand.

And as soon as trading resumes, I will be sure to execute your exchange.

Yes,

he is my father.

I'm very excited for him.

35 000 feet 36 000 feet still climbing thanks hey listen

i was out of line earlier with that uh crack about the real space program and

uh for that uh i'm sorry i think you've mistaken me for somebody who actually

cares what you think regardless i

guess it's a little much for me to think that we could still be friendly huh sure

whatever

How's Cheryl?

She's good.

She's, uh, she's good.

I'll let her know you said hello.

I didn't.

Roebling Clipper at 48,000 feet.

49,000.

Flight, we are at ignition altitude.

Roebling Clipper, you ready to light it up?

Roger, Flight.

Ignition.

Yeah, baby.

Roebling One to flight.

We are in low Earth orbit.

Roger that, Roebling One.

Welcome to space.

Yes.

He's so cool. Yeah.

Alan's in space.

And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. After a near flawless launch,

the Roebling Clipper has achieved orbit.

And there on camera right now, we see Alan Elias. Mr.

Elias, of course, the oldest member on board Roebling Clipper's inaugural

flight.

Congratulations, everybody.

on being the first commercial passengers in space.

Now, I have a special little gift for everyone.

Astronaut bubbly.

Champagne in a bag.

Nicely done, sir.

What have you?

Hey, I thought you forgot about me.

Never. How's the ship?

Oh, please tell me you did not just ask about the ship before asking about me.

I am repentant.

Yeah, you better be.

Fine, thank you for asking, and so is the robot's clipper.

Can you do me a favor? When you get back, prepare a report for me on the

fuel cells from the scalar drive.

Just curious to see whether or not the photonic distribution was affected by

the change in gravity.

That is a massive turn-on.

I'm great. This is an amazing experience, actually.

I just... I wish I could share it with you.

Listen, Denise.

Yeah? When you get back... I really do want that report on photonic

distribution.

Bastard.

Denise, huh?

Why don't you do me a favor? Stick to what you know.

Mission Control, this is the space station.

We have a visual on the Roebling Clipper.

Copy that, space station.

How's she look?

Spectacular. Like the future of space travel.

You've been reading our promotional material again, I see.

I wish I had the money to invest.

She's good to go, Dr. Bacchus.

Thanks, Ivan.

Rebel Wing One, this is Flight.

You're good to go for scalar drive ignition.

Copy that, Flight.

Ladies and gentlemen, next stop, the moon.

Sit back and relax, folks. This is gonna be something.

On my mark, and mark.

Pushing through 1,000, 1,100, pushing past 1,300 miles per minute.

Amazing.

Talk to me. Do you have any idea what's going on?

I can't pick anything up here.

Talk to me, Craig.

What's happening?

I don't know.

Denise, what's going on?

I'm not sure.

Some kind of spike in the energy. Maybe a solar anomaly. Come on.

Everyone hold on tight. We're figuring this out.

Cheryl.

Don, what's happening?

I don't know yet. Some sort of power surge.

Inko, can you pull up Space Station?

I'm on it.

Thank you.

Space Station is up. We need to know what's on your sensors.

Thanks, Inko.

It was a wave of cosmic rays.

Microburst.

From where?

Solar or galactic?

Local. From our sun.

We're detecting a CME behind it. Big one.

Cheryl, copy that, Space Station.

There was a blast of cosmic radiation.

There was a big CME storm following right behind it.

Denise, that was a cosmic ray.

Coronal mass ejection bringing up the rear.

How's everybody doing up there?

Freaking the hell out. How bad is this?

I don't know yet.

Flight, check your monitor.

She's accelerating. Hang on.

Fiona, can you confirm the engine readings, please?

47% and rising.

51%. Shut down the mains.

Negative. Negative on an engine shutdown.

Oh, my God.

53%.

Hey, will you tell me what the hell's going on?

The Clipper's accelerating right at the moon, and if you would just stay out of

our way, maybe we could get something done about it.

Sure, we had a real situation ruin him.

No, I'm not so sure he's capable of dealing with it.

Thank you.

Mr.

President?

How bad is it?

A cosmic ray storm triggered a malfunction in the scalar drive.

The passengers are okay.

Mission Control is doing everything they can to fix it.

So they can fix it?

We don't know yet.

If you needed publicity so bad, why didn't you send Mom to a kid's hospital

instead of into space?

Can you kill power to the scalar drive remotely?

We already tried that.

Guidance, what's our current course?

If she keeps accelerating, she's going to blow right past the moon and shoot

off into space.

What do we have remote access to? How about the thrusters? How about you let

me handle this?

How about you cut the crap and let me help you?

Put these on.

Have you tried bypassing your EV bus module?

Yes. What is our current speed?

2,789 miles per minute.

Is that even possible?

Apparently.

Are any of the engines responding?

No. Thrusters? No. I can't get anything.

What are these guys still doing here? They have permission to be here. Get out

of here.

Not anymore, they don't.

We're done here, drummer.

Well, as you just saw there, it seems that Commander Don Wincroft is no longer

allowing our news crew to broadcast live from inside Mission Control.

So we will continue to bring you updates as this situation unfolds.

Meantime...

Flame out. Engine just shut itself down.

Denise, are these readings correct? The engine's off.

Flamed out.

Oh, thank God.

What she said.

Thank God.

We're no longer accelerating.

But we're not slowing down either, are we?

Flight, can you confirm our current trajectory? I can't get a read up here

anymore.

Working on that right now. Guidance.

Give me another minute. You don't have another minute. Fido, I want you to work

up the following protocol.

Go.

Well, as you saw just moments ago, we have lost our video feed from inside the

Roebling spaceport, but we are going to go now live to our reporter, Jeff

Gustis, who is standing by outside.

Jeff, what is the latest?

All we know is that there's been some sort of a mishap aboard the Roebling

Clipper. Whether it's mechanical malfunction or something caused by human

error, we really don't have any way of determining at the moment. All right,

thank you very much. That, of course, Jeff Gustis, our reporter, who is

tracking this developing story for us this afternoon.

This is what I got.

You sure?

100%. We need to call the president.

So it's not gonna hit the moon. That's correct, Mr. President.

The current trajectory will bring the ship close enough to the lunar surface

that the gravity will slingshot it around the moon.

And back towards Earth?

No, sir.

The ship's going so fast that it's going to veer off into space towards the sun.

Oh, God.

What about a rescue?

I'm sorry, Mr. President, but that's just out of the question right now.

We are... Presently working at firing thrusters.

Remotely, sir, from mission control.

That's true, sir, but it's a very, very long shot.

Statistically close to impossible.

But not actually impossible.

No, sir.

You don't know what you're talking about. You bet I do.

Okay, listen.

Make it happen. I don't care how. Just do it.

Cheryl, go there. I want eyes and ears in mission control. I want to know

what's happening as it happens, no matter what. I understand, Mr.

President. Why are you giving him false hope?

I'm not quite ready to give up on your ship yet. I'm not giving up on my ship,

but I'm not blowing smoke either.

You know what? That's always been your problem. You just don't know when to

quit. Well, you don't know when to fight for something worth fighting for.

You never did.

You know, um... She only went because I asked her to.

They're doing everything they can to bring the First Lady home, sir.

Wincroft and Bacchus.

They ever let you down?

Not together.

Aren't there backup systems?

There are always backup systems.

There are plenty of backup systems. No one could have anticipated a problem

like this.

Yeah, I'm here. You got some good news?

To see if we can't get those thrusters firing remotely.

No, that's never going to work. I wish it could, but it won't. It might.

You just keep working on the thrusters on your end, okay?

Understood. Listen, about those scalar fuel cell numbers you asked for?

I think we could put a pin in that for now, right?

No, there's something odd about them. Like they're overclocked, as if they

were adjusted to perform at higher levels than when we tested them. Could

that happen all on its own?

No.

Yeah, that's what I thought.

Let's just focus for now on getting the thrusters working, okay?

Roger that.

But

there's

really no point.

Ma, what I'm trying to say is that I'm not happy that you're alone right now.

I'm sorry, that was mean.

I'm not alone, JJ. I'm surrounded by 950 people who need me.

There's nothing either of us can do to help your dad right now.

Well, I'm sure the U.S. is doing everything that they can to protect him

and the people.

Governments don't save people, JJ. People do.

People save people.

Ma.

Ma.

Hello? JJ?

JJ.

Now, as the Clipper slingshots around the moon, she'll be pulling 9Gs. Excuse

me, is she rated for that?

Reggie.

Okay, yeah, I get it. I'm just communications. I'll shut up.

No, it's a good question.

Dr. Bacchus?

It's a dog and pony show.

I thought this was a closed facility. Not anymore.

I'm here on orders of the President of the United States. Can the Roebling

Clipper withstand 9Gs of force?

Yes.

Barely, but yes.

As I was saying, 9Gs will send the clipper to veer off its plotted course

and head on an 87-degree trajectory toward the sun. Now, we need to be ready

to transmit the thruster control signal the minute she clears the far side of

the moon.

Now, get your calculations together. Let's get on it, all right?

Hey, Don.

Hey, baby. Craig.

Cheryl. I'm glad you two put aside the animosity to work together.

It's just an illusion. The odds of Don's plan working are about... 20%. 0.01%.

You know, Craig, even if you're right, Clipper's traveling 11,000 miles a

minute. That puts it in the sun in six days.

Guess we better hope this plan works then, right, Superman?

How is he? Oh, he's about the same. A brilliant guy, but a pill.

Clearly, he still hates me, and he's not that wild about you either.

But I'm glad you're here.

Me too.

I'll show you around.

The information I'm receiving about the rescue plan is spotty at best.

My sources are telling me that it involves some kind of transmission of a

signal from Mission Control to the Roebling Clipper that will somehow slow

the ship down.

Okay, thank you very much, Jeff.

How's she holding up?

It's hard for her.

It's hard for all of us.

Look, if there's anything you need, anything you want, just call me.

Claire, I just wanted to remind you about the council meeting in 30 minutes.

No, let's cancel that. I'm staying here.

You don't have to do that.

I belong here with all of you.

We're all in this together.

Well, isn't it a little late to change the meeting?

You know, the nice thing about being mayor is I get to do whatever the hell I

want. ...is in any type of condition to receive a signal when and if it is

broadcast.

and our experts here on the ground are telling us that any type of rescue plan

at this point is a long shot.

Once we hit lunar orbit, I'll need everyone belted in tightly.

Face forward in your seats and try to stay calm. Try to stay calm? Are you

serious? Would you just relax? You are in good hands.

Hands got us into this mess? Those the hands you're talking about?

Gentlemen, please.

We're all feeling the pressure here. This is not going to help.

Denise, how you doing?

Considering we just had to rip Roebling and Elias apart, fine. How are you doing

firing those thrusters remotely?

We're working on it, but just don't wait for it, okay?

Just keep working on those thrusters yourself.

What if we don't slow down?

What's our trajectory?

Six days.

You're going to get pulled into the sun.

No, Craig, you can't let that happen.

We're going to get you out of there, Denise.

No, you don't understand, Craig.

If the scalar drive hits the sun, which is already going through an active

phase, the drive will just amplify the energy in the solar plasma and send it

shooting out into every direction.

You sure about that?

Positive, unfortunately.

Well, I guess we're just going to have to make sure that you don't hit the sun,

right?

Brace yourselves, everyone.

I gotta go.

Denise?

Please don't say I'll see you later.

I won't.

But I will see you later.

Count on it.

Denise?

Inco.

Well, we're not going to hear from them until they clear the other side of the

moon. How long?

About five minutes.

Right now, we can only imagine what is happening on board the Roebling Clipper

as it hurtles around the far side of the moon.

We are still four minutes away from knowing the fate of the Roebling Clipper

and the six people on board.

As we've reported, the acceleration that the passengers and crew will experience

will create up to nine Gs, or nine times their body weight.

With just over three minutes left, the tension not only here but around the

world is palpable.

This will likely be one of those moments that this generation looks back on and

always remembers where they were as the Earth held its breath, waiting to hear

again from the Roebling Clipper.

news from Roebling Space Board regarding the fate of the passengers and the crew

of the Roebling ship.

With minutes remaining, all one can do is hope.

Oh, come on. Well, damn it!

It's not the radio. It's interference from outside.

Orgies.

4.5.

We are, of course, following the online chatter regarding this story as it

unfolds, and many... How many minutes until, uh... Less than three, Mr.

President. Is there anything I can get for you?

Get my wife back safe.

The First Lady seems to create this aura of accessibility around her. She's a

devoted mother, a beloved figure, famously generous with her time.

The President is barely holding it together.

Colonel,

what do you think?

Is this mission in good hands?

What do we know about Craig Backus?

Brilliant scientist.

Designed the Aurora Clipper.

But apparently he's not the easiest person to deal with.

Oh, great.

What about Don Wincroft?

NASA.

Decorated astronaut.

Saved the crew of the shuttle Reliant when they had to ditch.

And he has mission-critical experience.

If it was up to me, I'd rather see him in charge.

Me too.

Make the call.

Shouldn't that come from the President?

In this matter, I'm confident I speak for President Metheny.

Make the call.

Two

minutes.

This is completely wrong.

I understand, but tell the president that I advise against this.

Fine.

No better if it comes from me.

Craig, I have to talk to you.

Not now, Cheryl. Inco.

One minute 45 until radio contact. Remote firing sequence is ready to

transmit. Craig, please, this is important.

I need to speak with you in private.

Come on, Cheryl. We're all friends here.

What are my secrets between us?

Huh?

The White House wants Dawn to take over the mission.

What?

Dawn is in charge now.

This is a private facility.

You can't do that.

Roebling's license with the FAA allows this. We are federalizing control of the

operation. Craig, I'm sorry.

One minute.

I'll tell you what.

Why don't you two stop screwing around? We'll go back to trying to save these

people's lives, okay? Thank you very much.

Inko.

Great.

I've been trying to take over since you got here, haven't you? You think I

wanted this? Hell yeah! Everyone calm down!

You don't touch me! Craig Don had nothing to do with this. It came from

the top. Like hell he didn't.

Guys, guys, I got her, I got her, I got her.

Transmit. Escort Mr. Backus out of mission.

Don't touch me.

I'll get there myself.

You get what you want?

You happy now, Wincroft? You happy?

Keep me up to speed, Inko.

Yeah.

Stay focused.

Is everybody... Are you okay?

I'm okay.

I'm good.

Oh, that was almost as bad as the simulator.

Try to keep up, big guy.

Gonna lock that?

Of course, as he was mentioning, there are many factors here that need to be

taken into consideration.

Don Wincroft is America's most celebrated astronaut.

It's a smart call for the President to remove Craig Backus and turn the rescue

mission over to Commander Wincroft.

Okay, thank you very much. Who the hell put Wincroft in charge?

Who made that call?

I did, Mr. President.

Without consulting me?

It was the right thing to do. No!

The right thing would have been to consult your boss.

The Commander-in-Chief.

Wincroft's heroic handling of what was a near-fatal situation.

I feel really bad about this.

You've been feeling bad about Craig for years, Cheryl. That's what he does. He

makes people who care about him feel bad.

Hinkle, it's Reggie, right? Yeah, yes, sir. Have Clipper's thrusters fired yet?

Not that I can see, no.

Can we boost the signal? I tried that already, and I'm working on it now.

Hey, listen.

Why don't we give Craig a couple more minutes to calm down, and then you pay

him a visit, see if he wants to come back and be part of the team. I'm the

last person he wants to talk to right now. I think you might be the second

last.

Commander, the Clipper's online.

Roebling One, this is Mission Control.

Dr. Packus?

This is Commander Don Wincroft.

I've been asked to assume control of the mission.

This is Captain Henslaw, correct?

Yes.

Negative, not yet.

Commander Peter Roebling's dead.

Say again, Captain?

Roebling's dead. G-forces were too much.

Copy that.

Captain, you flew with VFA-11, the Red Rippers, right?

That's right.

Remember how they were on the forestall when they came through that fire back in

67?

I do.

Just like that, Captain. You're going to come through this.

Copy that.

Denise, listen. Dr. Backus isn't in charge anymore. Wincroft is.

What? Why?

I don't know. It doesn't matter.

It matters to me.

Listen, we've got to get our thrusters firing.

Remember you said you knew where to kick the clipper if something didn't work?

Did you mean that, or was that just talk?

I meant it.

Then show me.

Hello. Reggie, don't say anything.

Don't react.

It's me, Craig.

I need you to do exactly what I say.

Okay. I need you to patch me through to Denise in the robe and clipper. Can you

do that for me?

Yeah, I could get fired.

Reggie, you don't have a job to get fired from anymore. Do you really think

that anyone's going to want to pay to fly into space after today?

I see your point.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Craig, where are you? Why is Wincroft in charge?

Screw that.

How are you doing?

Hanging in there.

Barely. How about the thrusters?

Has the remote protocol worked yet?

No. They're rerouting the system manually.

Might be able to get them started up yet.

Those cosmic rays that fired our clipper?

Triggered a whole bunch of SELs.

You're kidding me.

Single event latch ups? I mean, come on. Those are incredibly rare.

Are you sure?

That's why I'm telling you.

was engaged when the SELs were triggered, right? Right.

Don't go anywhere.

Well, so far, it appears that the Roebling clipper is not responding.

I repeat... Come on, Cheryl, give me something. The president's watching the

news channels.

We're still transmitting the remote sequence, but... The longer it fails to

work, the less likely it is that it will work. Well, I hope someone does more

than try.

Roger, how are you holding up?

How do you think I'm holding up?

Call me when you know more.

All we can do at this point is guess.

I think it's time we bring Craig back in here.

What is he doing?

What's going on?

He says that a girl is hiding here in the camp. Her name is Nurhan.

He wants to come in and look for her.

She's supposed to marry him.

Marry him? She's a kid. Stay out of this, please.

This camp is under the protection of international treaties.

Tell him.

He's not a big fan of treaties.

Not a big fan of his timing.

Uh, does he have a picture of the girl? Do you have a picture?

She's not here. Tell him.

He

says

that the girl is Mirza's daughter.

Mirza himself sent him to find her.

No.

You're not coming into this camp.

That was really stupid of me, wasn't it?

I'm sorry.

I gave her away.

Fine, Norand. Keep her out of sight.

If the Roebling Clipper's thrusters don't fire, gravity will eventually pull

the ship directly into the sun.

They really only have one chance at this.

And the real problem here is no one fully knows what will happen to the

ship's scalar drive if it impacts the sun.

Why are you calculating phase systems?

If I explain to you, I won't have time to finish.

So please, just stop talking.

Denise, hold on.

Wait, I think we're getting something.

Try the thrusters.

No. Try again.

Craig, I need you to explain this to me.

Denise, can you still hear me? Go, Craig. You're talking to Denise?

Dr. Backus? I need you to confirm some power cell settings for me. I need you

to hang up right now. 47, 2, 99, 6, 13.

Craig, you've got to let me in. What is going on?

And 47, 2, 99, 6, and 13. Those are correct.

Denise, cut.

Denise, copy?

Do not fire the thrusters. What?

I'm gonna let you in.

Get me out of here. We cannot fire that remote transmission. What? Why?

They can't fire those thrusters!

Why?

Trust me!

Greg?

Yes!

Oh, Balaban.

like you aren't just Doc.

Doc!

Doc! Tell Fiona not to fire the thrusters. Tell her now!

Why? Easy, easy.

Because the cosmic ray that hit the ship caused a bunch of single-event latch

-ups. That means the electronics, they're stuck in the exact same state

that they were in when the ray hit.

Reggie.

What was the last confirmed settings of the drive?

198% full forward. Full forward, 198%. That's the state the drive's going to be

in when it comes back online.

Stand by, everyone.

Firing reverse thrusters.

5% power.

Let's slow this bitch down and go home.

Scrubbing One, this is Mission Control.

on fire.

Robling One, come in, come in, get him back. The channels are completely dead.

Robling One, please come in.

Come in.

To repeat, reports are now coming in that the Roebling Clipper is out of

control once again.

Ma, are you there?

Ma, can you hear me?

Yeah. I'm here, sweetheart.

I'm here.

It's good to hear your voice.

How are you over there?

Listen, Yvonne, if you're still tracking the Clipper, can you relay her course

and speed to us?

Yes, we still have her, but I'm not sure for how much longer.

We're sending telemetry to you now.

Roebling One, respond.

Roebling One, respond. Denise?

Fiona? Cheryl, what the hell happened?

The scalar drive fired instead of the thrusters.

We didn't anticipate it. And what's being done to fix this?

Fiona?

Everyone is doing everything they can. The minute we know more, I'll let you

know.

Everybody. Out.

Out!

Thank you, thank you.

What's going on?

Are we slowing down?

No.

No, we've hit our top speed.

That's a good thing, right? I mean, if we can't go any faster, that's good,

right?

How fast are we going?

5,588 miles per second.

Per second?

But you can turn us around, right? I mean, you can shut the engines down.

I'm sorry.

What do you mean, sorry?

What does that mean?

We've almost re-established contact with the Clipper.

Clipper's accelerated at 3% the speed of light.

At that speed, it'll be close enough to the sun to burn up in less than 30

minutes. It's not even the worst of it.

The scalar drive is designed to withstand intense heat.

So when the clipper incinerates, it's just going to continue on straight into

the sun.

The scalar drive is a quantum device after impactable phase double to

multiply every solar anomaly we've been seeing.

I sure know a whole hell of a lot about scalar mechanics for an astronaut.

Is there anything we can do?

No, it's inevitable.

There's got to be something we can do. No, it's over, Don.

All right, everybody, this is officially over.

There's not going to be another shuttle reliant for you, Don.

All right, what exactly is going to happen?

The Earth's going to suffer through a cocktail of solar events like we've

never felt before, starting with the cosmic ray burst.

Will it impact Earth directly?

It doesn't really make a difference if it impacts directly.

Even an indirect hit, it's very bad news. It's going to take out a chunk of

the ozone layer, expose us to direct solar radiation.

Following right on the heels of that will be a massive CME.

It's going to take out all the electronics, everything the cosmic ray

hasn't touched, thrown in for good measure.

Constant static electrical storms.

It's going to blast us back into prehistory.

I have to alert the White House. They need to get the word out to other

governments.

Inco.

Can you patch everyone in the clip or through to people they need to say

goodbye to, please?

Yes, sir.

You got 30 minutes left.

I'll have a Skype for you in a minute.

I'll take the audio feed.

Almost ready.

Thank you, Richie.

Commander, if you don't mind me asking, what was it like on Reliant when the

accident happened?

Wasn't good.

Dr. Backus told me that you led a mutiny.

Really? Yeah.

Well, you know, Reggie, Dr.

Backus often has a slightly skewed vision, sometimes for the better and

sometimes not.

Anyway, the ship was severely compromised.

The impact had knocked out our guidance control board, which put us into a

deteriorating orbit.

Our trajectory was going to put us straight into Chicago.

We were ordered to fire the engines and shoot off into space.

We said our goodbyes. The captain was about to engage the engine when it

occurred to me that we had a rover in the cargo bay. Now, I don't know why no

one had thought of it before, but it had a compatible control board on it. Now, I

surmised we could reprogram that.

He used it to bypass our down system.

The captain refused to take a chance.

So what'd you do?

Well, the flight engineer and the payload officer were keen on my plan,

and they backed me to take charge of the ship.

Well, the short of it is, it took just under three hours to reroute the system.

So that's how you saved Reliant.

Basically.

What about this captain?

He didn't press any charges?

No, you know, Reggie, he never did.

I guess the captain saw the merit of NASA not finding out that he was tied to

his chair in what could possibly be the greatest space rescue since Paul 13.

Commander, we're ready.

Everyone's in place.

You know, I really thought we were going to beat this thing today.

Me too, sir.

I hear you, JJ.

I tried to get Mom on the line, but there was just simply too much

interference.

Um... I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry that I didn't call you before the

launch. It's okay.

We're talking now.

Listen.

I just want to say that I'm sorry your mom and I didn't give you the kind of

childhood you probably wanted.

Don't be sorry, Dad. It's not the... I know how you felt growing up.

that we picked our work over you.

But I want you to know that if I had it all to do over

again,

I'd do the same thing.

Probably isn't what you want to hear.

But I need you to understand.

I've devoted my whole life to an idea.

to the belief that helping others is the greatest good a

person can do.

If you remember anything about me, remember that.

Yeah, I won't forget that.

I love you, JJ.

I truly do.

Yeah.

Okay, then.

I gotta go. Mm-hmm.

Honey?

Honey, don't be sad.

We'll be together again one day.

I want to be with you now.

I need you to be strong.

Both of you.

What do I always tell you?

Life's one big... Adventure.

Marta, listen.

I want you to get married again.

No.

looks at you, and I don't like it one bit.

I just know you're gonna raise Freddy in a way to make me proud.

I gotta go.

Others are waiting.

Hold on, Mom wants to say something to you.

Jose, I just want you to know that I'm sorry for giving you such a hard time

over the years.

No, you're not.

Denise, you shouldn't be wasting this call on me, okay?

Everyone I'm close to knows how I feel about them.

Except you, so... Reggie, boost the signal. I'm trying.

I've got one question for you, Greg.

And I know you're incapable of lying, so... Here goes.

Do you love me?

Thank you for telling me the truth.

I've got to go.

Yeah.

I'll call you later.

Would it have killed you to tell her you love her?

She would have known I was lying.

I couldn't do that to her.

I'll see you later.

We have a connection to the First Lady.

Why don't you talk to your mom first?

Hey, baby.

Oh, sweetie.

It's okay.

I'm okay.

I'm not scared.

I was so awful to you before you left.

Oh, baby, don't.

I know you didn't mean it.

Please tell me you forgive me.

Of course I forgive you.

Can you do something for me?

Help your dad.

He's not as tough as we are.

It wasn't

anyone's fault, sweetie.

You remember that, okay?

Oh, I love you, sweet girl.

Honey, I... I know.

I know.

Look after Lara for me.

Love her just the way she is.

I will. I should have held you more.

So hold me now.

How long to impact?

Four minutes, maybe five.

It takes another eight minutes for whatever the hell's unleashed to get

here to Earth.

We should tell the president.

Sorry.

Don't.

Mr. President, you heard what Cheryl said.

We have to get the word out.

Mobilize the National Guard. Roger.

I need a moment.

Mr. President, I need you to sign this.

What is this?

Because of your personal loss...

As per the rules of presidential succession, you need to affirm in

writing that you are no longer able to discharge the powers and duties of your

office.

I just lost my wife.

I think I can have a moment.

Nobody will think less of you for doing this. That's obviously not true.

How much time do we have?

Approximately 11 minutes.

I want emergency messages sent to every state and federal agency we can reach.

Let them know what's coming.

Yes, Mr. President.

Get out of my sight.

Yes, I understand.

Thank you, Governor.

Jeffrey? How many copies of the Town of Eden disaster plan do we have available?

Make another ten copies, please, right away.

Right away.

One minute till impact.

about the solar event or how bad it is until eight minutes after impact.

All right, I want all systems that aren't crucial powered down and

disconnected from the grid.

Ivan, how long will it take you to do an emergency evacuation?

Not in eight minutes, if that's what you mean.

Besides, why would I want to give up the best seat in the house for the show?

Is that the right expression?

Yeah, that's the right expression.

I don't think you want this seat, buddy. I will stay here.

and relay information from the Solar Dynamics Observatory. Might give you a

few extra seconds of warning.

Thanks, Vaughn.

Five seconds, four, three, two, one, impact.

Is there a bunker here?

No.

Not that it makes much of a difference.

Wouldn't do us any good anyway.

Wolf!

Mom. Sarah?

No, no, it's okay. I don't want you to come over right now.

I'll be fine.

Look, I just, I want to be alone.

I'll call you a little later, okay?

Okay.

Freddy!

Freddy, come here!

Have you seen him? I thought he was here with you. He's not in his room? No.

Freddy!

12 11 10 9

8 7 6

5 4 3 2

1

It missed us. It went lateral to Earth at 82 degrees.

82 degrees.

Dodged a bullet there, huh?

Wait for it.

Oh.

You ever get tired of being wrong?