Moonwalk One

BRASS HORN

A million mornings forgotten by the mind of man.

Dawn remembers again the magic circle. Stonehenge.

MUSIC

MUSIC

Magic circle. Observatory.

Temple aligned with the rising of the Sun

and the turning of the heavens.

Stones from afar brought by man to this place where no stones

were before. More than 3000 years ago.

MUSIC

BEEP

MUSIC

BEEP

MUSIC

SIREN

Apollo 11, 15 July 1969, Cape Kennedy Florida.

The night before the great day.

We're going to the Moon together. Pack your bags

and jump into the car. Going take a trip to tell you where

you are. Good bye mother. So long mother. So long mother.

Goodbye mother so long mother. So long mother Earth.

Good bye mother, good bye mother Earth. Goodbye mother

Earth. So long mother Earth. Goodbye…

MUSIC

BEEPING AND HIGH PITCHED TUNING

HIGH PITCHED TUNING

Six million pounds of machine. Thirty six stories tall.

Nearly ten years work of half a million people.

Through the night it was check listed, double checked,

electronically monitored, computerized, televised,

dehumanized of human error.

MUSIC

While the night of celebration was ending, the day began

for the astronauts. Breakfast, medical examination,

suiting up.

Neil Armstrong, commander Apollo 11.

Edwin Buzz Aldrin, Lunar module pilot.

Michael Collins, Command module pilot.

BEEPING

MULTIPLE LANGUAGES COMMENTATING

...to take them to Pad 39A. Slayton said everything

is going as smoothly....

BEEP

BEEP

SIREN

BEEPING

MUSIC

Far across the Indian River, 12 miles away. The rocket.

At 6:32 am three hours before launch on Pad 39A.

Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the surface of the Earth.

Their next steps would be on the Moon.

Spectators rolled in by the thousands. Campers, trailers,

cars and pick ups filled the camp sites and the beaches.

Lined the highways, lined the parkways, nose to tailgate.

Cape Canaveral to Titusville.

MUSIC

MUSIC

The television picture at home would be closer than the view

from Coco Beach. Why did they come here?

MUSIC

…..very satisfactory from launch this morning.

Thin cloud covered about 15000 feet. Temperature

at launch time expected to be about 85 degrees. T minus

one hour and twenty nine minutes thirty seconds and counting...

MUSIC

Propellant load pressure and temperature.

Digital transmission worldwide tracking. Stabilization

and guidance. Radio frequency telemetry

and voice communications. Signal condition and integration.

Space craft electrical power. Flight control. SIVB

propulsion stage monitoring.

S1C S2 propulsion stage. Every important valve gauge

and circuit was continually monitored at launch

control centre throughout the twenty eight hour countdown.

Count down still going well. T minus fifty five minutes

ten seconds and counting. This is Kennedy…..

MUSIC

Among the six thousand special guests, were vice president,

next president, two plane loads of the diplomatic corps

from Washington, two hundred and five US congressmen,

nineteen governors, thirty senators, fifty mayors

from cities across the country, movie celebrities

and television personalities and another two plane loads

of dignitaries from Europe.

MUSIC

BRASS HORN

Around the world, another morning.

Not so very different from the morning before

or tomorrow morning.

TICKING

BRASS HORN

This day on which man will leave Earth to walk on the Moon.

Three billion people went about their daily lives.

Some in the way in their ancestors did centuries before.

Others in a world shaped by modern technology.

It seemed that most people were unaware that this event

might change the history of the human race,

that this morning would be marked in history books

and learned by their children's children.

At what age of man will the meaning of this morning

be understood?

TICKING

This is Apollo Saturn and launch control. We passed

the six minute mark on our countdown for Apollo 11.

The flight to land the first men on the Moon. We are on time

at the present time for our plan lift off on thirty two minutes

past the hour. Coming up shortly that swing arm up at

the space craft level will back to its fully retracted

position which should occur at the five minute mark

in the count.

The swing arm now coming back as our countdown

continues... informing the astronauts that the swing arm

now coming back. Four minutes and counting.

We are go for Apollo 11. We will be coming up on

the automatic sequence about ten or fifteen seconds

from this time. The vehicle starting to pressurize as far as

the propellant tanks are concerned and all is still go

as we monitor our status for it.

Firing command coming in now. We are on an automatic

sequence as the master computer supervises hundreds

of events occurring over these last few minutes.

Two minutes ten seconds and counting.

Oxygenizer tanks in the second and third stages now

have pressurized. T minus one minute thirty five seconds.

The third stage completely pressured. T minus sixty seconds

and counting. We passed T minus sixty. Fifty five seconds

and counting. Neil Armstrong reported back when he

received the good wishes. Thank you very much.

We know it would be a good flight. Good luck and God Speed.

Forty seconds away from the Apollo 11 lift off.

All the second stage tanks now pressurized.

Thirty five seconds and counting. We are still go

with Apollo 11. Thirty seconds and counting. Astronauts

report it feels good. T minus twenty five seconds.

Twenty seconds and counting.

T minus fifteen seconds. Guidance is internal.

Twelve, eleven, ten, nine ignition sequence fire

six, five..

ENGINES ROARING

CHURCH BELLS

ENGINES ROARING

ENGINES ROARING

ENGINES ROARING

ENGINES ROARING

ENGINES ROARING

ENGINES ROARING

ENGINES ROARING

ENGINES ROARING

BEEP

SIREN

CHATTERING

MUSIC

Standby for mode one Charlie. Mark, mode one Charlie.

One Charlie.

This is Houston you are go for staging.

On board cut off.

On board cut off.

MUSIC

Staging. And ignition.

MUSIC

Houston, thrust is go. All engines are looking good.

Roger. Read you loud and clear Houston.

MUSIC

We got skirt sep.

Roger we confirm skirt sep.

Towers gone.

Roger Tower.

When Apollo was safely under way, control of the mission

was switched to Houston. The months of tightly focused work

at the Cape were over. It could honestly be said that this was

the culmination of the dreams and fantasies of men

and women over twenty five centuries of recorded time.

APPLAUSE

NAMES FROM HISTORY LISTED

APPLAUSE

And Robert Goddard, the American rocket pioneer.

Yanky inventor, dreamer, they called him the Moon man

and laughed. But on his own, he went ahead designing,

inventing, and testing.

His first proving grounds were on his Aunt Ethyl's farm

in Alborne, Massachusetts. The neighbours complained.

With a grant from Daniel Guggenheim,

he moved to New Mexico with his wife Esther

who was also his camera woman. Goddard had invented

and launched the world's first liquid propellant rocket

in 1926 and in the end he accumulated more than

two hundred patents for everything

from multistage rockets to fuel pumps and clustered engines.

MUSIC

By the year 1930, his rockets achieved a speed of five hundred

miles per hour and an altitude of two thousand feet.

This was the year in which the three Apollo astronauts

were born.

Goddard had a vision of the age of space,

but the world was too slow to make it happen before his death.

Thank you Robert Goddard for your inventiveness

and perseverance. For most people, a trip to planets

was easy. All you needed was a ten cent movie ticket

and a nickel bag of popcorn.