Narrator: IT’S A DAY WE DREAMT OF, FOR CENTURIES.
Collins: WE FELT THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD ON OUR SHOULDERS,
WE KNEW THAT PEOPLE WERE LOOKING AT US WORLDWIDE.
Narrator: A DAY WHEN THREE MEN RISK EVERYTHING.
NASA Radio: LIFT OFF.
WE HAVE LIFT OFF!
M. Armstrong: WE KNEW THAT DAD HAD TO GO ON THIS TRIP.
AND I THINK THEY ONLY FELT THEY HAD
A 50/50 CHANCE OF DOING IT.
Narrator: AND IT’S A DAY THAT CHANGES THE WORLD.
Cox: I THINK IT IS THE GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT
IN THE HISTORY OF HUMAN CIVILIZATION.
Narrator: IT HAPPENS A QUARTER OF A MILLION
MILES OUT IN SPACE, BUT IT’S SEEN BY OVER
HALF A BILLION PEOPLE HERE ON EARTH.
May: WHAT AN AMAZING THING TO WITNESS.
Massimino: YOU REMEMBER WHERE YOU WERE.
RIGHT?
Narrator: BUT IT’S ALSO A DAY FULL OF DANGER.
Bales: WE ALL KNEW WE HAD THREE THINGS WERE GONNA HAPPEN, WE’RE
GONNA LAND, WE WERE GONNA ABORT, OR WE WERE GONNA CRASH.
Narrator: WHEN SUCCESS OR FAILURE
COMES DOWN TO SPLIT SECOND CALLS.
Bales: AND BANG, WE GOT THIS COMPUTER ALARM.
NASA Radio: 1202.
Duke: MY FIRST THOUGHT WAS WE’RE DEAD IN THE WATER.
Narrator: WITH SPECTACULAR REMASTERED FOOTAGE,
THIS IS THE MINUTE BY MINUTE INSIDE STORY
FROM THOSE WHO WERE THERE, THOSE WHO PUT THEM THERE,
AND THOSE WHOSE LIVES ARE CHANGED FOREVER.
Kranz: BY GOLLY, WE GOT A MAN ON THE MOON!
WE’VE PUT HIM THERE!
N. Armstrong: IT’S ONE SMALL STEP FOR MAN,
ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND.
Narrator: IT’S THE DAY WE WALKED ON THE MOON.
WE FIRST SET FOOT ON THE MOON IN JULY 1969.
BUT THE DECISION TO GO THERE IS MADE BY PRESIDENT
KENNEDY AT THE START OF THE DECADE, AND SPELLED
OUT IN ONE OF HIS MOST FAMOUS SPEECHES.
Kennedy: WE CHOOSE TO GO TO THE MOON IN THIS DECADE
AND DO THE OTHER THINGS, NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE
EASY BUT BECAUSE THEY ARE HARD.
Collins: I WAS THRILLED TO BE PART OF
FULFILLING PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY’S
DREAM OF MAN ON THE MOON BY THE END OF THE DECADE.
HOWEVER, THE MOON WAS SO FAR AWAY,
SO REMOTE, WAS THIS REALLY GONNA HAPPEN?
Cox: WHEN KENNEDY MADE THAT BEAUTIFUL SPEECH
"WE CHOOSE TO GO TO THE MOON", REMEMBER THAT FROM AN
ENGINEERING PERSPECTIVE, WE DID NOT KNOW HOW TO DO THAT.
Narrator: WE WOULD HAVE TO LEARN QUICKLY.
IT’S THE HEIGHT OF THE COLD WAR.
THE SPACE RACE HAS ALREADY STARTED.
AND THE SOVIET UNION HAS LAUNCHED
THE WORLD’S FIRST SATELLITE, SPUTNIK.
Muir-Harmony: SPUTNIK WAS LAUNCHED ON A ROCKET AND PEOPLE
UNDERSTOOD THAT IF THE SOVIET UNION HAD THE CAPABILITY
TO LAUNCH THINGS IN TO SPACE, THAT THERE’S A LIKELIHOOD
THAT THEY ALSO HAD THE CAPABILITY TO LAUNCH WARHEADS.
May: THERE’S NO DOUBT THAT SPUTNIK ONE SCARED
THE AMERICANS TO DEATH AND THEY SUDDENLY REALIZED
THEY HAD TO PULL THEIR FINGER OUT AND GET ON IT.
Aderin-Pocock: RUSSIA HAD GOT THE FIRST OBJECT IN SPACE,
THEY GOT THE FIRST ANIMAL IN SPACE.
AND THEY’D GOT THE FIRST PERSON IN TO SPACE.
AND THE AMERICANS WITH THEIR TECHNICAL SUPERIORITY,
OR SO THEY THOUGHT, FELT ON THE BACK FOOT.
Narrator: KENNEDY DECIDES THE WAY TO BEAT
THE SOVIETS IS TO PUT A MAN ON THE MOON.
Borman: PRESIDENT KENNEDY SET OUT THE CHALLENGE
TO DO IT IN THE ’60S, AND EVERYBODY DEVOTED
THEIR TOTAL LIFE TO DOING THAT.
Narrator: REALIZING KENNEDY’S
DREAM WITHIN THE DECADE ISN’T EASY.
IT TAKES A CONCERTED NATIONAL EFFORT,
UNPARALLELED IN PEACE TIME.
Muir-Harmony: THE SCALE OF PROJECT APOLLO
IS HARD TO REALLY EVEN CONCEIVE OF.
AT THE PEAK, OVER 400,000 PEOPLE WERE INVOLVED.
THE PROGRAM COST, AT THE TIME, $25 BILLION WHICH IS MORE
THAN THE MANHATTAN PROJECT, MORE THAN THE PANAMA CANAL.
Cox: I THINK IT WAS GEORGE H.W. BUSH WHO SAID THAT
IT WAS THE BEST INVESTMENT SINCE LEONARDO DA VINCI BEING
GIVEN A SKETCH BOOK, AND HE WAS, AND HE’S RIGHT.
Narrator: NASA’S SPACE PROGRAM NEEDS MORE THAN MONEY.
IT NEEDS MEN WILLING TO RISK THEIR
LIVES PILOTING HIGHLY EXPERIMENTAL SPACECRAFT.
IN 1961, ALAN SHEPHERD BECOMES THE FIRST AMERICAN IN SPACE.
IN 1962 JOHN GLENN ORBITS THE EARTH.
BY THE TIME PROJECTS MERCURY AND GEMINI GIVE WAY TO APOLLO
IN THE MID ’60S, AMERICA’S ASTRONAUTS ARE SUPERSTARS.
Borman: MOST OF US CAME FROM THE MILITARY, WHERE WE’D BEEN
ALMOST INCOGNITO AND ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU’RE CELEBRITIES.
Massimino: I THOUGHT THESE GUYS WERE THE COOLEST
GUYS WALKING THE PLANET.
YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE TIME THE BEATLES WERE AROUND,
I THOUGHT THEY WERE COOLER THAN THE BEATLES.
Duke: I WOULD CALL IT A ROCK STAR LIKE,
BUT YOU COULD GET A REAL SWELL HEAD IF YOU DIDN’T
WATCH OUT BECAUSE YOU GOT A LOT OF ATTENTION.
Narrator: 32 ASTRONAUTS TAKE PART IN
THE APOLLO PROGRAM BUT ONLY THREE WILL
MAKE THE JOURNEY TO THE MOON ON APOLLO 11.
THE COMMAND MODULE PILOT IS 38 YEAR OLD MICHAEL COLLINS,
THE ONE CREW MEMBER WHO WON’T WALK ON THE MOON.
Collins: CLEARLY I DID NOT HAVE THE BEST OF THE THREE
SEATS, HOWEVER I THOUGHT IT WAS A GREAT HONOR
TO BE A, A PART OF THE APOLLO 11 CREW.
Narrator: LUNAR MODULE PILOT, BUZZ ALDRIN,
MAY BE ABOUT TO WALK ON THE MOON, BUT FOR HIS
11 YEAR OLD SON, ANDY, THAT’S NOT WHAT SETS HIM APART.
Aldrin: MY DAD WASN’T COOL BECAUSE HE WAS AN ASTRONAUT,
BECAUSE EVERYBODY’S DAD WAS AN ASTRONAUT.
MY DAD WAS COOL ’CAUSE HE COULD POLE VAULT.
YOU KNOW, AND NOBODY’S DAD COULD POLE VAULT.
Narrator: FIRST MAN TO WALK ON THE MOON WILL BE
THE MISSION COMMANDER, 38 YEAR OLD NEIL ARMSTRONG.
Borman: WELL NEIL ARMSTRONG WAS PROBABLY THE PERFECT
CHOICE TO MAKE THE FIRST STEP ON THE MOON.
HE WAS DEDICATED, HE WAS COMPETENT.
Duke: PROBABLY ONE OF THE COOLEST GUYS I’D EVER KNOWN.
BY COOL I MEAN STEADY UNDER PRESSURE.
HE WAS UNFLAPPABLE.
Narrator: THAT UNFLAPPABILITY IS TESTED
IN MAY 1968, WHEN ARMSTRONG TAKES PART IN A LUNAR
LANDING SIMULATION AT ELLINGTON AIR FORCE BASE IN HOUSTON.
200 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND, HIS CRAFT SUDDENLY
LOSES PRESSURE, FORCING ARMSTRONG TO EJECT.
HE CHEATS DEATH BY SECONDS.
NOW COMES THE MISSION ITSELF.
M. Armstrong: WHEN MUM AND DAD CALLED US FOR
A MEETING IN THE DINING ROOM IT’S LIKE.
R. Armstrong: WHAT TROUBLE ARE WE IN?
M. Armstrong: THIS MUST BE, YEAH, WE’RE IN TROUBLE.
THIS MUST BE SERIOUS.
R. Armstrong: HE BASICALLY SAID, JUST WANT YOU GUYS
TO KNOW THAT THERE IS SOME RISK IN THIS MISSION,
BUT, YOU KNOW, WE’RE CONFIDENT WE’RE COMING BACK
AT LEAST, WHETHER WE GET TO LAND OR NOT, WE DON’T KNOW.
M. Armstrong: THE WAY THAT THE CREW VIEWED IT, WAS THIS WILL BE
THE FIRST MISSION TO ATTEMPT TO LAND AND I THINK THEY
ONLY THOUGHT THEY HAD A 50/50 CHANCE OF DOING IT.
Narrator: IT’S THE MORNING OF JULY 16TH, 1969.
LAUNCH DAY.
IN A FEW HOURS THE ASTRONAUTS WILL BEGIN
THEIR FOUR DAY JOURNEY TO THE MOON.
PERCHED ON TOP OF THE MOST POWERFUL ROCKET EVER INVENTED.
Schoumacher: WHEN I DROVE UP, IT WAS DARK.
I DROVE PAST, I DON’T KNOW, A COUPLE HUNDRED THOUSAND PEOPLE
AT FIVE O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING, THEY’D BEEN THERE ALL NIGHT.
AND THERE WAS THE SATURN, LIGHTED ON THE LAUNCHPAD.
AND IT IS IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS BLACK OCEAN.
OH GOD, WHAT AN EXCITEMENT.
Raphael: THE PRESS WERE IN A SORT OF CORRAL ABOUT TWO
AND A HALF MILES AWAY FROM THE LAUNCH SITE, I DON’T
THINK ANYONE WAS ALLOWED NEARER THAN ABOUT TWO MILES.
I MEAN QUITE APART FROM US, THERE WERE HUNDREDS
OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WOULD BE CAMPING ON THE DUNES.
IT’S ALMOST LIKE A SORT OF JAMBOREE THING.
Schoumacher: I’M OUTSIDE AND IT’S SUNNY NOW.
News Broadcaster: DAVID SCHOUMACHER IS AT
THE PRESS SITE. DAVID.
Schoumacher: WELL A GOOD MORNING, OF THE MORE THAN
3,000 REPORTERS ASSIGNED HERE AT LEAST.
IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL DAY, GOD IT WAS BEAUTIFUL.
IT WAS JUST, EVERYTHING WAS PERFECT.
NASA Radio: SWING ARM NOT COMING
BACK AS OUR COUNTDOWN CONTINUES.
Narrator: IN THE DAYS BEFORE 24 HOUR NEWS, ALL THE
NETWORKS CLEAR THEIR SCHEDULES TO CARRY THE LAUNCH LIVE.
AMONG THE WATCHING MILLIONS
IS FUTURE ASTRONAUT, MIKE MASSIMINO.
Massimino: IN JULY OF 1969 I WAS SIX YEARS OLD, I WAS SITTING
THERE WATCHING A BLACK AND WHITE TELEVISION IN THE LIVING ROOM.
I REMEMBER THINKING AS I WAS WATCHING THAT LAUNCH THAT
THIS WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT EVER HAPPENED
IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD, I THOUGHT, AS A LITTLE BOY.
SAME TIME I WAS A BIG BASEBALL FAN, THE NEW YORK METS,
MY TEAM WON THE WORLD SERIES THAT YEAR.
TWO MIRACLES HAPPENED IN THE SUMMER OF 1969.
NASA Radio: T MINUS 25 SECONDS.
Schoumacher: THAT ROCKET WAS BIG.
I MEAN THERE’S NO WAY THAT ROCKET GETS OFF THE GROUND.
NASA Radio: IGNITION SEQUENCE START.
SIX, FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE.
Raphael: THERE WAS JUST A HUGE, HUGE FLASH
AND A FANTASTIC NOISE.
ALMOST LIKE A BOMB GOING OFF, POW, SHATTERING.
NASA Radio: LIFT OFF.
WE HAVE LIFT OFF.
32 MINUTES PAST THE HOUR.
LIFT OFF ON APOLLO 11.
Narrator: AWAY FROM THE CROWDS, NEIL ARMSTRONG’S FAMILY
WATCHES THE LAUNCH FROM A SPECIALLY CHARTERED BOAT.
R. Armstrong: WE’RE SORT OF OFF TO THE RIGHT, AND WHAT
THIS MEANT WAS THAT ALL THE EXHAUST, CAME OUR WAY.
M. Armstrong: AND YOU KNOW, THIS BUFFETING OF AIR AGAINST
YOUR CHEST, IT’S JUST, IT’S LIKE NOTHING,
YOU KNOW, I’VE EVER FELT SINCE.
Schoumacher: AND YOU THINK HOW IS THAT STANDING STRAIGHT UP?
I MEAN IT’S BARELY MOVING.
I MEAN IT’S INCHING, AND IT’S INCHING AND IT’S INCHING.
Narrator: INSIDE, THREE MEN RISKING
THEIR LIVES TO FULFILL THE DREAM OF CENTURIES.
Collins: WHEN THE ROCKET GOES UP IT’S VERY STATELY,
NO DEVIATION OF PATH.
INSIDE IT DOESN’T FEEL THAT WAY AT ALL.
THE ENGINES DOWN BELOW YOU ARE SWIVELING TO KEEP IT IN
BALANCE, AND SO YOU’RE FEELING LITTLE SIDEWAYS JERKS.
Schoumacher: AND SUDDENLY, I DON’T KNOW, IT OVERCOMES
GRAVITY AND IT, SWISH.
Narrator: THE SATURN FIVE ROCKET BLASTS
APOLLO 11 OUT OF EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE.
JUST 12 MINUTES LATER THEY’RE IN ORBIT.
AND OUR GREATEST ADVENTURE BEGINS.
IT’S JULY 16TH, 1969, AND THE CROWDS AT CAPE KENNEDY HAVE
JUST WITNESSED ONE OF THE GREAT SPECTACLES OF THE CENTURY.
ONE BY ONE, THE SPENT SECTIONS OF THE SATURN
FIVE ROCKET FALL AWAY AND THE THIRD STAGE ENGINE
FIRES, TO SET APOLLO 11 ON COURSE FOR THE MOON.
NASA Radio: AND IT LOOKS LIKE THEY’RE ROLLING AWAY NOW.
Narrator: BY DAY TWO, ASTRONAUTS ARMSTRONG, ALDRIN,
AND COLLINS ARE HALFWAY THERE, AND IN GOOD SPIRITS.
Collins: HELLO THERE SPORTS FANS,
YOU’VE GOT A LITTLE BIT OF ME, BUT NEIL’S THE CENTER
AND BUZZ IS DOING THE CAMERAWORK THIS TIME.
Narrator: BACK ON EARTH, AN ARMY
OF REPORTERS IS CHRONICLING THE EPIC JOURNEY.
Raphael: IT WAS A STORY EVERYONE COULD JOIN
IN AND FEEL PART OF.
I MEAN I SUSPECT WHEN PERHAPS IN ANOTHER
TWO OR THREE CENTURIES PEOPLE ARE GONNA BE
LOOKING BACK ON THIS LIKE A COLUMBUS MOMENT.
Narrator: BUT UNLIKE COLUMBUS, THIS LANDING
WILL BE SEEN BY MILLIONS ON LIVE TV.
Announcer: WITH THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS FROM THE APOLLO
11 MOON MISSION, CORRESPONDENT WALTER CRONKITE.
Schoumacher: WE REALIZED WE WERE IN A SEMINAL MOMENT IN,
NOT ONLY IN AMERICAN HISTORY BUT IN TELEVISION HISTORY.
Cronkite: LATEST DEVELOPMENTS FROM THE MOON
MISSION AS YOU HAVE HEARD.
Schoumacher: AND WE HAD GONE TO THE MOON LOTS OF TIMES
IN OUR REHEARSALS, BUT THIS WAS LIVE TELEVISION,
THIS WAS ASTRONAUTS PUTTING THEIR LIFE ON THE LINE.
Collins: WE FELT SORT OF THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD ON OUR
SHOULDER, WE KNEW THAT PEOPLE WERE LOOKING AT US WORLDWIDE.
Narrator: THE ASTRONAUTS’ FAMILIES ARE WATCHING TOO.
BUT THEY’RE NOT JUST FOLLOWING THE STORY,
THEY’RE PART OF IT.
Aldrin: THE COVERAGE WAS PRETTY MUCH NONSTOP.
WE LIVED IN THAT BUBBLE AND SPACE
MANIA WAS THERE ALL THE TIME.
I THINK IT WAS A HUGE CHALLENGE
FOR MY MOM IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS.
I THINK SHE WAS PRIMARILY CONCERNED
ABOUT PROTECTING THE KIDS.
Woman: ANDY WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO TO THE MOON?
Aldrin: WELL I HAVEN’T REALLY DECIDED YET.
Joan: I DIDN’T KNOW YOU’D HAD IT IN MIND.
I COULDN’T GO THROUGH THIS TWICE I’LL TELL YOU.
M. Armstrong: WE WERE WATCHING ALONG WITH EVERYONE ELSE,
THE ONLY DIFFERENCE WAS THAT
IN OUR HOUSE WE ALSO HAD A SQUAWK BOX SO
WE COULD LISTEN TO SOME OF THE AIR TO GROUND TRANSMISSIONS.
NASA Radio: GOOD RADAR DATA.
WE’RE NOW IN THE APPROACH PHASE, EVERYTHING LOOKING GOOD.
M. Armstrong: OUR MOTHER, SHE WAS VERY TOUGH.
AND WE’RE AMAZED AT, BECAUSE SHE HAD TO BE WORRIED.
SHE HAD TO BE, YOU KNOW, JUST ABSOLUTELY DEATHLY FRIGHTENED.
BUT WE NEVER SAW THAT.
Narrator: IT’S EIGHT AM ON SUNDAY JULY 20TH.
AS THE ASTRONAUTS ORBIT THE MOON, THE MEN
OF MISSION CONTROL ARE ARRIVING AT THE MANNED
SPACECRAFT CENTER IN HOUSTON, TEXAS.
IN JUST SEVEN HOURS, FLIGHT DIRECTOR, GENE KRANZ, WILL
OVERSEE APOLLO 11’S DESCENT TO THE SURFACE OF THE MOON.
Kranz: YOU HAVE A SINGLE SHOT TO GET THINGS RIGHT.
ARE WE GO TO START THE DESCENT?
ARE WE GO TO CONTINUE DESCENT?
ARE WE GO TO GO FOR THE LANDING?
Narrator: WORKING UNDER KRANZ IS STEVE BALES.
NOT LONG OUT OF COLLEGE, HE WILL TRACK THE PROGRESS
OF THE SPACECRAFT AND MONITOR ITS GUIDANCE SYSTEMS.
Bales: CAN YOU IMAGINE?
HERE WE ARE, THEY’RE LETTING PEOPLE LIKE ME,
26 YEARS OLD, SIT AT CONSOLES, IF WE MADE A MISTAKE
IT WASN’T JUST US THAT WERE IN TROUBLE.
Narrator: THREE YEARS FROM NOW, ASTRONAUT
CHARLIE DUKE, WILL WALK ON THE MOON.
TODAY, HE’S THE CAPSULE COMMUNICATOR, THE ONLY MEMBER OF
THE TEAM WHO WILL SPEAK DIRECTLY TO THE CREW DURING LANDING.
Duke: MY FOCUS WAS LET’S GET TO THE MOON AND LET’S
LAND ON THE MOON THAT WAS WHAT I WAS FOCUSED ON,
LET’S JUST GET IT DONE.
Kranz: THIS WAS A VERY YOUNG GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO WERE GOING
TO DO SOMETHING MONUMENTAL, AND THEY WERE WILLING TO TAKE
THE RISK, TO BE THE ONES THAT IF WE DIDN’T GET THE CREW
BACK WE WERE THE ONES THAT WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT.
NASA Radio: DELTA SIX ZERO, BURN TIME FIVE FIFTY SEVEN.
Narrator: MISSION CONTROL KEEPS IN CONTACT
WITH THE CREW BY RADIO, ON A JOURNEY ALMOST
ENTIRELY PROGRAMMED BY COMPUTER.
HOUSTON WORKS FLAT OUT TO PREPARE
THE LUNAR MODULE FOR POWERED DESCENT.
Bales: FROM EIGHT O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING TIL FOUR IN THE
AFTERNOON WE WORKED LIKE THE DICKENS TO GET THAT VEHICLE
POWERED UP, TO GET IT CHECKED OUT, TO GET THE COMPUTER
SYSTEM TURNED ON TO GET ALL ITS SYSTEMS ALIGNED JUST RIGHT.
WE WANTED THIS TO BE A SUCCESS,
SO DID THE COUNTRY, BUT WE REALLY DID.
Narrator: ONE MAN IS PLAYING
A UNIQUE ROLE IN TODAY’S LANDING.
SIX MONTHS AGO FRANK BORMAN TOOK APOLLO 8 TO WITHIN
60 MILES OF THE MOON’S SURFACE AND BECAME ONE
OF THE FIRST MEN EVER TO SEE THE EARTH FROM SPACE.
Borman: I THINK THE MOST INSPIRING SIGHT OF MY
LIFE WAS LOOKING BACK AT THE EARTH FROM THE MOON.
Narrator: TODAY, BORMAN IS AT THE WHITE HOUSE.
HIS JOB IS TO BRIEF THE NEW PRESIDENT,
RICHARD NIXON, ON THE LUNAR LANDING.
Borman: I DON’T THINK PRESIDENT NIXON WAS AN EXPERT IN ANY WAY
IN THE SPACE PROGRAM, BUT HE WAS ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT IT.
Narrator: ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN KNOW
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE NEXT FEW HOURS.
Chapin: WE KNEW THAT THIS WAS CAPTURING THE ATTENTION OF THE
WORLD, WE WERE TOLD THAT BY THE NETWORKS EVERY NIGHT,
SO YES WE KNEW THAT THIS WAS OF WORLDWIDE CONSEQUENCE.
Narrator: THE NIXON ADMINISTRATION
HAS INHERITED MORE THAN JUST APOLLO.
THERE’S GROWING CIVIL UNREST AT HOME,
AND AN ESCALATING WAR IN VIETNAM WHERE MORE THAN
HALF A MILLION AMERICAN TROOPS ARE NOW ENGAGED.
Schoumacher: YOU GOTTA UNDERSTAND THE TIMES,
WE WERE ALL BEGINNING TO WONDER ABOUT VIETNAM.
THEN MARTIN LUTHER KING GETS SHOT.
AND THEN BOBBY KENNEDY GETS SHOT.
AND SUDDENLY PEOPLE WERE SAYING WHAT
IN THE HELL IS HAPPENING TO OUR COUNTRY?
Chapin: WE WERE DEALING WITH DEMONSTRATIONS AND WE WERE
DEALING WITH SIGNIFICANT, KICKBACK TO THE VIETNAM WAR.
SO, IT WAS KIND OF LIKE THE MOON LANDING WAS A BREATH
OF FRESH AIR, WHERE WE COULD ALL COME TOGETHER
AND CELEBRATE AT LEAST ONE THING THAT UNITED ALL AMERICANS.
Narrator: THE MOON LANDING COULD
ALSO BOOST THE PRESIDENT’S POPULARITY.
BUT ONLY IF IT SUCCEEDS.
Borman: I TOLD PRESIDENT NIXON, IF THERE WAS A DISASTER
HE WOULD GET THE BLAME FOR IT, SO I SAID,
ALTHOUGH I DIDN’T ANTICIPATE IT, BE PREPARED
IN CASE WE HAVE TO, SEND MESSAGES TO THREE WIDOWS.
Narrator: IT’S MIDDAY AT THE MANNED SPACECRAFT CENTER,
LESS THAN FOUR HOURS FROM THE SCHEDULED LANDING TIME.
FLIGHT DIRECTOR GENE KRANZ PREPARES
TO MAKE THE SPEECH OF HIS LIFE.
Kranz: I CALLED MY TEAM TOGETHER, WE WERE UP TO
A VERY PRIVATE COMMUNICATIONS LOOP, NO ONE
ELSE COULD HEAR WHAT I WAS GOING TO SAY AND I TOLD THEM
HOW PROUD I WAS OF THEM, AND I TOLD THEM THAT I BELIEVED
IN THEM, AND I WILL STAND BEHIND EVERY DECISION YOU MAKE.
Bales: AND HE SAID I WANT YOU TO KNOW SOMETHING, IT’S HARD FOR ME
TO EVEN SAY THIS, I WANT YOU TO KNOW SOMETHING, HOWEVER THIS
TURNS OUT, WE’RE GONNA GO OUT OF THIS ROOM AS A TEAM.
Kranz: WORK THAT WE ARE GOING TO DO TODAY IS GOING
TO BE IN THE HISTORY BOOKS AND YOU ARE GOING TO BE
THE ONES THAT ACCOMPLISH THIS TASK.
Bales: HE DIDN’T SAY THIS BUT WE ALL KNEW WE HAD
THREE THINGS WERE GONNA HAPPEN, WE’RE GONNA LAND,
WE WERE GONNA ABORT, OR WE WERE GONNA CRASH.
AND I DIDN’T LIKE TO THINK ABOUT THE OTHER TWO.
NASA Radio: WE’RE ABOUT TO OPEN THE HATCH NOW.
RIGHT.
Narrator: AT 12:32 PM, ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN COMPLETE
THEIR CHECKS ON THE LUNAR MODULE AND PREPARE TO UNDOCK.
LEAVING COLLINS BEHIND, THEY BEGIN THEIR
PERILOUS JOURNEY TO THE SURFACE OF THE MOON.
Astronaut: ROGER, GO AHEAD HOUSTON, APOLLO 11.
Narrator: ON THE FAR SIDE OF THE MOON,
A QUARTER OF A MILLION MILES FROM EARTH,
AN EXTRAORDINARY MANEUVER IS TAKING PLACE.
NASA Radio: ROGER, EAGLE’S BEEN DOCKED.
Narrator: LEAVING MICHAEL COLLINS TO ORBIT
THE MOON ALONE, ASTRONAUTS NEIL ARMSTRONG
AND BUZZ ALDRIN ARE NOW INSIDE THE LUNAR MODULE.
CODE NAMED EAGLE, THIS IS THE CRAFT THAT
WILL TAKE THEM TO THE MOON’S SURFACE.
NASA Radio: ROGER, HOW DOES IT LOOK?
Astronaut: THE EAGLE HAS WINGS.
NASA Radio: ROG.
Muir-Harmony: IT’S A SPECTACULAR SPACECRAFT AND ONE OF
THE THINGS THAT’S VERY DISTINCTIVE ABOUT IT IS
IT DOESN’T LOOK LIKE IT’D BE VERY GOOD, AT FLYING, BUT ONE
THING THAT YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER IS THAT THEY DIDN’T HAVE
TO WORRY ABOUT IT BEING AERODYNAMIC BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T
HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT TRAVELING THROUGH THE ATMOSPHERE.
BUT THEY DID HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT WEIGHT.
THEY HAD TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS SPACECRAFT
WAS AS LIGHT AS POSSIBLE, SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT
THEY PUT IN TO THE DESIGN IS THEY TOOK OUT THE SEATS
AND THEY HAD THE ASTRONAUTS STAND AS THEY LANDED.
NASA Radio: THINK YOU GOT A FINE LOOKING FLYING MACHINE
THERE EAGLE DESPITE THE FACT YOU’RE UPSIDE DOWN.
Narrator: AS ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN DISAPPEAR FROM VIEW,
COLLINS IS LEFT TO CIRCLE THE MOON AWAITING THEIR RETURN.
May: MICHAEL COLLINS OF COURSE IS THAT UNIQUE PERSON
WHO HAS BEEN THE MOST ALONE HUMAN BEING EVER,
’CAUSE HE WAS THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MOON WHEN HIS
MATES WERE THIS SIDE OF THE MOON AND THE REST
OF HUMANITY WAS OVER THERE ON THE EARTH, YOU KNOW.
Collins: I WAS AMAZED TO BE ACCUSED OF BEING THE LONELIEST
MAN IN THE WHOLE LONELY PLANET BEHIND
A LONELY SATELLITE AND WASN’T IT LONELY?
AND THE ANSWER TO ALL THOSE IS NO, I WAS FINE,
I CONSIDERED MYSELF TO BE ALMOST LIKE A KING, IT WAS
MY DOMAIN, I WAS HAPPY THERE, I WAS THEIR TICKET HOME.
Schoumacher: I NEVER ASKED HIM
A REALLY TOUGH QUESTION I WOULD THINK,
WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE IF THOSE TWO GUYS HADN’T BEEN ABLE
TO LAUNCH BACK OFF THE MOON AND RENDEZVOUS WITH YOU?
Collins: IT WAS NOTHING WE HAD EVER DISCUSSED, HOWEVER IT WAS
A REALITY THAT ALL THREE OF US UNDERSTOOD QUITE CLEARLY.
I WASN’T GONNA COMMIT SUICIDE IF THEY WERE
GONNA STAY FOREVER ON THE SURFACE OF THE MOON.
YES I WOULD BE COMING HOME BY MYSELF.
Schoumacher: WE HAD OBITS ON THE THREE ASTRONAUTS IN THAT SENSE
I GUESS YOU COULD SAY THAT WE WERE PREPARED FOR THE WORST.
I KNOW THAT THE WHITE HOUSE HAD WRITTEN
A SPEECH FOR THE PRESIDENT IF THE MISSION FAILED.
Chapin: THIS IS THE DOCUMENT HERE THAT DEALS WITH
THE POSSIBLE CONTINGENCY SHOULD SOMETHING HAVE GONE WRONG.
IT TALKS ABOUT THE BRAVE MEN AND THEIR SACRIFICE
FOR THE GOOD OF MANKIND, AND IN FACT HE EVEN GOES
HERE AND SAYS THAT MOTHER EARTH THAT DARED TO SEND
TWO MEN IN TO THE UNKNOWN, THAT THESE MEN WILL BE MISSED.
NASA Radio: EAGLE, WE GOT YOU NOW,
IT’S LOOKING GOOD, OVER.
Astronaut: ROGER, COPY.
Narrator: NOW, MISSION CONTROL MUST MEET
THE CHALLENGE SET AT THE START OF THE DECADE.
YEARS OF PREPARATION COME DOWN TO THESE NEXT FEW MINUTES.
Bales: YOU COULD CUT THE TENSION IN THAT ROOM
WITH A KNIFE, IT WAS LIKE EVERYBODY KNEW THIS
WAS THE GAME, THIS WAS IT, THIS IS WHAT WE’RE GONNA DO.
Duke: THINGS WERE PROCEEDING RIGHT ON SCHEDULE
UNTIL THE DESCENT
STARTED AND THEN THINGS BEGAN TO NOT COME COMPLETELY UNGLUED
BUT A LOT OF PROBLEMS DEVELOPED AS WE STARTED DOWN.
Kranz: THE COMMUNICATIONS ARE RAGGED,
IT’S JUST COMPLETE STATIC,
IT’S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO HEAR, YOU CAN’T HEAR THE CREW.
Duke: AS A MISSION RULE IF YOU HAVE SO MANY SECONDS
OF DATA DROP OUT THAT COULD LEAD TO AN ABORT.
Kranz: I HAVE ONE DECISION THAT IS SOLELY THE FLIGHT
DIRECTOR’S RESPONSIBILITY DO WE HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION
TO START THE DESCENT TO THE SURFACE OF THE MOON?
NASA Radio: ROGER, YOU’RE A GO, YOU’RE GO TO CONTINUE
POWER DESCENT, YOU’RE GO TO CONTINUE POWER DESCENT.
Narrator: KRANZ DECIDES THE DESCENT CAN CONTINUE.
BUT IT’S JUST A TASTE OF THE PROBLEMS TO COME.
Bales: WHEN YOU’RE GOING DOWN IN THIS LITTLE VEHICLE,
NINE MILES ABOVE THE MOON AT 5,000 MILES AN HOUR,
NOTHING IS PARTICULARLY SAFE.
N. Armstrong: LOOKING GOOD.
NASA Radio: ROGER NEIL.
Bales: AND BANG, WE GOT THIS COMPUTER ALARM.
NASA Radio: IT’S A 1202.
STAND BY.
1202.
1202 ALARM.
Kranz: A 1202 CAME IN AND IT JUST HUNG IN THE AIR THERE
FOR SECONDS, 1202, CAN YOU GET US SOME HELP THERE?
NASA Radio: 1202, WHAT’S HAPPENING?
1202 ALARM.
Narrator: NO ONE IS SURE WHAT THE 1202
ALARM MEANS, BUT IT’S NOT GOOD NEWS.
Duke: MY FIRST THOUGHT WAS WE’RE DEAD IN THE WATER, IT’S ABORT.
Narrator: MISSION CONTROL MUST NOW DECIDE
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE 1202 ALARM.
CAN THE LANDING CONTINUE?
APOLLO 11 IS NOW 30,000 FEET ABOVE THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY.
ITS INTENDED LANDING SITE ON THE MOON.
BACK ON EARTH, THE ASTRONAUTS’ FAMILIES ARE FOLLOWING
THE JOURNEY, UNAWARE OF THE DRAMA UNFOLDING IN SPACE.
Aldrin: WE’RE OBVIOUSLY GLUED TO THE SQUAWK BOX, WATCHING TV, BUT
I DIDN’T REALLY UNDERSTAND JUST HOW PERILOUS IT HAD GOTTEN.
I THINK I HAD A DISTURBING AMOUNT OF FAITH IN
THE TECHNOLOGY, AND I WAS CRAZY, RIGHT, ’CAUSE
THE AMOUNT OF RISK THAT WE WERE TAKING ON
IN THAT WHOLE MISSION, IF I HAD KNOWN THAT AS
AN 11 YEAR OLD I’D HAVE BEEN A LOT MORE NERVOUS I THINK.
Narrator: MISSION CONTROL ARE MASTERMINDING A GIANT LEAP
IN TO THE FUTURE, RELYING ON THE TECHNOLOGY OF THEIR TIME.
WITH SEVEN MINUTES TO LANDING, THE LUNAR
MODULE’S ONBOARD COMPUTER IS OVERLOADED WITH DATA.
Bales: THIS COMPUTER WAS A MARVELOUS THING FOR ITS TIME.
BUT STILL, THINK OF ALL IT HAD TO DO, IT HAD
TO FIGURE OUT HOW FAST IT WAS GOING, DISPLAY SOME
INFORMATION TO THE CREW, SEND SOME INFORMATION TO US.
AND ALL THE TIME GUIDE THE VEHICLE.
AND IT WAS DONE ON A SYSTEM THAT WAS
SMALLER THAN YOUR CELL PHONE.
A LOT SMALLER THAN YOUR CELL PHONE.
NASA Radio: 1202, STANDBY.
1202.
Narrator: THE 1202 ALARM IS WARNING MISSION
CONTROL THE COMPUTER CAN’T COMPLETE ALL ITS TASKS.
STEVE BALES MUST DECIDE IF THE MISSION CAN CONTINUE.
Kranz: STEVE WAS DOING EXACTLY WHAT HE SHOULD,
HE CHECKED WITH HIS BACK ROOM PEOPLE, HE KNEW HOW TO USE
THE SECONDS HE HAD, BUT I WAS SURE HOPING HE’D HURRY UP.
Narrator: NOW THE CREW TOO IS GROWING CONCERNED.
Astronaut: GIVE US THE READING
ON THE 1202 PROGRAM ALARM.
Bales: 15 SECONDS MAY SEEM LIKE A SHORT TIME,
BUT WHEN YOU’RE IN THE MIDDLE OF LANDING ON
THE MOON, 15 SECONDS IS LIKE AN ETERNITY.
Narrator: BALES MAKES HIS CALL.
THE OVERWORKED COMPUTER IS STILL CAPABLE
OF PROCESSING THE ESSENTIAL NAVIGATION DATA.
NASA Radio: IT’S EXECUTIVE OVERFLOW,
IF IT DOES NOT OCCUR AGAIN WE’RE FINE.
Narrator: THE ALARM IS NOT CRITICAL,
THE LANDING CAN CONTINUE.
Duke: STEVE BALES HOLLERED WE’RE GO ON THAT ALARM FLIGHT.
NASA Radio: WE’RE GOING ON THAT ALARM.
ROGER WE GOT YOU, WE’RE GOING ON ALARM.
Duke: IF I RECALL, I DIDN’T EVEN WAIT FOR GENE
KRANZ TO SAY WE’RE GO I JUST CLICKED MY BUTTON
AND I SAID YOU’LL GO ON THAT ALARM.
NASA Radio: EAGLE, HOUSTON, YOU’RE GO FOR LANDING, OVER.
Astronaut: ROGER, UNDERSTAND, GO FOR LANDING, 3,000 FEET.
Narrator: THE 1202 IS ONLY THE FIRST OF FIVE
ALARMS THAT GO OFF AS ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN CLOSE IN ON A
LUNAR SURFACE SCARRED BY IMPACT CRATERS AND MOUNTAIN RANGES.
Duke: THE LANDING ON THE MOON IS VERY DEMANDING,
IT TAKES A LOT OF SKILL, IT TAKES A COOL MIND AND PRESENCE.
YOU START SEEING THINGS THAT
YOU DIDN’T SEE IN THE PHOTOGRAPHS.
YOU KNOW, MAN THERE’S A LOT OF ROCKS DOWN THERE.
MAN LOOK AT ALL THESE CRATERS.
Narrator: NOW HOUSTON HAS ANOTHER PROBLEM,
AS DESCENT CONTINUES, IT BECOMES CLEAR
THE SPACECRAFT IS HEADING TOWARDS A BOULDER FIELD.
WHILE ALDRIN CALLS OUT ALTITUDE AND VELOCITY.
Aldrin: 35 DEGREES, 750 COMING DOWN TO 23.
Narrator: THE MISSION COMMANDER TAKES ACTION.
Schoumacher: THERE WAS NOTHING THAT ARMSTRONG COULD DO BUT TAKE
THE CONTROLS AND LAND THE SPACECRAFT HIMSELF.
N. Armstrong: 540 FEET, AT A 15.
Collins: HE OVERFLEW A PRIMARY LANDING SITE AND WENT
BEYOND IT BECAUSE HE DIDN’T LIKE WHAT HE SAW.
N. Armstrong: 540 FEET AT A 15.
Narrator: BUT AS HE FLIES OVER THE BOULDER
FIELD IN SEARCH OF A SAFE LANDING SITE,
ARMSTRONG’S USING UP PRECIOUS FUEL.
Schoumacher: THEY KNEW THEY WERE GOING WRONG, AND,
THEY KNEW THEY WERE GETTING LOW ON FUEL.
AND THE COMBINATION OF THE TWO AIN’T GOOD.
N. Armstrong: 50 DOWN TO TWO AND A HALF.
Narrator: FOR THE FIRST TIME, MISSION CONTROL
WERE POWERLESS, IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THE CREW.
N. Armstrong: ALTITUDE, VELOCITY LIGHTS,
DOWN TWO TWENTY FEET.
Kranz: IT WAS NEIL’S DECISION TO LAND OR ABORT.
N. Armstrong: 200 FEET.
Bales: THE FLIGHT DIRECTOR SAID NO MORE CALLS EXCEPT
FOR FUEL IN OTHER WORDS ANYTHING WE WOULD’VE
SAID WOULD’VE JUST GOT IN OUR WAY.
NASA Radio: OKAY, THE ONLY CALL OUTS
FROM NOW ON WILL BE FUEL.
Duke: AND SO I RADIOED EAGLE 60 SECONDS AND THAT MEANT HE
HAD 60 SECONDS OF FUEL TO LAND, OR WE WOULD HAVE TO ABORT.
NASA Radio: 60 SECONDS.
LIGHTS ON.
DOWN TWO AND A HALF.
FORWARD.
Duke: THEN I CALLED 30 SECONDS.
Bales: 30 SECONDS.
UH-OH.
NASA Radio: 30 SECONDS, FORWARD.
Duke: HE STILL WASN’T ON THE GROUND BUT HE WAS CLOSE.
N. Armstrong: FORWARD.
FORWARD.
20 FEET DOWN, TWO AND A HALF.
PICKING UP SOME DUST.
20 FEET, TWO AND A HALF DOWN.
Duke: I’D NEVER FELT SUCH TENSION IN MISSION CONTROL
AS WE WERE GOING IN TO THESE LAST FEW SECONDS.
AND HE DOES IT.
HE JUST GREASES THE BABY IN.
NASA Radio: CONTACT LIGHT.
OKAY ENGINE STOPPED.
Duke: WHEN I HEARD BUZZ SAY CONTACT, ENGINES STOP
I SAID COPY YOU DOWN EAGLE.
WE COPY YOU DOWN EAGLE.
A FEW SECONDS LATER, THAT’S WHEN NEIL SAID,
IN THE CALMEST VOICE I CAN IMAGINE.
N. Armstrong: TRANQUILITY BASE HERE,
THE EAGLE HAS LANDED.
Duke: I WAS SO EXCITED, I COULDN’T EVEN
PRONOUNCE TRANQUILITY, IT CAME OUT TWANG.
ROCKET TWANG, TRANQUILITY, WE COPY YOU ON
THE GROUND, WE GOT A BUNCH OF GUYS ABOUT
TO TURN BLUE, WE’RE BREATHING AGAIN, THANKS A LOT.
Bales: I’VE ALWAYS THOUGHT WHEN HE SAID YOU GOT
A BUNCH OF GUYS ABOUT TO TURN BLUE, HE WAS LOOKING
RIGHT AT ME ’CAUSE I MUST’VE BEEN ONE OF
THE BLUEST OF THE BLUE, IT WAS INCREDIBLE.
NASA Radio: TRANQUILITY, BE ADVISED THERE ARE LOTS OF
SMILING FACES IN THIS ROOM AND ALL OVER THE WORLD, OVER.
Collins: I THOUGHT NEIL CARRIED THE WHOLE THING OFF BEAUTIFULLY
WITH ABOUTMAYBE 30 SECONDS OF FUEL REMAINING.
THAT’S A LOT.
Narrator: NEWS OF THE LANDING
TRAVELS THE WORLD IN SECONDS.
Massimino: WE WERE WATCHING CHANNEL TWO IN NEW YORK
WHICH WAS WALTER CRONKITE AT THE TIME,
HE WAS THE GUY TO LISTEN TO FOR THIS SORT OF STUFF.
Schoumacher: I DON’T KNOW IF CRONKITE WAS CRYING,
I WAS CRYING.
I MEAN THIS IS JUST TOO MUCH.
I MEAN, A MAN ON THE MOON?
Massimino: THAT’S WHERE THESE GUYS WERE, THEY WERE UP THERE.
THEY’RE ACTUALLY UP THERE.
Narrator: FROM CENTRAL PARK TO CENTRAL LONDON,
FROM SOUTH AMERICA TO AFRICA, TO ASIA, IN ALMOST
EVERY NATION OUTSIDE CHINA AND THE SOVIET UNION
THE NEWS IS RECEIVED WITH WONDER AND RAPTURE.
May: IT’S ONE OF THOSE THINGS ISN’T IT,
EVERYBODY REMEMBERS WHERE THEY WERE.
I WAS WITH ROGER TAYLOR WHO WAS MY DRUMMER ALREADY AND
IT WAS THE VERY BEGINNINGS OF QUEEN AND WE WERE DOWN
IN CORNWALL STAYING AT ROGER’S MUM’S HOUSE AND SHE HAD
A TELLY WITH A SCREEN ABOUT THIS BIG, AND WE ALL SAT AROUND
IT AND WATCHED THIS INCREDIBLE THING, ALMOST UNBELIEVABLE.
Kranz: AFTER THE LANDING, THE THING I REMEMBER WAS WHEN
IT CAME UP WE HAD THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MOON IN THE SKY,
AND NOW I TOOK A LOOK UP AND IT WAS REALLY MY
FIRST THOUGHT IS BY GOLLY, WE GOT A MAN ON THE MOON.
WE’VE PUT HIM THERE.
Narrator: IT’S A HISTORIC MOMENT, BUT THE MOST
MEMORABLE PART OF THE JOURNEY IS STILL TO COME.
THE WORLD WAITS AS NEIL ARMSTRONG PREPARES
TO TAKE OUR FIRST STEPS ON THE MOON.
IT’S JULY 20TH 1969.
THE LUNAR MODULE HAS BEEN ON THE SURFACE
OF THE MOON FOR NEARLY SEVEN HOURS.
ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN ARE SUPPOSED
TO BE RESTING BUT IT’S PROVING DIFFICULT.
Newscaster: AND THEY’RE GETTING READY TO STEP OUT ON TO
THE MOON’S SURFACE FAR EARLIER THAN HAD BEEN PLANNED.
Aderin-Pocock: IT WAS A MOMENT
THAT THE EARTH STOPPED STILL TO WATCH.
I DON’T THINK ANYTHING SINCE THEN HAS CAUSED
THAT MOMENT OF PAUSING WHERE THERE’S SOMETHING THAT’S SO
EXCITING HAPPENING THAT EVERYBODY
WANTS TO STOP AND SEE IT
Cronkite: 38 YEAR OLD NEIL ARMSTRONG WILL BEGIN TO STEP
DOWN THE NINE STEPS OF THE LUNAR LANDING MODULE
TO THE SURFACE OF THE MOON ITSELF.
WHAT A MOMENT THAT WILL BE.
Muir-Harmony: HE CAME FROM THE CREW COMPARTMENT NEAR THE TOP
OF THE LUNAR MODULE, HE RELEASED THE TELEVISION CAMERA,
IT’S A SLOW SCAN TELEVISION CAMERA AND THIS IS
THE IMAGE THAT WENT TO TELEVISION SETS AROUND THE WORLD
Man: AND WE’RE GETTING A PICTURE ON THE TV.
Muir-Harmony: IT ALLOWED THE WORLD TO WITNESS THE FIRST
LUNAR LANDING AND FEEL LIKE PARTICIPANTS.
Narrator: OVER 500 MILLION PEOPLE WILL SHARE
THE NEXT FEW HISTORIC MOMENTS.
NASA Radio: CLEAR NEIL, WE CAN SEE YOU
COMING DOWN THE LADDER NOW.
M. Armstrong: WE’RE LEANING IN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT,
YOU KNOW, WHAT’S GOING ON AND WHERE’S,
LIKE WHERE’S THE BOTTOM OF THE LADDER AND?
N. Armstrong: STEP OFF THE LADDER NOW.
Bales: NOBODY KNEW WHAT HE WAS GONNA SAY,
COULDN’T HAVE BEEN A BETTER THING TO SAY.
N. Armstrong: IT’S ONE SMALL STEP FOR MAN.
ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND.
Raphael: TO THE WAITING WORLD, THE WATCHING WORLD,
THOSE WORDS WERE VERY, VERY POWERFUL.
N. Armstrong: SURFACE IS FINE AND POWDERY.
M. Armstrong: I THINK THAT HE HAD THOUGHT ABOUT A NUMBER
OF THINGS THAT HE MIGHT SAY, BUT MY BELIEF
IS THAT HE DIDN’T MAKE A DECISION ABOUT WHAT
HE WOULD SAY UNTIL THEY HAD ACTUALLY LANDED.
N. Armstrong: I’M GONNA LEAVE THAT ONE FOOT UP THERE.
Narrator: 19 MINUTES AFTER ARMSTRONG,
BUZZ ALDRIN JUMPS DOWN ON TO THE LUNAR SURFACE.
N. Armstrong: ARE YOU OUT?
Aldrin: BEAUTIFUL VIEW
N. Armstrong: AIN’T THAT SOMETHING?
Aldrin: I’M WATCHING IT AND I’M CONVINCED THAT,
YOU KNOW, MY DAD’S GONNA HOP, HE’S GONNA TRIP,
HE’S GONNA FALL ON THE MOON, FLAT ON HIS BACK OF COURSE LIKE
A DEAD BUG IN FRONT OF 600 MILLION PEOPLE, BUT REALLY MOST
IMPORTANTLY THIS IS GONNA BE IN FRONT OF MY 200 CLASS MATES.
Aldrin: I’D NEVER COME FLY DOWN HERE.
Narrator: THE ASTRONAUTS SPEND TWO
AND A QUARTER HOURS OUTSIDE THE SPACECRAFT.
EVERY MOMENT HAS BEEN CAREFULLY CHOREOGRAPHED,
NOT LEAST THE RAISING OF THE FLAG.
Borman: NASA SUGGESTED PLAYING THE STAR SPANGLED
BANNER WHILE THE CREW WAS ON THE MOON.
AND I WAS OPPOSED TO THAT.
NASA Radio: YES INDEED, THEY GOT THE FLAG
UP NOW AND YOU CAN SEE THE AMERICAN FLAG.
Borman: WE DIDN’T NEED TO MAGNIFY THE AMERICAN ACHIEVEMENT
BY PLAYING THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER BECAUSE EVERYBODY
IN THE WORLD KNEW IT WAS AN AMERICAN CREW ANYWAY.
Schoumacher: WE WEREN’T COLONIZING SPACE,
WE WEREN’T CLAIMING TERRITORY FOR OURSELVES,
BUT IT CERTAINLY BROUGHT AMERICA TOGETHER.
CERTAINLY DID THAT.
WHEN YOU’VE GONE THROUGH WHAT WE WENT THROUGH IN THOSE
1960S, FOR A BRIEF TIME AT LEAST, AMERICA WAS BACK.
Narrator: THE ASTRONAUTS SET UP SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTS,
COLLECTING SAMPLES OF MOON ROCK FOR ANALYSIS.
AND TAKE A SERIES OF MEMORABLE PHOTOGRAPHS.
May: SOME OF THEM ARE ICONIC, LIKE THE PICTURE
OF BUZZ IN HIS SPACE SUIT STANDING ON THE MOON
AND YOU CAN SEE THE PHOTOGRAPHER, NEIL ARMSTRONG,
MIRRORED IN THE VISOR.
Cox: FOR ME THE GREATEST IMAGE IS THE FOOTPRINT,
AND IT’S A VERY SIMPLE ICONIC IMAGE.
FOOT PRINTS ARE EVOCATIVE THINGS.
WHY ARE WE THE WAY WE ARE?
ONE OF THEM REASONS IS WE BEGAN TO WALK UPRIGHT, IN AFRICA.
AND ONLY FOUR MILLION YEARS LATER,
THERE’S A FOOTPRINT ON THE MOON.
YOU JUXTAPOSE THOSE TWO THINGS AND YOU SEE
WHAT WE’VE MANAGED TO DO AS A SPECIES,
IN A VERY SHORT SPACE OF GEOLOGICAL TIME.
NASA Radio: NEIL AND BUZZ, THE PRESIDENT
OF THE UNITED STATES IS IN HIS OFFICE NOW
AND WOULD LIKE TO SAY A FEW WORDS TO YOU, OVER.
Narrator: HAVING WATCHED THE LANDING
FROM THE WHITE HOUSE, A RELIEVED PRESIDENT
NIXON MAKES THE FIRST EVER LUNAR PHONE CALL.
Nixon: I JUST THOUGHT I’D TELL YOU HOW PROUD
WE ALL ARE OF WHAT YOU HAVE DONE.
Narrator: THE PRESIDENT’S WORDS HAD
BEEN CAREFULLY EDITED BY FRANK BORMAN.
Borman: NASA HAD SENT OVER A SUGGESTED SCRIPT INVOLVED NIXON
TAKING CREDIT FOR THE SUCCESS OF THE LANDING.
I POINTED OUT TO HIM THAT HE REALLY DIDN’T
DO ANYTHING FOR THE LANDING, THAT WAS ALL PRIOR TO HIS
ADMINISTRATION, I SAID I DON’T THINK YOU SHOULD DO THIS.
AND HE AGREED WITH ME.
Nixon: BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU HAVE DONE, THE HEAVENS
HAVE BECOME A PART OF MAN’S WORLD.
Narrator: HAVING PUT ITS MEN ON THE MOON,
AMERICA CAN AFFORD TO BE MAGNANIMOUS.
AND WHEN THE ASTRONAUTS LEAVE A PLAQUE FOR FUTURE
VISITORS TO READ, THEIR MESSAGE IS UNIVERSAL.
NASA Radio: SO READ THE PLAQUE THAT’S
ON THE FRONT LANDING GEAR OF THIS LM.
Chapin: I SAT IN SEVERAL MEETINGS AS WE SCRIPTED
WHAT WOULD BE LEFT ON THE MOON, BUT WHEN PUSH CAME
TO SHOVE EVERYTHING ALWAYS WENT BACK TO THE VERY BASICS.
Astronaut: HERE MEN FROM THE PLANET EARTH FIRST STEPPED
FOOT UPON THE MOON, WE CAME IN PEACE FOR ALL MANKIND.
Chapin: AND THE IMPORTANT THING THERE WAS THE
FOR ALL MANKIND NOT JUST FOR THE UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA, BUT WE CAME ON BEHALF OF THE WORLD.
Narrator: AFTER 21 HOURS AND 36 MINUTES ON
THE SURFACE OF THE MOON, THE LUNAR MODULE PREPARES
TO FIRE ITS SINGLE ASCENT ENGINE.
NASA Radio: TRANQUILITY BASE, HOUSTON,
YOU’RE CLEARED FOR TAKE-OFF.
Collins: THE PART OF THE FLIGHT THAT I WAS
MOST CONCERNED ABOUT WAS THEIR ASCENT.
Astronaut: AND YOU UNDERSTAND
WE’RE NUMBER ONE ON THE RUNWAY.
NASA Radio: ROGER.
Collins: IF THEY COULDN’T GET OFF, THEY WERE DEAD.
NASA Radio: FIVE, FIRST STAGE,
ENGINE ON ASCENT PROCEED.
Aldrin: WHEN WE KNEW THAT THE ASCENT ENGINE HAD FIRED,
THE MONSTER THAT LIVED UNDER MY BED, RIGHT, HAD BEEN SLAYED.
Astronaut: THAT’S BEAUTIFUL, VERY SMOOTH.
Alderin-Pocock: AT THAT MOMENT, THE WORLD WENT TO THE MOON,
IT’S AS IF WE WERE ALL WITH THEM.
AND I THINK THAT’S WHY KENNEDY WAS SO CLEVER, BECAUSE IF
YOU JUST SENT AN OBJECT TO THE MOON, THAT’S GREAT.
BUT IF YOU SEND PEOPLE, WE GO THERE WITH THEM,
WE FEEL THE EMOTION, WE SHARE THE JOY.
Massimino: I HAD THE SENSE THAT IT WASN’T JUST EVERY
AMERICAN WHO WAS INTERESTED BUT IT WAS PEOPLE
FROM AROUND THE WORLD, THE WHOLE WORLD STOPPED AND TOOK
NOTICE AND EVERYONE COULD AGREE THAT THIS WAS A GOOD THING.
UNLESS YOU WERE EXTREMELY GRUMPY.
Narrator: AND SO, AN ACHIEVEMENT BORNE IN THE HEAT
OF THE COLD WAR IS HAILED AS A TRIUMPH FOR ALL HUMANITY.
Collins: AFTER THE FLIGHT OF APOLLO 11 WE WERE PRIVILEGED
TO MAKE A WORLD TOUR AND I WAS AMAZED BY THE RECEPTION
THAT WE GOT, EVERYWHERE WE WENT PEOPLE FELT PART OF IT.
AND I THOUGHT THAT WAS A WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL RESPONSE.
NASA Radio: LIFT OFF.
WE HAVE LIFT OFF.
32 MINUTES.
Narrator: THE APOLLO PROGRAM ENDS IN 1972.
BUT IT LEAVES QUITE A LEGACY, AND NONE OF THOSE WHO
PLAYED A PART WILL FORGET THE DAY WE WALKED ON THE MOON.
Kennedy: WE CHOOSE TO GO TO THE MOON.
Kranz: WE HAD THIS DREAM THAT WE’RE GOING TO GO DO THIS
THING, WE WERE CHALLENGED BY PRESIDENT KENNEDY
TO DO THIS, WITH TENS OF THOUSANDS OF THINGS
THAT HAD TO WORK PERFECTLY, AND WE MADE IT HAPPEN.
N. Armstrong: IT’S ONE SMALL STEP FOR MAN.
Collins: HEY, WE DID IT, WE HUMAN BEINGS HAVE
LEFT THE PLANET, GONE TO THE MOON.
N. Armstrong: ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND.
Duke: THIS MOMENT WHERE WERE FIRST STEPPED ON
TO ANOTHER HEAVENLY BODY, I’M JUST VERY,
VERY THANKFUL THAT MY GENERATION GOT TO DO THAT.