1 00:00:02,066 --> 00:00:03,833 NARRATOR: Apollo 8-- 2 00:00:03,866 --> 00:00:06,333 a last-minute change 3 00:00:06,366 --> 00:00:07,866 sets a mission on a dangerous new course. 4 00:00:07,900 --> 00:00:10,133 JERRY BOSTICK: I said, "What?! 5 00:00:10,166 --> 00:00:12,266 That's the craziest idea I ever heard." 6 00:00:12,300 --> 00:00:14,500 (rocket engines ignite) 7 00:00:14,533 --> 00:00:15,533 A lot of risk. 8 00:00:15,566 --> 00:00:17,833 NARRATOR: Untried technologies 9 00:00:17,866 --> 00:00:19,600 put to the test. 10 00:00:19,633 --> 00:00:21,700 (explosion) 11 00:00:21,733 --> 00:00:23,333 MICHAEL COLLINS: Any one of them can be a disaster 12 00:00:23,366 --> 00:00:25,266 if it doesn't go perfectly well. 13 00:00:25,300 --> 00:00:27,100 (explosion) 14 00:00:27,133 --> 00:00:29,966 NARRATOR: It's the height of the Cold War; 15 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:32,733 two superpowers race to the moon. 16 00:00:32,766 --> 00:00:34,166 They were beating us at every turn. 17 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:35,466 I want to be part of winning. 18 00:00:35,500 --> 00:00:39,033 NARRATOR: A president's deadline looms. 19 00:00:39,066 --> 00:00:42,433 JOHN F. KENNEDY: Landing a man on the moon before this decade is out... 20 00:00:42,466 --> 00:00:44,633 There's just enormous pressure. 21 00:00:44,666 --> 00:00:46,400 NARRATOR: Then, tragedy strikes. 22 00:00:46,433 --> 00:00:49,266 MAN (on radio): Hey! We've got a fire in the cockpit! 23 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:53,066 DAVID MINDELL: "How are we ever going to get there?" 24 00:00:53,100 --> 00:00:56,900 NARRATOR: A secret decision is made. 25 00:00:56,933 --> 00:00:58,366 FRANK BORMAN: He said, "Close the door," 26 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:00,200 so I realized that something was big. 27 00:01:00,233 --> 00:01:02,000 (rockets ignite) 28 00:01:02,033 --> 00:01:03,333 NARRATOR: A half-century later, 29 00:01:03,366 --> 00:01:06,466 the legacy of this audacious journey affects us all. 30 00:01:06,500 --> 00:01:08,200 (hissing) 31 00:01:09,500 --> 00:01:11,766 NARRATOR: The mission that got us to the moon. 32 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:13,666 "Apollo's Daring Mission," 33 00:01:13,700 --> 00:01:17,400 right now, on "NOVA." 34 00:01:17,433 --> 00:01:22,500 ♪ 35 00:01:23,833 --> 00:01:33,866 Major funding for "NOVA" is provided by the following: 36 00:01:33,866 --> 00:01:41,366 Major funding for "NOVA" is provided by the following: 37 00:01:42,166 --> 00:01:43,866 (static buzzing) 38 00:01:43,900 --> 00:01:46,333 NEIL ARMSTRONG (on radio): I'm at the foot of the ladder. 39 00:01:46,366 --> 00:01:50,833 NARRATOR: It is perhaps the greatest technological feat in history. 40 00:01:50,866 --> 00:01:53,600 ARMSTRONG: Okay, I'm going to step off the LEM now. 41 00:01:53,633 --> 00:01:58,033 NARRATOR: Humans arriving at another world. 42 00:01:58,066 --> 00:02:01,300 ARMSTRONG: That's one small step for man; 43 00:02:01,333 --> 00:02:04,300 one giant leap for mankind. 44 00:02:04,333 --> 00:02:09,133 (cheers and applause) 45 00:02:09,166 --> 00:02:13,866 NARRATOR: Yet before the arriving could happen, 46 00:02:13,900 --> 00:02:17,933 first there was the leaving. 47 00:02:17,966 --> 00:02:19,100 (indistinct talking on radio) 48 00:02:19,133 --> 00:02:20,566 MAN: ...pressurized. 49 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:23,233 NARRATOR: It's December 1968. 50 00:02:23,266 --> 00:02:28,000 A space mission unlike any other begins-- 51 00:02:28,033 --> 00:02:29,500 Apollo 8. 52 00:02:29,533 --> 00:02:32,133 POPPY NORTHCUTT: It was the most dangerous mission of all. 53 00:02:32,166 --> 00:02:34,133 BOSTICK: It was the boldest move 54 00:02:34,166 --> 00:02:35,100 that NASA ever made. 55 00:02:35,133 --> 00:02:37,033 NARRATOR: Three men-- 56 00:02:37,066 --> 00:02:38,433 Frank Borman, 57 00:02:38,466 --> 00:02:39,833 Jim Lovell, 58 00:02:39,866 --> 00:02:41,266 and Bill Anders-- 59 00:02:41,300 --> 00:02:46,133 are departing on a journey no one has ever made before. 60 00:02:46,166 --> 00:02:47,466 COLLINS: For the first time 61 00:02:47,500 --> 00:02:50,833 in human history, humans left earth. 62 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:55,966 NARRATOR: All previous missions have stayed in earth orbit. 63 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:59,366 But these three veteran fighter pilots-- 64 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:01,033 Lovell from the Navy, 65 00:03:01,066 --> 00:03:03,533 Borman and Anders from the Air Force-- 66 00:03:03,566 --> 00:03:08,233 will take their spacecraft to another world. 67 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:13,100 Apollo 8 will orbit the moon ten times; 68 00:03:13,133 --> 00:03:14,833 it will not land. 69 00:03:14,866 --> 00:03:18,100 But this mission will make the landing possible 70 00:03:18,133 --> 00:03:22,966 by testing key technologies needed to reach the moon: 71 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:28,066 a giant rocket, a redesigned spacecraft, 72 00:03:28,100 --> 00:03:30,966 a revolutionary new computer. 73 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:34,966 The rocket has never carried humans before. 74 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:38,966 The spacecraft and computer have flown only once, 75 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:43,733 on Apollo 7-- a mere 180 miles off earth's surface. 76 00:03:43,766 --> 00:03:45,700 NASA WORKER: One, zero. 77 00:03:45,733 --> 00:03:47,300 (rocket engines ignite) 78 00:03:47,333 --> 00:03:48,733 (indistinct talking on radio) 79 00:03:48,766 --> 00:03:52,266 NARRATOR: Apollo 8 will take these untried technologies 80 00:03:52,300 --> 00:03:55,000 on a half-million-mile round trip 81 00:03:55,033 --> 00:03:56,700 in the ultimate test. 82 00:03:56,733 --> 00:03:58,833 MAN (on radio): We have cleared the tower. 83 00:03:58,866 --> 00:04:00,833 MAN 2 (on radio): Roger. 84 00:04:00,866 --> 00:04:03,666 BILL ANDERS: We probably had one chance in three 85 00:04:03,700 --> 00:04:05,333 of making a successful flight, 86 00:04:05,366 --> 00:04:06,866 had one chance in three 87 00:04:06,900 --> 00:04:09,100 of not being able to do our mission 88 00:04:09,133 --> 00:04:11,700 but at least making it home alive, 89 00:04:11,733 --> 00:04:15,400 and one chance in three of not making it back. 90 00:04:15,433 --> 00:04:19,133 NASA WORKER (on radio): Apollo 8, Houston, you are a go for staging, over. 91 00:04:19,166 --> 00:04:21,500 NARRATOR: It is a giant risk. 92 00:04:21,533 --> 00:04:23,233 (film projector humming) 93 00:04:23,266 --> 00:04:27,100 But originally Apollo 8 was supposed to be a baby step-- 94 00:04:27,133 --> 00:04:31,100 just another test flight around the earth. 95 00:04:32,066 --> 00:04:34,966 MINDELL: It took years of test flights. 96 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:36,333 And you really have to think, of course, 97 00:04:36,366 --> 00:04:38,933 of the Apollo flights as a system. 98 00:04:38,966 --> 00:04:41,100 ANDERS: It was the typical NASA 99 00:04:41,133 --> 00:04:45,666 inch-by-inch, one-step-at-a-time approach. 100 00:04:47,566 --> 00:04:49,800 NARRATOR: But in the summer of 1968, 101 00:04:49,833 --> 00:04:55,733 years of careful planning and preparation are suddenly upended 102 00:04:55,766 --> 00:04:58,266 by an alarming discovery. 103 00:04:58,300 --> 00:05:01,133 JAMES LOVELL: We were training in California, 104 00:05:01,166 --> 00:05:06,300 the three of us-- Bill, myself, and Frank-- when suddenly 105 00:05:06,333 --> 00:05:09,900 Frank got called back to Houston. 106 00:05:09,933 --> 00:05:12,066 BORMAN: Deke Slayton said, "Frank, 107 00:05:12,100 --> 00:05:14,500 "I want you back here in Houston right away. 108 00:05:14,533 --> 00:05:16,566 I have to discuss something with you." 109 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:22,000 NARRATOR: Deke Slayton is in charge of the astronauts. 110 00:05:22,033 --> 00:05:24,366 And so I said, "Well, Deke, let's discuss it now, I'm busy. 111 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:25,566 I can do it over the phone." 112 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:27,966 And he reminded me who was boss. 113 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:29,066 Things weren't gentle 114 00:05:29,100 --> 00:05:30,833 and politically correct in those days. 115 00:05:30,866 --> 00:05:32,733 We weren't candy asses, okay? 116 00:05:32,766 --> 00:05:36,266 (jet roaring) 117 00:05:36,300 --> 00:05:37,433 And so I went back to Houston. 118 00:05:37,466 --> 00:05:39,533 And he said "Close the door," 119 00:05:39,566 --> 00:05:42,233 so I realized that something was big. 120 00:05:43,333 --> 00:05:45,900 NARRATOR: A CIA spy satellite has photographed 121 00:05:45,933 --> 00:05:49,666 an enormous Soviet rocket on a launchpad. 122 00:05:49,700 --> 00:05:52,333 It can mean only one thing. 123 00:05:52,366 --> 00:05:54,366 BORMAN: The CIA had information 124 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:58,300 that the Soviets were planning on sending a man around the moon 125 00:05:58,333 --> 00:06:01,000 in the year of 1968. 126 00:06:02,866 --> 00:06:05,533 NARRATOR: A Soviet cosmonaut reaching the moon 127 00:06:05,566 --> 00:06:08,500 would be a stunning defeat for America. 128 00:06:08,533 --> 00:06:10,366 (explosion) 129 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:13,000 For years, the U.S. and Soviet Union-- 130 00:06:13,033 --> 00:06:14,833 both armed with nuclear weapons-- 131 00:06:14,866 --> 00:06:18,400 have been locked in a deadly cold war. 132 00:06:18,433 --> 00:06:20,266 DEBORAH DOUGLAS: There was a sense 133 00:06:20,300 --> 00:06:23,200 that communism was a profound threat 134 00:06:23,233 --> 00:06:25,566 to democracy and to the United States. 135 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:30,200 NARRATOR: Starting in 1957 with Sputnik, 136 00:06:30,233 --> 00:06:34,933 the Soviets open a new front: space. 137 00:06:34,966 --> 00:06:38,966 DOUGLAS: Yuri Gagarin, Valentina Tereshkova, 138 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:41,333 blow after blow after blow. 139 00:06:41,366 --> 00:06:43,700 They were beating us at every turn. 140 00:06:45,733 --> 00:06:49,433 NARRATOR: In April 1961, a new president, 141 00:06:49,466 --> 00:06:51,000 John Kennedy, 142 00:06:51,033 --> 00:06:56,133 writes a memo about space that will have profound consequences. 143 00:06:56,166 --> 00:06:57,433 HUGH BLAIR SMITH: He said, "Guys, 144 00:06:57,466 --> 00:07:00,133 find me something we can beat the Russians at." 145 00:07:00,166 --> 00:07:03,533 Now it is time to take longer strides. 146 00:07:03,566 --> 00:07:07,233 I believe that this nation should commit itself 147 00:07:07,266 --> 00:07:11,433 to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, 148 00:07:11,466 --> 00:07:13,100 of landing a man on the moon 149 00:07:13,133 --> 00:07:15,866 and returning him safely to the earth. 150 00:07:15,900 --> 00:07:17,966 (applause) 151 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:23,633 NARRATOR: Kennedy has set a firm deadline: the end of the 1960s. 152 00:07:23,666 --> 00:07:27,733 BOSTICK: It was a simple, one-sentence statement-- 153 00:07:27,766 --> 00:07:29,300 the goal and the schedule. 154 00:07:29,333 --> 00:07:32,200 Clear, succinct-- no fuzz on that goal. 155 00:07:32,233 --> 00:07:36,266 BORMAN: I never joined NASA to explore space. 156 00:07:36,300 --> 00:07:38,600 Yeah, basically I was a military person, 157 00:07:38,633 --> 00:07:40,333 and it was clear to me 158 00:07:40,366 --> 00:07:42,866 that we were in a serious confrontation with the Soviets. 159 00:07:42,900 --> 00:07:45,166 I want to be part of winning. 160 00:07:45,200 --> 00:07:50,533 NARRATOR: Military test pilots-- now "astronauts"-- 161 00:07:50,566 --> 00:07:53,566 begin flying in 1961. 162 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:59,066 By 1967, Americans have mastered the basics of space flight 163 00:07:59,100 --> 00:08:03,666 and all the techniques needed to reach the moon. 164 00:08:05,466 --> 00:08:11,800 Apollo, America's moon program, is about to take its first step. 165 00:08:11,833 --> 00:08:14,133 ♪ 166 00:08:14,166 --> 00:08:18,300 Apollo 1 will be a test of the new spacecraft, 167 00:08:18,333 --> 00:08:20,433 the command module, around the earth. 168 00:08:20,466 --> 00:08:25,766 The crew is Gus Grissom, America's second man in space; 169 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:30,366 Ed White, who took America's first spacewalk; 170 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:31,866 and Roger Chaffee, 171 00:08:31,900 --> 00:08:35,200 a Navy pilot who flew airborne photography missions 172 00:08:35,233 --> 00:08:37,700 during the Cuban missile crisis. 173 00:08:37,733 --> 00:08:40,500 (elevator gears whirring) 174 00:08:40,533 --> 00:08:42,233 Three weeks before launch, 175 00:08:42,266 --> 00:08:45,233 a dress rehearsal on the ground-- 176 00:08:45,266 --> 00:08:48,300 a practice countdown. 177 00:08:50,433 --> 00:08:55,833 It's January 27, 1967, a Friday. 178 00:08:55,866 --> 00:08:58,666 Things are not going well. 179 00:08:58,700 --> 00:09:01,200 ENGINEER: Ah, who's transmitting? 180 00:09:01,233 --> 00:09:03,266 GRISSOM: This is the command pilot, do you read me? 181 00:09:03,300 --> 00:09:06,466 JOHN AARON: It was the end of a very frustrating day. 182 00:09:06,500 --> 00:09:09,466 ENGINEER: You're pretty garbled here, Gus. 183 00:09:09,500 --> 00:09:12,066 They were having communication problems with the crew. 184 00:09:12,100 --> 00:09:14,100 GRISSOM: How we gonna get to the moon 185 00:09:14,133 --> 00:09:15,700 if we can't talk between three buildings? 186 00:09:15,733 --> 00:09:18,366 WHITE: They can't hear a thing you're saying. 187 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:20,433 GRISSOM: Jesus Christ. 188 00:09:20,466 --> 00:09:24,400 When all of a sudden, you know, I thought I heard "fire!" 189 00:09:24,433 --> 00:09:28,600 (on radio): Hey! We've got a fire in the cockpit! 190 00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:34,066 NARRATOR: The fire quickly becomes an inferno. 191 00:09:36,133 --> 00:09:37,833 And, you know, the rest is history. 192 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:41,866 NARRATOR: With no chance of escape, 193 00:09:41,900 --> 00:09:43,333 poisoned by toxic fumes, 194 00:09:43,366 --> 00:09:48,100 three astronauts perish. 195 00:09:48,133 --> 00:09:51,866 BOSTICK: It was a pretty sad scene. 196 00:09:51,900 --> 00:09:54,933 Most of the guys were sitting on their consoles 197 00:09:54,966 --> 00:09:57,166 with tears running down their cheeks, you know, 198 00:09:57,200 --> 00:10:00,266 just couldn't believe what had happened. 199 00:10:00,300 --> 00:10:02,300 ♪ 200 00:10:02,333 --> 00:10:05,700 MINDELL: Everybody knew what they were doing was dangerous, 201 00:10:05,733 --> 00:10:06,866 but they didn't really think of it 202 00:10:06,900 --> 00:10:08,666 as being dangerous on the ground. 203 00:10:08,700 --> 00:10:12,633 And it was a huge shock that an accident like this would happen 204 00:10:12,666 --> 00:10:15,600 in kind of an ordinary training scenario 205 00:10:15,633 --> 00:10:17,766 without being in space. 206 00:10:20,066 --> 00:10:23,966 ♪ 207 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:27,133 NARRATOR: Over the next few months, 208 00:10:27,166 --> 00:10:30,600 the charred spacecraft is painstakingly disassembled, 209 00:10:30,633 --> 00:10:34,633 each piece tagged, studied, and photographed... 210 00:10:34,666 --> 00:10:36,000 (camera shutter clicking) 211 00:10:36,033 --> 00:10:39,366 5,000 images in all. 212 00:10:39,400 --> 00:10:44,333 ♪ 213 00:10:46,300 --> 00:10:48,300 Sifting through these artifacts, 214 00:10:48,333 --> 00:10:53,800 the Apollo Review Board pieces together what went wrong. 215 00:10:53,833 --> 00:10:56,366 BORMAN: We came out with a scathing report 216 00:10:56,400 --> 00:10:59,433 on the problems not only of the test 217 00:10:59,466 --> 00:11:00,966 in which the fire occurred, 218 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:04,800 but also in the development of the spacecraft. 219 00:11:04,833 --> 00:11:07,833 RAMON ALONSO: There was no ass-covering. 220 00:11:07,866 --> 00:11:09,166 There was a lot of 221 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:11,900 soul searching as to what had happened 222 00:11:11,933 --> 00:11:15,066 and all of the things that went with it. 223 00:11:15,100 --> 00:11:19,633 NARRATOR: Electrical wiring shows shoddy workmanship. 224 00:11:19,666 --> 00:11:22,500 Investigators believe the fire began 225 00:11:22,533 --> 00:11:25,800 with a spark from a wire that had rubbed bare. 226 00:11:25,833 --> 00:11:28,933 That spark quickly became an inferno, 227 00:11:28,966 --> 00:11:34,066 because the command module was full of flammable material. 228 00:11:34,100 --> 00:11:35,533 AARON: Everywhere you turned 229 00:11:35,566 --> 00:11:39,400 there was stuff that would be subject to a flash fire 230 00:11:39,433 --> 00:11:41,800 if you got the right ignition source. 231 00:11:41,833 --> 00:11:43,933 NARRATOR: On top of that, 232 00:11:43,966 --> 00:11:48,366 the atmosphere inside could not have been more dangerous. 233 00:11:48,400 --> 00:11:52,666 LOVELL: Pure oxygen at 16 pounds per square inch. 234 00:11:52,700 --> 00:11:54,466 Something which we all should have known, 235 00:11:54,500 --> 00:11:56,300 that anything will burn 236 00:11:56,333 --> 00:11:59,100 in pure oxygen at 16 pounds per square inch. 237 00:11:59,133 --> 00:12:02,333 NARRATOR: And, finally, the hatch. 238 00:12:03,500 --> 00:12:08,266 It's cumbersome to unlock, and it opens inward. 239 00:12:08,300 --> 00:12:10,966 Expanding gases from the searing heat 240 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:16,966 meant tons of force held the hatch closed. 241 00:12:18,566 --> 00:12:20,466 The fire is a shock to the system 242 00:12:20,500 --> 00:12:24,533 that reverberates throughout Apollo. 243 00:12:24,566 --> 00:12:27,066 It caused NASA to stop and reflect 244 00:12:27,100 --> 00:12:30,366 on everything it was doing and redo it. 245 00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:32,466 ALONSO: But for the fire, 246 00:12:32,500 --> 00:12:34,466 there wouldn't have been the reexamination 247 00:12:34,500 --> 00:12:35,733 of all kinds of things. 248 00:12:35,766 --> 00:12:38,666 BOSTICK: We redoubled our efforts. 249 00:12:38,700 --> 00:12:41,366 We said, "You know, those guys were our friends. 250 00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:44,100 "And we're going to get to the moon, 251 00:12:44,133 --> 00:12:46,900 on time, in their honor." 252 00:12:46,933 --> 00:12:50,300 NARRATOR: But getting to the moon on time 253 00:12:50,333 --> 00:12:52,233 won't be easy. 254 00:12:52,266 --> 00:12:55,433 They've got to completely redesign the command module, 255 00:12:55,466 --> 00:12:57,733 perfect a lunar lander, 256 00:12:57,766 --> 00:13:01,800 figure out how to navigate to the moon and back, 257 00:13:01,833 --> 00:13:05,733 and build a rocket larger and more powerful 258 00:13:05,766 --> 00:13:08,633 than any that has ever flown. 259 00:13:08,666 --> 00:13:13,100 It will be known as the Saturn V. 260 00:13:14,466 --> 00:13:16,766 The key innovation that enabled all of Apollo 261 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:18,200 was the Saturn V rocket. 262 00:13:18,233 --> 00:13:22,033 Without that, you couldn't even say we were going to the moon. 263 00:13:23,633 --> 00:13:26,700 NARRATOR: It will weigh over six million pounds, 264 00:13:26,733 --> 00:13:30,300 stand as tall as a 36-story building, 265 00:13:30,333 --> 00:13:35,066 and be able to lift 130 tons. 266 00:13:37,300 --> 00:13:39,800 America's moon rocket is the brainchild 267 00:13:39,833 --> 00:13:43,133 of German engineer Wernher von Braun. 268 00:13:45,566 --> 00:13:47,233 During World War II, 269 00:13:47,266 --> 00:13:52,066 von Braun and his team develop the V-2 rocket. 270 00:13:52,100 --> 00:13:53,866 Built with slave labor, 271 00:13:53,900 --> 00:13:59,500 V-2 rockets kill thousands in London, Antwerp, and elsewhere. 272 00:13:59,533 --> 00:14:04,766 After the war, von Braun is brought to the U.S. 273 00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:08,366 to build rockets for America. 274 00:14:09,666 --> 00:14:13,100 The Saturn V will be the biggest ever built-- 275 00:14:13,133 --> 00:14:15,500 if it can be built. 276 00:14:15,533 --> 00:14:18,066 To get this enormous machine off the ground 277 00:14:18,100 --> 00:14:20,666 will require a new engine, 278 00:14:20,700 --> 00:14:24,633 ten times more powerful than any ever designed. 279 00:14:24,666 --> 00:14:29,100 It will be called the F-1. 280 00:14:29,133 --> 00:14:34,000 Sonny Morea is project manager in June 1962, 281 00:14:34,033 --> 00:14:37,200 when NASA test fires its first F-1. 282 00:14:37,233 --> 00:14:42,433 (flame roaring) 283 00:14:42,466 --> 00:14:44,166 When we tried to fire it for the first time... 284 00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:47,400 (explosion) 285 00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:50,466 it just blew apart. 286 00:14:52,866 --> 00:14:54,133 (explosion) 287 00:14:54,166 --> 00:14:56,300 NARRATOR: As F-1 engines keep blowing up, 288 00:14:56,333 --> 00:14:59,600 engineers finally identify the problem: 289 00:14:59,633 --> 00:15:05,366 combustion instability-- uneven burning. 290 00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:07,300 If you visualize a candle burning in a room, 291 00:15:07,333 --> 00:15:10,900 it flickers from side to side. 292 00:15:10,933 --> 00:15:14,300 Well, that's a form of instability. 293 00:15:14,333 --> 00:15:17,200 What happens there is that it sees more oxygen on one side, 294 00:15:17,233 --> 00:15:18,600 and so it produces more heat, 295 00:15:18,633 --> 00:15:21,300 and it pushes the flame over to the side. 296 00:15:21,333 --> 00:15:23,233 Well, that flips back and forth 297 00:15:23,266 --> 00:15:27,866 maybe five or six times in a second. 298 00:15:27,900 --> 00:15:29,733 That same phenomenon happens in an F-1 engine, 299 00:15:29,766 --> 00:15:32,500 but they don't flip at five times in a second. 300 00:15:32,533 --> 00:15:34,233 (explosion) 301 00:15:34,266 --> 00:15:36,100 They flip 2,000 times in a second. 302 00:15:36,133 --> 00:15:39,800 NARRATOR: Like a massive, out-of-control candle, 303 00:15:39,833 --> 00:15:44,566 the fire inside the F-1 surges back and forth 304 00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:47,300 until it destroys the engine. 305 00:15:47,333 --> 00:15:51,333 They have no idea how to fix it. 306 00:15:51,366 --> 00:15:54,533 The F-1 engine is simply too far ahead 307 00:15:54,566 --> 00:15:58,133 of the state of the art, and too enormous, 308 00:15:58,166 --> 00:16:01,100 to apply any known theory. 309 00:16:01,133 --> 00:16:03,333 The solution had to come by trial and error. 310 00:16:03,366 --> 00:16:05,566 You know, you find a way or make one, 311 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:07,266 that's the way it was back then. 312 00:16:07,300 --> 00:16:08,966 It was absolutely the seat of our pants. 313 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:11,466 NARRATOR: If they can't fix the F-1, 314 00:16:11,500 --> 00:16:14,900 Apollo is finished. 315 00:16:14,933 --> 00:16:17,366 MOREA: If we couldn't solve the combustion instability problem, 316 00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:19,000 we would not have gone to the moon. 317 00:16:19,033 --> 00:16:20,133 It was too risky, 318 00:16:20,166 --> 00:16:22,200 we would have killed a bunch of astronauts 319 00:16:22,233 --> 00:16:23,466 trying to make that work. 320 00:16:23,500 --> 00:16:24,766 (rocket igniting) 321 00:16:24,800 --> 00:16:26,233 NARRATOR: So the engineers turn 322 00:16:26,266 --> 00:16:29,800 to von Braun's original V-2. 323 00:16:29,833 --> 00:16:35,266 Why didn't combustion instability destroy that engine? 324 00:16:36,733 --> 00:16:41,433 In the V-2, liquid fuel and liquid oxygen were injected 325 00:16:41,466 --> 00:16:44,333 through a number of separate nozzles. 326 00:16:44,366 --> 00:16:48,666 In the F-1, fuel and oxygen are injected 327 00:16:48,700 --> 00:16:51,433 through a single flat injector plate, 328 00:16:51,466 --> 00:16:54,033 like a showerhead. 329 00:16:54,066 --> 00:16:56,966 The engineers wonder, 330 00:16:57,000 --> 00:16:59,933 did the multiple nozzles of the V-2 331 00:16:59,966 --> 00:17:03,700 somehow divide the burning into separate zones? 332 00:17:03,733 --> 00:17:09,300 If so, perhaps adding metal ridges-- baffles-- 333 00:17:09,333 --> 00:17:10,466 to the injector plate 334 00:17:10,500 --> 00:17:14,200 would create a similar effect in the F-1. 335 00:17:14,233 --> 00:17:16,933 MOREA: If we broke that into segments with baffles, 336 00:17:16,966 --> 00:17:19,500 hopefully they wouldn't talk to each other, 337 00:17:19,533 --> 00:17:21,866 similar to what the V-2 had. 338 00:17:23,966 --> 00:17:26,333 NARRATOR: After many experiments with baffles... 339 00:17:26,366 --> 00:17:28,033 (explosion) 340 00:17:28,066 --> 00:17:32,033 ...eventually they get the engine to run smoothly. 341 00:17:32,066 --> 00:17:33,833 MOREA: Lo and behold, we found out 342 00:17:33,866 --> 00:17:37,600 that the baffles were able to attenuate the oscillations. 343 00:17:37,633 --> 00:17:43,333 NARRATOR: But how can they be certain the F-1 will work every time? 344 00:17:43,366 --> 00:17:44,633 ♪ 345 00:17:44,666 --> 00:17:47,933 They try deliberately causing the problem 346 00:17:47,966 --> 00:17:50,200 by setting off a small explosion 347 00:17:50,233 --> 00:17:52,300 inside the engine while it's running. 348 00:17:52,333 --> 00:17:58,066 Can baffles stop instability after it starts? 349 00:17:58,100 --> 00:18:00,266 We drove it unstable with a bomb. 350 00:18:00,300 --> 00:18:03,266 We inserted a bomb right into the center of the injector 351 00:18:03,300 --> 00:18:06,166 and blew it just at the time we ignited. 352 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:07,400 (explosion) 353 00:18:07,433 --> 00:18:09,800 NARRATOR: With the engine running, 354 00:18:09,833 --> 00:18:13,600 the small bomb explodes; 355 00:18:13,633 --> 00:18:16,366 the burning becomes unstable. 356 00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:18,400 But in a fraction of a second, 357 00:18:18,433 --> 00:18:22,900 the baffles quickly stop, or dampen, the instability. 358 00:18:22,933 --> 00:18:24,633 That would drive the engine unstable, 359 00:18:24,666 --> 00:18:27,066 and then it would dampen out right away, 360 00:18:27,100 --> 00:18:28,233 where before it wouldn't. 361 00:18:28,266 --> 00:18:29,533 And every single time 362 00:18:29,566 --> 00:18:31,100 those baffles dampened out 363 00:18:31,133 --> 00:18:32,166 the oscillations. 364 00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:35,133 (explosion) 365 00:18:35,166 --> 00:18:37,166 ♪ 366 00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:39,966 NARRATOR: In November 1967-- 367 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:43,833 two years and one month before Kennedy's deadline-- 368 00:18:43,866 --> 00:18:48,000 the Saturn V rocket has its first unmanned test flight. 369 00:18:48,033 --> 00:18:51,200 COLLINS: We got as close to it as we could, 370 00:18:51,233 --> 00:18:54,566 something like two-and-a-half miles away. 371 00:18:54,600 --> 00:18:58,566 NARRATOR: Among the spectators is astronaut Michael Collins. 372 00:19:00,466 --> 00:19:02,333 COLLINS: When the engines ignited, 373 00:19:02,366 --> 00:19:03,766 it didn't seem like a big deal. 374 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:07,100 And then the shockwave came. 375 00:19:07,133 --> 00:19:09,633 (loud rumbling, forceful wind whipping) 376 00:19:09,666 --> 00:19:11,233 And the shockwave got you in the viscera, 377 00:19:11,266 --> 00:19:15,233 got you in the brain, got you shaking. 378 00:19:15,266 --> 00:19:18,900 If you ever want to know what power meant, that was it. 379 00:19:20,833 --> 00:19:22,233 NARRATOR: The five F-1 engines 380 00:19:22,266 --> 00:19:26,600 and everything else work perfectly. 381 00:19:26,633 --> 00:19:32,566 But leaving Earth on a rocket is just the start. 382 00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:34,200 To reach the moon, 383 00:19:34,233 --> 00:19:36,700 they'll have to cross a quarter-million miles 384 00:19:36,733 --> 00:19:38,166 of empty space 385 00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:43,533 and hit a target that's only about 2,000 miles across. 386 00:19:43,566 --> 00:19:46,300 In space, everything is moving around. 387 00:19:46,333 --> 00:19:49,133 I mean, the earth is moving around the sun, 388 00:19:49,166 --> 00:19:51,366 the moon is rotating around the earth. 389 00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:52,700 There's all this movement, 390 00:19:52,733 --> 00:19:56,200 so how do you hit the target? 391 00:19:56,233 --> 00:19:58,700 NARRATOR: To hit the moon, 392 00:19:58,733 --> 00:20:02,533 NASA turns to Charles Stark Draper, 393 00:20:02,566 --> 00:20:04,700 better known as "Doc"-- 394 00:20:04,733 --> 00:20:08,366 engineer, aviation pioneer, 395 00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:10,833 MIT professor. 396 00:20:10,866 --> 00:20:14,833 COLLINS: Stark Draper was the leader of the Instrumentation Lab at MIT, 397 00:20:14,866 --> 00:20:18,433 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 398 00:20:18,466 --> 00:20:20,466 Very technical guy 399 00:20:20,500 --> 00:20:23,633 who has put together this intricate bunch of equipment. 400 00:20:23,666 --> 00:20:26,666 NARRATOR: Starting in the 1930s, 401 00:20:26,700 --> 00:20:30,100 Draper develops a new way for pilots to always know 402 00:20:30,133 --> 00:20:33,833 where they are-- even at night, in fog, or thick clouds. 403 00:20:33,866 --> 00:20:36,233 MAN: On inertial and transfer power. 404 00:20:36,266 --> 00:20:38,333 (engine rumbling) 405 00:20:38,366 --> 00:20:41,033 NARRATOR: Inertial navigation. 406 00:20:41,066 --> 00:20:46,233 It allows a pilot to navigate from point A to point B 407 00:20:46,266 --> 00:20:50,766 without knowing any information other than where he started. 408 00:20:52,066 --> 00:20:53,533 But on Earth, 409 00:20:53,566 --> 00:20:57,766 points A and B are stationary with respect to each other. 410 00:20:57,800 --> 00:21:02,566 In space, they're on two different celestial bodies, 411 00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:07,533 Earth and moon, and both are constantly moving. 412 00:21:07,566 --> 00:21:09,233 To reach the moon, 413 00:21:09,266 --> 00:21:13,933 Apollo will have to speed up, slow down, change direction, 414 00:21:13,966 --> 00:21:16,066 multiple times. 415 00:21:16,100 --> 00:21:19,800 So Apollo needs the most accurate navigation system 416 00:21:19,833 --> 00:21:22,266 possible. 417 00:21:23,700 --> 00:21:26,533 It will have several parts. 418 00:21:26,566 --> 00:21:29,700 The first is the inertial measurement unit. 419 00:21:29,733 --> 00:21:35,066 Inside, gyroscopes measure changes in direction; 420 00:21:35,100 --> 00:21:38,500 accelerometers, changes in speed. 421 00:21:38,533 --> 00:21:42,400 Starting at the launch in Cape Canaveral, Florida, 422 00:21:42,433 --> 00:21:46,266 by measuring every change in speed and direction, 423 00:21:46,300 --> 00:21:50,066 it keeps track of the spacecraft's location. 424 00:21:50,100 --> 00:21:52,533 But it's not perfect. 425 00:21:52,566 --> 00:21:54,166 (dial clicking) 426 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:58,366 Gyroscopes and accelerometers are mechanical devices. 427 00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:02,166 Each day, a little bit of error creeps in. 428 00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:05,566 SMITH: In long missions like Apollo 8, 429 00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:07,500 the inertial measurement unit 430 00:22:07,533 --> 00:22:08,566 isn't quite constant. 431 00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:10,133 It does drift a little bit. 432 00:22:10,166 --> 00:22:12,333 NARRATOR: So the second part of the system 433 00:22:12,366 --> 00:22:15,066 is a check on the inertial unit, 434 00:22:15,100 --> 00:22:17,800 a way to correct its daily error: 435 00:22:17,833 --> 00:22:21,100 the Apollo space sextant. 436 00:22:21,133 --> 00:22:22,466 SMITH: After about a day, 437 00:22:22,500 --> 00:22:25,033 you want to have somebody go to the sextant 438 00:22:25,066 --> 00:22:26,300 in the wall of the spacecraft, 439 00:22:26,333 --> 00:22:28,300 sight on a couple of stars, 440 00:22:28,333 --> 00:22:31,166 and then basically correct the orientation. 441 00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:32,800 NARRATOR: With the space sextant, 442 00:22:32,833 --> 00:22:36,400 the navigator can determine the spacecraft's location 443 00:22:36,433 --> 00:22:38,133 by measuring the angle 444 00:22:38,166 --> 00:22:42,166 between a reference star and the edge of the earth. 445 00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:43,533 Knowing that angle, 446 00:22:43,566 --> 00:22:48,600 he can use trigonometry to calculate his position in space. 447 00:22:50,033 --> 00:22:51,566 NARRATOR: Together, 448 00:22:51,600 --> 00:22:54,500 the inertial measurement unit and space sextant-- 449 00:22:54,533 --> 00:22:56,433 combined with ground tracking-- 450 00:22:56,466 --> 00:23:01,066 will tell astronauts and Mission Control where they are. 451 00:23:03,266 --> 00:23:07,800 But knowing where they are is only half the battle. 452 00:23:07,833 --> 00:23:12,100 They'll have to maneuver into and out of lunar orbit. 453 00:23:12,133 --> 00:23:16,200 And MIT thinks that's too hard for a human pilot-- 454 00:23:16,233 --> 00:23:20,500 it can all be done by a computer. 455 00:23:20,533 --> 00:23:23,466 MINDELL: It needs just two buttons. 456 00:23:23,500 --> 00:23:26,100 One button will say, "Go to moon," 457 00:23:26,133 --> 00:23:27,933 and one button will say, "Take me home." 458 00:23:27,966 --> 00:23:31,466 NARRATOR: The astronauts respectfully disagree. 459 00:23:31,500 --> 00:23:33,600 MINDELL: "No, no, no, no, no! 460 00:23:33,633 --> 00:23:34,766 "I'm up there, 461 00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:36,266 "it's my rear end that's on the line, 462 00:23:36,300 --> 00:23:38,400 I need to be in control of the spacecraft." 463 00:23:38,433 --> 00:23:42,200 ALONSO: The very first thing one of the astronauts said to me, 464 00:23:42,233 --> 00:23:43,500 "As soon as we get up there, 465 00:23:43,533 --> 00:23:44,833 we're shutting the sucker off!" 466 00:23:45,966 --> 00:23:48,166 NARRATOR: But maneuvering the Apollo spacecraft 467 00:23:48,200 --> 00:23:51,833 involves firing 16 different thrusters 468 00:23:51,866 --> 00:23:54,633 plus the main engine. 469 00:23:54,666 --> 00:23:57,533 So you better have 17 fingers and be awfully, awfully agile. 470 00:23:57,566 --> 00:24:01,800 NARRATOR: After a long battle, NASA decides 471 00:24:01,833 --> 00:24:04,933 the astronauts will control a computer, 472 00:24:04,966 --> 00:24:07,266 and it will maneuver the spacecraft, 473 00:24:07,300 --> 00:24:11,733 a system called "digital fly-by-wire." 474 00:24:11,766 --> 00:24:13,933 MINDELL: Fly-by-wire is where 475 00:24:13,966 --> 00:24:17,400 the pilot is really controlling a model inside the computer, 476 00:24:17,433 --> 00:24:19,600 and then the computer does whatever it needs to do 477 00:24:19,633 --> 00:24:22,233 to make the spacecraft fly like that model. 478 00:24:23,966 --> 00:24:26,766 NARRATOR: The inertial measurement unit, the space sextant, 479 00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:31,266 and ground tracking pinpoint where the spacecraft is. 480 00:24:31,300 --> 00:24:34,833 The computer knows where they want to go. 481 00:24:34,866 --> 00:24:37,833 So it figures out how to burn the thrusters, 482 00:24:37,866 --> 00:24:40,600 plus the main engine, to get there. 483 00:24:43,966 --> 00:24:49,333 Human life will be entrusted to decisions made by a machine. 484 00:24:49,366 --> 00:24:51,000 MARGARET HAMILTON: A person's life was at stake, 485 00:24:51,033 --> 00:24:55,500 in this case the astronaut, so it had to work. 486 00:24:55,533 --> 00:24:57,500 NARRATOR: Margaret Hamilton develops software 487 00:24:57,533 --> 00:25:00,233 that will control the Apollo computer. 488 00:25:00,266 --> 00:25:03,600 DOUGLAS: Computers, they don't do anything 489 00:25:03,633 --> 00:25:07,633 until they have some instructions. 490 00:25:07,666 --> 00:25:09,166 That is the software side of things. 491 00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:13,066 NARRATOR: Hamilton and her team will have to create software 492 00:25:13,100 --> 00:25:17,700 that enables this computer to prioritize different tasks, 493 00:25:17,733 --> 00:25:19,200 without freezing. 494 00:25:19,233 --> 00:25:21,566 HAMILTON: We, the developers, 495 00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:26,166 had to assign unique priorities to every job. 496 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:27,700 And if there's an emergency, 497 00:25:27,733 --> 00:25:29,366 we wanted to interrupt everybody 498 00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:32,400 and say, "Look, I'm coming in here 499 00:25:32,433 --> 00:25:34,833 "for something that's an emergency, 500 00:25:34,866 --> 00:25:36,900 everybody else gets downgraded." 501 00:25:36,933 --> 00:25:38,533 ♪ 502 00:25:38,566 --> 00:25:40,733 NARRATOR: And there's still one more requirement 503 00:25:40,766 --> 00:25:42,000 for this new computer: 504 00:25:42,033 --> 00:25:45,266 it must be tiny. 505 00:25:45,300 --> 00:25:48,800 ALONSO: The way that the size of the computer got determined 506 00:25:48,833 --> 00:25:50,966 was not by what it had to do. 507 00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:53,366 Out of the blue, they said "Okay, here's a cubic foot, 508 00:25:53,400 --> 00:25:55,333 fill it with computer." 509 00:25:55,366 --> 00:25:57,700 "Computer" in the 1950s 510 00:25:57,733 --> 00:25:59,600 meant something that was basically the size 511 00:25:59,633 --> 00:26:00,766 of a building. 512 00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:05,033 NARRATOR: It seems completely impossible. 513 00:26:05,066 --> 00:26:09,100 But lead designer Eldon Hall thinks a new breakthrough 514 00:26:09,133 --> 00:26:10,166 in electronics 515 00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:12,733 might just be what they need. 516 00:26:12,766 --> 00:26:14,300 SMITH: Eldon Hall said, 517 00:26:14,333 --> 00:26:17,700 "The only way we're going to get small enough, low-power enough, 518 00:26:17,733 --> 00:26:18,733 and reliable enough 519 00:26:18,766 --> 00:26:20,266 is to switch to integrated circuits." 520 00:26:20,300 --> 00:26:24,633 NARRATOR: Integrated circuits shrink hundreds of transistors 521 00:26:24,666 --> 00:26:28,733 and other components down into one tiny chip. 522 00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:34,166 But can such a computer be built? 523 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:38,033 Not only small, but able to prioritize tasks, 524 00:26:38,066 --> 00:26:43,733 easy to use, and 100% reliable? 525 00:26:45,533 --> 00:26:48,633 As the summer of 1968 arrives, 526 00:26:48,666 --> 00:26:53,033 barely 18 months remain until the Kennedy deadline. 527 00:26:53,066 --> 00:26:57,733 Then, the CIA brings the shocking news 528 00:26:57,766 --> 00:27:02,233 that the Soviets are poised to send a man around the moon. 529 00:27:02,266 --> 00:27:05,633 Rather than lose to the Soviets, 530 00:27:05,666 --> 00:27:08,200 Apollo spacecraft manager George Low 531 00:27:08,233 --> 00:27:11,633 proposes a radical change of mission. 532 00:27:11,666 --> 00:27:16,133 Instead of orbiting the earth-- the original plan-- 533 00:27:16,166 --> 00:27:22,200 send Apollo 8 a half-million miles to the moon and back. 534 00:27:23,866 --> 00:27:25,200 I said, "What? 535 00:27:25,233 --> 00:27:26,833 That's the craziest idea I ever heard." 536 00:27:26,866 --> 00:27:31,733 NARRATOR: Chris Kraft, director of Mission Control, 537 00:27:31,766 --> 00:27:35,800 orders engineer Jerry Bostick to study the possibility. 538 00:27:35,833 --> 00:27:36,966 BOSTICK: This is a Friday, 539 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:38,400 Friday afternoon, as a matter of fact. 540 00:27:38,433 --> 00:27:41,466 He said, "You've got until Monday morning to figure out 541 00:27:41,500 --> 00:27:44,400 if we can do it or not." 542 00:27:44,433 --> 00:27:47,366 NARRATOR: The command module-- 543 00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:49,400 redesigned after the fire-- 544 00:27:49,433 --> 00:27:50,800 still hasn't flown; 545 00:27:50,833 --> 00:27:54,700 the guidance computer hasn't been tested in space. 546 00:27:54,733 --> 00:27:57,300 And the Saturn V, 547 00:27:57,333 --> 00:27:59,966 which did so well on its first unmanned test flight, 548 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:03,533 had major problems on its second. 549 00:28:03,566 --> 00:28:07,133 Still, the engineers conclude 550 00:28:07,166 --> 00:28:10,733 this new mission might just work. 551 00:28:10,766 --> 00:28:11,933 BOSTICK: We recognized that, 552 00:28:11,966 --> 00:28:14,033 "Yes, this is not going to be a piece of cake, 553 00:28:14,066 --> 00:28:15,133 but we can pull it off." 554 00:28:15,166 --> 00:28:18,366 NARRATOR: The improved command module-- 555 00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:22,033 now with better wiring, a new easy-to-open hatch, 556 00:28:22,066 --> 00:28:25,100 and no more pure oxygen on the ground-- 557 00:28:25,133 --> 00:28:27,833 will be tested around the earth first, 558 00:28:27,866 --> 00:28:29,433 on Apollo 7. 559 00:28:29,466 --> 00:28:35,033 If that works, Apollo 8 will go to the moon. 560 00:28:35,066 --> 00:28:36,700 BORMAN: And all of a sudden 561 00:28:36,733 --> 00:28:38,900 Jim and Bill and I began frantically training 562 00:28:38,933 --> 00:28:40,733 for the lunar mission. 563 00:28:40,766 --> 00:28:44,066 ANDERS: NASA usually went step by step. 564 00:28:44,100 --> 00:28:46,866 In this case they jumped three or four steps. 565 00:28:46,900 --> 00:28:50,066 LOVELL: Well, I thought that was a grand idea. 566 00:28:50,100 --> 00:28:51,433 This was exploration; 567 00:28:51,466 --> 00:28:54,800 this was a mini Lewis and Clark expedition. 568 00:28:54,833 --> 00:28:57,433 (indistinct talking on radio, rockets fire) 569 00:28:57,466 --> 00:29:00,600 NARRATOR: In October 1968, 570 00:29:00,633 --> 00:29:05,000 the redesigned command module is tested around the earth 571 00:29:05,033 --> 00:29:07,866 and performs perfectly. 572 00:29:07,900 --> 00:29:11,333 Apollo 8 will proceed. 573 00:29:13,600 --> 00:29:16,433 But first, a final review, 574 00:29:16,466 --> 00:29:20,833 where engineers report to management and astronauts. 575 00:29:20,866 --> 00:29:22,566 MOREA: "Can you give this a clean bill of health, 576 00:29:22,600 --> 00:29:24,800 "that we have a safe mission ahead of us, 577 00:29:24,833 --> 00:29:26,700 because of your hardware?" 578 00:29:26,733 --> 00:29:28,366 Well, we had gone through 579 00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:30,066 all this combustion instability stuff, 580 00:29:30,100 --> 00:29:31,400 with many unknowns... 581 00:29:31,433 --> 00:29:34,200 (explosion) 582 00:29:34,233 --> 00:29:35,633 ...and I couldn't say, you know? 583 00:29:35,666 --> 00:29:39,366 Frank Borman put his arm around me, and he said "Sonny," 584 00:29:39,400 --> 00:29:43,533 he says, "we know you guys have done everything humanly possible 585 00:29:43,566 --> 00:29:45,600 "to make this a safe flight. 586 00:29:45,633 --> 00:29:46,700 "We're ready to fly. 587 00:29:46,733 --> 00:29:48,900 Don't worry about it." (chuckles) 588 00:29:48,933 --> 00:29:55,000 NARRATOR: Now, Apollo 8 will go. 589 00:29:57,166 --> 00:30:01,800 It's December 21, 1968. 590 00:30:01,833 --> 00:30:04,566 LOVELL: The morning of the launch, I thought to myself, 591 00:30:04,600 --> 00:30:07,300 "We're going to the moon. 592 00:30:07,333 --> 00:30:10,266 This is going to go to the moon." 593 00:30:10,300 --> 00:30:13,866 NARRATOR: They've prepared as much as possible. 594 00:30:13,900 --> 00:30:15,533 Still, 595 00:30:15,566 --> 00:30:18,133 this launch is an act of faith. 596 00:30:18,166 --> 00:30:19,600 ♪ 597 00:30:19,633 --> 00:30:23,133 Whether it turns out to be a desperate gamble 598 00:30:23,166 --> 00:30:24,833 that should never have been made 599 00:30:24,866 --> 00:30:26,333 or a stroke of genius, 600 00:30:26,366 --> 00:30:30,300 Apollo 8 is a leap into the unknown. 601 00:30:31,866 --> 00:30:33,766 ANDERS: First on the Saturn V. 602 00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:37,300 First to leave the earth, first to go into lunar orbit. 603 00:30:37,333 --> 00:30:38,933 A lot of risk. 604 00:30:38,966 --> 00:30:40,600 AARON: Was I nervous? 605 00:30:40,633 --> 00:30:43,066 Yes, I was nervous! 606 00:30:43,100 --> 00:30:44,533 That's a big step, 607 00:30:44,566 --> 00:30:46,966 that's a big step. 608 00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:49,033 MAN: Ten, nine... 609 00:30:49,066 --> 00:30:51,066 NARRATOR: Eight seconds to go. 610 00:30:51,100 --> 00:30:52,600 MAN: We have ignition sequence start. 611 00:30:52,633 --> 00:30:55,366 NARRATOR: Fuel starts pumping, 612 00:30:55,400 --> 00:30:58,033 15 tons each second. 613 00:30:58,066 --> 00:31:00,266 (fuel igniting) 614 00:31:00,300 --> 00:31:02,966 The F-1 engines come alive. 615 00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:04,933 (engines roaring) 616 00:31:04,966 --> 00:31:10,200 (indistinct talking on radio) 617 00:31:10,233 --> 00:31:14,233 MAN: ...51 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. 618 00:31:14,266 --> 00:31:16,100 ANDERS: It was so loud, we couldn't hear ourselves think; 619 00:31:16,133 --> 00:31:17,433 couldn't even see the instrument panel, 620 00:31:17,466 --> 00:31:19,400 it was vibrating so much. 621 00:31:19,433 --> 00:31:22,100 It was one hell of a rocket. 622 00:31:22,133 --> 00:31:25,600 BORMAN: You have seven and a half million pounds of thrust 623 00:31:25,633 --> 00:31:27,033 pushing you; 624 00:31:27,066 --> 00:31:28,733 all of a sudden it stops, 625 00:31:28,766 --> 00:31:30,933 and you're flung forward in your seat belts 626 00:31:30,966 --> 00:31:32,200 and then back 627 00:31:32,233 --> 00:31:35,766 as the second stage took over. 628 00:31:35,800 --> 00:31:38,600 NARRATOR: 11-and-a-half minutes after leaving the ground, 629 00:31:38,633 --> 00:31:42,700 Apollo 8 is moving 17,000 miles an hour, 630 00:31:42,733 --> 00:31:44,133 circling the earth. 631 00:31:44,166 --> 00:31:49,566 Then, an unprecedented and momentous event. 632 00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:52,966 The third stage engine will re-light 633 00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:56,300 and send Apollo 8 out of Earth orbit 634 00:31:56,333 --> 00:31:58,600 toward the moon. 635 00:31:58,633 --> 00:32:01,866 It's a maneuver NASA calls, "TLI"-- 636 00:32:01,900 --> 00:32:03,933 trans-lunar injection. 637 00:32:03,966 --> 00:32:06,633 COLLINS: "Trans-lunar injection"? 638 00:32:06,666 --> 00:32:09,300 It sounds like some sort of a medical device. 639 00:32:09,333 --> 00:32:13,133 NARRATOR: Astronaut Michael Collins is CapCom 640 00:32:13,166 --> 00:32:14,700 the one person in Mission Control 641 00:32:14,733 --> 00:32:18,266 who speaks directly to the astronauts. 642 00:32:18,300 --> 00:32:20,100 COLLINS: I mean, I love NASA, 643 00:32:20,133 --> 00:32:23,933 but they have an ability to transform, sometime, 644 00:32:23,966 --> 00:32:25,766 the ethereal into the mundane. 645 00:32:25,800 --> 00:32:28,600 NARRATOR: In this moment, 646 00:32:28,633 --> 00:32:32,333 Michael Collins has the honor of announcing a turning point 647 00:32:32,366 --> 00:32:34,766 in human history. 648 00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:39,500 I said to them, "Apollo 8, you're go for TLI." 649 00:32:39,533 --> 00:32:42,800 COLLINS: Apollo 8, you are go for TLI, over. 650 00:32:42,833 --> 00:32:47,733 And Borman said, "Roger, Houston." 651 00:32:47,766 --> 00:32:50,633 BORMAN: Roger, understand, we're go for TLI." 652 00:32:50,666 --> 00:32:53,000 That was it. 653 00:32:53,033 --> 00:32:56,833 I just really wish I had that moment to live over again, 654 00:32:56,866 --> 00:32:59,500 because I would have said to them, 655 00:32:59,533 --> 00:33:05,700 "Apollo 8, you can now slip the surly bonds of Earth 656 00:33:05,733 --> 00:33:09,433 "and dance the sky, Apollo 8! 657 00:33:09,466 --> 00:33:11,333 Dance the sky, you go!" 658 00:33:11,366 --> 00:33:13,100 is what I would have said to them, 659 00:33:13,133 --> 00:33:17,300 instead of, "You're cleared for TLI." 660 00:33:19,233 --> 00:33:22,300 NARRATOR: The words may be mundane, 661 00:33:22,333 --> 00:33:25,266 but the meaning is profound. 662 00:33:25,300 --> 00:33:28,333 MINDELL: It was the first time that any human beings 663 00:33:28,366 --> 00:33:31,200 entered the gravitational field of another planetary body 664 00:33:31,233 --> 00:33:33,766 besides the one that we evolved on. 665 00:33:37,633 --> 00:33:40,033 NARRATOR: Two-and-a-half days pass. 666 00:33:40,066 --> 00:33:41,866 Even now, 667 00:33:41,900 --> 00:33:45,733 the astronauts still can't see their destination. 668 00:33:45,766 --> 00:33:48,066 Our blunt slide was towards the moon. 669 00:33:48,100 --> 00:33:53,333 So we never saw the moon as we actually got right up to it. 670 00:33:53,366 --> 00:33:56,266 NARRATOR: But they don't need to see the moon just yet. 671 00:33:56,300 --> 00:33:59,100 To go into lunar orbit, 672 00:33:59,133 --> 00:34:02,666 they have to fire their engine and slow down, 673 00:34:02,700 --> 00:34:05,500 to be captured by the moon's gravity. 674 00:34:05,533 --> 00:34:09,033 Everything about it must be perfect. 675 00:34:09,066 --> 00:34:11,833 If not, they could miss the moon 676 00:34:11,866 --> 00:34:13,533 or crash into it. 677 00:34:13,566 --> 00:34:17,733 And all this done by the computer. 678 00:34:17,766 --> 00:34:19,733 SMITH: The computer has to figure 679 00:34:19,766 --> 00:34:21,066 how to turn the spacecraft 680 00:34:21,100 --> 00:34:23,566 so the rocket is pointing in the right direction. 681 00:34:23,600 --> 00:34:27,300 It then has to figure exactly when it has to be lit. 682 00:34:27,333 --> 00:34:29,800 MINDELL: It has to be precisely calculated, 683 00:34:29,833 --> 00:34:32,366 it all needs to be timed within tenths of a second. 684 00:34:32,400 --> 00:34:35,600 NARRATOR: But the computer only does this 685 00:34:35,633 --> 00:34:38,199 when the astronaut tells it to. 686 00:34:38,233 --> 00:34:43,300 So, in 1968-- with no mouse, touch screen, or keyboard-- 687 00:34:43,333 --> 00:34:47,733 how will an astronaut talk to the computer? 688 00:34:47,766 --> 00:34:52,933 MIT's answer is the display keyboard, 689 00:34:52,966 --> 00:34:55,333 or DSKY. 690 00:34:55,366 --> 00:34:56,733 MINDELL: It has a numeric keypad, 691 00:34:56,766 --> 00:34:58,900 and a very simple, 692 00:34:58,933 --> 00:35:01,666 what you would think of now as an LED display. 693 00:35:02,633 --> 00:35:04,833 NARRATOR: The real genius of the DSKY 694 00:35:04,866 --> 00:35:07,700 is the way it uses language. 695 00:35:07,733 --> 00:35:11,733 REPORTER: To see the Apollo guidance and navigation system in operation, 696 00:35:11,766 --> 00:35:14,400 we've talked with Mr. Ramon Alonso. 697 00:35:14,433 --> 00:35:18,766 NARRATOR: Engineer Ramon Alonso was raised in Argentina. 698 00:35:18,800 --> 00:35:21,166 Trying to create this language, 699 00:35:21,200 --> 00:35:25,033 he remembers how he learned English. 700 00:35:25,066 --> 00:35:26,766 ALONSO: When you go in school, somebody said, you know, 701 00:35:26,800 --> 00:35:29,333 the parts of speech, part of sentences, 702 00:35:29,366 --> 00:35:31,933 there's things called verbs, there's things called nouns. 703 00:35:31,966 --> 00:35:33,633 "What is a verb?" 704 00:35:33,666 --> 00:35:35,700 "Well, that's the action that does something." 705 00:35:35,733 --> 00:35:36,800 "And what is a noun?" 706 00:35:36,833 --> 00:35:38,333 "It's a thing." 707 00:35:38,366 --> 00:35:40,833 So, all right, that seemed to suit. 708 00:35:40,866 --> 00:35:43,066 I remember driving to work one time 709 00:35:43,100 --> 00:35:44,766 and saying, "Oh, yeah, that might work." 710 00:35:44,800 --> 00:35:47,566 "Fire Rocket," 711 00:35:47,600 --> 00:35:49,366 "Fire" would be 22, 712 00:35:49,400 --> 00:35:52,366 and "Rocket" would be 35, or something like that. 713 00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:54,800 And "Display Time," 714 00:35:54,833 --> 00:36:00,400 "Display" might be 16, and "Time" would be 45. 715 00:36:00,433 --> 00:36:04,433 COLLINS: The DSKY was designed for idiots like me. 716 00:36:04,466 --> 00:36:06,400 I mean, we had verbs and nouns, 717 00:36:06,433 --> 00:36:08,366 so that it made more sense to us. 718 00:36:08,400 --> 00:36:13,266 Very crude it was, but it certainly did the job. 719 00:36:14,500 --> 00:36:17,600 NARRATOR: Now, almost three days after launch, 720 00:36:17,633 --> 00:36:21,233 the Apollo guidance computer and its DSKY interface 721 00:36:21,266 --> 00:36:26,433 are about to execute their first life-and-death maneuver. 722 00:36:26,466 --> 00:36:30,266 LOVELL: We were coming up to what is known as LOI, 723 00:36:30,300 --> 00:36:32,733 lunar orbit insertion. 724 00:36:32,766 --> 00:36:36,900 NARRATOR: The computer must fire the engine at just the right moment, 725 00:36:36,933 --> 00:36:38,900 in just the right direction, 726 00:36:38,933 --> 00:36:41,766 for a precise number of seconds, 727 00:36:41,800 --> 00:36:44,833 to drop Apollo 8 into the perfect orbit. 728 00:36:44,866 --> 00:36:46,200 MINDELL: If you burn too much, 729 00:36:46,233 --> 00:36:47,766 you could go in too a low in orbit, 730 00:36:47,800 --> 00:36:49,366 that could intersect the moon. 731 00:36:49,400 --> 00:36:51,533 Or you could fly off into an orbit 732 00:36:51,566 --> 00:36:52,833 that won't come back around. 733 00:36:52,866 --> 00:36:55,300 There's a tremendous amount of danger 734 00:36:55,333 --> 00:36:57,666 with getting these orbital burns right. 735 00:36:57,700 --> 00:37:00,466 NARRATOR: The LOI burn happens 736 00:37:00,500 --> 00:37:03,766 when Apollo 8 is behind the moon. 737 00:37:03,800 --> 00:37:08,566 Radio signals will be blocked, all communication cut off. 738 00:37:08,600 --> 00:37:12,466 AARON: The break in communications is sharp. 739 00:37:12,500 --> 00:37:15,500 The trajectory engineers could tell you, 740 00:37:15,533 --> 00:37:18,733 based on the geometry and all the velocities, 741 00:37:18,766 --> 00:37:20,633 exactly when that was going to happen. 742 00:37:20,666 --> 00:37:22,566 BORMAN: This was a very important parameter, 743 00:37:22,600 --> 00:37:24,233 because it would tell you when you lost your communications 744 00:37:24,266 --> 00:37:26,466 if you were on trajectory or not. 745 00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:33,566 NARRATOR: Everyone counts down the minutes to loss of signal-- LOS. 746 00:37:33,600 --> 00:37:35,733 AARON: There was nothing to say. 747 00:37:35,766 --> 00:37:40,700 You're just sitting there, and it's quiet as a mouse. 748 00:37:43,366 --> 00:37:45,466 MISSION CONTROL: Apollo 8, Houston. One minute to LOS. 749 00:37:45,500 --> 00:37:49,333 All systems go. Safe journey, guys. 750 00:37:49,366 --> 00:37:51,433 APOLLO ASTRONAUT: Thanks a lot, troops. 751 00:37:51,466 --> 00:37:53,833 See you on the other side. 752 00:37:53,866 --> 00:37:57,533 At the exact second we were supposed to lose communications, 753 00:37:57,566 --> 00:37:58,600 we lost it. 754 00:37:58,633 --> 00:38:01,466 (radio static popping, ends abruptly) 755 00:38:03,166 --> 00:38:05,633 And I said something like, "Whew! 756 00:38:05,666 --> 00:38:08,100 We must be right on... right on time." 757 00:38:08,133 --> 00:38:09,866 I said, "Yeah, Frank, it checked," I said, 758 00:38:09,900 --> 00:38:12,000 "but, you know, they're our friends down there. 759 00:38:12,033 --> 00:38:13,700 "they're going to pull the plug on that antenna 760 00:38:13,733 --> 00:38:15,466 no matter how far off we are." 761 00:38:15,500 --> 00:38:17,833 They probably turned off the damn radio. 762 00:38:17,866 --> 00:38:19,100 (laughs) 763 00:38:19,133 --> 00:38:22,666 NARRATOR: For the next 35 minutes, 764 00:38:22,700 --> 00:38:25,233 there's nothing Mission Control can do; 765 00:38:25,266 --> 00:38:29,466 Apollo 8 is behind the moon and unreachable. 766 00:38:29,500 --> 00:38:31,700 AARON: It was almost a relief. 767 00:38:31,733 --> 00:38:33,333 First of all, we'd been sitting there 768 00:38:33,366 --> 00:38:36,800 for three or four hours with no bathroom break. 769 00:38:36,833 --> 00:38:39,700 So, the first thing you do is you hit the door. 770 00:38:41,400 --> 00:38:45,266 NARRATOR: Up in space, a different kind of break. 771 00:38:45,300 --> 00:38:46,600 We saw nothing... 772 00:38:46,633 --> 00:38:48,900 BORMAN: We were upside down and backwards 773 00:38:48,933 --> 00:38:50,233 in perfect darkness. 774 00:38:50,266 --> 00:38:54,100 LOVELL: ... until we rotated the spacecraft around. 775 00:38:54,133 --> 00:38:55,166 Suddenly we looked down, 776 00:38:55,200 --> 00:38:57,200 and there below us was the lunar surface. 777 00:38:57,233 --> 00:39:00,166 ♪ 778 00:39:00,200 --> 00:39:02,000 LOVELL: You know, we were like three schoolkids 779 00:39:02,033 --> 00:39:04,566 looking into a candy store window. 780 00:39:04,600 --> 00:39:06,366 NARRATOR: For the first time ever, 781 00:39:06,400 --> 00:39:10,333 human eyes are seeing the far side of the moon. 782 00:39:13,066 --> 00:39:16,533 On Earth, Mission Control won't know 783 00:39:16,566 --> 00:39:20,300 if the burn to go into lunar orbit worked or not 784 00:39:20,333 --> 00:39:22,466 until radio contact resumes. 785 00:39:22,500 --> 00:39:26,566 NORTHCUTT: So we're sitting there waiting for them to come out 786 00:39:26,600 --> 00:39:28,500 and have acquisition of signal, 787 00:39:28,533 --> 00:39:29,566 to see whether or not 788 00:39:29,600 --> 00:39:31,233 we all needed to jump into action. 789 00:39:31,266 --> 00:39:33,800 Because if it went badly, 790 00:39:33,833 --> 00:39:35,833 we really didn't have much time to do something. 791 00:39:35,866 --> 00:39:39,766 NARRATOR: Poppy Northcutt is part of a support team 792 00:39:39,800 --> 00:39:42,633 that will have to quickly compute emergency maneuvers 793 00:39:42,666 --> 00:39:46,733 to bring Apollo 8 home if the burn failed. 794 00:39:46,766 --> 00:39:48,266 NORTHCUTT: It was dead silent, 795 00:39:48,300 --> 00:39:51,433 except for hearing the CapCom calling out, 796 00:39:51,466 --> 00:39:54,533 "Apollo 8, this is Houston, Apollo 8, this is Houston." 797 00:39:54,566 --> 00:39:57,600 MISSION CONTROL: Apollo 8, Houston, over. 798 00:39:59,500 --> 00:40:02,800 Apollo 8, Apollo 8, this is Houston. 799 00:40:04,266 --> 00:40:07,066 Apollo 8, Houston, over. 800 00:40:10,233 --> 00:40:12,500 APOLLO ASTRONAUT: Houston, this is Apollo 8. 801 00:40:12,533 --> 00:40:14,166 Burn complete. 802 00:40:14,200 --> 00:40:16,566 MISSION CONTROL: Roger, good to hear your voice. 803 00:40:18,133 --> 00:40:20,766 NARRATOR: The burn worked. 804 00:40:20,800 --> 00:40:23,566 Behind the moon, the computer oriented the spacecraft 805 00:40:23,600 --> 00:40:26,833 and fired the engine at just the right moment 806 00:40:26,866 --> 00:40:29,133 for just the right time. 807 00:40:29,166 --> 00:40:31,500 MINDELL: 60 by 170 miles 808 00:40:31,533 --> 00:40:34,466 is the elliptical orbit they want to end up in. 809 00:40:34,500 --> 00:40:40,833 And they end up with, like, 60.5 and 169.9 miles. 810 00:40:40,866 --> 00:40:43,700 I mean, it's incredibly close, super-accurate burn. 811 00:40:43,733 --> 00:40:46,733 NARRATOR: Over the next 20 hours, 812 00:40:46,766 --> 00:40:51,100 Apollo 8 will circle the moon ten times. 813 00:40:51,133 --> 00:40:54,400 It's Christmas Eve. 814 00:40:54,433 --> 00:40:56,266 Before leaving the moon, 815 00:40:56,300 --> 00:41:00,433 they'll show millions on Earth the view out the window 816 00:41:00,466 --> 00:41:05,066 with a live television broadcast that almost never happened. 817 00:41:05,100 --> 00:41:06,700 BORMAN: I was against it. 818 00:41:06,733 --> 00:41:08,900 I didn't even want to take a television camera. 819 00:41:08,933 --> 00:41:10,033 I was stupid. 820 00:41:10,066 --> 00:41:12,500 Fortunately, the people at NASA overruled me, 821 00:41:12,533 --> 00:41:15,633 because the American people and the people on the earth 822 00:41:15,666 --> 00:41:17,733 had every right to see what we were seeing. 823 00:41:17,766 --> 00:41:23,300 NARRATOR: But what should they say while showing the view? 824 00:41:23,333 --> 00:41:24,433 BORMAN: I was told, 825 00:41:24,466 --> 00:41:26,366 "While you're in orbit around the moon 826 00:41:26,400 --> 00:41:27,566 "on Christmas Eve, 827 00:41:27,600 --> 00:41:29,400 "you'll have the largest audience 828 00:41:29,433 --> 00:41:31,133 that's ever listened to a human voice." 829 00:41:31,166 --> 00:41:33,700 I said, "Gee, what do you want us to do?" 830 00:41:33,733 --> 00:41:36,633 The response was, "Do something appropriate." 831 00:41:36,666 --> 00:41:38,000 I'll never forget that. 832 00:41:38,033 --> 00:41:40,400 Can you imagine that happening today? 833 00:41:40,433 --> 00:41:42,500 We thought, "Can we change the words 834 00:41:42,533 --> 00:41:44,700 to 'The Night Before Christmas'? 835 00:41:44,733 --> 00:41:47,533 "You know, make it more contemporary? 836 00:41:47,566 --> 00:41:50,433 How about something in the way of 'Jingle Bells'?" 837 00:41:50,466 --> 00:41:56,100 Nothing that we could come up with seemed appropriate. 838 00:41:56,133 --> 00:41:58,700 We ask each other, we ask our wives, we ask friends. 839 00:41:58,733 --> 00:42:03,266 NARRATOR: In the end, it's Christine Laitin, 840 00:42:03,300 --> 00:42:06,800 Washington insider and wife of writer Joe Laitin, 841 00:42:06,833 --> 00:42:08,766 who has the answer. 842 00:42:08,800 --> 00:42:11,300 BORMAN: And she said, "Well, why don't you start at the beginning?" 843 00:42:11,333 --> 00:42:13,666 And he said, "What do you mean?" 844 00:42:13,700 --> 00:42:15,100 She said, "Genesis." 845 00:42:15,133 --> 00:42:18,966 ANDERS (on radio): For all the people back on Earth, 846 00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:21,900 the crew of Apollo 8 has a message 847 00:42:21,933 --> 00:42:25,033 that we would like to send to you. 848 00:42:25,066 --> 00:42:29,233 "In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. 849 00:42:29,266 --> 00:42:30,333 And the earth..." 850 00:42:30,366 --> 00:42:33,033 I don't think anybody knew 851 00:42:33,066 --> 00:42:34,566 they were going to do that. 852 00:42:34,600 --> 00:42:37,533 ANDERS (on radio): "And God divided the light from the darkness. 853 00:42:37,566 --> 00:42:40,066 LOVELL (on radio): "And God called the light day, 854 00:42:40,100 --> 00:42:43,566 and the darkness He called night." 855 00:42:43,600 --> 00:42:46,866 One of the most memorable things in my life, I guess. 856 00:42:46,900 --> 00:42:48,300 It was very powerful. 857 00:42:48,333 --> 00:42:51,400 BORMAN (on radio): "'...and let the dry land appear,' 858 00:42:51,433 --> 00:42:53,266 and it was so." 859 00:42:53,300 --> 00:42:56,666 AARON: The hair stood up on the back of my neck. 860 00:42:56,700 --> 00:42:59,300 The first impression I had was, 861 00:42:59,333 --> 00:43:01,700 "How appropriate." 862 00:43:01,733 --> 00:43:06,266 BOSTICK: What could be better than having the first human beings, 863 00:43:06,300 --> 00:43:10,533 Americans, circling the moon on Christmas Eve, 864 00:43:10,566 --> 00:43:13,500 and they read the story of creation from Genesis? 865 00:43:13,533 --> 00:43:16,400 I mean, it brought tears to my eyes. 866 00:43:16,433 --> 00:43:19,933 BORMAN (on radio): "...God saw that it was good." 867 00:43:19,966 --> 00:43:23,966 And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, 868 00:43:24,000 --> 00:43:29,666 good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you, 869 00:43:29,700 --> 00:43:32,500 all of you on the good earth. 870 00:43:34,133 --> 00:43:35,933 Wow! (laughs) 871 00:43:38,233 --> 00:43:39,966 It just drained me. 872 00:43:40,000 --> 00:43:42,766 NARRATOR: For millions on Earth, 873 00:43:42,800 --> 00:43:45,066 the Christmas Eve television broadcast 874 00:43:45,100 --> 00:43:48,300 is the defining moment of Apollo 8. 875 00:43:48,333 --> 00:43:50,733 ♪ 876 00:43:50,766 --> 00:43:54,466 But for the engineers, and especially the astronauts, 877 00:43:54,500 --> 00:43:57,266 there's a critical maneuver just ahead 878 00:43:57,300 --> 00:43:58,866 that overshadows everything else: 879 00:43:58,900 --> 00:44:02,233 coming home. 880 00:44:03,633 --> 00:44:05,333 "Trans-Earth Injection" 881 00:44:05,366 --> 00:44:09,000 is the engine burn that will send Apollo 8 out of lunar orbit 882 00:44:09,033 --> 00:44:11,233 and back toward Earth. 883 00:44:11,266 --> 00:44:14,066 LOVELL: We're captured by the moon. 884 00:44:14,100 --> 00:44:17,300 That means that unless that engine works 885 00:44:17,333 --> 00:44:18,433 to get us out of here, 886 00:44:18,466 --> 00:44:20,566 we can be here for a lot longer. 887 00:44:20,600 --> 00:44:22,300 Is that engine going to work again? 888 00:44:22,333 --> 00:44:26,633 NARRATOR: There's only one engine-- no backup. 889 00:44:26,666 --> 00:44:31,166 It has baked in sunlight 250 degrees above zero, 890 00:44:31,200 --> 00:44:35,800 frozen in darkness, 250 below. 891 00:44:35,833 --> 00:44:40,100 BOSTICK: If the nozzle on the engine somehow overheated, or cracked, 892 00:44:40,133 --> 00:44:42,366 or something, there's nothing you can do about that. 893 00:44:42,400 --> 00:44:44,333 You lose the crew. 894 00:44:44,366 --> 00:44:49,500 NARRATOR: Again, the burn will be controlled by the computer 895 00:44:49,533 --> 00:44:52,800 and take place behind the moon. 896 00:44:52,833 --> 00:44:54,833 COLLINS (on radio): Apollo 8, this is Houston. 897 00:44:54,866 --> 00:44:58,733 Three minutes to LOS, over. 898 00:44:58,766 --> 00:45:01,400 NARRATOR: Again, they lose radio contact. 899 00:45:01,433 --> 00:45:04,800 (radio static popping, ends abruptly) 900 00:45:04,833 --> 00:45:06,966 No one on the ground will know if it worked 901 00:45:07,000 --> 00:45:09,066 until they acquire signal. 902 00:45:09,100 --> 00:45:12,633 NORTHCUTT: Just watching that clock and wondering 903 00:45:12,666 --> 00:45:16,066 what happened when they were on the back side of the moon. 904 00:45:16,100 --> 00:45:17,900 What happened? 905 00:45:18,800 --> 00:45:21,666 MISSION CONTROL: Apollo 8, Apollo 8, 906 00:45:21,700 --> 00:45:22,800 this is Houston. 907 00:45:22,833 --> 00:45:25,300 Apollo 8, Houston, over. 908 00:45:27,466 --> 00:45:29,233 APOLLO ASTRONAUT: Houston, Apollo 8. 909 00:45:29,266 --> 00:45:31,466 Please be informed there is a Santa Claus. 910 00:45:31,500 --> 00:45:32,900 (laughter) 911 00:45:32,933 --> 00:45:35,966 MISSION CONTROL: You're the best ones to know. 912 00:45:36,000 --> 00:45:39,433 NARRATOR: Again, the engine worked. 913 00:45:41,833 --> 00:45:43,766 For the next two-and-a-half days, 914 00:45:43,800 --> 00:45:47,333 Apollo 8 will coast toward Earth. 915 00:45:47,366 --> 00:45:50,866 Navigator Jim Lovell updates their position 916 00:45:50,900 --> 00:45:52,533 with space sextant and DSKY. 917 00:45:52,566 --> 00:45:56,366 So far, it's been flawless. 918 00:45:56,400 --> 00:45:59,533 But MIT software engineer Margaret Hamilton 919 00:45:59,566 --> 00:46:01,800 has a nagging worry. 920 00:46:01,833 --> 00:46:03,500 How to prevent errors. 921 00:46:03,533 --> 00:46:05,333 MINDELL: What if the astronaut types 922 00:46:05,366 --> 00:46:06,933 something wrong into the DSKY? 923 00:46:06,966 --> 00:46:08,933 ♪ 924 00:46:08,966 --> 00:46:12,600 HAMILTON: My daughter Lauren would come in often 925 00:46:12,633 --> 00:46:14,533 and would play astronaut. 926 00:46:14,566 --> 00:46:16,500 And so she'd start pressing keys. 927 00:46:16,533 --> 00:46:19,500 And I remember one time, all of a sudden... 928 00:46:19,533 --> 00:46:20,533 (machine powers down, beeping) 929 00:46:20,566 --> 00:46:24,566 big crash, everything stopped. 930 00:46:24,600 --> 00:46:27,400 So I'm thinking, "What did she press? 931 00:46:28,400 --> 00:46:33,066 She had selected P01 during flight. 932 00:46:33,100 --> 00:46:38,800 NARRATOR: "P01" tells the computer that it's back on the launchpad, 933 00:46:38,833 --> 00:46:40,833 waiting to start the mission. 934 00:46:40,866 --> 00:46:45,633 If an astronaut enters that into the DSKY during flight, 935 00:46:45,666 --> 00:46:48,466 the computer will forget where they are in space. 936 00:46:48,500 --> 00:46:51,900 HAMILTON: This could happen on a real mission. 937 00:46:51,933 --> 00:46:54,200 We have to stop the astronaut 938 00:46:54,233 --> 00:46:56,933 from being able to select P01 during flight. 939 00:46:56,966 --> 00:46:59,566 MINDELL: And NASA said, 940 00:46:59,600 --> 00:47:01,900 "You know, these are the most highly trained test pilots 941 00:47:01,933 --> 00:47:03,033 "in the world. 942 00:47:03,066 --> 00:47:04,700 They're never going to make a mistake." 943 00:47:04,733 --> 00:47:06,200 ♪ 944 00:47:06,233 --> 00:47:08,966 NARRATOR: But, of course, they do. 945 00:47:09,000 --> 00:47:10,766 A day-and-a-half away from Earth, 946 00:47:10,800 --> 00:47:14,266 Jim Lovell is using the space sextant and DSKY 947 00:47:14,300 --> 00:47:16,133 to update their position. 948 00:47:16,166 --> 00:47:17,166 ANDERS: Suddenly, 949 00:47:17,200 --> 00:47:18,666 Lovell said, "Uh-oh!" 950 00:47:18,700 --> 00:47:20,800 MINDELL: Lovell is doing a star sighting, 951 00:47:20,833 --> 00:47:23,266 and he's entering, "Star number one." 952 00:47:23,300 --> 00:47:26,766 And by mistake he enters, "Program number one." 953 00:47:26,800 --> 00:47:31,300 LOVELL: I got into a program that essentially told me 954 00:47:31,333 --> 00:47:34,600 I was back on the launch site waiting to take off. 955 00:47:34,633 --> 00:47:36,066 ANDERS: Borman wakes up. 956 00:47:36,100 --> 00:47:37,366 "What's going on here?" 957 00:47:37,400 --> 00:47:39,400 NARRATOR: The computer starts trying 958 00:47:39,433 --> 00:47:41,766 to reposition the Command Module, 959 00:47:41,800 --> 00:47:44,433 thinking they're back at Cape Canaveral. 960 00:47:44,466 --> 00:47:45,766 BORMAN: The thing started turning and this, 961 00:47:45,800 --> 00:47:47,700 and Anders didn't know what was going on. 962 00:47:47,733 --> 00:47:51,200 Oh, he was mad that he could... (laughs) 963 00:47:51,233 --> 00:47:53,200 I don't know, he's, "Lovell, you lost it. 964 00:47:53,233 --> 00:47:54,366 You lost it!" 965 00:47:54,400 --> 00:47:56,600 I said, "Well, don't worry about it." 966 00:47:56,633 --> 00:47:59,166 NARRATOR: Using the space sextant, 967 00:47:59,200 --> 00:48:02,900 Lovell orients the navigation system again, 968 00:48:02,933 --> 00:48:04,466 putting it back on track. 969 00:48:04,500 --> 00:48:05,800 BORMAN: Just one of those things, 970 00:48:05,833 --> 00:48:08,033 you know, you can never trust an Annapolis graduate 971 00:48:08,066 --> 00:48:09,533 very far. 972 00:48:11,900 --> 00:48:13,533 NARRATOR: A day and a half later, 973 00:48:13,566 --> 00:48:16,333 Apollo 8 reenters the earth's atmosphere 974 00:48:16,366 --> 00:48:19,966 at nearly seven miles per second. 975 00:48:20,000 --> 00:48:23,600 Ten minutes after that, 976 00:48:23,633 --> 00:48:26,700 on December 27, 1968, 977 00:48:26,733 --> 00:48:29,566 they splash down into the Pacific Ocean. 978 00:48:29,600 --> 00:48:30,900 (applause) 979 00:48:30,933 --> 00:48:35,333 The Saturn V rocket, the redesigned command module, 980 00:48:35,366 --> 00:48:38,300 the guidance computer all have worked perfectly. 981 00:48:38,333 --> 00:48:42,333 ♪ 982 00:48:42,366 --> 00:48:43,533 (cheers and applause) 983 00:48:43,566 --> 00:48:45,900 BOSTICK: We accomplished just about everything 984 00:48:45,933 --> 00:48:48,866 that you need to do to land on the moon 985 00:48:48,900 --> 00:48:50,866 except the landing itself. 986 00:48:50,900 --> 00:48:52,900 (cheers and applause) 987 00:48:52,933 --> 00:48:56,433 MINDELL: This is the moment that the Space Race ends. 988 00:48:56,466 --> 00:48:57,933 (applause) 989 00:48:57,966 --> 00:48:59,033 Once we do Apollo 8, 990 00:48:59,066 --> 00:49:00,666 the Soviets are out of the running. 991 00:49:00,700 --> 00:49:03,333 NARRATOR: Seven months later, 992 00:49:03,366 --> 00:49:07,833 Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin are walking on the moon, 993 00:49:07,866 --> 00:49:11,400 thanks in large part to Apollo 8. 994 00:49:11,433 --> 00:49:14,033 COLLINS: Apollo 11 walked on the moon. 995 00:49:14,066 --> 00:49:16,133 Apollo 8 was about leaving. 996 00:49:16,166 --> 00:49:19,400 If you consider the leaving and the arriving-- 997 00:49:19,433 --> 00:49:21,700 both of them necessary steps-- 998 00:49:21,733 --> 00:49:23,500 I think the two flights were about equal 999 00:49:23,533 --> 00:49:26,266 in their historical significance. 1000 00:49:26,300 --> 00:49:31,866 NARRATOR: The legacy of this overlooked mission is profound. 1001 00:49:31,900 --> 00:49:34,766 Of all the Apollo technologies, 1002 00:49:34,800 --> 00:49:37,600 perhaps the one that touches more of us in our everyday lives 1003 00:49:37,633 --> 00:49:41,366 than any other is its pioneering computer. 1004 00:49:41,400 --> 00:49:43,433 MINDELL: This was a major moment 1005 00:49:43,466 --> 00:49:46,100 in the role of computers in the world, 1006 00:49:46,133 --> 00:49:48,500 and computers being able to let us do things 1007 00:49:48,533 --> 00:49:50,700 that we can't do any other way. 1008 00:49:50,733 --> 00:49:55,033 NARRATOR: With its DSKY and guidance computer, 1009 00:49:55,066 --> 00:49:58,566 Apollo paved the way for keyboards, mice, 1010 00:49:58,600 --> 00:49:59,866 touch screens, 1011 00:49:59,900 --> 00:50:04,366 computer-controlled airliners, factories, smart phones, 1012 00:50:04,400 --> 00:50:05,766 and more. 1013 00:50:05,800 --> 00:50:08,033 Now we have digital computers in everything; 1014 00:50:08,066 --> 00:50:11,700 this was the first digital computer in almost anything. 1015 00:50:11,733 --> 00:50:14,300 Now we stake our lives on software. 1016 00:50:14,333 --> 00:50:17,000 This was the first time people staked their lives on software. 1017 00:50:17,033 --> 00:50:19,133 ♪ 1018 00:50:19,166 --> 00:50:21,566 NARRATOR: Yet it's an old, analog technology 1019 00:50:21,600 --> 00:50:25,400 that gives us the most profound legacy of Apollo 8. 1020 00:50:25,433 --> 00:50:29,166 Assigned to photograph future landing sites 1021 00:50:29,200 --> 00:50:30,166 on the moon, 1022 00:50:30,200 --> 00:50:32,633 Bill Anders is stunned 1023 00:50:32,666 --> 00:50:34,533 by something else 1024 00:50:34,566 --> 00:50:38,433 that's completely unexpected. 1025 00:50:38,466 --> 00:50:40,566 When the earth came up in earthrise, 1026 00:50:40,600 --> 00:50:42,100 I didn't even have a light meter. 1027 00:50:42,133 --> 00:50:44,633 You know, I just started clicking away 1028 00:50:44,666 --> 00:50:46,166 and changing the f-stops, 1029 00:50:46,200 --> 00:50:49,066 and fortunately one of the pictures came out. 1030 00:50:51,600 --> 00:50:56,366 AARON: That picture is probably the picture of the century. 1031 00:50:56,400 --> 00:51:00,300 We thought we were going there to study the moon. 1032 00:51:00,333 --> 00:51:01,833 No! 1033 00:51:01,866 --> 00:51:05,266 We went to the moon, we learned a lot about the moon, 1034 00:51:05,300 --> 00:51:09,000 but most of all we learned about a new way to look at the earth. 1035 00:51:09,033 --> 00:51:13,266 BORMAN: The sense of isolation 1036 00:51:13,300 --> 00:51:17,666 and closeness of our humanity; 1037 00:51:17,700 --> 00:51:20,733 I wish more people would focus on it. 1038 00:51:20,766 --> 00:51:24,866 NORTHCUTT: Having that unifying experience, I think, 1039 00:51:24,900 --> 00:51:28,666 was a very profound and moving moment for people on Earth 1040 00:51:28,700 --> 00:51:31,166 to realize, "We're all on this one spaceship together, 1041 00:51:31,200 --> 00:51:33,700 we'd better start taking care of it." 1042 00:51:33,733 --> 00:51:37,466 NARRATOR: Before, all this-- 1043 00:51:37,500 --> 00:51:41,066 seeing our home planet as it really is 1044 00:51:41,100 --> 00:51:42,833 and everything else; 1045 00:51:42,866 --> 00:51:47,400 the rocket, the computer, leaving Earth-- 1046 00:51:47,433 --> 00:51:50,666 had only been dreamed of. 1047 00:51:51,700 --> 00:51:54,366 In December 1968, 1048 00:51:54,400 --> 00:51:59,433 it became forever real on Apollo 8. 1049 00:51:59,466 --> 00:52:00,966 AARON: This was the mission 1050 00:52:01,000 --> 00:52:03,700 that all that happened. 1051 00:52:03,733 --> 00:52:08,533 ♪ 1052 00:52:26,533 --> 00:52:27,666 NARRATOR: New Horizons-- 1053 00:52:27,700 --> 00:52:31,566 the spacecraft that brought us to Pluto. 1054 00:52:31,600 --> 00:52:34,966 Now, in the farthest reaches of our solar system, 1055 00:52:35,000 --> 00:52:37,466 can it complete another mission-- 1056 00:52:37,500 --> 00:52:38,766 a close encounter 1057 00:52:38,800 --> 00:52:41,533 with a mysterious object from the distant past? 1058 00:52:42,466 --> 00:52:43,766 NARRATOR: "Pluto and Beyond," 1059 00:52:43,800 --> 00:52:46,000 next time on "NOVA." 1060 00:52:47,533 --> 00:52:49,233 ♪ 1061 00:52:51,400 --> 00:52:52,533 Major funding for "NOVA" 1062 00:52:52,566 --> 00:52:54,433 is provided by the following: 1063 00:53:17,033 --> 00:53:19,266 To order this "NOVA" program on DVD, 1064 00:53:19,300 --> 00:53:24,566 visit ShopPBS or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS. 1065 00:53:24,600 --> 00:53:27,900 This program is also available on Amazon Prime Video. 1066 00:53:32,266 --> 00:53:33,300 ♪