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GAGARIN WHISTLES

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12th April 1961.

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The Soviet Baikonur spaceport
in Kazakhstan.

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Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin is sitting on
top of over 200,000 kilograms

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of highly explosive rocket fuel.

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GAGARIN SINGS

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If all goes to plan,
Gagarin will make history.

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He'll be the first human in space.

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GAGARIN WHISTLES

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He seems so calm and composed

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and yet he must know

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of the enormous risks

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that are involved.

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There's one minute to lift-off.

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His heart rate was in the 60s.

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To be sat on top of a rocket

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and have a heart rate that low

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is quite exceptional.

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Gagarin is talking to
the rocket's chief designer,

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Sergei Korolev,
in the mission control room.

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Gagarin just reports back
to Korolev that he can hear

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the different systems of
the rockets starting to work.

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The ignition is on.

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The moment has come.

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And Gagarin says, "Let's go."

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ROCKET BOOMS

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The launch is a turning point

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in one of the greatest
technological challenges in history.

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A clash between two superpowers,

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and their rival ideologies,
the Space Race.

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That Cold War rivalry produced
aggressive posturing,

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aggressive investment,
and recklessness.

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It was years of twists and turns.

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A battle between single-minded
engineers with sci-fi dreams...

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He made videos and films with
Walt Disney to popularise

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the idea of space flight

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and putting the
nuclear family on the moon.

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..and politicians more concerned
with taking out the enemy

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than journeying into space.

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A competitive race
of dramatic leaps forward...

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The satellite scorecard was
the Soviet Union two,

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the United States zero.

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We were fighting
the Soviets tooth and nail.

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..and humiliating setbacks.

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This is hopes and
dreams going up in smoke.

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Told using rarely seen archive,

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transformed by cutting-edge
restoration and colourisation.

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This is quite emotional.

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It makes you feel as if you
were there.

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A story of danger...

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..bravery..

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They are the heroes,
these people truly became pin-ups.

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..and ultimately,
a technological triumph.

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We have achieved something, which is
to be able

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to leave our home planet.

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OK, I'm going to
step off the landing.

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And that is quite remarkable.

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The origins of the Space Race can be

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traced to a quiet London street,

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during the last months of
the Second World War.

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On the 8th of September 1944,

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a massive explosion destroyed
Staveley Road in Chiswick

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killing four people.

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Rescuers found strange wreckage.

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Some pieces hot to touch,

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others ice-cold.

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London had been hit for
the first time by

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a revolutionary rocket that had
travelled to the capital

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at four times the speed of sound.

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It would go up into outer space

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and then fly 1,000-plus
kilometres towards its target,

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and there was very little
the victim could do about it.

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The Germans called it a V-2.

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The range and
the power of these rocket engines

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were far beyond anything anyone else
had in the world at the time.

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In the last months of the war,

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over 8,000 people across England

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and Northern Europe would fall victim

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to the German killer rockets.

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Both the Soviets and Americans wanted

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to get their hands on this
lethal technology.

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They were Allies in
the fight against Nazi Germany,

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but as the war drew to an end,

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the two countries became increasingly
suspicious of each other.

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The Soviet Union and communism,

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their mission was to spread
their system

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throughout the world, so Americans
felt the sense that they needed

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to protect what they had,

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their system, their values,
their ideals.

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The Soviet Union
was devastated by the war.

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It lost millions of lives
of its citizens,

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the infrastructure, the homes,

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the factories had been destroyed in
a kind of apocalyptic scale.

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The Soviet Union wants to make sure

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that this sort of disaster doesn't
happen again, and that it's ready.

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A stand-off between
the two countries followed.

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To ensure their own protection,

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each side looked to develop
a robust defensive capability.

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And for that, possession of V-2
rocket technology could be decisive.

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Teams were dispatched
to get what they could.

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The Americans got to the V-2s first,

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and crucially,
on the 2nd of May 1945,

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they detained the
rocket's chief designer,

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33-year-old Wernher von Braun,

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his arm in a cast
having survived a car accident

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in the chaos of the last days of
the war.

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He was a consummate engineer
but more importantly,

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this holder of a vision
of what rocketry could achieve,

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and also a social awareness of how
to direct large numbers

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of team members into
a coherent programme.

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Von Braun's rocketry came at
a high cost.

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V-2s were built using prisoners from
concentration camps.

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There were more deaths amongst
that workforce,

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upwards of something like 20,000,

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compared to those that
were actually killed

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when the V-2s were being fired.

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Wernher von Braun carried on doing
his work despite being more than

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aware of these appalling conditions.

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For von Braun, building weapons
of war was just a means to an end.

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He was inspired by
a long-held dream, space travel.

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When the V-2 rockets
first hit London,

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von Braun said to a colleague,

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only half-jokingly, that,
"I think we hit the wrong planet."

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So that showed he was already
thinking about not the enemy.

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He was already aiming for the stars
when he was developing V-2 rockets.

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As a young man,

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von Braun was inspired by sci-fi
movies

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such as the Woman In The Moon,

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with its accurate
depiction of a rocket,

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and writers such as Jules Verne,

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who predicted space
capsules fired from Florida.

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In the lead-up to what became
the start of the Space Age,

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science fiction,
it really fired imaginations.

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That's how you moved from,

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"I wonder if this was possible,"
into, "Let's make it possible."

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The Americans wanted von Braun
for his rocket expertise,

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not his love of science fiction.

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In September 1946,

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President Truman authorised
Operation Paperclip,

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the secret recruitment of von Braun

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and 126 German rocket engineers

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to start work for the United States.

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There is a saying, is there not,

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that nations have no
permanent friends,

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no permanent enemies,
only permanent interests.

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And by that mantra,

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the United States bringing these
Germans back to the USA

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and then absorbing them in their own
defence establishment,

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was a case of turning
former enemies into allies,

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because a different kind
of war was on the horizon,

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and these guys were
going to be pretty useful.

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For the next six years,

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the Germans were restricted
to improving the V-2.

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Truman, and von Braun's new
bosses at the Pentagon,

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neatly ignored his Nazi past.

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His knowledge and
experience and skills,

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not only with the technology itself,

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but in running the programmes,

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was enough to look
the other way in terms

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of any possible crimes against
humanity he was responsible for,

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such as slave labour.

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On the other side of the world,

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the Soviets too had rounded up
Nazi V-2 engineers.

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But they didn't need von Braun.

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They had their own dreamer.

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Sergei Korolev.

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Another rocket engineer with
the same aim - of going into space.

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Korolev is described as a
genius, really.

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He's an engineer,
he's a chief designer,

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exceptionally talented,

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and he is really considered the
father of Soviet Union rocketry.

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Like von Braun,

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Korolev was also experimenting
with the V-2.

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Although his team lacked
high-tech facilities,

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cardboard boxes doubled up as
drafting tables,

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they'd seized enough Nazi components

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to build their own version of
the rocket.

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But Soviet dictator Josef Stalin
wasn't interested in space travel.

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He wanted rockets to defend
the Motherland,

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and a nuclear bomb like
the Americans.

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The Soviets had always thought
that eventually

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the Imperialist powers would
fight with each other,

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but now it seems like they're
ganging up on the Soviet Union,

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and this causes concern.

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So, each side was building rockets

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to protect themselves against
the other.

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The West though,
believed they had the upper hand.

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And not just in rocketry.

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There were lots of jokes
associated with the Soviet Union.

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One joke was that,

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"Well, the Soviet Union will
never be able to build

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"a nuclear bomb to
smuggle inside a suitcase,

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"because they haven't built
a good suitcase yet."

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President Harry Truman
once asked rhetorically,

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"Do you know when the Soviet
Union will develop an atom bomb?

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"Never."

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The Soviets proved Truman wrong.

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On the 29th of August 1949,
they detonated

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a 22-kiloton nuclear device
at their test site in Kazakhstan.

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America had underestimated
their Cold War enemy.

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If they could build a nuclear bomb,

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might a missile strike be next?

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This is a generation that
lived through Pearl Harbor.

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And one of the pervading fears
after Pearl Harbor

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was that it could happen again.

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Only in the nuclear age,
it would be much more destructive.

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Korolev and von Braun had to dismiss
any thoughts of space travel,

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rocket engineers in the West and the
East were now front-line warriors

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in a Cold War battle for survival.

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Cape Canaveral, Florida.

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Today, synonymous with
US space launches.

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But back in the day, this place
wasn't about space,

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it was a key location in
the missile programme.

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There were many reasons
they picked Cape Canaveral.

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One was - sparsely populated.

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Two, there was a lighthouse,

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so there's already a
federal land footprint.

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You had a retired World War II-era

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naval air station to the south.

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You're also launching over
the ocean,

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so you had that public safety
element to it.

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And then finally, you had islands
where you could track

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the missiles in flight down
the eastern range.

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This photograph from July 1950 shows

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the very first launch from
Cape Canaveral,

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a two-stage V-2 named Bumper 8.

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It's a beautifully framed
photograph,

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but we also notice the cameramen

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really rather close to the
rocket launch

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with their cinecameras and tripods
and just to the right of the picture

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there is what looks like
a fairly ordinary shed.

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What was to become Cape Canaveral
was still a very primitive set-up.

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In the next few years,

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launch facilities rapidly
improved in the US

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and the Soviet Union.

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Rocket technology had become

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an integral part of national defence.

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East and West had replaced
atomic bombs

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with far more powerful
hydrogen bombs.

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The preferred method of delivery
was by rocket-powered missile.

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The military potential of
effective nuclear missiles

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was far beyond what you could do

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with ships and aircraft.

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Once the missiles were in flight,
you couldn't really stop them.

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In October 1953,

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Soviet chief designer
Sergei Korolev was instructed

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to build a missile capable
of hitting the United States,

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5,000 miles away.

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The only way to do this was
to construct

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a rocket that could
travel through space.

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His team began work on the R-7,

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the world's first
intercontinental ballistic missile

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or ICBM.

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Within four years, they
built a two-stage rocket

255
00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:48,360
comprising a central core with four
liquid fuel boosters attached.

256
00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:53,200
It's massive, very tall,
but it tapers at the top,

257
00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:55,240
but then at the bottom it's vast.

258
00:14:55,240 --> 00:14:57,680
It has these four boosters designed

259
00:14:57,680 --> 00:15:00,440
to boost this H-bomb
across continents.

260
00:15:00,440 --> 00:15:05,000
And so it is a massive thing,
an incredible, powerful thing.

261
00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:08,720
Korolev's R-7 could reach
the United States,

262
00:15:08,720 --> 00:15:12,040
but it could also do
something revolutionary,

263
00:15:12,040 --> 00:15:16,760
travel fast and high enough
to orbit the Earth.

264
00:15:16,760 --> 00:15:18,240
Because it was so powerful,

265
00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:20,000
because of the weight of the H-bomb,

266
00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:23,080
it turned out to be very useful
for his dreams of space.

267
00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:29,000
Korolev had changed history.

268
00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:38,920
4th of October 1957,
a small silver sphere,

269
00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:42,000
the size of a beach
ball, circled the Earth.

270
00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:45,640
It was the first time

271
00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:48,600
a man-made object had
gone into orbit.

272
00:15:51,040 --> 00:15:53,000
People are gobsmacked.

273
00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:54,680
"We have something in space.

274
00:15:54,680 --> 00:15:56,960
"We've actually launched
something in space."

275
00:15:56,960 --> 00:15:58,360
That stuff of science fiction,

276
00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:01,160
the stuff written in books,
it has actually happened.

277
00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:04,160
The sphere was a Soviet satellite.

278
00:16:04,160 --> 00:16:06,840
They christened
it "Fellow Traveller".

279
00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:09,040
In Russian - Sputnik.

280
00:16:10,640 --> 00:16:12,840
East had beaten West.

281
00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:18,880
It marked a radical change
in direction for the Soviet Union.

282
00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:24,000
The year Sputnik launched had been
designated

283
00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:26,960
"International Geophysical Year."

284
00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:32,280
The United States
and the Soviet Union both announced

285
00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:36,600
their flagship project would be
to send a satellite into space

286
00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:39,800
to carry out scientific experiments.

287
00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:42,160
Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev,

288
00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:44,200
like his predecessor Stalin,

289
00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:46,840
was more interested in
rockets for defence,

290
00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:50,080
and dismissed Korolev's talk
of spaceships.

291
00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:52,360
But when he was told
a man-made satellite

292
00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:54,960
could potentially spy on America,

293
00:16:54,960 --> 00:16:56,400
he had a change of heart.

294
00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:03,720
Khrushchev and the Soviet
leadership gave Korolev permission

295
00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:06,240
to play with his satellite,
as it were,

296
00:17:06,240 --> 00:17:10,800
only after he has had two
successful launches of R-7.

297
00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:13,640
It's kind of written into his
contract, and he does it.

298
00:17:14,960 --> 00:17:16,600
The result was Sputnik.

299
00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:19,640
The United States could also see

300
00:17:19,640 --> 00:17:21,240
the potential of satellites.

301
00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:29,440
President Eisenhower, as the former
Supreme Allied Commander on D-Day,

302
00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:32,680
and of NATO,
valued intelligence on the enemy.

303
00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:40,240
Eisenhower knew very well that this
scientific project would dovetail

304
00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:41,720
with his real interest,

305
00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:44,200
which was eventually
a reconnaissance satellite

306
00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:46,000
to fly over the Soviet Union.

307
00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:47,200
He wanted surveillance

308
00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:49,560
but he wanted it in
a way that wasn't provocative,

309
00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:51,760
that couldn't be seen as
an act of war.

310
00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:55,680
Now it was the Americans who felt
they were being spied on.

311
00:17:57,000 --> 00:17:59,400
But Sputnik's beeps were harmless,

312
00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:03,280
they simply helped the Soviet
engineers track its progress.

313
00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:05,760
The technology inside it was
extremely simple.

314
00:18:05,760 --> 00:18:08,040
It was a little transmitter
that bleeped,

315
00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:09,200
and it had internal batteries

316
00:18:09,200 --> 00:18:11,160
and aerials stuck on the outside.

317
00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:13,440
So, I mean, compared
to today's satellite

318
00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:14,400
it's the equivalent of having a

319
00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:16,600
pencil compared to a supercomputer.

320
00:18:18,280 --> 00:18:20,920
The Space Age had begun.

321
00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:25,840
Stargazers both young and old were
gripped by Sputnik mania.

322
00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:31,360
Scientists in observatories
across the world,

323
00:18:31,360 --> 00:18:35,840
like this one at Herstmonceux in
Sussex, had the best view of all.

324
00:18:44,360 --> 00:18:46,720
Usually they look at
celestial objects,

325
00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:50,040
but they were able to look at
Sputnik as it sort of sailed past.

326
00:18:55,960 --> 00:18:59,000
And so I think it was the excitement
of something that had been actually

327
00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:03,560
created by humans, being seen and
heard by people across the globe -

328
00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:05,320
that's what caused the excitement.

329
00:19:07,240 --> 00:19:09,680
And people with hand
radio sets around the world

330
00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:11,960
could tune into that beep
and hear it.

331
00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:14,160
BEEPING

332
00:19:18,240 --> 00:19:20,160
For the American government,

333
00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:23,960
Sputnik's beeps suggested
something sinister.

334
00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:28,360
Suddenly, if the Russians can
put a satellite in space,

335
00:19:28,360 --> 00:19:31,160
they can stick a nuclear warhead
on the top of that rocket,

336
00:19:31,160 --> 00:19:33,080
change that trajectory,

337
00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:35,880
and the next thing you know,
Washington DC,

338
00:19:35,880 --> 00:19:39,160
New York, Snake Bend, Indiana,
who knows, is in trouble.

339
00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:45,600
For 92 days, Sputnik tormented
the Americans

340
00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:47,320
until its batteries ran out

341
00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:50,360
and it fell to Earth,
burning up in the atmosphere.

342
00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:54,880
The Soviet leadership
and their rocket engineers

343
00:19:54,880 --> 00:19:58,160
were surprised by
the effect Sputnik had on the West,

344
00:19:58,160 --> 00:19:59,920
as Martin Sweeting discovered

345
00:19:59,920 --> 00:20:02,840
at a Soviet rocket launch
over 20 years later.

346
00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:07,120
I was just talking to one of the
engineers on the launchpad

347
00:20:07,120 --> 00:20:08,480
and he said,
"Oh, do you realise this was

348
00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:10,080
"the launchpad which
launched Sputnik?"

349
00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:12,360
And then he told me that
to them it was just,

350
00:20:12,360 --> 00:20:13,360
you know, another day's work.

351
00:20:13,360 --> 00:20:14,640
They thought they were testing

352
00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:16,360
an intercontinental
ballistic missile.

353
00:20:16,360 --> 00:20:18,040
Some guy turned up with
a silver ball,

354
00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:19,360
they put it on the top
and they launched it

355
00:20:19,360 --> 00:20:21,120
and he went off to have lunch.

356
00:20:21,120 --> 00:20:25,560
Had no idea of what impact that
would have on the world.

357
00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:28,240
The Soviet leadership,
Khrushchev, in particular,

358
00:20:28,240 --> 00:20:30,600
realised the
propaganda value of this,

359
00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:32,320
"This is great.
This is really going to help us."

360
00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:34,000
And they really milk it.

361
00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:36,960
It proves that socialism is modern.

362
00:20:36,960 --> 00:20:38,760
It is the future

363
00:20:38,760 --> 00:20:42,360
and all that capitalism can do is
just grub around on the Earth.

364
00:20:42,360 --> 00:20:43,880
And if he's got a target audience,

365
00:20:43,880 --> 00:20:46,240
it's the uncommitted of
the developing world.

366
00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:50,120
"Here, follow the Soviet path.
We are the path of the future."

367
00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:54,880
Khrushchev, as the
story goes, came to

368
00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:57,280
Korolev and said,
"Well, that's very good.

369
00:20:57,280 --> 00:21:00,120
"Now, what are you going to do
for me next?"

370
00:21:00,120 --> 00:21:03,280
Korolev's team suggested
a second satellite,

371
00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:05,640
to mark the 40th anniversary

372
00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:08,040
of the Bolshevik
Revolution, in November,

373
00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:10,400
less than four weeks away.

374
00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:12,760
All leave was cancelled.

375
00:21:12,760 --> 00:21:15,480
This time, the satellite
would have a passenger.

376
00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:23,240
On the 3rd of November,
Sputnik 2 was launched.

377
00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:27,560
Onboard was a stray dog from
the Moscow streets, called Laika,

378
00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:29,680
"Barker" in Russian.

379
00:21:29,680 --> 00:21:32,440
She handed the Soviets
another record.

380
00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:36,520
ARCHIVE: It proved a point
of tremendous importance,

381
00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:39,560
that life could continue in space.

382
00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:43,080
Until this point,
no-one knew if a living creature

383
00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:45,200
would survive in orbit.

384
00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:49,760
Laika, now nicknamed "Pupnik",
showed it was possible.

385
00:21:49,760 --> 00:21:53,160
The Soviet regime claimed she
survived for four days,

386
00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:55,160
before being put to sleep.

387
00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:58,320
However, the truth was more tragic.

388
00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:02,720
The capsule that they designed
for her was inadequate,

389
00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:05,000
and travelling through
the atmosphere,

390
00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:07,360
it heated up very quickly.

391
00:22:07,360 --> 00:22:10,440
She probably died within
a few hours.

392
00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:13,560
It was probably very horrific.

393
00:22:13,560 --> 00:22:18,880
Years later, one of the primary
investigators of the project,

394
00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:21,520
confessed to the world that
that was one of

395
00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:24,160
his greatest regrets in his career,

396
00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:28,480
that cruelty of sending
an animal on a trip of no return.

397
00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:30,440
But this was yet to be revealed.

398
00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:39,080
In 1957, Sputnik 2 had sealed
America's humiliation.

399
00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:42,680
President Eisenhower immediately
went on the offensive,

400
00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:44,640
broadcasting to the nation

401
00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:47,000
to prove that America was
still in the game.

402
00:22:49,360 --> 00:22:52,760
He had, right in the Oval Office,
a nose cone from

403
00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:55,960
a Jupiter-C rocket that had been
launched into space

404
00:22:55,960 --> 00:22:59,120
the previous September,
September of 1956,

405
00:22:59,120 --> 00:23:02,680
to show that America actually
could have orbited a satellite

406
00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:05,720
more than a year before
Sputnik, very successfully.

407
00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:11,360
A month later,
on the 6th of December,

408
00:23:11,360 --> 00:23:14,160
a huge television audience tuned in

409
00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:17,560
to see what they hoped would be
rather more impressive evidence

410
00:23:17,560 --> 00:23:19,760
of American space technology.

411
00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:24,440
Each of the armed services had their
own rocket programme,

412
00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:28,000
and the US Navy's
Vanguard rocket was about to launch

413
00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:31,880
the nation's first satellite into
orbit from Cape Canaveral.

414
00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:36,720
Now little more than concrete
and scrubland,

415
00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:41,440
in December 1957,
all eyes were on this launchpad.

416
00:23:43,800 --> 00:23:46,240
The mobile service tower
has moved away.

417
00:23:46,240 --> 00:23:48,120
The rocket is prepped. It's fuelled.

418
00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:52,400
Vanguard's going to be
the next step.

419
00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:54,920
Vanguard's going to get
the Free World into space.

420
00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:19,600
This is hopes and dreams
going up in smoke.

421
00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:22,160
And as this rocket is exploding,

422
00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:26,840
you can see the satellite at the
top tumble off into the underbrush.

423
00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:31,560
The satellite started transmitting,

424
00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:34,880
not from space, but from
the dirt of Cape Canaveral.

425
00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:42,160
It was called "Kaputnik" in
one part of the US press.

426
00:24:42,160 --> 00:24:43,240
It was an embarrassment.

427
00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:46,960
At the end of 1957,

428
00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:50,360
the satellite scorecard was
the Soviet Union two,

429
00:24:50,360 --> 00:24:51,880
the United States zero.

430
00:24:53,280 --> 00:24:56,840
The US rocket engineers
were humiliated.

431
00:24:56,840 --> 00:24:59,240
They needed to show the world America

432
00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:02,360
was still in the Space Race, fast.

433
00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:22,080
ARCHIVE: America's
prestige had never been lower

434
00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:28,840
than at this moment,
11:45am, December 6th 1957.

435
00:25:31,280 --> 00:25:35,040
When Vanguard exploded on
the launchpad at Cape Canaveral,

436
00:25:35,040 --> 00:25:38,080
it added a sense of
urgency to the Space Race.

437
00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:42,200
The Soviet Union suggested playfully

438
00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:45,200
that the US could apply for
aid from the Soviet Union

439
00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:46,640
as a backward nation.

440
00:25:46,640 --> 00:25:48,880
So, it really was embarrassing.

441
00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:53,160
President Eisenhower turned
to Wernher von Braun's

442
00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:56,400
Army-funded team based
in Huntsville, Alabama,

443
00:25:56,400 --> 00:25:59,960
nicknamed "Hunsville" after
the German scientists living there.

444
00:26:01,360 --> 00:26:04,400
Having spent six years testing V-2s,

445
00:26:04,400 --> 00:26:06,920
they'd developed the Redstone missile

446
00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:10,200
and then the more powerful Jupiter-C.

447
00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:13,360
And crucially,
they had a satellite ready to go,

448
00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:14,920
Explorer 1.

449
00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:20,880
Two months after
the failure of Vanguard,

450
00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:23,080
Explorer launched successfully.

451
00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:29,080
The United States was
finally in space.

452
00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:33,960
The Explorer 1 satellite was

453
00:26:33,960 --> 00:26:36,320
much more
sophisticated than Sputnik.

454
00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:38,280
For example,
Explorer 1 discovered that

455
00:26:38,280 --> 00:26:42,800
the cosmic rays in space weren't as
lethal as previously thought,

456
00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:47,040
and that paved the way
for human exploits in space itself.

457
00:26:48,560 --> 00:26:51,960
The launch made
von Braun even more celebrated.

458
00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:54,040
Nicknamed "Dr Space,"

459
00:26:54,040 --> 00:26:57,160
he received almost as much
fan mail as Elvis,

460
00:26:57,160 --> 00:27:00,360
thanks to a partnership with
America's most famous animator.

461
00:27:02,320 --> 00:27:06,680
He did videos and films with
Walt Disney to popularise

462
00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:08,800
the idea of space flight

463
00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:11,440
and as part of the
American dream in space

464
00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:13,920
and putting the
nuclear family on the moon.

465
00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:22,360
The first programme, Man In Space,
aired in March 1955,

466
00:27:22,360 --> 00:27:26,000
and was seen by over
40 million viewers.

467
00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:30,560
Von Braun was very good
at depicting space flight

468
00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:31,960
for the general public

469
00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:35,680
not as complete fantasy
and nonsense,

470
00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:39,160
but actually something that could
actually happen,

471
00:27:39,160 --> 00:27:44,400
and the United States should be in
the lead of this coming Space Age.

472
00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:47,880
Von Braun became so famous

473
00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:50,640
a Hollywood movie was made
about his life, called

474
00:27:50,640 --> 00:27:53,000
I Aim At The Stars.

475
00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:55,480
Some suggested it's full
title should be,

476
00:27:55,480 --> 00:27:59,080
I Aim At The Stars,
But Sometimes I Hit London.

477
00:28:03,120 --> 00:28:06,640
His pioneering Jupiter-C
was an Army project.

478
00:28:06,640 --> 00:28:09,520
The failed Vanguard was the Navy's.

479
00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:11,560
Eisenhower felt the rivalry between

480
00:28:11,560 --> 00:28:14,360
the services was inefficient
and counterproductive.

481
00:28:15,520 --> 00:28:19,320
America's space activities resided
in one place, the Pentagon.

482
00:28:19,320 --> 00:28:20,800
And that presented problems

483
00:28:20,800 --> 00:28:23,400
because inter-service
rivalries are famous.

484
00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:26,720
Each service seemed to have
a legitimate claim

485
00:28:26,720 --> 00:28:29,640
to America's space efforts
and activities.

486
00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:31,600
It was rather chaotic

487
00:28:31,600 --> 00:28:35,160
and there was this need to bring
order into that chaos.

488
00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:40,200
The result was the formation in
October 1958,

489
00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:42,560
of a special civilian body called

490
00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:48,360
the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration, or NASA.

491
00:28:48,360 --> 00:28:52,760
Eisenhower knew that he needed
a public-facing civil agency

492
00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:56,440
to fight the PR battles,
the propaganda battles,

493
00:28:56,440 --> 00:28:59,760
to show America
and the rest of the world

494
00:28:59,760 --> 00:29:04,080
that America cannot only
keep up with the Soviets in space,

495
00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:05,080
but also do more.

496
00:29:09,440 --> 00:29:12,040
After the success of Jupiter-C,

497
00:29:12,040 --> 00:29:15,760
NASA attempted to put rockets into
orbit almost every week.

498
00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:20,480
Cape Canaveral went from being
a missile site

499
00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:22,000
to a busy spaceport.

500
00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:26,840
One of the launchpad concrete
bunkers from that era,

501
00:29:26,840 --> 00:29:29,080
known as a blockhouse, survives.

502
00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:33,440
Rockets took off just
yards from this building.

503
00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:39,680
This served as launch control centre
for a dual-pad launch complex.

504
00:29:39,680 --> 00:29:41,240
There were dozens of these

505
00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:42,600
scattered around the Cape,

506
00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:44,680
built in different configurations,

507
00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:47,840
all with
reinforced walls and ceilings.

508
00:29:47,840 --> 00:29:51,360
This was packed full of personnel,
working launch day,

509
00:29:51,360 --> 00:29:54,200
making sure that launch
vehicle was getting off the ground.

510
00:29:54,200 --> 00:29:56,120
So with the reinforced walls,

511
00:29:56,120 --> 00:29:59,760
you also had these windows
45 panes of glass thick.

512
00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:06,520
The blockhouses' state
of the art kit shows

513
00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:09,400
the United States' commitment
to the Space Race.

514
00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:14,000
Even though it seems
antiquated by today's standards,

515
00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:18,920
it was super successful in guiding
missiles during boost phase,

516
00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:20,600
during testing out here on the Cape.

517
00:30:20,600 --> 00:30:22,480
This is your memory bank,

518
00:30:22,480 --> 00:30:26,360
and this diskette could hold
millions of times more data

519
00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:28,560
than this entire memory bank.

520
00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:33,160
And then over here, we have
the terminal equipment unit,

521
00:30:33,160 --> 00:30:36,600
and this was composed
of several different

522
00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:39,400
packages of recorders
and comparators.

523
00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:43,840
The recorders gathered data on
missile test launches,

524
00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:45,320
punching holes in paper tape.

525
00:30:45,320 --> 00:30:47,160
Those are your ones and zeros.

526
00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:51,480
And then the bit buckets
captured the circular pieces

527
00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:52,960
of debris afterwards,

528
00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:55,880
demonstrating early computer bits.

529
00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:02,960
All this technology was geared
to one urgent goal

530
00:31:02,960 --> 00:31:06,200
that would put the US ahead in
the Space Race,

531
00:31:06,200 --> 00:31:08,400
launching a man into orbit.

532
00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:12,600
On the 17th of December 1958,

533
00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:15,080
a manned space programme was
announced.

534
00:31:15,080 --> 00:31:17,560
It was called Project Mercury.

535
00:31:17,560 --> 00:31:21,080
The Soviet Union had nothing like it.

536
00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:25,720
NASA needed seven men for
the programme able to handle risk.

537
00:31:25,720 --> 00:31:30,240
Balloonists, submariners and
even acrobats were considered,

538
00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:32,920
before Eisenhower decided
the safest bet

539
00:31:32,920 --> 00:31:35,120
were the country's
military test pilots.

540
00:31:39,040 --> 00:31:41,880
The idea was that it would capture

541
00:31:41,880 --> 00:31:43,440
the public imagination

542
00:31:43,440 --> 00:31:47,320
and you are winnowing down
a field of superb Americans.

543
00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:50,480
One Air Force general said,

544
00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:53,880
"We are trying to create
a group of ordinary supermen."

545
00:31:55,760 --> 00:31:58,440
On the 9th of April 1959,

546
00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:02,240
the so-called "Mercury Seven"
were revealed to the world

547
00:32:02,240 --> 00:32:04,040
in front of over 200 reporters.

548
00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:08,920
ARCHIVE: The question is what is
the motivation of these men?

549
00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:11,800
Let's try that starting from
the left and go down.

550
00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:16,680
I feel that this is the future of
not only this country but the world.

551
00:32:16,680 --> 00:32:20,160
We have gone about as far as
we can on this globe,

552
00:32:20,160 --> 00:32:22,160
and we will have to start
looking around a bit.

553
00:32:22,160 --> 00:32:24,880
All of us in this room,
probably have read comic strips,

554
00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:26,880
such as Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon,

555
00:32:26,880 --> 00:32:28,840
Jules Verne routines,

556
00:32:28,840 --> 00:32:31,720
and if we had interest
in reading things like this,

557
00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:34,080
obviously we had intentions

558
00:32:34,080 --> 00:32:36,680
of following something like this in
our lifetimes.

559
00:32:36,680 --> 00:32:40,920
I will readily admit that I didn't
think it was coming this soon.

560
00:32:42,080 --> 00:32:45,120
The Mercury Seven were
instant celebrities.

561
00:32:46,240 --> 00:32:48,200
These people truly became pin-ups.

562
00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:50,120
They were going to beat
the Russkies

563
00:32:50,120 --> 00:32:51,760
and get us out into space first.

564
00:32:53,400 --> 00:32:58,640
The imagery around astronauts was
carefully crafted by NASA.

565
00:32:58,640 --> 00:33:01,960
They drove the cars everybody
suddenly wanted.

566
00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:04,680
They wore the clothes
everybody suddenly wanted.

567
00:33:04,680 --> 00:33:06,880
And they were hot
government property.

568
00:33:08,240 --> 00:33:10,600
Once announced, the Mercury Seven

569
00:33:10,600 --> 00:33:14,040
posed in the futuristic suits
they'd wear into space.

570
00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:18,480
In the 1950s, if you were drawing

571
00:33:18,480 --> 00:33:21,160
a cartoon
of astronauts, and of course,

572
00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:23,920
UFOs were very much in the psyche,

573
00:33:23,920 --> 00:33:26,760
then you would have people dressed
in these shiny silver suits.

574
00:33:26,760 --> 00:33:29,560
So, the fact that
the Mercury Seven then turn up

575
00:33:29,560 --> 00:33:32,440
in shiny silver suits ready
to fly to space,

576
00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:34,920
I think it was very striking,
a very powerful image.

577
00:33:38,560 --> 00:33:43,280
As test pilots, the seven were
used to risks flying prototype jets,

578
00:33:43,280 --> 00:33:45,640
but they soon realised as astronauts,

579
00:33:45,640 --> 00:33:47,440
danger was on another level.

580
00:33:49,200 --> 00:33:51,200
At Cape Canaveral in May,

581
00:33:51,200 --> 00:33:54,360
they watched the launch of
an unmanned Atlas rocket,

582
00:33:54,360 --> 00:33:57,360
similar to the one that
would take them to space.

583
00:33:57,360 --> 00:33:58,720
A minute into the flight...

584
00:34:02,120 --> 00:34:04,000
John Glenn joked,

585
00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:05,720
"I'm glad they got that
out of the way."

586
00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:13,400
In the 12 months before his
voyage into space, in 2015,

587
00:34:13,400 --> 00:34:16,560
astronaut Tim Peake saw
three rockets explode.

588
00:34:19,400 --> 00:34:21,760
As an astronaut watching
a rocket blow up,

589
00:34:21,760 --> 00:34:23,640
we understand that,
"Well, that happens,

590
00:34:23,640 --> 00:34:26,000
"because we're pushing
the boundaries of technology.

591
00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:28,360
"Now we understand
why it happened

592
00:34:28,360 --> 00:34:30,720
"and how we can stop that from
happening in the future."

593
00:34:30,720 --> 00:34:32,760
So, I don't think it
was necessarily a shock

594
00:34:32,760 --> 00:34:35,840
for astronauts to watch
that rocket blow up.

595
00:34:35,840 --> 00:34:37,080
But you look at the risk
and you think,

596
00:34:37,080 --> 00:34:39,960
"Why did that happen and
how have we mitigated that

597
00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:42,680
"so it's not going to happen on,
on my flight?"

598
00:34:42,680 --> 00:34:45,200
But you have to also be happy

599
00:34:45,200 --> 00:34:47,560
and comfortable
to accept that level of risk

600
00:34:47,560 --> 00:34:49,760
in order to go and
achieve the mission.

601
00:34:51,640 --> 00:34:57,040
In 1960, almost half of
all NASA rockets blew up.

602
00:34:57,040 --> 00:35:00,720
Lloyd's of London refused
to insure the Mercury Seven.

603
00:35:00,720 --> 00:35:03,160
America's quest to put
a man into space

604
00:35:03,160 --> 00:35:07,960
might come at a cost and see the
astronauts pay the ultimate price.

605
00:35:25,440 --> 00:35:28,080
The Mercury Seven
worked well as a team

606
00:35:28,080 --> 00:35:30,440
but were fiercely competitive.

607
00:35:30,440 --> 00:35:33,720
Each wanted to be
the first man in space.

608
00:35:33,720 --> 00:35:36,000
The frontrunners and biggest rivals

609
00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:39,560
were Alan Shepard and John Glenn.

610
00:35:39,560 --> 00:35:42,080
John Glenn was very experienced.

611
00:35:42,080 --> 00:35:44,640
He'd flown aircraft during
World War II,

612
00:35:44,640 --> 00:35:46,640
the Korean War, in combat,

613
00:35:46,640 --> 00:35:51,200
so he had all the necessary
qualities to make quick decisions.

614
00:35:51,200 --> 00:35:53,560
He was good in front of the camera.

615
00:35:53,560 --> 00:35:56,240
He was good at selling
the American space dream.

616
00:35:57,960 --> 00:36:00,360
Alan Shepard, he's an accomplished,

617
00:36:00,360 --> 00:36:03,320
trained, decorated naval aviator.

618
00:36:03,320 --> 00:36:05,760
And he's got
that constitution for it, right?

619
00:36:05,760 --> 00:36:08,400
That adrenaline
junkie-type, you know,

620
00:36:08,400 --> 00:36:11,800
the quintessential
Navy fighter pilot mentality.

621
00:36:14,480 --> 00:36:18,960
In January 1961, NASA
decided Alan Shepard

622
00:36:18,960 --> 00:36:20,760
would be the first man in space.

623
00:36:23,480 --> 00:36:25,920
But all seven were able
to make suggestions

624
00:36:25,920 --> 00:36:28,240
about the design of
the Mercury capsule.

625
00:36:29,760 --> 00:36:34,320
The Mercury astronauts insisted that
they'd be able to see outside,

626
00:36:34,320 --> 00:36:37,920
that they'd be able to manoeuvre
and manage the spacecraft.

627
00:36:37,920 --> 00:36:40,320
That they were not going to
be spam in the can,

628
00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:43,760
just shot up and,
you know, brought back down.

629
00:36:43,760 --> 00:36:46,240
It had a very
distinctive appearance,

630
00:36:46,240 --> 00:36:48,600
a bit like a shuttlecock,

631
00:36:48,600 --> 00:36:51,000
but it was very
carefully designed so

632
00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:54,080
it had an element
of aerodynamic lift.

633
00:36:54,080 --> 00:36:56,360
So when you're returning from space,

634
00:36:56,360 --> 00:36:58,200
you wouldn't just plummet,

635
00:36:58,200 --> 00:37:00,920
you would actually have
an element of control,

636
00:37:00,920 --> 00:37:05,320
and that dictated the shape of
the early space capsules throughout

637
00:37:05,320 --> 00:37:07,160
and indeed to the present day.

638
00:37:08,400 --> 00:37:11,600
On the 31st of January,
the new capsule was tested

639
00:37:11,600 --> 00:37:14,080
with an ape called Ham onboard.

640
00:37:15,880 --> 00:37:18,160
But the rocket flew higher
than planned

641
00:37:18,160 --> 00:37:19,960
and the capsule landed off target.

642
00:37:23,280 --> 00:37:24,960
Ham almost drowned.

643
00:37:28,640 --> 00:37:32,960
Von Braun insisted on another
unmanned test flight,

644
00:37:32,960 --> 00:37:36,120
pushing Alan Shepard's launch to May.

645
00:37:36,120 --> 00:37:39,360
For the United States,
that would be a costly delay.

646
00:37:41,800 --> 00:37:44,360
Since the announcement of
the Mercury Seven,

647
00:37:44,360 --> 00:37:47,800
the Soviets had been working on
their own manned space programme.

648
00:37:48,920 --> 00:37:50,880
They secretly recruited candidates

649
00:37:50,880 --> 00:37:53,400
for what they christened
the Vostok mission.

650
00:37:54,720 --> 00:37:58,600
These were not advanced test pilots.

651
00:37:58,600 --> 00:38:02,360
They were recruiting young junior
lieutenants

652
00:38:02,360 --> 00:38:04,720
who'd just learned how to fly.

653
00:38:04,720 --> 00:38:07,080
They weren't even told what they
were being recruited for.

654
00:38:07,080 --> 00:38:08,720
They were told that they were
going to be

655
00:38:08,720 --> 00:38:10,160
flying a new type of aircraft.

656
00:38:11,480 --> 00:38:14,560
The candidates, who had to
be shorter than five foot seven

657
00:38:14,560 --> 00:38:16,600
to fit in the Vostok capsule,

658
00:38:16,600 --> 00:38:19,080
were tested on their ability
to problem solve...

659
00:38:20,800 --> 00:38:23,440
..to cope with a spinning capsule,

660
00:38:23,440 --> 00:38:26,680
and withstand massive G-force.

661
00:38:26,680 --> 00:38:29,120
They were whittled down to just two.

662
00:38:29,120 --> 00:38:31,440
25-year-old Gherman Titov

663
00:38:31,440 --> 00:38:33,760
and 26-year-old Yuri Gagarin.

664
00:38:34,880 --> 00:38:38,120
In many respects, Titov was
actually a little bit better

665
00:38:38,120 --> 00:38:40,120
in terms of a cosmonaut,

666
00:38:40,120 --> 00:38:42,680
but it boiled down to
the fact that Gagarin

667
00:38:42,680 --> 00:38:44,680
had a better backstory.

668
00:38:44,680 --> 00:38:47,120
He was a carpenter's son,

669
00:38:47,120 --> 00:38:49,600
he was charismatic, he was charming,

670
00:38:49,600 --> 00:38:51,280
he had a brilliant smile,

671
00:38:51,280 --> 00:38:53,480
and he would look great in
the photographs.

672
00:38:58,720 --> 00:39:02,320
Things were looking good for
the Soviet space programme.

673
00:39:02,320 --> 00:39:07,400
Then on the 24th of October
1960 - disaster.

674
00:39:07,400 --> 00:39:12,480
A prototype ICBM blew up
on the launchpad at Baikonur.

675
00:39:12,480 --> 00:39:15,040
Over 90 people were killed,

676
00:39:15,040 --> 00:39:17,320
including the head of
a key missile programme.

677
00:39:18,480 --> 00:39:20,680
All that was left were his medals.

678
00:39:21,880 --> 00:39:24,160
Gagarin's launchpad was damaged

679
00:39:24,160 --> 00:39:26,800
and key ground staff were lost,

680
00:39:26,800 --> 00:39:30,520
but the Soviets knew they were
in a race against time.

681
00:39:30,520 --> 00:39:32,400
The mission carried on regardless.

682
00:39:34,560 --> 00:39:40,320
Six months later on the 12th of
April 1961, launch day arrived.

683
00:39:40,320 --> 00:39:43,920
What Gagarin did before lift-off
has become folklore

684
00:39:43,920 --> 00:39:46,280
in the Russian space programme.

685
00:39:46,280 --> 00:39:48,560
The Russians are
quite superstitious,

686
00:39:48,560 --> 00:39:49,960
in space flight in particular.

687
00:39:49,960 --> 00:39:52,240
And cosmonauts and astronauts today

688
00:39:52,240 --> 00:39:55,360
still follow many of those rituals.

689
00:39:55,360 --> 00:39:58,040
For example, having a
haircut two days before...

690
00:39:59,600 --> 00:40:02,280
..a blessing by a Russian
Orthodox priest.

691
00:40:03,640 --> 00:40:04,920
One of the other ones, of course,

692
00:40:04,920 --> 00:40:07,720
is urinating on
the rear right tyre of the bus

693
00:40:07,720 --> 00:40:10,760
that takes you to the
launchpad in Baikonur.

694
00:40:10,760 --> 00:40:13,160
Now, it's alleged that Yuri Gagarin

695
00:40:13,160 --> 00:40:15,160
did this on his way
to the launchpad,

696
00:40:15,160 --> 00:40:17,200
just needed that
last-minute pee stop.

697
00:40:17,200 --> 00:40:21,280
And so today, we still do that
in following those traditions in,

698
00:40:21,280 --> 00:40:24,880
in hoping that that will bring us
good luck for the launch.

699
00:40:24,880 --> 00:40:29,520
The letters "CCCP", USSR in Russian,

700
00:40:29,520 --> 00:40:32,720
were hastily painted on
Gagarin's helmet

701
00:40:32,720 --> 00:40:36,160
so when he landed, people wouldn't
think he was an enemy pilot.

702
00:40:37,840 --> 00:40:41,040
He was journeying into the unknown.

703
00:40:41,040 --> 00:40:42,320
When Gagarin

704
00:40:42,320 --> 00:40:43,880
stepped into the spacecraft,

705
00:40:43,880 --> 00:40:46,160
he didn't know if he would
come back.

706
00:40:46,160 --> 00:40:47,760
Nobody knew if he would come back.

707
00:40:49,760 --> 00:40:53,400
He waited for lift-off for two hours.

708
00:40:53,400 --> 00:40:57,080
To pass the time, Gagarin sang
about getting drunk on vodka,

709
00:40:57,080 --> 00:40:58,480
and whistled.

710
00:40:59,640 --> 00:41:03,280
GAGARIN WHISTLES

711
00:41:03,280 --> 00:41:05,960
It's actually not a time
of nervousness.

712
00:41:05,960 --> 00:41:09,160
I think it's a time of excitement,
of adrenaline,

713
00:41:09,160 --> 00:41:11,880
of just knowledge
that you're about to go

714
00:41:11,880 --> 00:41:14,400
and do what you've trained
so long and so hard to do.

715
00:41:16,160 --> 00:41:20,480
54 years later, on the same
Baikonur launchpad,

716
00:41:20,480 --> 00:41:22,160
Tim Peake was also waiting

717
00:41:22,160 --> 00:41:25,200
to be sent into space on
a Russian rocket.

718
00:41:25,200 --> 00:41:27,960
The liquid oxygen is boiling off,

719
00:41:27,960 --> 00:41:29,920
and it's packed full of cargo.

720
00:41:29,920 --> 00:41:31,360
So the spacecraft feels

721
00:41:31,360 --> 00:41:32,920
a little bit different on launch day

722
00:41:32,920 --> 00:41:35,200
to the simulator that
you've flown in.

723
00:41:35,200 --> 00:41:37,480
And it all adds to this sense of,

724
00:41:37,480 --> 00:41:39,000
"Today's the day. This is real."

725
00:41:40,920 --> 00:41:43,960
Gagarin just reports back
to Korolev that he can hear

726
00:41:43,960 --> 00:41:46,520
the different systems of
the rocket starting to work.

727
00:41:47,880 --> 00:41:49,560
One of the interesting
things about sitting on

728
00:41:49,560 --> 00:41:51,480
a rocket is you don't get
a countdown.

729
00:41:51,480 --> 00:41:54,160
We're not hearing a
"ten, nine, eight, seven, six."

730
00:41:54,160 --> 00:41:57,880
What we're looking at is
the systems coming online.

731
00:41:57,880 --> 00:42:00,720
And then there's a moment where
the engines ignite

732
00:42:00,720 --> 00:42:03,080
and the rocket is still being
held for

733
00:42:03,080 --> 00:42:05,360
a short period of time before

734
00:42:05,360 --> 00:42:07,040
then they come to 100% power.

735
00:42:09,520 --> 00:42:13,120
It's only really when the
G-forces start to pick up,

736
00:42:13,120 --> 00:42:15,560
that's when we clearly know that
we're on our way.

737
00:42:23,120 --> 00:42:26,640
And here's Gagarin saying
that he can see the Earth.

738
00:42:26,640 --> 00:42:29,040
"It's clearly visible."

739
00:42:29,040 --> 00:42:31,800
And Gagarin just seems
to be fascinated.

740
00:42:31,800 --> 00:42:33,120
He says, "I can see the rivers.

741
00:42:34,520 --> 00:42:36,240
"I can see everything so well."

742
00:42:37,440 --> 00:42:41,120
Gagarin took six minutes
to leave the Earth's atmosphere

743
00:42:41,120 --> 00:42:43,840
and then settled into orbit.

744
00:42:43,840 --> 00:42:46,120
He listened to a
waltz over the radio.

745
00:42:46,120 --> 00:42:49,320
WALTZ PLAYS

746
00:42:53,720 --> 00:42:56,560
The Soviet engineers
weren't taking any risks.

747
00:42:56,560 --> 00:43:01,000
Gagarin was a passenger in a
capsule operated by ground control.

748
00:43:02,920 --> 00:43:06,040
The scientists had no way
of knowing how

749
00:43:06,040 --> 00:43:08,880
the human body will
react when it's in space,

750
00:43:08,880 --> 00:43:10,120
and will it be able to survive.

751
00:43:18,120 --> 00:43:19,960
An hour into the flight,

752
00:43:19,960 --> 00:43:23,880
Soviet radio announced news of
the successful launch,

753
00:43:23,880 --> 00:43:26,240
and that Gagarin had been promoted

754
00:43:26,240 --> 00:43:30,640
from the rank of lieutenant
to Major Yuri Gagarin.

755
00:43:30,640 --> 00:43:34,000
He was able to see things no
human had ever seen before.

756
00:43:35,080 --> 00:43:37,520
This is quite emotional. It makes...

757
00:43:37,520 --> 00:43:39,960
..makes you feel as
if you were there

758
00:43:39,960 --> 00:43:42,480
with them, being in space
for the first time,

759
00:43:42,480 --> 00:43:45,360
and seeing the Earth
from a distance.

760
00:43:45,360 --> 00:43:48,520
RUSSIAN RADIO CHATTER

761
00:43:48,520 --> 00:43:52,480
It's a beautiful moment
and not just for the Soviets.

762
00:43:52,480 --> 00:43:54,680
It is a beautiful moment
for humanity.

763
00:43:57,480 --> 00:44:01,240
But there was still a huge
challenge - returning to Earth.

764
00:44:03,600 --> 00:44:06,240
Gagarin wouldn't be
landing in the capsule.

765
00:44:06,240 --> 00:44:08,720
It would hit the ground too fast.

766
00:44:08,720 --> 00:44:11,560
Instead, there was a secret
plan for him to eject

767
00:44:11,560 --> 00:44:13,120
and parachute to Earth.

768
00:44:15,480 --> 00:44:18,240
Ground control positioned
Vostok for re-entry.

769
00:44:19,960 --> 00:44:21,880
Then things started to go wrong.

770
00:44:25,240 --> 00:44:26,840
Gagarin's capsule refused

771
00:44:26,840 --> 00:44:29,320
to separate from its service module.

772
00:44:29,320 --> 00:44:31,600
He could spin out of control.

773
00:44:31,600 --> 00:44:34,920
He had to wait for the connections,

774
00:44:34,920 --> 00:44:36,880
which should have broken apart,

775
00:44:36,880 --> 00:44:39,400
to burn through during
the early stages

776
00:44:39,400 --> 00:44:41,600
of re-entering the Earth's
atmosphere.

777
00:44:42,560 --> 00:44:44,680
It was a particularly dangerous

778
00:44:44,680 --> 00:44:47,040
moment in Gagarin's
pioneering flight.

779
00:44:49,680 --> 00:44:53,160
As he spun towards Earth,
Gagarin smelt burning.

780
00:44:55,520 --> 00:44:59,920
Then, finally, the capsule separated.

781
00:44:59,920 --> 00:45:04,320
As planned, Gagarin ejected
and landed safely.

782
00:45:04,320 --> 00:45:08,080
The world was told he'd piloted
the capsule to the very end.

783
00:45:10,440 --> 00:45:13,360
And this is one of the
deceptions that Gagarin had

784
00:45:13,360 --> 00:45:15,800
to perform in his subsequent role

785
00:45:15,800 --> 00:45:17,760
as a kind of a spaceman celebrity.

786
00:45:19,120 --> 00:45:21,400
It was more than just
Yuri Gagarin entering

787
00:45:21,400 --> 00:45:22,880
the history books. He was a symbol.

788
00:45:24,040 --> 00:45:26,400
When Khrushchev talked with
him, he said,

789
00:45:26,400 --> 00:45:29,680
"We're going to use this
to beat capitalism."

790
00:45:29,680 --> 00:45:32,240
Gagarin went on a goodwill tour,

791
00:45:32,240 --> 00:45:36,960
visiting more than 30 countries,
including Britain,

792
00:45:36,960 --> 00:45:39,560
Egypt and Japan.

793
00:45:44,240 --> 00:45:46,920
The Mercury Seven congratulated

794
00:45:46,920 --> 00:45:50,320
the Soviets, but privately they were
furious.

795
00:45:50,320 --> 00:45:54,280
Von Braun's insistence on another
test launch had cost Alan Shepard and

796
00:45:54,280 --> 00:45:59,320
the US the record
of first man in space.

797
00:45:59,320 --> 00:46:03,200
For NASA, the success of Vostok was
a further embarrassment.

798
00:46:05,560 --> 00:46:09,520
Gagarin's launch was quite
a shock to the Americans,

799
00:46:09,520 --> 00:46:12,080
a bit like another Sputnik moment.

800
00:46:12,080 --> 00:46:13,800
"We can't keep being second."

801
00:46:16,920 --> 00:46:20,880
Yuri Gagarin's flight in space had
a further significance.

802
00:46:20,880 --> 00:46:23,480
Science fiction had become fact.

803
00:46:24,800 --> 00:46:28,440
This is a dream of
many people over the many,

804
00:46:28,440 --> 00:46:30,760
many years - have finally come true.

805
00:46:31,880 --> 00:46:34,880
People realised that space travel,

806
00:46:34,880 --> 00:46:38,680
which previously had just been of
the imagination, was actually real.

807
00:46:40,160 --> 00:46:42,520
There was another space prize,

808
00:46:42,520 --> 00:46:46,920
one the Americans might finally
claim before the Soviets.

809
00:46:46,920 --> 00:46:49,560
But it would take money,
political will,

810
00:46:49,560 --> 00:46:53,560
public support, and
technological genius -

811
00:46:53,560 --> 00:46:56,840
to launch a shot at the moon.

812
00:46:56,840 --> 00:46:59,480
The Space Race was far from over.

813
00:47:41,140 --> 00:47:44,100
Lift-off, we have a lift-off.

814
00:47:45,380 --> 00:47:46,900
For over a decade,

815
00:47:46,900 --> 00:47:53,340
the two greatest superpowers on
earth fought a battle in space.

816
00:47:53,340 --> 00:47:57,660
That Cold War rivalry produced
aggressive posturing,

817
00:47:57,660 --> 00:48:00,780
investment and recklessness.

818
00:48:00,780 --> 00:48:02,780
East versus West in one of

819
00:48:02,780 --> 00:48:06,340
the greatest technological
challenges in history.

820
00:48:06,340 --> 00:48:07,700
This is power.

821
00:48:07,700 --> 00:48:09,340
It is the power of America.

822
00:48:11,100 --> 00:48:14,540
The prize - being first to the moon.

823
00:48:14,540 --> 00:48:17,380
Kennedy couldn't stand to lose,
even a game of checkers,

824
00:48:17,380 --> 00:48:19,900
and he could not stomach
the thought of losing in space

825
00:48:19,900 --> 00:48:22,380
to the Soviet Union either.

826
00:48:22,380 --> 00:48:27,020
Engineers on both sides faced
unprecedented challenges...

827
00:48:27,020 --> 00:48:31,020
There was a list
a mile long of technologies that had

828
00:48:31,020 --> 00:48:34,020
to be invented and tested.

829
00:48:34,020 --> 00:48:35,940
..and shocking tragedy...

830
00:48:35,940 --> 00:48:37,780
All of a sudden there was a spark.

831
00:48:39,020 --> 00:48:41,380
They didn't have a chance.

832
00:48:41,380 --> 00:48:44,900
..told using rarely seen film

833
00:48:44,900 --> 00:48:47,260
and archive transformed by

834
00:48:47,260 --> 00:48:50,860
cutting-edge restoration
and colourisation.

835
00:48:50,860 --> 00:48:53,980
It was so powerful that if you stood
too close

836
00:48:53,980 --> 00:48:57,420
to it during launch,
the sound waves could kill you.

837
00:48:57,420 --> 00:48:58,700
This is the story

838
00:48:58,700 --> 00:49:02,940
of how space dreamers defied
the odds and got to the moon.

839
00:49:14,900 --> 00:49:17,460
Five, four,

840
00:49:17,460 --> 00:49:21,460
three, two, one, zero.

841
00:49:22,620 --> 00:49:23,980
All right.

842
00:49:23,980 --> 00:49:25,860
Lift-off and the clock is started.

843
00:49:27,220 --> 00:49:29,700
5th of May, 1961.

844
00:49:29,700 --> 00:49:30,740
Cape Canaveral.

845
00:49:32,180 --> 00:49:35,340
Astronaut Alan Shepard is launched
into space.

846
00:49:37,820 --> 00:49:40,580
After four years of Soviet triumphs,

847
00:49:40,580 --> 00:49:42,500
a lot is riding on this mission.

848
00:49:44,460 --> 00:49:45,620
It was significant.

849
00:49:45,620 --> 00:49:48,460
It was the first time
Americans had been brave enough

850
00:49:48,460 --> 00:49:51,180
to take the risk,
to put a human inside a tin can,

851
00:49:51,180 --> 00:49:55,900
put them on top of a rocket,
and head them up into space.

852
00:49:55,900 --> 00:49:59,860
Shepard reached
an altitude of 116 miles

853
00:49:59,860 --> 00:50:02,700
and then splashed down safely in
the Atlantic.

854
00:50:06,740 --> 00:50:09,380
It was a brief up and down flight.

855
00:50:09,380 --> 00:50:10,500
Just 15 minutes.

856
00:50:12,060 --> 00:50:14,340
Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev

857
00:50:14,340 --> 00:50:17,220
dismissed it as "a flea hop."

858
00:50:17,220 --> 00:50:19,980
After all, when it came to
the Space Race,

859
00:50:19,980 --> 00:50:23,260
his nation was
trouncing the Americans.

860
00:50:25,220 --> 00:50:27,580
4th of October, 1957.

861
00:50:27,580 --> 00:50:29,780
Sputnik, the first satellite in
space.

862
00:50:32,860 --> 00:50:36,420
A month later, Laika,
the first animal in orbit.

863
00:50:37,900 --> 00:50:40,260
Then, and most historic of all,

864
00:50:40,260 --> 00:50:44,180
three weeks before Alan Shepard
climbed into his Mercury rocket,

865
00:50:44,180 --> 00:50:48,860
Yuri Gagarin became
the first man in space.

866
00:50:48,860 --> 00:50:50,580
It was a very significant moment.

867
00:50:50,580 --> 00:50:52,340
This was something that

868
00:50:52,340 --> 00:50:56,420
the whole human race had thought
about for centuries,

869
00:50:56,420 --> 00:51:00,300
this idea of sending
a human beyond our atmosphere.

870
00:51:04,140 --> 00:51:06,420
The Americans made
the most of Alan Shepard,

871
00:51:06,420 --> 00:51:09,180
their second-place hero.

872
00:51:10,540 --> 00:51:12,580
Two days after his flight,

873
00:51:12,580 --> 00:51:14,380
he was greeted at the White House by

874
00:51:14,380 --> 00:51:16,900
the new President John F Kennedy.

875
00:51:19,260 --> 00:51:21,460
But the world's attention was
on Gagarin.

876
00:51:23,220 --> 00:51:25,700
This Red icon, this smiling,

877
00:51:25,700 --> 00:51:28,900
handsome man is being paraded
all over the place,

878
00:51:28,900 --> 00:51:32,140
not just at home,
but on goodwill tours, abroad.

879
00:51:32,140 --> 00:51:35,180
Khruschev seems to be winning
hands down

880
00:51:35,180 --> 00:51:37,420
and in the United States
and internationally.

881
00:51:42,460 --> 00:51:46,940
Kennedy was already reeling from
another international embarrassment.

882
00:51:46,940 --> 00:51:50,180
Just days after Gagarin's flight,
an invasion at

883
00:51:50,180 --> 00:51:54,100
the Bay of Pigs by American-backed
Cuban exiles, hoping

884
00:51:54,100 --> 00:51:57,900
to overthrow the island's communist
leader Fidel Castro,

885
00:51:57,900 --> 00:51:59,460
failed spectacularly.

886
00:52:00,820 --> 00:52:03,660
The insurgents were all captured
or killed.

887
00:52:06,140 --> 00:52:08,220
Kennedy's presidency is in trouble.

888
00:52:08,220 --> 00:52:11,300
It's coming off
the rails in foreign policy terms.

889
00:52:11,300 --> 00:52:12,980
He's going to need something
pretty spectacular

890
00:52:12,980 --> 00:52:14,260
to get it back on track.

891
00:52:15,780 --> 00:52:19,180
Three weeks later,
at a joint session of Congress,

892
00:52:19,180 --> 00:52:22,220
Kennedy revealed just that.

893
00:52:22,220 --> 00:52:25,220
I believe that this nation should
commit itself

894
00:52:25,220 --> 00:52:28,900
to achieving the goal,
before this decade is out,

895
00:52:28,900 --> 00:52:30,500
of landing a man on the moon

896
00:52:30,500 --> 00:52:33,500
and returning him safely to
the earth.

897
00:52:33,500 --> 00:52:37,220
No single space project in this
period will be more impressive

898
00:52:37,220 --> 00:52:39,500
to mankind, or more important for

899
00:52:39,500 --> 00:52:42,260
the long-range exploration of space,

900
00:52:42,260 --> 00:52:45,740
and none will be so difficult or
expensive to accomplish.

901
00:52:50,300 --> 00:52:53,100
Kennedy remarked
to his aides that the applause

902
00:52:53,100 --> 00:52:55,780
to that line was rather sparse.

903
00:52:55,780 --> 00:52:58,780
And public opinion polls
reflected that.

904
00:52:58,780 --> 00:53:03,940
Only 33% of Americans favoured
Kennedy's proposals.

905
00:53:03,940 --> 00:53:07,660
It also gave Nasa a major headache.

906
00:53:07,660 --> 00:53:11,140
How to land a man on the moon by
the end of the decade.

907
00:53:12,420 --> 00:53:14,260
They had had 15 minutes

908
00:53:14,260 --> 00:53:16,540
of flight experience at that point.

909
00:53:16,540 --> 00:53:18,900
They had never orbited the earth.

910
00:53:18,900 --> 00:53:21,860
They had never brought together two
spacecraft in space.

911
00:53:21,860 --> 00:53:23,740
They'd never done a space walk.

912
00:53:23,740 --> 00:53:28,060
There was a list
a mile long of technologies that had

913
00:53:28,060 --> 00:53:29,940
to be invented and tested

914
00:53:29,940 --> 00:53:31,700
and figured out how to work in
space.

915
00:53:31,700 --> 00:53:33,180
It was a huge undertaking.

916
00:53:34,900 --> 00:53:38,220
Kennedy's challenge was daunting,
yet brilliant.

917
00:53:39,420 --> 00:53:42,660
He'd pressed the space race
reset button.

918
00:53:42,660 --> 00:53:45,700
By going to the moon,
it was starting from zero.

919
00:53:45,700 --> 00:53:47,660
It was giving everybody
a blank page,

920
00:53:47,660 --> 00:53:51,140
a fresh challenge.
Can they get to the moon?

921
00:53:51,140 --> 00:53:57,060
Basically the Americans had changed
the terms of the space race.

922
00:53:57,060 --> 00:53:59,420
On the other side of the world,

923
00:53:59,420 --> 00:54:02,700
Soviet rocket engineers relished
the challenge of being

924
00:54:02,700 --> 00:54:04,220
the first to the moon.

925
00:54:05,580 --> 00:54:09,940
Their influential Chief Designer was
Sergei Korolev.

926
00:54:09,940 --> 00:54:13,020
Korolov was an unsung hero.

927
00:54:13,020 --> 00:54:16,620
No-one knew his name in
Russia or beyond,

928
00:54:16,620 --> 00:54:19,100
because they wanted to keep him
a guarded secret,

929
00:54:19,100 --> 00:54:24,100
but he was the mastermind behind
launching these rockets.

930
00:54:24,100 --> 00:54:29,180
A lunar mission had been
Korolev's goal since the mid-1950s.

931
00:54:29,180 --> 00:54:30,820
In the back of their minds,

932
00:54:30,820 --> 00:54:34,100
Korolev and others had
the idea of going to the moon,

933
00:54:34,100 --> 00:54:37,020
as this is our nearest
celestial neighbour,

934
00:54:37,020 --> 00:54:39,420
and we have dreamt about it.

935
00:54:39,420 --> 00:54:41,940
We have folklore about going to
the moon.

936
00:54:41,940 --> 00:54:43,660
So they were considering it.

937
00:54:45,460 --> 00:54:49,380
Khruschev and the Soviet leadership
weren't so keen.

938
00:54:49,380 --> 00:54:51,060
Money getting a cosmonaut to

939
00:54:51,060 --> 00:54:53,420
the moon could be better spent
on improving

940
00:54:53,420 --> 00:54:58,020
the Soviet economy or on nuclear
missiles targeting the West.

941
00:55:00,020 --> 00:55:02,460
Then a further setback for Korolev.

942
00:55:06,420 --> 00:55:08,860
20th of February, 1962.

943
00:55:10,340 --> 00:55:13,260
Less than a year after
Alan Shepherd's mission,

944
00:55:13,260 --> 00:55:17,580
the Americans attempted
to draw level in the space race.

945
00:55:17,580 --> 00:55:20,140
Shepard flew for just 15 minutes.

946
00:55:20,140 --> 00:55:25,100
But John Glenn would be the
first American to orbit the earth.

947
00:55:25,100 --> 00:55:29,420
To achieve orbit, Glenn's Atlas
rocket would need to accelerate to

948
00:55:29,420 --> 00:55:32,980
a speed of 17,500 miles an hour.

949
00:55:32,980 --> 00:55:34,620
If all went to plan,

950
00:55:34,620 --> 00:55:37,060
the launch would be
a technological marvel.

951
00:55:39,100 --> 00:55:41,740
You take a fuel and an oxidizer.

952
00:55:41,740 --> 00:55:44,780
And it can be as simple as hydrogen
and oxygen.

953
00:55:44,780 --> 00:55:47,180
And you mix them together
and ignite them...

954
00:55:49,980 --> 00:55:52,780
..and the explosion generates
thrust,

955
00:55:52,780 --> 00:55:54,420
and the laws of physics means
that if

956
00:55:54,420 --> 00:55:56,180
the explosion goes out of
the bottom,

957
00:55:56,180 --> 00:55:58,740
the rocket will move in
the other direction.

958
00:55:58,740 --> 00:56:01,540
Clock looks good, flight.

959
00:56:01,540 --> 00:56:05,340
What we have is a very highly
controlled exploding bomb

960
00:56:05,340 --> 00:56:09,300
that is accelerating the astronauts,
the payloads on top of the rocket,

961
00:56:09,300 --> 00:56:12,220
up to speeds to get into space
and orbit the earth.

962
00:56:13,940 --> 00:56:16,540
Glenn's exploding bomb worked.

963
00:56:16,540 --> 00:56:18,500
He successfully reached space at

964
00:56:18,500 --> 00:56:21,340
a velocity high enough
to send his capsule,

965
00:56:21,340 --> 00:56:25,580
named Friendship 7 by his children,
orbiting the earth.

966
00:56:26,780 --> 00:56:29,260
While there,
Glenn conducted experiments

967
00:56:29,260 --> 00:56:32,180
to see how his body reacted
in space,

968
00:56:32,180 --> 00:56:36,900
monitoring his digestion by eating
a tube of apple sauce

969
00:56:36,900 --> 00:56:40,180
and checking his eyesight with
an optician's chart above

970
00:56:40,180 --> 00:56:41,380
the instrument panel.

971
00:56:42,740 --> 00:56:47,140
The horizon is a brilliant,
brilliant blue.

972
00:56:47,140 --> 00:56:49,940
Glenn took photos of Earth
with his own camera,

973
00:56:49,940 --> 00:56:51,660
modified for thick gloves.

974
00:56:52,740 --> 00:56:55,420
I have the mainland in sight at

975
00:56:55,420 --> 00:56:57,620
the present time coming up on
the scope.

976
00:57:01,740 --> 00:57:04,820
But getting into orbit was one
thing.

977
00:57:04,820 --> 00:57:07,740
Now he had to get home.

978
00:57:07,740 --> 00:57:12,420
Data from Friendship 7 suggested
its heat shield was loose.

979
00:57:12,420 --> 00:57:14,300
He could be vaporised.

980
00:57:15,660 --> 00:57:17,180
But there was no other way home.

981
00:57:18,460 --> 00:57:20,940
Glenn began re-entry.

982
00:57:20,940 --> 00:57:23,820
Travelling at 15,000 miles per hour,

983
00:57:23,820 --> 00:57:29,780
he could see parts of
the heat shield break off.

984
00:57:29,780 --> 00:57:32,020
This is Friendship 7.
A real fireball outside.

985
00:57:34,700 --> 00:57:36,820
Nasa lost contact.

986
00:57:36,820 --> 00:57:39,620
Friendship 7, this is Cape,
over.

987
00:57:43,100 --> 00:57:44,660
Friendship 7, this is Cape,
over.

988
00:57:47,900 --> 00:57:50,380
Then, after four agonising
minutes...

989
00:57:51,700 --> 00:57:54,740
My condition is good,
but that was a real fireball, boy.

990
00:57:58,620 --> 00:58:01,580
After a flight of almost five hours,

991
00:58:01,580 --> 00:58:03,820
Friendship 7 splashed down safely.

992
00:58:05,740 --> 00:58:08,100
It kick-started space fever.

993
00:58:09,780 --> 00:58:12,260
John Glenn's success in orbiting

994
00:58:12,260 --> 00:58:15,500
the earth really captured
Americans' imagination,

995
00:58:15,500 --> 00:58:19,220
turned him into the kind of hero
that Americans were hungering for

996
00:58:19,220 --> 00:58:24,020
and personified America's emerging
success in space.

997
00:58:25,860 --> 00:58:27,900
There's a great photo
of John Glenn on

998
00:58:27,900 --> 00:58:29,820
the recovery vessel,
an aircraft carrier,

999
00:58:29,820 --> 00:58:32,140
and he's just there in his trainers,

1000
00:58:32,140 --> 00:58:34,500
his flight suits, his shades,

1001
00:58:34,500 --> 00:58:37,380
just looking the epitome of
an astronaut.

1002
00:58:38,940 --> 00:58:42,700
Nasa shared John Glenn's swagger.
They were on a roll.

1003
00:58:46,620 --> 00:58:51,140
The Soviet Union knew they had
a fight on their hands.

1004
00:58:51,140 --> 00:58:54,940
They started this race
and now they risked losing it.

1005
00:58:56,900 --> 00:59:00,540
Although Khruschev had yet
to commit to a moon programme

1006
00:59:00,540 --> 00:59:02,100
and he lacked Nasa's money,

1007
00:59:02,100 --> 00:59:06,460
Soviet rocket genius Sergei Korolev
wasn't done yet.

1008
00:59:23,740 --> 00:59:29,820
In September 1962, President Kennedy
visited Cape Canaveral.

1009
00:59:29,820 --> 00:59:33,380
He met Nasa's astronaut superstars
Alan Shepard

1010
00:59:33,380 --> 00:59:37,780
and John Glenn and was updated on
Nasa's moon mission,

1011
00:59:37,780 --> 00:59:40,060
now named the Apollo Programme.

1012
00:59:42,420 --> 00:59:46,660
The next day JFK shared
Apollo's dream with the world.

1013
00:59:48,260 --> 00:59:51,060
We choose to go to
the moon in this decade

1014
00:59:51,060 --> 00:59:54,500
and do the other things,
not because they are easy,

1015
00:59:54,500 --> 00:59:56,860
but because they are hard,

1016
00:59:56,860 --> 01:00:00,380
because that goal will serve
to organise

1017
01:00:00,380 --> 01:00:04,220
and measure the best of our energies
and skills,

1018
01:00:04,220 --> 01:00:08,180
because that challenge is one that
we are willing to accept,

1019
01:00:08,180 --> 01:00:12,420
one we are unwilling to postpone,
and one we intend to win.

1020
01:00:14,780 --> 01:00:17,740
In public, Kennedy was
all in for exploring

1021
01:00:17,740 --> 01:00:20,300
the vast expanse of space.

1022
01:00:20,300 --> 01:00:23,060
In private, he had doubts.

1023
01:00:23,060 --> 01:00:27,460
It was only beating the Russians
to the moon that interested him.

1024
01:00:27,460 --> 01:00:30,660
There is fascinating insight
available to us in

1025
01:00:30,660 --> 01:00:34,460
the form of secret recordings
of conversations he had

1026
01:00:34,460 --> 01:00:38,780
with, in particular,
James Webb, the Nasa administrator.

1027
01:00:40,460 --> 01:00:44,340
Kennedy believed the Apollo moon
mission should be Nasa's main focus.

1028
01:00:59,740 --> 01:01:02,620
Kennedy couldn't stand to lose,
even a game of checkers,

1029
01:01:02,620 --> 01:01:05,260
and he could not stomach
the thought of losing in space

1030
01:01:05,260 --> 01:01:06,660
to the Soviet Union either.

1031
01:01:08,580 --> 01:01:10,460
The previous month Kennedy had

1032
01:01:10,460 --> 01:01:13,900
a reminder that Khruschev was
a formidable opponent

1033
01:01:13,900 --> 01:01:16,740
and that behind the space race,
there was a real threat.

1034
01:01:19,540 --> 01:01:21,660
Reconnaissance photos revealed

1035
01:01:21,660 --> 01:01:24,860
Soviet missile launch sites under
construction on

1036
01:01:24,860 --> 01:01:28,860
Cuba just 90 miles from
the US coast.

1037
01:01:28,860 --> 01:01:30,900
A fleet of Soviet cargo ships

1038
01:01:30,900 --> 01:01:33,980
with nuclear weapons were on
their way.

1039
01:01:33,980 --> 01:01:37,220
JFK ordered a naval blockade.

1040
01:01:37,220 --> 01:01:39,820
The world was on
the brink of nuclear war.

1041
01:01:43,500 --> 01:01:47,820
Kennedy is eyeballing,
Khrushchev eyeballing Kennedy,

1042
01:01:47,820 --> 01:01:49,420
Khrushchev blinks first.

1043
01:01:54,820 --> 01:01:58,820
A month later, at his Oval Office
meeting with James Webb,

1044
01:01:58,820 --> 01:02:01,940
Kennedy was keen
to drive home his advantage.

1045
01:02:25,620 --> 01:02:28,740
Often you hear today people talk
about space exploration,

1046
01:02:28,740 --> 01:02:31,100
that it's innate to humans
to explore.

1047
01:02:31,100 --> 01:02:33,780
That wasn't the way Kennedy was
thinking about space flight.

1048
01:02:33,780 --> 01:02:35,660
He was thinking about space flight
in terms

1049
01:02:35,660 --> 01:02:37,620
of fulfilling political objectives.

1050
01:02:39,140 --> 01:02:42,300
Kennedy had presented Nasa with
a series of problems

1051
01:02:42,300 --> 01:02:43,820
to overcome to get to the moon.

1052
01:02:45,500 --> 01:02:47,980
Now there was a
further complication.

1053
01:02:47,980 --> 01:02:49,780
The President himself had admitted

1054
01:02:49,780 --> 01:02:52,100
"wasn't that interested in space."

1055
01:02:57,780 --> 01:03:02,260
Behind the Iron Curtain,
the Soviet rocket engineers also had

1056
01:03:02,260 --> 01:03:04,900
a leader making their
life difficult.

1057
01:03:04,900 --> 01:03:08,380
Khrushchev still refused
to commit to a moon shot.

1058
01:03:08,380 --> 01:03:12,140
He felt there were other ways
to achieve PR victories.

1059
01:03:12,140 --> 01:03:15,780
He was certainly a supporter of
the Soviet programme,

1060
01:03:15,780 --> 01:03:17,220
but he was erratic.

1061
01:03:17,220 --> 01:03:18,900
He was inconsistent.

1062
01:03:18,900 --> 01:03:20,500
He liked quick wins.

1063
01:03:20,500 --> 01:03:23,460
His personality almost demanded
a Sputnik moment every month.

1064
01:03:24,980 --> 01:03:28,100
Khrushchev ordered Chief Designer
Sergei Korolev

1065
01:03:28,100 --> 01:03:30,500
to stage another "first."

1066
01:03:30,500 --> 01:03:34,500
How do you beat sending
a human being into space?

1067
01:03:34,500 --> 01:03:36,100
Well, you send a woman.

1068
01:03:37,180 --> 01:03:38,980
And this really chimes well with

1069
01:03:38,980 --> 01:03:42,180
the whole Soviet ideal
of female emancipation,

1070
01:03:42,180 --> 01:03:44,660
of women's equality that was part of

1071
01:03:44,660 --> 01:03:46,860
the Soviet project from its
very inception.

1072
01:03:48,460 --> 01:03:53,780
The candidate selected was
26-year-old Valentina Tereshkova.

1073
01:03:53,780 --> 01:03:57,300
Valentina was a parachutist.

1074
01:03:57,300 --> 01:03:58,420
She was a very good one,

1075
01:03:58,420 --> 01:04:00,140
part of a local parachuting club.

1076
01:04:00,140 --> 01:04:02,820
And that was the skill that

1077
01:04:02,820 --> 01:04:06,540
the Soviet Space Programme saw
and identified with

1078
01:04:06,540 --> 01:04:09,180
and tapped Valentina on
the shoulder and said,

1079
01:04:09,180 --> 01:04:12,900
"Would you come and train to go to
space?"

1080
01:04:12,900 --> 01:04:15,820
But the mission was so secret, she
didn't even tell her mother.

1081
01:04:15,820 --> 01:04:18,580
She just told her mother that she
was out training for

1082
01:04:18,580 --> 01:04:20,180
the national parachuting team.

1083
01:04:23,140 --> 01:04:24,900
And then when she finally got
to space,

1084
01:04:24,900 --> 01:04:26,540
her mother found out her daughter
had gone

1085
01:04:26,540 --> 01:04:28,300
to space by hearing from her
next-door neighbour.

1086
01:04:31,620 --> 01:04:36,020
For almost three days in
June '63, Valentina,

1087
01:04:36,020 --> 01:04:38,900
nicknamed "Gagarin in
a skirt" by her colleagues,

1088
01:04:38,900 --> 01:04:41,180
successfully orbited the earth.

1089
01:04:53,380 --> 01:04:56,780
By the time she parachuted from
the falling capsule,

1090
01:04:56,780 --> 01:04:59,260
Valentina had been in space longer
than all

1091
01:04:59,260 --> 01:05:01,460
the American astronauts put
together.

1092
01:05:04,700 --> 01:05:07,420
She toured the world in triumph.

1093
01:05:07,420 --> 01:05:11,060
But Valentina almost never made it
home from space.

1094
01:05:11,060 --> 01:05:13,180
30 years later, she revealed

1095
01:05:13,180 --> 01:05:17,500
the capsule's computer had been
programmed incorrectly.

1096
01:05:17,500 --> 01:05:19,420
If she hadn't spotted the fault,

1097
01:05:19,420 --> 01:05:23,100
Valentina would have sent into
deep space.

1098
01:05:23,100 --> 01:05:26,100
She kept that secret
for 30 years that there had been

1099
01:05:26,100 --> 01:05:28,660
a problem with the mission, because
she didn't want anyone to think

1100
01:05:28,660 --> 01:05:31,140
the mission had been any
less successful than that

1101
01:05:31,140 --> 01:05:33,780
of her male counterparts
before her.

1102
01:05:33,780 --> 01:05:37,660
Valentina's flight was yet another
propaganda triumph over

1103
01:05:37,660 --> 01:05:38,620
the Americans.

1104
01:05:39,940 --> 01:05:43,500
But Korolev's team knew it was
a hollow victory.

1105
01:05:43,500 --> 01:05:46,580
They were simply carrying out
different missions using

1106
01:05:46,580 --> 01:05:49,940
the same rocket, the R7.

1107
01:05:49,940 --> 01:05:53,620
It had taken Gagarin
and Tereshkova into orbit

1108
01:05:53,620 --> 01:05:56,660
but wasn't powerful enough
to get to the moon.

1109
01:05:56,660 --> 01:05:59,940
And Korolev was still waiting
for a lunar go-ahead.

1110
01:06:01,740 --> 01:06:06,380
The Soviet moon programme was
a reluctant spend by

1111
01:06:06,380 --> 01:06:10,700
the Kremlin. The Russian military
was sceptical

1112
01:06:10,700 --> 01:06:12,820
of any military benefit to

1113
01:06:12,820 --> 01:06:16,660
the technologies needed
to put people on the moon.

1114
01:06:16,660 --> 01:06:19,900
But Korolev knew how to work
the system.

1115
01:06:19,900 --> 01:06:22,940
He began designing the N1,

1116
01:06:22,940 --> 01:06:26,820
a monster rocket powerful enough
to reach the moon.

1117
01:06:26,820 --> 01:06:29,540
He fed the military
a different line.

1118
01:06:29,540 --> 01:06:32,540
The N1 would help build
a space station to enable

1119
01:06:32,540 --> 01:06:35,340
the Motherland to spy on
the Americans.

1120
01:06:37,820 --> 01:06:42,220
Meanwhile, Nasa had started on their
own colossus.

1121
01:06:42,220 --> 01:06:45,660
The most powerful rocket
the world had ever seen.

1122
01:06:45,660 --> 01:06:47,300
The Americans hoped this was

1123
01:06:47,300 --> 01:06:49,900
the vehicle that would get them
to the moon.

1124
01:07:08,060 --> 01:07:11,700
ARCHIVE: This is power.
A half million pounds of it.

1125
01:07:11,700 --> 01:07:14,300
Gushing from rocket nozzles
that rise,

1126
01:07:14,300 --> 01:07:18,620
slowly at first,
from a launch complex at the Cape.

1127
01:07:18,620 --> 01:07:20,220
In 1963,

1128
01:07:20,220 --> 01:07:24,140
Nasa made a promotional film
boasting of their achievements in

1129
01:07:24,140 --> 01:07:25,740
the space race.

1130
01:07:25,740 --> 01:07:28,460
It is the power of America.

1131
01:07:28,460 --> 01:07:30,300
Knowledge, skill,

1132
01:07:30,300 --> 01:07:34,620
energy and imagination from every
corner of this nation pooled

1133
01:07:34,620 --> 01:07:37,020
for this thrust into space.

1134
01:07:37,020 --> 01:07:39,500
Nasa projected confidence,

1135
01:07:39,500 --> 01:07:43,500
but getting a man on
the moon was far from a done deal.

1136
01:07:43,500 --> 01:07:47,460
They faced unprecedented
technological challenges.

1137
01:07:47,460 --> 01:07:52,140
Astronauts had so far only reached
200 miles above the earth.

1138
01:07:52,140 --> 01:07:56,460
The moon was a quarter of
a million miles away.

1139
01:07:56,460 --> 01:07:57,940
A lunar landing module needed

1140
01:07:57,940 --> 01:07:59,700
a powerful heavy lift rocket.

1141
01:08:02,260 --> 01:08:03,860
Nasa's leading engineer,

1142
01:08:03,860 --> 01:08:05,140
Werner Von Braun,

1143
01:08:05,140 --> 01:08:07,420
who'd overseen the German rocket
programme during

1144
01:08:07,420 --> 01:08:08,700
the Second World War,

1145
01:08:08,700 --> 01:08:11,060
was confident he and his team had

1146
01:08:11,060 --> 01:08:15,140
the necessary expertise to build
a moon rocket.

1147
01:08:15,140 --> 01:08:19,100
He had been working on extremely
heavy rocket designs

1148
01:08:19,100 --> 01:08:21,180
for a very, very long time.

1149
01:08:21,180 --> 01:08:24,860
And with all the lessons they had
learned since

1150
01:08:24,860 --> 01:08:26,900
World War II, they knew that they

1151
01:08:26,900 --> 01:08:30,980
could start building something
to get to the moon and back.

1152
01:08:30,980 --> 01:08:33,740
The rocket for the Apollo Programme
slowly took shape.

1153
01:08:35,220 --> 01:08:37,140
All of this was drawings by hand,

1154
01:08:37,140 --> 01:08:42,420
no computer-aided design or anything
like that and slide rules.

1155
01:08:42,420 --> 01:08:43,940
The moon rocket was named

1156
01:08:43,940 --> 01:08:47,700
the Saturn V after its five
massive engines.

1157
01:08:48,860 --> 01:08:51,620
But the rocket's development
was expensive.

1158
01:08:51,620 --> 01:08:54,620
The public loved
the spectacle of space missions,

1159
01:08:54,620 --> 01:08:56,940
but many recoiled at the cost.

1160
01:08:56,940 --> 01:08:59,820
The President shared their unease.

1161
01:08:59,820 --> 01:09:03,700
Kennedy has concerns about how
costly Apollo is

1162
01:09:03,700 --> 01:09:05,780
and wonders whether or not

1163
01:09:05,780 --> 01:09:10,220
the same objectives can be achieved,
through a different method.

1164
01:09:10,220 --> 01:09:14,900
In September 1963, Kennedy stunned
the world.

1165
01:09:14,900 --> 01:09:17,700
Speaking at the United Nations in
New York,

1166
01:09:17,700 --> 01:09:22,500
he proposed sharing the burden of
the moon shot with the Soviets.

1167
01:09:22,500 --> 01:09:26,060
It would mean an end to
the space race.

1168
01:09:26,060 --> 01:09:29,900
Why, therefore, should man's first
flight to the moon be

1169
01:09:29,900 --> 01:09:32,660
a matter of national competition?

1170
01:09:32,660 --> 01:09:35,980
Why should the United States
and the Soviet Union,

1171
01:09:35,980 --> 01:09:38,980
in preparing for such expeditions,

1172
01:09:38,980 --> 01:09:42,060
become involved in immense
duplications of research,

1173
01:09:42,060 --> 01:09:43,740
construction and expenditure?

1174
01:09:45,780 --> 01:09:48,420
Khruschev ignored Kennedy's offer.

1175
01:09:48,420 --> 01:09:52,500
He hadn't yet decided if Russia
should even reach for the moon,

1176
01:09:52,500 --> 01:09:55,340
let alone share the glory with
the Americans.

1177
01:09:58,220 --> 01:10:00,140
It was a blow to Kennedy.

1178
01:10:00,140 --> 01:10:03,820
He wanted to funnel more cash
into medical research at home

1179
01:10:03,820 --> 01:10:06,100
and desalination projects abroad.

1180
01:10:07,500 --> 01:10:09,460
Kennedy had another concern.

1181
01:10:12,100 --> 01:10:14,220
Civil rights and desegregation

1182
01:10:14,220 --> 01:10:18,660
had been a key plank of
his 1960 election campaign.

1183
01:10:18,660 --> 01:10:22,180
Now Kennedy wanted Nasa's
all white crews to be

1184
01:10:22,180 --> 01:10:23,540
a thing of the past.

1185
01:10:26,100 --> 01:10:30,820
The administration contacted
28-year-old Captain Ed Dwight,

1186
01:10:30,820 --> 01:10:36,260
an aeronautical engineer
and pilot in the US Air Force.

1187
01:10:36,260 --> 01:10:39,380
I got a letter where
the president offered me

1188
01:10:39,380 --> 01:10:42,980
an opportunity to become
the first Negro astronaut.

1189
01:10:42,980 --> 01:10:45,940
And it was laughable to me

1190
01:10:45,940 --> 01:10:48,900
because I thought
all the astronauts were crazy.

1191
01:10:48,900 --> 01:10:52,220
I thought that was
a totally different world.

1192
01:10:52,220 --> 01:10:54,820
President Kennedy was keen
for America to have

1193
01:10:54,820 --> 01:10:57,660
a black astronaut
to break down prejudice,

1194
01:10:57,660 --> 01:11:01,180
but also to win votes
for a second term.

1195
01:11:01,180 --> 01:11:07,140
What he wanted is,
we got to normalise the idea of

1196
01:11:07,140 --> 01:11:10,860
a black individual that could
go through the training

1197
01:11:10,860 --> 01:11:13,820
and take it and give
as much as he could take.

1198
01:11:13,820 --> 01:11:15,460
If we could do that,

1199
01:11:15,460 --> 01:11:21,460
I'd be safe and I'd get
the black vote when I run again.

1200
01:11:21,460 --> 01:11:23,500
Ed was an experienced pilot

1201
01:11:23,500 --> 01:11:26,860
with over 9,000 hours flying jets,

1202
01:11:26,860 --> 01:11:29,660
but was unsure whether
to apply for the programme,

1203
01:11:29,660 --> 01:11:32,020
so consulted his mother.

1204
01:11:32,020 --> 01:11:34,700
She just told me that
you'd better do this.

1205
01:11:34,700 --> 01:11:37,740
You owe it to the black community.

1206
01:11:37,740 --> 01:11:39,660
So, in August '62,

1207
01:11:39,660 --> 01:11:44,060
Ed joined a military astronaut
training programme.

1208
01:11:44,060 --> 01:11:46,420
Every test that we did
in this whole thing,

1209
01:11:46,420 --> 01:11:49,140
I finished it with high marks,
but I wasn't afraid.

1210
01:11:49,140 --> 01:11:50,700
There was nothing, to me,

1211
01:11:50,700 --> 01:11:53,500
there wasn't nothing
to be afraid of.

1212
01:11:53,500 --> 01:11:57,100
The Kennedy White House pushed
Ed into the public eye.

1213
01:11:57,100 --> 01:11:58,820
He appeared in magazines

1214
01:11:58,820 --> 01:12:01,340
and gave lectures around
the country.

1215
01:12:01,340 --> 01:12:03,420
Ed Dwight was well on his way

1216
01:12:03,420 --> 01:12:07,820
to becoming the first
black astronaut.

1217
01:12:07,820 --> 01:12:09,780
RADIO NEWSREADER: President Kennedy
has been assassinated.

1218
01:12:09,780 --> 01:12:11,980
It's official now -
the President is dead.

1219
01:12:15,540 --> 01:12:18,540
The president of our class came in,

1220
01:12:18,540 --> 01:12:22,460
and he says,
"The president's been killed."

1221
01:12:23,980 --> 01:12:26,900
Everything got cancelled
right on the spot.

1222
01:12:28,500 --> 01:12:30,780
Kennedy got killed on Friday,

1223
01:12:30,780 --> 01:12:32,140
and Monday morning,

1224
01:12:32,140 --> 01:12:33,140
I went to work.

1225
01:12:34,540 --> 01:12:38,220
I had orders shipping me to Germany

1226
01:12:38,220 --> 01:12:39,540
to get me out of the country.

1227
01:12:41,420 --> 01:12:44,460
JFK's brother Bobby intervened,

1228
01:12:44,460 --> 01:12:46,700
but Ed's career never recovered.

1229
01:12:48,180 --> 01:12:51,420
He faced so much harassment
and intimidation,

1230
01:12:51,420 --> 01:12:54,460
that, in 1966,
he resigned from the military.

1231
01:12:58,900 --> 01:13:01,740
I mean, I couldn't be bitter
about it because

1232
01:13:01,740 --> 01:13:04,220
that wouldn't have done any good.

1233
01:13:04,220 --> 01:13:07,860
Nor would I have spent a minute
of my time hating them because,

1234
01:13:07,860 --> 01:13:10,060
you know,
that was a sign of the times.

1235
01:13:15,940 --> 01:13:19,100
Ed's dream of going into space
never left him.

1236
01:13:20,620 --> 01:13:23,700
In May 2024, aged 90,

1237
01:13:23,700 --> 01:13:26,820
he was invited as a passenger
on a Blue Origin rocket.

1238
01:13:30,220 --> 01:13:34,900
I thought I was cool enough
to be unexcited about everything,

1239
01:13:34,900 --> 01:13:36,500
but when the booster went off,

1240
01:13:36,500 --> 01:13:39,060
I assumed that the thing
had blown up!

1241
01:13:40,900 --> 01:13:43,420
This huge, giant spacecraft

1242
01:13:43,420 --> 01:13:45,700
started lifting up and I said,

1243
01:13:45,700 --> 01:13:48,300
"Oh, that didn't blow me up!

1244
01:13:48,300 --> 01:13:51,220
"So I guess we're off to the races!"

1245
01:13:52,540 --> 01:13:54,900
And I could see the Earth
from a distance

1246
01:13:54,900 --> 01:13:57,900
for the first time,
and it just blew my mind.

1247
01:13:57,900 --> 01:14:00,380
I just thought, you know,

1248
01:14:00,380 --> 01:14:02,660
what a religious experience
this was.

1249
01:14:04,980 --> 01:14:06,820
How God had created this place.

1250
01:14:10,420 --> 01:14:13,820
President Kennedy's death
had ended Ed's dream of being

1251
01:14:13,820 --> 01:14:16,180
an Apollo astronaut.

1252
01:14:16,180 --> 01:14:18,380
But it didn't stop the Moon shot.

1253
01:14:19,500 --> 01:14:22,780
The assassination of
the man who instigated Apollo

1254
01:14:22,780 --> 01:14:24,660
meant the race was back on.

1255
01:14:26,580 --> 01:14:31,300
Kennedy was succeeded by
his vice president, Lyndon Johnson.

1256
01:14:31,300 --> 01:14:34,860
Unlike JFK, he had never wavered in
his support for the space programme.

1257
01:14:37,220 --> 01:14:40,260
Johnson is extraordinarily
politically savvy,

1258
01:14:40,260 --> 01:14:42,540
one of the most politically savvy
people

1259
01:14:42,540 --> 01:14:44,260
in the 20th century, easily.

1260
01:14:44,260 --> 01:14:47,380
And he understands that,
by tying Apollo to Kennedy,

1261
01:14:47,380 --> 01:14:49,020
Kennedy's legacy,

1262
01:14:49,020 --> 01:14:51,660
that is going to be
an important way to sustain

1263
01:14:51,660 --> 01:14:54,540
the support of
space flight throughout the 1960s.

1264
01:15:01,820 --> 01:15:04,860
On 25th May 1966,

1265
01:15:04,860 --> 01:15:08,460
five years to the day after Kennedy
announced the Apollo programme,

1266
01:15:08,460 --> 01:15:11,580
Nasa's heavy lift rocket,
the Saturn V,

1267
01:15:11,580 --> 01:15:14,780
was revealed to the world.

1268
01:15:14,780 --> 01:15:17,260
At 363 feet,

1269
01:15:17,260 --> 01:15:20,900
it's taller than
the Statue of Liberty.

1270
01:15:20,900 --> 01:15:24,580
Every time I come in here,
I have to just catch a breath.

1271
01:15:24,580 --> 01:15:26,940
Even as a kid,
I remember being very nervous

1272
01:15:26,940 --> 01:15:29,460
because I knew the potential
of what I was watching.

1273
01:15:29,460 --> 01:15:31,060
I knew this thing was huge,

1274
01:15:31,060 --> 01:15:33,940
a lot of fuel,
a lot of explosive power.

1275
01:15:36,220 --> 01:15:38,820
The fuel carried by a Saturn V

1276
01:15:38,820 --> 01:15:42,220
could send a car round the world
800 times.

1277
01:15:43,500 --> 01:15:46,820
It was so powerful that
if you stood too close

1278
01:15:46,820 --> 01:15:51,620
to it during launch,
the sound waves could kill you.

1279
01:15:51,620 --> 01:15:55,100
20,000 companies from across
the United States built

1280
01:15:55,100 --> 01:15:59,500
the Saturn V's stages and systems.

1281
01:15:59,500 --> 01:16:04,060
The Apollo programme was the largest
civilian technological programme

1282
01:16:04,060 --> 01:16:06,420
in world history -
not just US history,

1283
01:16:06,420 --> 01:16:09,100
not just 20th century,
world history.

1284
01:16:09,100 --> 01:16:10,900
There was about 400,000 people

1285
01:16:10,900 --> 01:16:15,300
who worked on the Apollo programme
in and of itself.

1286
01:16:15,300 --> 01:16:17,860
So, I always chuckle when people
think we faked the moon landing.

1287
01:16:17,860 --> 01:16:20,620
We've got 400,000 people that can
keep a secret that long.

1288
01:16:24,540 --> 01:16:27,420
The Saturn V was built in this

1289
01:16:27,420 --> 01:16:32,700
525-foot-high Vehicle Assembly
Building, or VAB.

1290
01:16:32,700 --> 01:16:33,940
It was so tall,

1291
01:16:33,940 --> 01:16:37,820
it was rumoured clouds formed
inside it.

1292
01:16:37,820 --> 01:16:41,500
This building is a bedrock
in the history of space flight.

1293
01:16:43,660 --> 01:16:48,220
The VAB is still the biggest single
storey building in the world.

1294
01:16:50,260 --> 01:16:53,820
Four Saturn Vs could be assembled
simultaneously inside.

1295
01:16:56,180 --> 01:16:59,100
All of our previous rockets
had been assembled directly on

1296
01:16:59,100 --> 01:17:02,100
the launchpad by portable cranes,

1297
01:17:02,100 --> 01:17:05,140
and since the Saturn V was
so big and powerful,

1298
01:17:05,140 --> 01:17:08,140
it was thought it was not too smart
to do that

1299
01:17:08,140 --> 01:17:10,940
because if you had
an accident on the pad,

1300
01:17:10,940 --> 01:17:13,300
it could wipe out pretty
much everything.

1301
01:17:13,300 --> 01:17:15,660
So we came up with what we call
the 'mobile concept'

1302
01:17:15,660 --> 01:17:19,180
and designed this VAB
to assemble the rocket

1303
01:17:19,180 --> 01:17:22,140
some three miles
from the launchpad.

1304
01:17:22,140 --> 01:17:27,100
Wernher von Braun wanted each stage
of the Saturn V tested in turn.

1305
01:17:27,100 --> 01:17:29,060
Nasa said there wasn't time

1306
01:17:29,060 --> 01:17:33,460
if they were to meet Kennedy's
'end of the decade' deadline.

1307
01:17:33,460 --> 01:17:37,220
The Saturn V would be tested
complete.

1308
01:17:37,220 --> 01:17:39,260
It had to succeed.

1309
01:17:39,260 --> 01:17:41,780
This was our one way
to get to the moon.

1310
01:17:41,780 --> 01:17:44,060
We had nothing else on
our drawing board or anything

1311
01:17:44,060 --> 01:17:45,340
that we could fall back on.

1312
01:17:50,300 --> 01:17:52,660
Adding to the pressure
on the Americans,

1313
01:17:52,660 --> 01:17:56,540
Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev
finally gave the go-ahead

1314
01:17:56,540 --> 01:17:58,500
for a lunar programme.

1315
01:17:58,500 --> 01:18:02,740
The goal -
a cosmonaut on the moon by 1968.

1316
01:18:04,500 --> 01:18:08,460
As the resources the Americans are
committing to it became apparent,

1317
01:18:08,460 --> 01:18:13,660
the Soviet leadership felt that
they couldn't not do it as well.

1318
01:18:13,660 --> 01:18:16,020
The race was back on.

1319
01:18:16,020 --> 01:18:19,100
Korolev's team doubled down
on getting their moon monster,

1320
01:18:19,100 --> 01:18:20,900
the N1, up to speed.

1321
01:18:22,220 --> 01:18:23,540
But they also recognised

1322
01:18:23,540 --> 01:18:25,740
there were other challenges
to overcome.

1323
01:18:26,860 --> 01:18:30,620
No-one knew if a human could
survive outside a spacecraft,

1324
01:18:30,620 --> 01:18:33,780
or if pressurised suits worked.

1325
01:18:33,780 --> 01:18:38,300
So, for the first time,
a cosmonaut would walk in space.

1326
01:18:39,740 --> 01:18:42,020
On 18th March 1965,

1327
01:18:42,020 --> 01:18:44,900
Alexei Leonov and Pavel Belyayev

1328
01:18:44,900 --> 01:18:49,740
launched into space
aboard Voskhod 2.

1329
01:18:49,740 --> 01:18:51,820
90 minutes into the flight,

1330
01:18:51,820 --> 01:18:56,820
Leonov prepared to embark
on the very first spacewalk.

1331
01:18:56,820 --> 01:18:58,420
Alexei donned his space suit,

1332
01:18:58,420 --> 01:19:01,180
which was connected
to the spacecraft

1333
01:19:01,180 --> 01:19:04,580
by a long tether that supplied
his oxygen and communications.

1334
01:19:04,580 --> 01:19:07,140
He then got into an airlock,

1335
01:19:07,140 --> 01:19:09,060
which was a pretty flimsy airlock.

1336
01:19:09,060 --> 01:19:11,500
It was, in my mind,
almost a little bit like one of

1337
01:19:11,500 --> 01:19:13,100
the children's play tunnels
that you would get.

1338
01:19:13,100 --> 01:19:16,140
It was this extendable temporary
structure on

1339
01:19:16,140 --> 01:19:18,500
the edge of his Voskhod spacecraft.

1340
01:19:20,460 --> 01:19:25,020
Alexei let go and
drifted into space,

1341
01:19:25,020 --> 01:19:28,340
200 miles above the Earth.

1342
01:19:28,340 --> 01:19:31,180
If anything breached that spacesuit,

1343
01:19:31,180 --> 01:19:34,620
air would rush out
and he would suffocate and die.

1344
01:19:36,300 --> 01:19:37,940
Alexei very quickly discovered

1345
01:19:37,940 --> 01:19:40,300
the laws of physics
as he tumbled over and over.

1346
01:19:44,340 --> 01:19:46,060
51 years later,

1347
01:19:46,060 --> 01:19:48,020
Tim Peake carried out a spacewalk

1348
01:19:48,020 --> 01:19:50,540
as part of his European Space Agency
mission.

1349
01:19:52,900 --> 01:19:56,300
It's something very, very special
to actually go outside

1350
01:19:56,300 --> 01:20:00,260
and to be able to look back
at planet earth

1351
01:20:00,260 --> 01:20:01,980
with the freedom of just being
in a spacesuit,

1352
01:20:01,980 --> 01:20:05,020
but also, then, to look the other
way and see out to the Milky Way.

1353
01:20:07,780 --> 01:20:10,860
Alexei recounted that when mission
control called up

1354
01:20:10,860 --> 01:20:12,740
and said, "It's time to come in,"

1355
01:20:12,740 --> 01:20:15,100
he felt an immense sense of
disappointment,

1356
01:20:15,100 --> 01:20:17,460
the same sort of feeling that you
get as a child

1357
01:20:17,460 --> 01:20:20,860
when your mother calls you in from
play at the end of the day

1358
01:20:20,860 --> 01:20:24,180
and says, "That's it,
it's game over."

1359
01:20:24,180 --> 01:20:25,740
But then, Leonov realised,

1360
01:20:25,740 --> 01:20:28,860
thanks to the almost zero
air pressure in space,

1361
01:20:28,860 --> 01:20:30,820
his suit had expanded

1362
01:20:30,820 --> 01:20:33,580
and was too big to fit
in the airlock.

1363
01:20:33,580 --> 01:20:36,380
His hands no longer reached into
his gloves.

1364
01:20:36,380 --> 01:20:38,580
There was no way he could pull
himself back.

1365
01:20:40,780 --> 01:20:43,460
And in five minutes,
he'd be in Earth's shadow,

1366
01:20:43,460 --> 01:20:45,980
unable to see a thing.

1367
01:20:45,980 --> 01:20:49,460
Cool as a cucumber,
without telling mission control,

1368
01:20:49,460 --> 01:20:52,980
Alexei realised that he was going to
have to let some air out of his suit

1369
01:20:52,980 --> 01:20:56,260
to depressurize it so that
he could feel his fingers again.

1370
01:20:56,260 --> 01:21:01,100
He managed to undo his spacesuit,
let some air out.

1371
01:21:01,100 --> 01:21:03,460
If anything had gone wrong,
it all would have rushed out

1372
01:21:03,460 --> 01:21:05,500
and that would have been
the end of him and the mission.

1373
01:21:05,500 --> 01:21:08,140
Tied it back up, he pulled himself
back down the tether,

1374
01:21:08,140 --> 01:21:09,340
finally made it back to the airlock.

1375
01:21:09,340 --> 01:21:12,380
He then forced himself in headfirst,

1376
01:21:12,380 --> 01:21:14,340
finally shut the hatch
and was able to breathe

1377
01:21:14,340 --> 01:21:17,180
a sigh of relief as they were able
to pressurise that airlock

1378
01:21:17,180 --> 01:21:20,740
and return him back to
the relative safety of

1379
01:21:20,740 --> 01:21:22,420
the spacecraft with his crewmate.

1380
01:21:24,540 --> 01:21:28,940
Leonov and Belyayev landed 600 miles
off course,

1381
01:21:28,940 --> 01:21:31,300
but they were alive.

1382
01:21:31,300 --> 01:21:34,740
Their mission was another triumph
for the East.

1383
01:21:34,740 --> 01:21:38,180
The Soviet dream of getting to
the moon before the Americans

1384
01:21:38,180 --> 01:21:39,460
was still alive.

1385
01:21:57,140 --> 01:22:00,700
Less than a week after
Leonov's historic spacewalk,

1386
01:22:00,700 --> 01:22:04,100
the United States launched
a new spacecraft,

1387
01:22:04,100 --> 01:22:08,740
Gemini, using a modified
Intercontinental Ballistic Missile.

1388
01:22:10,020 --> 01:22:13,900
The Gemini programme would help
Nasa understand

1389
01:22:13,900 --> 01:22:16,540
more about manned space flight.

1390
01:22:16,540 --> 01:22:18,220
You don't just sort of lob a rocket

1391
01:22:18,220 --> 01:22:19,820
and sort of send people to the moon.

1392
01:22:19,820 --> 01:22:22,420
You have to make sure that
every system works.

1393
01:22:22,420 --> 01:22:25,180
And you do that in
a step-by-step manner.

1394
01:22:25,180 --> 01:22:28,820
Nasa had to understand the effects
of long duration space flight

1395
01:22:28,820 --> 01:22:30,260
on the human body.

1396
01:22:30,260 --> 01:22:34,060
So, what happens to the human body
if it's in space for two weeks?

1397
01:22:35,180 --> 01:22:38,140
They perform rendezvous
and docking and other elements

1398
01:22:38,140 --> 01:22:40,580
of space exploration that were
going to be used

1399
01:22:40,580 --> 01:22:42,380
and applied in the Apollo programme.

1400
01:22:47,540 --> 01:22:51,420
The Soviets had nothing like
the Gemini missions.

1401
01:22:51,420 --> 01:22:56,500
Hopes of reaching the moon before
the Americans were slipping away.

1402
01:22:56,500 --> 01:22:59,420
Then, in January 1966,

1403
01:22:59,420 --> 01:23:03,100
Chief Designer Sergei Korolev died.

1404
01:23:03,100 --> 01:23:05,820
He becomes famous only in death.

1405
01:23:05,820 --> 01:23:07,180
It's at his funeral

1406
01:23:07,180 --> 01:23:09,220
that the Soviet public learned

1407
01:23:09,220 --> 01:23:12,900
the name of that enigmatic chief
engineer that was always mentioned

1408
01:23:12,900 --> 01:23:14,580
but never named.

1409
01:23:14,580 --> 01:23:16,980
They have to grapple
both with learning his name

1410
01:23:16,980 --> 01:23:19,860
and the fact that he's gone
with the loss

1411
01:23:19,860 --> 01:23:22,820
of this very important figure
in Soviet space programme.

1412
01:23:29,500 --> 01:23:33,180
But Korolev had left some hope
for the future -

1413
01:23:33,180 --> 01:23:36,500
his massive N1 moon rocket.

1414
01:23:36,500 --> 01:23:38,860
Unlike the Saturn V American rocket,

1415
01:23:38,860 --> 01:23:41,980
which had five engines
to get it off the ground,

1416
01:23:41,980 --> 01:23:45,700
the N1 had 30 - three, zero.

1417
01:23:45,700 --> 01:23:50,260
And to get that number of engines
to work simultaneously and safely

1418
01:23:50,260 --> 01:23:51,820
was almost impossible.

1419
01:23:54,580 --> 01:23:58,140
Every N1 launch ended in failure.

1420
01:23:58,140 --> 01:24:01,820
It really needed Korolev's input
at this point,

1421
01:24:01,820 --> 01:24:03,940
but he's gone.

1422
01:24:03,940 --> 01:24:06,860
Discarded N1 rockets ended
their life housing pigs.

1423
01:24:09,860 --> 01:24:11,660
After the death of Korolev,

1424
01:24:11,660 --> 01:24:15,580
the race to the moon was
America's to lose.

1425
01:24:15,580 --> 01:24:20,500
Nasa moved to the next phase -
the first manned Apollo flight.

1426
01:24:20,500 --> 01:24:22,140
But time was of the essence

1427
01:24:22,140 --> 01:24:25,420
if they were to meet
President Kennedy's deadline.

1428
01:24:29,220 --> 01:24:31,260
27th January 1967.

1429
01:24:31,260 --> 01:24:33,460
Launch Complex 34.

1430
01:24:34,620 --> 01:24:37,140
Three astronauts - Gus Grissom,

1431
01:24:37,140 --> 01:24:39,660
Ed White and Roger Chafee -

1432
01:24:39,660 --> 01:24:43,060
are in the command module
on top of a Saturn rocket

1433
01:24:43,060 --> 01:24:48,260
for a full countdown rehearsal for
the first manned Apollo mission.

1434
01:24:48,260 --> 01:24:52,580
The two layers of doors
of hatches are closed, secured.

1435
01:24:52,580 --> 01:24:54,860
Let's see if this capsule will

1436
01:24:54,860 --> 01:24:57,180
function as it's supposed to.

1437
01:24:57,180 --> 01:24:58,900
But Grissom isn't happy

1438
01:24:58,900 --> 01:25:01,220
with the communications
with flight control.

1439
01:25:10,140 --> 01:25:12,500
The crew had had concerns for weeks

1440
01:25:12,500 --> 01:25:14,820
that the mission was rushed.

1441
01:25:14,820 --> 01:25:16,740
As a joke, they sent this photo

1442
01:25:16,740 --> 01:25:20,140
to their manager, Joseph Shea,
with a note that said,

1443
01:25:20,140 --> 01:25:22,500
"It isn't that we don't trust you,
Joe,

1444
01:25:22,500 --> 01:25:24,740
"but this time we've decided
to go over your head."

1445
01:25:27,420 --> 01:25:30,580
Gus Grissom said,
"We need to sort these problems out.

1446
01:25:30,580 --> 01:25:32,780
"There's a lot wrong
with this spacecraft."

1447
01:25:38,060 --> 01:25:40,340
Despite delays and complications,

1448
01:25:40,340 --> 01:25:42,540
the countdown tests continued.

1449
01:25:44,300 --> 01:25:47,500
The original plan was
for the atmosphere in the cabin

1450
01:25:47,500 --> 01:25:50,500
to be an oxygen-nitrogen mix
to mimic Earth.

1451
01:25:51,660 --> 01:25:54,860
But to avoid the extra weight
of two sets of equipment,

1452
01:25:54,860 --> 01:25:58,620
a 100% pure oxygen system
was fitted.

1453
01:25:58,620 --> 01:26:01,140
It worked well on previous missions.

1454
01:26:03,100 --> 01:26:06,620
Then, five and a half hours
into the test...

1455
01:26:06,620 --> 01:26:09,300
All of a sudden, there was a spark.

1456
01:26:09,300 --> 01:26:13,540
A spark from a frayed wire ignited
that oxygen-rich environment.

1457
01:26:19,500 --> 01:26:22,700
In that scenario,
not only is the air flammable,

1458
01:26:22,700 --> 01:26:27,740
but it makes all of the materials
in there flammable as well.

1459
01:26:27,740 --> 01:26:32,060
The capsule hatch couldn't be opened
easily from the inside.

1460
01:26:32,060 --> 01:26:33,340
They didn't have a chance.

1461
01:26:34,900 --> 01:26:37,780
The fire was intense and instant

1462
01:26:37,780 --> 01:26:40,220
and the crew were asphyxiated,

1463
01:26:40,220 --> 01:26:44,100
poisoned by the toxic fumes
of this intense inferno.

1464
01:26:46,940 --> 01:26:49,620
Launch Complex 34 has become

1465
01:26:49,620 --> 01:26:51,540
a memorial to Apollo 1's astronauts.

1466
01:27:00,860 --> 01:27:03,540
The fire forced everybody to go back

1467
01:27:03,540 --> 01:27:06,660
and look at every single piece
of design,

1468
01:27:06,660 --> 01:27:11,980
every decision, and look
to uncover what needed to be done.

1469
01:27:11,980 --> 01:27:15,220
The capsule was packed
with flammable material,

1470
01:27:15,220 --> 01:27:18,580
including 5,000 square inches
of Velcro.

1471
01:27:20,180 --> 01:27:23,460
Over 1,400 faults were discovered

1472
01:27:23,460 --> 01:27:26,820
in the Apollo craft
under construction.

1473
01:27:26,820 --> 01:27:29,100
Many people at the time
actually thought

1474
01:27:29,100 --> 01:27:30,620
that this setback contributed

1475
01:27:30,620 --> 01:27:33,220
to the United States
getting to the moon first,

1476
01:27:33,220 --> 01:27:35,980
because it forced Nasa

1477
01:27:35,980 --> 01:27:37,540
and its contractors to solve

1478
01:27:37,540 --> 01:27:40,380
the problems that needed
to be solved.

1479
01:27:40,380 --> 01:27:43,740
The Apollo 1 incident
resulted in a delay,

1480
01:27:43,740 --> 01:27:47,620
a delay of 20 months
in the Apollo programme.

1481
01:27:47,620 --> 01:27:49,700
This was huge.

1482
01:27:49,700 --> 01:27:52,220
I mean, when you're talking about
the frantic pace,

1483
01:27:52,220 --> 01:27:54,980
the space race and the race
to the moon,

1484
01:27:54,980 --> 01:27:57,340
it had everyone concerned.

1485
01:27:57,340 --> 01:27:59,620
Unaware of the problems
the Soviets were having

1486
01:27:59,620 --> 01:28:01,220
with their N1 rocket,

1487
01:28:01,220 --> 01:28:03,820
Nasa feared they might yet beat them
to the moon.

1488
01:28:09,140 --> 01:28:13,140
The Apollo 1 disaster increased
scepticism about space flight,

1489
01:28:13,140 --> 01:28:16,700
in Congress and amongst
the American public.

1490
01:28:16,700 --> 01:28:18,980
Was it worth spending billions,

1491
01:28:18,980 --> 01:28:20,740
only for astronauts to die?

1492
01:28:24,700 --> 01:28:29,220
When Apollo 8 launched
on 21st December 1968

1493
01:28:29,220 --> 01:28:31,900
on a mission to orbit the moon
for the first time,

1494
01:28:31,900 --> 01:28:33,620
there was little interest.

1495
01:28:33,620 --> 01:28:38,140
It was just another expensive
mission using taxpayers' dollars.

1496
01:28:38,140 --> 01:28:40,020
They had other concerns.

1497
01:28:40,020 --> 01:28:43,740
The country was mired
in a bloody war in Vietnam

1498
01:28:43,740 --> 01:28:47,020
and Dr Martin Luther King
and Bobby Kennedy

1499
01:28:47,020 --> 01:28:50,620
had both been assassinated
earlier that year.

1500
01:28:50,620 --> 01:28:53,620
America's priorities were
very much back on Earth.

1501
01:28:53,620 --> 01:28:56,540
The sheen of space-age technologies
had dulled.

1502
01:28:59,140 --> 01:29:00,540
On Christmas Eve,

1503
01:29:00,540 --> 01:29:04,860
as Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman,
Jim Lovell and Bill Anders

1504
01:29:04,860 --> 01:29:06,340
circled the moon,

1505
01:29:06,340 --> 01:29:08,540
they broadcast a live
Christmas message.

1506
01:29:19,300 --> 01:29:21,660
It was a powerful moment.

1507
01:29:21,660 --> 01:29:24,140
But it was a photograph
taken by Bill Anders

1508
01:29:24,140 --> 01:29:28,460
when the broadcast was over that
changed attitudes to space forever.

1509
01:29:49,460 --> 01:29:52,060
It became known as 'Earthrise'.

1510
01:29:53,620 --> 01:29:55,900
I had the privilege
of meeting Jim Lovell back in

1511
01:29:55,900 --> 01:29:59,140
the late '90s and he said,

1512
01:29:59,140 --> 01:30:02,460
"It was interesting that
we were sent to go to the moon

1513
01:30:02,460 --> 01:30:03,820
"and look at the moon.

1514
01:30:03,820 --> 01:30:07,060
"But what we ended up doing
is looking back at Earth

1515
01:30:07,060 --> 01:30:11,300
"and realising what
a fragile oasis in space it was."

1516
01:30:13,060 --> 01:30:14,700
Many people still have it
on the wall.

1517
01:30:14,700 --> 01:30:16,380
I have it on my wall at home,

1518
01:30:16,380 --> 01:30:18,940
and it just makes us focus
on our planet

1519
01:30:18,940 --> 01:30:22,860
and realise that, yes,
we do need to look after it.

1520
01:30:22,860 --> 01:30:24,380
As the crew worked their way through

1521
01:30:24,380 --> 01:30:26,380
the many thousands of letters

1522
01:30:26,380 --> 01:30:28,820
and accolades that came their way,

1523
01:30:28,820 --> 01:30:31,420
one particularly struck a note.

1524
01:30:31,420 --> 01:30:35,660
It was very simple, but it just
said, "You saved 1968. Thank you."

1525
01:30:43,300 --> 01:30:44,580
For the Soviets,

1526
01:30:44,580 --> 01:30:47,260
Apollo 8 was more than
a photograph -

1527
01:30:47,260 --> 01:30:50,460
it was a defining moment
in the Space Race.

1528
01:30:50,460 --> 01:30:53,860
Sergei Korolev,
the chief designer's death,

1529
01:30:53,860 --> 01:30:57,020
was a big setback for
the Soviet space programme,

1530
01:30:57,020 --> 01:31:00,220
but when I asked Alexi Leonoff,
the first space walker,

1531
01:31:00,220 --> 01:31:03,100
whether that had sealed the fate of

1532
01:31:03,100 --> 01:31:05,540
the Soviet moon programme,
he said, "No, no, no, no."

1533
01:31:05,540 --> 01:31:07,380
They could have coped,

1534
01:31:07,380 --> 01:31:11,780
but when Apollo 8 went around
the moon in 1968,

1535
01:31:11,780 --> 01:31:15,460
then Leonov knew that the Americans
would land on the moon first.

1536
01:31:19,300 --> 01:31:21,140
We're aiming for
our planned lift-off

1537
01:31:21,140 --> 01:31:23,460
at 32 minutes past the hour.

1538
01:31:23,460 --> 01:31:25,860
This is Kennedy Launch Control.

1539
01:31:25,860 --> 01:31:30,180
16th July 1969, 9:28am,

1540
01:31:30,180 --> 01:31:33,420
The Kennedy Space Centre.

1541
01:31:33,420 --> 01:31:37,220
Saturn V SA506 is fuelled and ready.

1542
01:31:38,460 --> 01:31:42,300
It's destination - the moon.

1543
01:31:42,300 --> 01:31:45,660
Launch Operations Manager
Paul Donnelly wished the crew,

1544
01:31:45,660 --> 01:31:49,980
on the launch team's behalf,
good luck and Godspeed.

1545
01:31:49,980 --> 01:31:52,540
Earlier, astronauts Neil Armstrong,

1546
01:31:52,540 --> 01:31:55,220
Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins had

1547
01:31:55,220 --> 01:31:58,580
the traditional launch breakfast
of steak and eggs.

1548
01:31:58,580 --> 01:32:00,820
Then, were helped
into their space suits...

1549
01:32:04,980 --> 01:32:06,860
..and driven to the launchpad.

1550
01:32:08,900 --> 01:32:11,700
We are go with all elements
of the mission at this time.

1551
01:32:15,780 --> 01:32:19,780
Tens of thousands have come
to watch history being made.

1552
01:32:19,780 --> 01:32:23,580
Millions more are watching on TV.

1553
01:32:23,580 --> 01:32:26,620
Apollo was a worldwide story.

1554
01:32:26,620 --> 01:32:30,860
It really captured people's
imagination right around the globe.

1555
01:32:32,380 --> 01:32:33,980
Everybody tuned in.

1556
01:32:33,980 --> 01:32:36,260
Everybody wanted to see
what was happening.

1557
01:32:36,260 --> 01:32:39,260
It was that moment for Nasa,

1558
01:32:39,260 --> 01:32:40,860
for America,

1559
01:32:40,860 --> 01:32:45,260
but for the globe,
because we were going as humanity.

1560
01:32:45,260 --> 01:32:47,140
The target for the Apollo 11
astronauts,

1561
01:32:47,140 --> 01:32:49,540
the moon at lift-off will be

1562
01:32:49,540 --> 01:32:53,900
at a distance of 218,096 miles away.

1563
01:32:53,900 --> 01:32:55,340
For a decade,

1564
01:32:55,340 --> 01:32:59,740
engineers in the United States
and the Soviet Union

1565
01:32:59,740 --> 01:33:02,540
had overcome political uncertainty,

1566
01:33:02,540 --> 01:33:04,900
devastating tragedy

1567
01:33:04,900 --> 01:33:08,660
and seemingly impossible
technological challenges.

1568
01:33:08,660 --> 01:33:11,540
Despite the numerous
Soviet 'firsts',

1569
01:33:11,540 --> 01:33:14,620
it would be the Americans
who triumphed.

1570
01:33:14,620 --> 01:33:16,980
The US economy proved superior

1571
01:33:16,980 --> 01:33:20,300
in marshalling the resources
and the manpower

1572
01:33:20,300 --> 01:33:22,660
and the determination
to focus on this goal

1573
01:33:22,660 --> 01:33:25,700
and to see it to completion.

1574
01:33:25,700 --> 01:33:28,180
We knew exactly
what we wanted to do -

1575
01:33:28,180 --> 01:33:30,740
man on the moon
by the end of the decade.

1576
01:33:30,740 --> 01:33:34,540
And everybody, from the janitor
who swept the floors in

1577
01:33:34,540 --> 01:33:37,100
the Vehicle Assembly Building,
to the Nasa administrator,

1578
01:33:37,100 --> 01:33:40,740
if you ask them, "What is your
job?", they would tell you,

1579
01:33:40,740 --> 01:33:43,860
"My job is to land a man on the moon
and return him safely to Earth

1580
01:33:43,860 --> 01:33:45,140
"by the end of the decade."

1581
01:33:48,980 --> 01:33:50,420
20 seconds and counting.

1582
01:33:52,540 --> 01:33:54,140
T minus 15.

1583
01:33:54,140 --> 01:33:57,900
12, 11, ten, nine.

1584
01:33:57,900 --> 01:34:00,340
Ignition sequence start.

1585
01:34:00,340 --> 01:34:02,980
Six, five, four,

1586
01:34:02,980 --> 01:34:05,740
three, two, one,

1587
01:34:05,740 --> 01:34:08,900
zero.
All engines running.

1588
01:34:08,900 --> 01:34:11,460
Lift-off. We have a lift-off.

1589
01:34:11,460 --> 01:34:13,740
32 minutes past the hour.
Lift-off on Apollo 11.

1590
01:34:18,100 --> 01:34:19,620
Right on schedule,

1591
01:34:19,620 --> 01:34:21,940
Apollo 11 lifts off.

1592
01:34:21,940 --> 01:34:24,860
Destination - the moon.

1593
01:34:24,860 --> 01:34:26,140
Roger, tower.

1594
01:34:26,140 --> 01:34:27,660
Roger, we got a roll programme.

1595
01:34:33,780 --> 01:34:35,300
Four days away -

1596
01:34:35,300 --> 01:34:37,620
the most famous landing
in history...

1597
01:34:39,340 --> 01:34:41,540
..and the defining
moment of the Space Race.

1598
01:34:48,340 --> 01:34:50,180
75 feet, it's looking good,
down a half.

1599
01:34:53,180 --> 01:34:54,380
Tranquility Base here.

1600
01:34:55,460 --> 01:34:56,900
The Eagle has landed.

1601
01:34:56,900 --> 01:34:58,300
I'm at the foot of the ladder.

1602
01:35:01,460 --> 01:35:02,980
I'm going to step off the LM now.

1603
01:35:04,580 --> 01:35:07,340
It's one small step for man...

1604
01:35:09,780 --> 01:35:11,980
..one giant leap for mankind.