Prime Crew

Patricia Doyle was a good pilot and a good woman.

She will forever be a part of the NASA family.

We ask that everyone give her loved ones time to grieve in this moment of loss.

Her tenacity and her indomitable spirit... will be missed.

Flags at NASA's Manned Spaceflight Center were flown today at half-mast,

and after a brief memorial service,

the remains of Astronaut Candidate Patricia Doyle...

We thought you might be here.

You missed a really nice service.

I know this is hard,

so, if you need--

You can save it for the Tupperware party.

Fair enough.

Thanks, Pam.

To Patty.

-To Patty. -To Patty.

I just wish we knew what happened up there.

She was a damn good pilot.

So confident.

That bedstead's a lousy bucket.

She flew choppers. So she wasn't trained to punch out.

They don't even have ejection seats, so they always try--

She screwed the pooch. It's the only thing that matters.

She screwed the pooch.

She tried to stay with the vehicle when she should've punched out,

simple as that.

Now she's gone.

Everything we're doing...

that's over.

They'll cancel the program. It's just a matter of time.

Hey.

They're tuckered out.

Yeah. I read them this.

Out like a light.

How was the service?

You all right?

Yeah.

Sometimes, I...

I just wonder if I'm doing right by these boys.

Hey...

these boys think you hung the moon.

How many moms do you know that are training to go into outer space

and still find time to help their kids do their homework in the morning?

You didn't do it?

Nope.

I love you.

I love you too.

No, sir. I was her instructor that day.

I just didn't get a chance to talk to you at the funeral and--

If there is anyone to--

I just want to express to you--

-No, no, sir-- -Because they're afraid...

Sorry, sir. Just listen to me. I--

I understand your feelings.

No, that's not at all what I'm-- Sir? Mr. Doyle.

Sorry.

Forget about it.

It's just a phone.

He just wouldn't listen.

Sometimes when people are grieving,

the last thing they wanna hear is an explanation.

Well, he had every right.

Ed, this wasn't your fault, okay?

I was her instructor.

It was my job to prepare her.

Make sure she was ready.

And I failed.

You can't keep blaming yourself for everything that goes wrong.

She knew the risks, all right?

She'd been flying for years.

She knew-- Hey, hey, stop. Stop.

Go mow the lawn.

Ed!

This really isn't necessary.

I'm pretty sure I can still find my way around here.

It's no bother, Mr. Glenn.

That's John Glenn.

Look at old Gus. And Scott. Good grief.

We sure thought the world of ourselves back then, didn't we?

Yeah. Full of piss and vinegar.

-Guess nothing's changed, huh? -Yeah.

Nice tie.

All right.

So, what's on your mind?

Well, the girl that crashed the bedstead.

Patricia Doyle.

She was out of her depth.

What makes you say that?

There's a reason that being a test pilot used to be a requirement for this job.

Experience actually matters.

You have to face the facts, Deke.

Men go off and fight the wars and fly the planes.

Women can't do what we do.

It's just a fact of our social order.

I don't know if you heard, but a woman did land on the moon.

They've worked hard for this, John.

To take it away from them now...

Look, after what you went through on Mercury...

I don't blame you for having compassion for these ladies, I really don't.

This has nothing to do with that.

Deke, I've known you for a long time.

I was there when that moron flight surgeon grounded you for...

What'd they call it?

Atrial fibrillation.

You got a raw deal.

We're talking about the credibility of NASA here.

Everyone knows this wasn't your idea. It was forced on you.

Nobody forced me into anything.

I decide who goes up and who doesn't.

I know.

And your word carries a lot of weight.

If you come out and say that we gave it a good shot

and these girls just weren't up to standards,

no one's gonna question that.

No one.

We don't know what caused the crash,

but we are fairly certain that they lost at least one cosmonaut.

So, a man died on the moon, and they're keeping it quiet.

Russians don't like to publicize their failures.

Unlike us.

That's the price you pay for living in a free society, Gordo.

This is the best view Orbiter Six could get of the impact crater.

The concern is that, with their trajectory,

they might've been attempting to land near a possible water site.

So it looks like they know what might be up there, same as us.

What are those cylinders?

Guys at JPL think that they might be pressurized modules.

As in habitation modules?

Yes.

-Shit. -Jesus.

They're ahead of us. Again.

We need to accelerate the base.

They get a foothold up there before we do,

they could start putting in missile radar systems, surveillance...

We're behind schedule now. We don't even have a site selected yet.

Why the hell not? Just pick one.

Sir, the base designs have been predicated on proximity to water ice.

If we don't have that, we don't have a base,

-and we have yet to identify where-- -And who are you again?

I'm Margo Madison, sir.

Right. You're Wernher's girl.

She's a flight dynamics officer.

And she makes a good point.

We can't just throw a dart and land anywhere.

I don't give a shit where it is.

I don't care if it's a tent and a campfire as long as we can say we were first.

We need a win.

Sputnik. Gagarin. Leonov. Belikova.

The president's not interested in another second-place finish.

It's bad enough that our girl's accident is plastered all over the news.

We have an election coming up,

and the way it looks, it's probably gonna be against Ted Kennedy.

Should be a nice, clean fight.

The president wants to give the American people

something to cheer about.

A Kennedy landslide.

Laugh all you want, but Nixon's the only reason this program still exists.

Apollo 15 will locate a usable site.

And the president will announce that mankind's first

permanently manned base on the moon will be flying the star-spangled banner.

Congratulations, gentlemen, you're going to make history.

...have concluded an agreement to end the war

and bring peace with honor in Vietnam and in Southeast Asia.

The cease-fire will take effect at 2400 Greenwich Mean Time,

November 16th, 1970.

The United States and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam

express the hope that this agreement will ensure stable peace in Vietnam

and contribute to the preservation--

Got a minute?

Sure, sit down.

Got you an early birthday present.

What is it?

-He's pulling the plug. -Yeah, I know. I'm watching it now.

No. Not Vietnam. The other thing.

Now?

They're almost done with the training.

The peace treaty is the perfect cover.

Give everybody something shiny to look at.

I thought you'd be happy.

I'm tired of being jerked around is what I am.

You have any idea how hard I've been working to get these women ready?

They have been busting their butts doing every goddamn thing I ask.

Well, he's seen the light.

What can I say?

With the Soviets on our heels, he doesn't want any distractions.

And the polling didn't help.

Turns out Americans don't really wanna watch women dying in fiery plane crashes.

Look, the circus is over.

Now you can put all your focus back on the lunar base, where it belongs.

Hey, what's with the press conference?

I was just coming to ask you. You didn't call it?

I thought you called it.

These women are the first to successfully complete

all of NASA's required training.

And so, now it is my great privilege to introduce to you...

Holy shit.

Tracy Stevens.

Molly Cobb.

Ellen Waverly.

Danielle Poole.