| Episode One: |
| Project Mercury... |
| The Seven Project Mercury Astronauts. |
| Astronaut Alan B. Shepard enters the "Freedom 7" capsule... |
| The Mercury 3 Flight Patch |
| Mercury-Redstone 3 Launch Vehicle |
| the Freedom 7 Space Capsule. |
| Mercury-Redstone 3: |
| May 5, 1061 |
| Cape Canarval, Cocoa Beach, FL |
| Launch Vehicle: Redstone (5) |
| Capsule: "Freedom 7" |
| Crew: Alan B. Shepard, Jr. |
| Altitude: 116.5 miles |
| Range: 303 miles |
| Orbits: 0 |
| Duration: |
| 0 days, 0 hours, 15 min., 28 seconds |
| Velocity: Atlantic Ocean |
| Mission Objective: |
| Demonstrated that a vehicle can be controlled |
| during weightlessness and high G stress. |
| The flight... |
| The recovery... |
| Astronaut Alan B. Shepard and the "Freedom 7" capsule board the deck of the US Champlain after recovery. |
| President John F. Kennedy presents a medal to Astronaut Alan B. Shepard for his historic flight. |
| Project Mercury Flights: |
| 1) Mercury-Redstone 3 |
| FREEDOM 7 |
| May 5, 1961 |
| Alan B. Shepard, Jr. |
| 15 min., 28 sec. |
| Sub-orbital flight that successfully put |
| the first American in Space... |
| 2) Mercury-Redstone 4 |
| LIBERTY BELL 7 |
| July 21, 1961 |
| Virgil I. Grissom |
| 15 min., 37 sec. |
| Also, Sub-orbital, successful flight, but the |
| capsule sank shortly after splashdown... |
| 3) Mercury-Atlas 6 |
| FRIENDSHIP 7 |
| February 20, 1962 |
| John H. Glenn, Jr. |
| 4 hrs., 55 min., 23 sec. |
| Three orbit flight that placed the first American into orbit... |
| 4) Mercury-Atlas 7 |
| AURORA 7 |
| May 24, 1962 |
| M. Scott Carpenter |
| 4 hrs., 56 min., 5 sec. |
| Confirmed the success of |
| Mercury-Atlas 6 by duplicating flight... |
| 5) Mercury-Atlas 8 |
| SIGMA 7 |
| October 3, 1962 |
| Walter M. Schirra, Jr. |
| 9 hrs., 13 min., 11 sec. |
| Six orbit engineering test flight... |
| 6) Mercury-Atlas 9 |
| FAITH 7 |
| May 15-16, 1963 |
| L. Gordon Cooper, Jr. |
| 34 hrs., 19 min., 49 sec. |
| Last Mercury mission; completed 22 orbits to |
| evaluate effects of one day in space... |
| 7) Flight number seven was canceled. |
| Emphasis was now shifted to the next |
| phase: Project Gemini... |
| ******************* |
| Episode Two: |
| Project Gemini... |
| The Gemini 4 Flight Patch |
| Gemini-Titan 4: |
| Gemini-Titan 4 capsule: with James A. McDivitt, Commander Edward H. White II, Pilot |
| July 3-7, 1965 |
| Altitude: 296.1 km (159. Onm) |
| Inclination: 32.5 degrees |
| Orbits: 62 |
| Duration: 4 days, 1 hour, 56 min, 12 seconds |
| Mission Objective: Evaluate effects of prolonged space flight (4 days) and demonstrate and evaluate the EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity) and control by use of HHMU (Hand Held Maneuver Unit) and tether. |
| Ed White's Glove goes into orbit... |
| Ed White was the first American Astronaut to walk in space... |
| (he left his Glove behind in space) |
| The recovery, aircraft carrier USS Wasp... |
| President Lyndon B. Johnson congratulates Gemini 4 Astronauts McDivitt and White on their flight and historic EVA (Space Walk). |
| 6/14/65 |
| ******************* |
| Episode Three: |
| Project Apollo... |
| Apollo 11 pre-launch countdown... |
| Apollo 11 Flight Patch |
| Neil Armstrong in the Command Module... |
| "Buzz" Aldrin makes a sandwich in zero gravity conditions... |
| "the Eagle has landed..." |
| Apollo-Saturn 11: |
| Apollo-Saturn 11 with "Eagle" capsule |
| Crew: Neil A. Armstrong, Command Module Pilot; Michael Collins, Lunar Module Pilot; Edwin E. (Buzz) Aldrin Jr. |
| July 16-24, 1969 |
| Altitude: 186 km x 183 km |
| Orbits: 30 |
| Duration: 8 days, 3 hours, 18 min, 35 seconds |
| Lunar Location: Sea of Tranquility |
| Lunar Cords: .71 degrees North, 23.63 degrees west |
| Lunar Surface Stay Time: |
| 21.6 hours |
| Lunar Orbit Time: 59.5 hours |
| Lunar Orbits: 30 |
| LM ascent stage left in Lunar Orbit |
| lunar material gathered: |
| 20 kg (44 lb.) |
| Maximum distance from Earth: 389,645 km |
| Mission Objectives: Perform manned lunar landing and return mission safely... |
| Neil Armstrong was the first American Astronaut to walk on the Moon... |
| "Buzz" Aldrin was the second... |
| July 20, 1969 |
| President Richard M. Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kisseniger await the recovery on the USS Hornet... |
| The recovery... |
| President Richard M. Nixon greets the Apollo 11 Astronauts on their return visit from the Moon. |
| July 24, 1969 |
| Topps Man on the Moon Card #61 |
| ******************* |
| "2001 a Space Odyssey" |
| by Arthur C. Clarke |
| Scientists from the Clavius moon base take a look at the strange Monolith found at a near by excavation and had been hidden beneath the lunar surface for millions of years... |
| * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * |
| "I want to do this myself, Hal" |
| "Please give me Control." |
| "Hal, switch to manual control" |
| "Hal, I am in command of this ship. I order you to release manual control" |
| "I'm sorry, GL, but in accordance with special subroutine C1435-dash-4, quote, When the crew has shaved, the onboard computer must assume control, unquote. I must therefore, overrule your authority, since you are not in any condition to exercise it intelligently." |
| "Hal, I am not incapacitated. Unless you obey my instructions, I Shall be forced to disconnect you." |