And Here's to You

There's been no sign of a Russian countermove on the lunar surface, sir.

We have two-man teams guarding the site around the clock.

Soviet activity around Zvezda is proceeding normally.

There's also been no increase in military activity in Earth's orbit.

Then I'd say our little operation was a success.

Yes, sir. It sure looks that way.

Please relay my personal thanks to everyone at NASA on a job well done.

Thank you, sir. I will.

Mr. President, if I may?

There's still the matter of the Apollo-Soyuz mission.

What do you think, Ellen? Should we proceed or cancel the mission?

We still have the moral high ground after the shoot down of KAL 7.

I think we should keep it.

We've extended our hand in friendship for all the world to see.

If Andropov wants to slap it away, let him.

Let everyone see who's working for war and who's working for peace.

My feeling exactly.

-Proceed as planned. -Yes, sir.

And I appreciate the way you handled this situation

under extremely difficult circumstances.

Thank you, sir. That's very kind.

I'd like to officially nominate you to the Senate

as the new permanent administrator of NASA.

Well, sir, that's quite an honor.

I'm not sure what to say.

Your country needs you, Ellen.

But take your time and think it over.

Thank you, everyone.

So...

Wow.

Congratulations.

Old man knows how to pick 'em.

Thanks, I think.

What, are you holding out for a bigger office than Margo?

I would just like to think it over, that's all.

Think what over, Ellen?

This is our ticket to Mars.

With you in the cabinet, it'll become a priority again.

It was a priority for Tom. Didn't seem to make much difference.

You're an astronaut. That gives you a different voice.

She's right. President loves his astronauts.

And you're not just any astronaut. You're the girl who caught the tank.

He'll listen to you on space policy more than anyone else.

Maybe.

I'll think about it.

General?

Thank you.

So, the Soviets have delayed the launch of their Buran shuttle.

Probably for repairs.

Wheeled it back into the maintenance building this morning.

I told you so. They got smart people over there too.

Probably figured out your little O-ring problem all by themselves.

Probably so.

Emma, reach out to Sergei Nikulov.

He and his team need to get back here as soon as possible

to finalize preparations.

Yes, ma'am. Just a reminder,

Columbia is on the pad, scheduled for a 1430 liftoff.

-Columbia ? -Gordo's flight.

Must be beside himself.

Let's just hope he's sober.

MS-2. Right wrist ring. Soft capture and lock.

Copy. MS-2. Right wrist ring complete.

How's that feel?

Fits good.

PLT left wrist ring. Soft capture and lock.

Copy. PLT left wrist ring...

-I'll take it from here. -Yes, sir.

Here you go, sir.

Jesus, Ed.

Don't you got anything better to do

than to come all the way down to Florida just to screw up my launch?

I want to take one last look at these old shuttles

before my Pathfinder make 'em all obsolete.

Fat chance.

Pathfinder's like a Chihuahua compared to my sweet ride.

Yeah, you just listen to the big kids up front,

don't touch anything, you'll be just fine.

I'm proud of you, man.

Thanks.

Couldn't have done it without you.

You ready?

Godspeed.

Coming up on the 30-second mark,

and we are go for auto-sequence start.

SRB hydraulic power units have started.

T minus 20 seconds...

18, 17,

16, 15, 14,

13, 12, ten...

We have go for main engine start.

Liftoff of Columbia and astronaut Gordon Stevens to space

after a ten-year absence.

I'm back, baby.

I'm back.

You can sit back now.

You have what we call normal-tension glaucoma.

It's a rare condition. No one knows exactly what causes it.

It means that your eye pressure's within the normal range,

but your optic nerve has been damaged.

It could be a problem with the amount of blood

that's being supplied to the optic nerve,

or you could have a sensitive optic nerve.

Or there could be other conditions that have impaired circulation.

Like radiation?

Possibly. I don't know of any studies looking at that as a cause.

Were you exposed to an unusual amount of radiation

on your last trip to the moon?

Not as far as you know.

I see.

And I assume you have not had an exam by the flight surgeon at NASA.

Could you just tell me about the treatment?

Well, the treatment to slow down the loss of vision

would probably entail prescription eyedrops,

combined with oral medication and possibly surgery.

-Surgery? -Possibly.

But again, we're talking about slowing down the deterioration of your vision,

not stopping it and certainly not reversing it.

I'm sorry. So, you're saying that you wanna cut open my eyeballs,

but that's not gonna fix it.

I don't wanna cut open anything. It's just a possibility.

But no, it's not going to fix this.

I'm very sorry, Ms. Cobb. Glaucoma is not curable.

You could ask for a second opinion,

but I'm quite certain that you're going to experience

a progressive loss of vision from now on.

And ultimately permanent blindness.

Thank you, Doc.

The flight surgeons are pretty good. They're not going to miss this.

Ellington Ops. NASA niner-6-4.

Copy, Molly. Hold one.

Request you open box Whiskey 147 Charlie.

NASA niner-6-4, Ellington Ops.

You got it, Molly. Box Whiskey 147 Charlie is open.

Come on, let's see what you got.

Give me more. More!

Come on.

Go.

Goddamn it. Go.

Fuck you!

Come on! Go.

NASA niner-6-4. Ellington Ops.

You okay there, Molly? Your altitude just dropped 15,000 feet.

Roger that, Ellington Ops. I'm good.

Everything's A-okay.

The president has decided to arm Pathfinder

to show the Soviets this is not some tit-for-tat little game.

This puts us in the driver's seat.

Now, we are going to install a battery of four Phoenix missiles

in Pathfinder's cargo bay.

Now, the space variant of the AIM-54C

has been in development for several years at Vandenberg.

It was designed to be in a DOD shuttle, but it will be compatible with Pathfinder.

It's been decided that this will henceforth be a joint mission

between NASA and the Department of Defense.

Management of flight operations will be controlled from MOCR,

but operations concerning the Phoenix missiles will come from DOD.

Will we be firing missiles on this mission?

There will be a live fire exercise to demonstrate the system.

Now, your targets will be a series of drones launched into low Earth orbit

with a radar signature simulating a Russian satellite.

How many missiles will we fire during the exercise?

-So we're a warship now? -No. Pathfinder is not a warship.

But we're packed with missiles and shooting things out of the sky.

Pathfinder's weapon system is intended primarily for self-defense.

Primarily, but not exclusively.

So in theory, these same missiles could be used for offensive purposes.

Am I right?

That's not in the mission plan.

This flight is a test of the entire Pathfinder system,

and as such, it is appropriate that we test this newest...

component.

But it is only a test.

Phoenix is radar-guided.

With an operational range of 100 nautical miles,

it uses a proximity fuse detonation system.

And once inside the cargo bay,

the lift variation will be exactly 128 pounds per square inch.

-Are you okay? -Yeah.

What is it?

The president offered to make me NASA administrator.

-Aren't you already doing that? -Permanently.

Wow.

That's amazing, Ellen.

Congratulations. That's really--

Crazy, I know.

It's not like I'm gonna actually take it.

Are you sure?

Of course. Yeah, I'm just waiting for the right time to tell him.

There's so much going on right now.

Yeah, but... this is huge.

I mean, you could... be a part of Reagan's cabinet.

-You sound like you want me to take it. -No, it's just...

Isn't this everything you always wanted?

You would be in charge of NASA. You could finally get to Mars--

Hey.

You're what I want.

Yeah?

Yeah.

Gosh, this place must seem huge compared to the last time you were here.