"We have liftoff." "Previously on "The Astronaut Wives Club"..." "You were so calm during Alan's launch." "How'd you do it?" "It was faith in God, in NASA" "I'm working for "confidential" magazine, focusing on your first marriage." "I'm divorced, and nothing that I did before I met Deke should ever hurt him." "I never had any doubt that my husband squarely would be home in time..." "To try my new omelet recipe." " What's with you?" " I'm grounded." "They're taking my flight away." "* 'tis a gift to be simple * * 'tis a gift to be free * * 'tis a gift to come down * * where we ought to be * * and when we find ourselves in a place just right *" "* we shall be in the valley * * of love and delight * * when true simplicity is gained * * to bow and to bend * * we will not be ashamed * * to turn, turn, will be our delight *" "* till by turning, turning * * we come 'round right *" "Rene says Annie sounded clear as a bell." "I feel bad we missed it." "I just got grounded, and that's what you feel bad about?" "I'm sure the Glenns barely noticed." "What?" "The Glenns are the nicest people on the planet." "That cake you're eating?" "Annie made it for us..." "For no reason..." "From scratch." "I know that people are saying that you being grounded is retribution." "When John stood up to the Vice President, you guys had his six." "Now NASA Is showing you who's boss." "You said it." "I didn't." "Even if that's true, that's not John or Annie's fault." "You have an irregular heartbeat, hon." "I've had this arrhythmia ever since I got recruited." "Never once has it been an issue." "So what changed?" "Why is it one now?" "Can you believe it?" "Soon we'll be in our own homes, custom-made to our own specifications, never lived in by anyone else." "Who would've thought L.B.J. Would be moving us to Houston?" "He wants NASA'S headquarters in his state." "Brings jobs to where his voters are and makes him the hometown hero." "Trudy, don't be cynical." "Living in a real city?" "It's exciting." "And Houston society parties are legendary." "What's exciting is "Gemini."" "2-manned missions, training for "Apollo."" "Marge, Deke is gonna have plenty of opportunities to go up." "Don't worry." "It's just hard getting excited with his future so up in the air." "Or should I say down on the ground?" "Has anyone heard if the date of Wally's flight is set?" "Because they are saying his orbit is gonna be at least as long as John's." "Cut the gas, Jo." "Nothing's official yet." "Well, of course it's official." "Wally's Deke's designated backup." "That's what "backup" means." "Anyway, we are not even talking about Houston until he's up and back and we've visited the White House." "Ha!" "Already making White House plans?" "Well, aren't you as happy as a pig in..." " Should we eat?" " Yes, let's." "Marge, listen." "I don't envy your position, or Deke's, but sometimes things happen." "Right." "Except that thing is happening to me, not you." "We just have to trust the process." "The higher-ups know what they're doing." "Rene." "Mmm!" "Oh, my goodness!" "What on earth?" "It's me." "I got the call." "I'm replacing Deke." "Oh, my gosh, Scott." "Mmm!" "You're going to space!" "Oh, my gosh!" "Oh, my gosh!" "Oh!" "Like you said, you just gotta trust the process." "This doesn't make any sense." "If Deke can't go up, it's supposed to be you." "Those are the rules." "Scott's just doing the same thing John did, with some boring science experiments throw in." "Look, there's a 7-orbit flight coming up." "They think I could be perfect for that." "They think?" "You could be?" "There's no guarantee you'll even go up." "You could just be a Capcom for the rest of "Mercury,"" "squeezed out by these Geminis with all of their degrees, and not even on the list for "Apollo."" "If you ever get sick of this housewife thing, give motivational speaking a whirl." "They told me they've got something bigger and better in mind." "I'm gonna choose to believe them." "That's who you're believing?" "The dodos at NASA Who said you were Deke's backup?" "I hate the process." "There's a sunken living room, a den over here." "The two bedrooms are down the hall." " Wait." "Two?" " Um..." "Does that mean we have to share?" "Sharing's good for you." "Puts hair on your chest." "But I don't want hair on my chest." "And look, you girls have got your very own bathroom." "Only two bedrooms?" "Yep." "We gotta share, too." "Known' how you'd feel, I tried to fight the contractor on it, but he said this layout makes the most sense for what we can afford." "And these plans... they're final?" "Afraid so." "What do y'all think?" "We're reporting live from outside the home of Scott Carpenter." "He has big shoe to fill as he follows up astronaut John Glenn, the greatest victor in the space race so far." "This isn't just about space." "It's..." "It's about American values." "Words like "patriotism," "duty"..." "They go over like gangbusters." "What, "a dreamer heads into space"?" "I was trying to do something more personal with Scott's article, more intimate." "Max, it's too intimate." "You... you had to write that he plays guitar" " and walks around barefoot?" " He does." "Knock, knock!" "Holy smokes, it is a zoo out there." "Alan called." "The guys are on their way." "And I brought a cheese porcupine because, well, why not?" "Mr. Carpenter, we know that "Mercury 7" is a tight-knit group." "Is there any tension between you and Deke Slayton?" "Look, if... if anyone deserves to be up there, it's Deke." "But if he can't be," "I'm proud that the boys at NASA Have decided that I'm fit for the job." "Stepping in when called upon is..." "My patriotic duty." " Mr. Carpenter!" " Mr. Carpenter." "How does a guy like you land a wife that beautiful?" "In the dark." "It's true." "We met in a movie theater." " Mrs. Carpenter." " Uh, Mrs. Carpenter!" "Mrs. Carpenter," "Mrs. Glenn has been open about praying for her husband while he was in space." "Do you plan to pray for your husband's safe return?" "Oh, I think would be presumptuous of us to pray for anything having to do with the mission." "So yes or no?" "A-are you going to pray?" "It's a simple question." "Well, actually, it's not, but..." "If you require a simple answer, then no, I won't be praying." "Uh, Mrs. Carpenter." "Mrs. Carpenter!" "Do you not believe in God?" "Are you an atheist?" "Do you go to church on Sundays?" "Do you have tattoos?" "I know I say what I think, but..." "Even I wouldn't say that." "Okay, we're gonna take one at a time." "We're going to proceed in orderly fashion." "Why don't you smash some church windows while you're at it, hmm?" "Step on the American flag?" "This is the United States, not the U.S.S.R.!" "That's enough, Dunk." "Every news outlet is gonna be calling me!" ""Carpenters don't pray" will be splashed across the top of every paper by tomorrow morning." "Then let's stop it." "We run Rene's article before the launch instead of after." "Get ahead of the story." "Set the record straight." "Make sure you include that they go to church." "Hell, they got married in one." "I'm not discussing our religious beliefs or anything to do with prayer." "Do you wanna fix this or not?" "And what do you have against prayer, anyway?" "What I'm against is Max's editorializing." "He made Scott look like a navel-gazing beatnik." "And I'm not about to let him do whatever he wants with my story." "I want to show the world that I can do more than stand there and look pretty." "Actually, that's exactly what I need you to do right now." "Cooperate with Max, be seen at a church, and try to be a little more like Annie Glenn... pretty and silent." "I called Dunk three times yesterday and twice today, and zilch." "There's gotta be a way to get Deke ungrounded." "Dunk's just a lackey." "What you need is someone with real power." "I'm gonna call the president." "President of what?" "I'd like to place a call to the White House, please." "The one in Washington." "Who am I?" "I am an astronaut's wife, and this is a matter of national security." "She's putting me through!" "I'm melting under this thing." "Crank it up a few more degrees, that's what summer in Texas will be like." "I want A.C., but Wally thinks it's not necessary." "Doesn't the house come with it?" "The house doesn't come with anything unless you ask for it." "Ask for it?" "Aren't the contractor's plans final?" "It's all custom, hon." "Wally is getting me a banquette in the kitchen and a closet so big I can walk into it." "He says I can have anything I want, except A.C., apparently." "Yes!" "This is Deke Slayton's wife, and I'd like to talk to the president about a very important matter." "Well, if you could have him call me when he's out of his meeting, that would be just swell." "You know he's never calling you, right?" "This lands on you." "You get that interview in the works ASAP, or we will find someone who can." "If they had asked me that question," "I would've said the same damn thing." "I can't believe you talked me into this." "Well, you're the one who told the whole world that you won't be praying for your husband while he's in space." "And insulting John and Annie didn't exactly help." "I didn't insult John and Annie." "Really?" "You looked insulting." "Were you insulted?" " Well..." " Of course she wasn't." "She has her beliefs, and I have mine." "It's a thing called mutual respect." "No." "I don't understand." "We... we... we... we're here." "W-why not go in?" "Please just take me home." "Rene." " Hey." " Are you free this afternoon?" "Yeah." "Is your bonanza?" "I need to get to Cocoa Beach." "Sure." "Oh, hi, Zavier." "Good day, Mrs. Carpenter." "Excited for the launch?" "Oh, yes, very." "Thank you so much for asking." "I call this one!" "All right." "We made it." "Aah!" "The D.C. will be main." "Uh, retromanual fuel switch, that'll be off." "Gordo!" "Trudy..." "Don't." "I am alone in Virginia, playing housewife, to give you a shot at space," " and you're doing this?" " Babe, relax." "Don't "babe, relax" me!" "I can't help it if women find me attractive." "I was just lettin' off some steam." "With a half-naked girl on top of you." " Nothin' happened." " What?" "!" "Well, nothin' else." "I swear." "Like your track record of honesty is so good." "Come on." "I know about the house." "Those blueprints are not final." "You know what?" "Why don't you get the girls dinner and play housewife for a while?" "Wait." "Trudy, wait." "Where you goin'?" "Louise, hi." "It's me." "Max." "Sorry." "Hi." "Uh..." "Sorry for coming by so late." "Um..." "I needed to speak with you." "There's this amazing invention... the telephone." "Maybe you've heard of it?" "The..." "Mm-hmm." "Yeah, I'm familiar." "But I thought you might be more willing to help if you experienced my desperation in person." "Help with what?" "Dunk wants Rene's interview done before Scott goes up." "Now Rene's got her own ideas, but every time I call, no answer." "Every time I stop by, no one's home." "Maybe she's just busy." "I know you understand the importance of these interviews, for the program and the magazine." "And to me." "Let me see what I can find out." "That'd be great." "Thank you." "I'm sorry for stopping by so late." "Nice robe." "I'm gonna be the first guy to eat solid food up there, to take pictures." "But what I'm really excited about is to identify these tiny yellow particles that John saw." "There were thousands of them, swirling like fireflies." "I'm sorry." "I'm..." "I'm going on and on." "No, tell me." "I wanna hear more." "No, I wanna hear what Max said when you told him you were coming down here." "I didn't exactly tell him." "He's the press." "They dig up things, things that nobody needs to know about." "Things no one needs to know about or things you don't want to talk about?" "Oh, he's gettin' his shot next week." "Oh, hey, now, let's not make this personal." "Carpenter was your backup, not to mention he's your best friend." "Did you push for this?" "'Cause there's no way he got it on his own." "Scott's a good pilot." " We'll talk about this in the morning..." " Why don't we talk about how I'm gonna be sittin' on my ass in Australia, waiting for Carpenter to fly over my head?" "That's how orbital missions work, Deke." "California, Guaymas..." "we all gotta be somewhere." "Not you, though." "Heard you're gonna be staying in mission control." "Guess it's easier for you to babysit him here." "You know, I think it's you the one who needs babysitting." "You know, if it wasn't me, it should've been Wally, and it sure as hell shouldn't have been Carpenter." " Let it go, Deke." " I have." "What's done is done." "I'm not going to apologize for getting chosen, Deke." "We're a team." "Oh, I read that article." "Let's all just hold hands and sing "Kumbaya"?" "You know, this whole time, I thought you were an astronaut, but it turns out you're just a camp counselor." "Yeah?" "Well, NASA Disagrees." "And this is my flight now." "Get your hand off of me." "Hey." "Hey, Scott." "Come on." "Just because he's attractive, he thinks the rules don't apply." "He's not that attractive." "Did you wanna order something else?" "Mm-hmm." "I'll take a dark-n-stormy, which fits my mood." "Unless you have a bitter-n-angry, in which case, I'll take five... thousand." "I mean, you're a guy, right?" "And I'm a girl." "If you didn't know me, would you think I was attractive?" "I'll get your check." " Cape Cod, please." " Yes, ma'am." "Don't worry, honey." "If he's not an astronaut, he's not worth it." "Excuse me?" "That's what we're all here for, right?" "Astronauts?" "Oh." "Right." "Well, that's why I'm here." "Have you..." "Been with many of them?" "More like one..." "Many times." " Oh." " Some girls... they try to get all seven." "Really?" "Well..." "I guess it's good to have goals." "If you're a newbie, I'd start with a sure bet, like Alan Shepard." "How about Gordo Cooper?" "One word... steer clear." "That's two." "He'll flirt like it's his job when the other guys are around, but if get him alone, all he wants to do is talk about how much he loves his wife." "Here you are, ma'am." "Thank you." " Aah!" "What the hell?" "!" " Shh!" "The girls are sleeping." "What's the matter with you?" "What's the matter with me?" "You're not cheating." "That's what's the matter." " Are you drunk?" " Yes, I'm drunk." "And you lied to me about lying to me!" "Who does that?" "What are you even talkin' about?" "A cookie told me everything." "Uh..." "All you wanna talk about is how much you love me." "Is that true?" "I'm under a lot of pressure, okay?" "I'm the youngest one here." "It's not exactly a secret you got me sleepin' in the tub." "The guys expect a lot from me." "So you..." "You let them think you're fake cheating on your fake wife?" "Do you have any idea how frustrating it is to be fake married to you?" "!" "Maybe I don't want to be fake married, okay?" "What?" "!" "Maybe I wanna share a bedroom with you..." "And a bed." "You ever think of that?" "I miss you, all right?" "I screwed up, and maybe I've been too proud or too stubborn to say it, but..." "I want you back." "All the way back." "What's wrong?" "What's wrong?" "Are you okay?" "Ugh." "I'm so sorry!" "So sorry." "I was on the phone with Gus." "You will not believe what happened last night." "Switch." "Deke picked a fight with John." "He was drinkin' and upset that Scott got his mission." "Oh, lordy." " And Rene had to break it up." " What?" "!" "That's where Rene is." "Look, I'm sure that John is fine." "Deke is all bark and no bite." "It's n-n-not Deke." "It's Rene, isn't it?" "Rene st-stood by me f-f-for John's o-orbit." "I sh-should be there f-for her." "You know what?" "Maybe we should all go." "Mom, they're here!" "Who's here?" "Everyone!" "Hey, Rene!" " What are you all doing here?" " Checking in." "Your husband's going to space, and you need all the friends you can get." "Hi there, Rene." "I'm writing my article myself." "I'd like people to know the real me." "You let people know the real you at that press conference." "That's why you're in this mess." "Y-y-you believe in God." "You've b-been to church." "W-why not just tell th-them the... the truth?" "Well, you of all people, Annie, should know that sometimes the truth can be complicated." "The sun is up and skies are clear." "It's launch day for "Aurora 7."" "Rene." "Hey, are you leaving?" "We were just setting up for the launch." "Well, since we're staying and we're here," ""Life's" given us a house on the beach." "So we thought we may as well use it." "Scott, hold on." "What, you're gonna watch alone?" "Well, that was the original plan." "Well..." "And given the circumstances, it's probably best that we stick to it." "Be careful out there." "News vans have been parked since 5:00." "He's right." "Oh." "Well, thank you, Zavier." " Gosh, what am I gonna do now?" " I have an idea." "They won't be looking for you in this car." "Well, tell your mother that we're very grateful." "Thank you very much." "In the car." "Stop arguing." "In the car." "Would you like to come with us and watch the launch on the beach?" "Thanks, Mrs. Carpenter, but all the beaches in Cocoa are whites-only." "Oh." "I'm sorry." "I'll be watching here." "Okay." "Louise." "Wasn't expecting..." "I thought you were towels." "And I thought you'd be up by now." "I wanted to invite you to watch the launch with us." "But I should've called, use that newfangled invention, the telephone." "Nice robe, by the way." "That housekeeping finally?" "I'm sorry." "I should go." "You can feel the tension in the air." "We're just moments away." " Pressurization..." " Go." " Launch taking..." " Go." "What are you doing, mommy?" "Making notes for my article." "Moving momentarily. 43 seconds." "Okay, it's time." "Come on." "Boys." "Copy that." "Quick, quick, come on." "Come on, come on." "Kraft, have a good flight." "My job's to get him up and bring him home." "I do that, it'll be good." "California Capcom, Guaymas Capcom." " You read?" " Roger, over." " Roger." " All right." "Once he passes Hawaii, both of you try to pick him up on radio." "His flight path cuts between you." "May not be the same on each lap." " Roger that, Gus." " Thanks, Al." "Thanks, Gord." "T minus 13 and counting, 12," "11, 10, 9, 8, 7," " 6..." " Right there." "Right there." "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, zero." "I feel the liftoff." "Clock has started." "Roger." "Out and clear, Gus." "Roger." "Roger." "Little bit of shaking." "3, 2, 1." "Mark." "Roger." "It's..." "He's through!" "Now what?" "Now we wait." "We're monitoring his fuel consumption." "We gave him a lot to do up there." "He fell a little behind investigating a few things, deviated from his flight plan." "We're pleased overall." "So he'll be down soon?" "He's in his final orbit over Hawaii now." "So he's almost home." "Well, thank you for calling, John." "I was getting a little worried." "Of course." "You hang in there." " Talk soon." " Bye." "Give me an update." "What the hell's going on?" "Damn it." "He is almost out of fuel." "Why isn't he getting ready for re-entry?" "Get Al on the console." "California Capcom, come in." "What's pilot's status?" "He says his readings are off, that he wants to go into manual override." "I told him to get into retro-attitude, but he's facing the wrong direction." "How much time's he got?" "30 seconds, tops." "Okay, you gotta get him turned around without running out of gas." "It's on you, Al." "Al?" "California Capcom, come in." "California Capcom, do you read?" "We've lost communication with California." "Al and Scott are on their own." "Kraft?" ""Aurora 7," this is California Capcom." "It is you and I." "We come to you now with potentially catastrophic news." "I'm afraid we may have lost an astronaut." "All right, the four of you, outside right now." "Come on." "Quickly." "It is unclear what went wrong." "There is still no sign of the "Aurora 7" capsule..." "Or Scott Carpenter anywhere near the landing site." "Scott Carpenter is missing." "His landing site, if he landed at all, is unknown." "Does anyone know the number at the "Life" house?" " We should call Rene." " Don't." "You'll tie up the line." "And they'll need to reach her, whatever the news is." "...and what condition it's in" " has yet to be determined." " Where's Annie?" "There is grave concern for the safety of astronaut Carpenter." "He's going to be okay." "I know he is." "...is wait for more information from mission control, who is in contact with the aircraft carriers, whose helicopters are searching the globe." "Annie, I..." "I had a son." "His name was Timmy." "He died in his sleep when he was 6 months old." "He..." "Never cried out." "He never made a sound." "I thought he'd finally slept through the night." "Scott i-is..." "Going to be okay." "Thanks." "He has to be." "There has been a sighting, 250 miles off course of a gentleman named Carpenter." "Ohh." "Thank God." " Hello?" " A naval helicopter is on its way." "Yes." "I heard." "They'll recover Scott and take him to Grand Turk." "He'll be examined, debriefed." "There... there will be some questions." "It'll be a few days, Rene, but he's coming home," " alive and well." " Well, thank you, thank you." "Good job, everybody." "We're gonna get in trouble, being late to our own party." "Oh, you care?" "Do you?" "You know those fireflies I spent so much time looking for?" "It turned out to be waste from the capsule." "The alien life-form was astronaut pee?" "Seriously?" "You, too?" "You know, I'm getting enough ribbing from the guys, not to mention flack from NASA" "You were just looking for answers." "There's nothing wrong with that." "Except for going wildly off course, almost running out of fuel." "I don't know." "Being up there, it felt as... as close to heaven as I was ever gonna get." "Well, I can understand why you stayed up there as long as you did." "Are you gonna write about him in your article, Rene?" "I don't think I could find the words." "Maybe you should try." "Rene..." "You know, when I was up there," "I took my time, consequences be damned, 'cause that's who I am." "Yeah, that's... that's me." "If you want people to know the real you, you gotta let 'em actually see it." "The man of the hour." "Where's your better half?" "She's finishing her article." "Hey." "Uh..." "I didn't get a chance to thank you." "I wouldn't have made it down without you." "I know that." "Don't think they don't know it, too." "Was starting to worry you'd need Alan to get you here." "Lucky you didn't end up 250 miles away." "You sure you weren't chasing them "fireflies" again?" "Can't wait to hear all about constellation urine." "That's a good one." "Constellation urine." "You guys have been working on your material." "Might need just a bit more work, but I think you're on your way." "Hi." "Shouldn't you be stalking your next victim?" "I meant your next astrowife." "No word on who that is yet, but..." "If it was up to me, Alan would be next." "I'm sure he'd appreciate your vote of confidence." "Because then I'd get to spend more time with you." "I should find my husband." "Sorry about Gordo." "The guys aren't saying anything" "I haven't already said to myself." "So tell me, what was the best part?" "The sunrises and sunsets." " I knew it." " Wow." "You can't imagine." "It was just the most spectacular thing you've ever seen." "Is it true you're never going back up again?" "You know, the last thing that I was thinking about when I was up there was how to get back up." "And now that I'm down..." "I'm thinking about what's next." "Life's not about repeating what you've already done or regretting the way you did things the first time around." "It's about... movin' on, moving forward, and staying you." "Wanna get a sixer and go sit on the beach?" "Nah, I'm done drinking." "For the night." "For good." "Chris Kraft said what happened to me shouldn't have happened to a dog." "He wants me to appeal." "He wants me for "Gemini."" "He does?" "Oh, Deke, that's amazing!" "Whatever you need, I'm here." "As soon as we get settled in Houston, we're gonna fight for that "Gemini" mission, and we won't quit until we get it." "No, we're not." "Ohh." "When I first met you back in college," "I thought I was gonna spend the rest of my life with you." "In fact, I knew it." "It took every ounce of strength I had to leave you." "I didn't want to, but I had to." "And as hard as it was," "I built a whole new life for myself." "And then you asked me to walk away from it, and I did." "I think part of me came back to erase the past, and part of me came back to punish you for it." "But I have to move forward." "What are you saying, Trude?" "I'll go to Houston, but on my own terms." "And if you ever get back into my bed, it's not gonna be because you tricked me." "It's gonna be because you earned it." "So wait." "You're sayin' I got a shot?" "Well, we're moving to Houston to put a man on the moon." "Anything's possible." "Careful with that samurai sword." "That's a gift from an actual samurai." "Thanks, Deke." "I'm glad I heard it from you." " See you in Houston." " See you in Houston." "Hey." "What did Deke want?" "It's not bad news, is it?" "Tell me, Wally!" "You know how it felt when Scott was chosen over me?" "Like someone had put a bullet in my back." "And you know why I make jokes?" "'Cause the world's an unfair place, and sometimes the only way to deal with it is to laugh." "Just because I laugh doesn't mean I don't take this seriously." "I do." "I wanna be the best." "And now that I'm next, I'm gonna be." "I-I'm sorry." "I never should've said that." "I know..." "Wait." "What did you just say?" "Six orbits, nine hours." "What they said was true." "They were saving me." "I'm gonna be first up in Houston!" "Oh!" "I knew this would happen!" "I just knew it!" "I love the process!" "That's beautiful." "Oh, Kristen's old sock monkey?" "No." "Your article." ""All the experiences I've had in my life..." ""the hard ones and the easy ones..." ""have led me to where I am today, and I do not stand in the spot alone."" ""Six other extraordinary women stand with me." ""Our tests have been different than our husbands', but we have passed them all the same."" ""We are now more polished, more precise," ""and more protected when we present our pleasant faces" ""to the world." ""And when it counts, we are as strong as the rocket engines that propel our men into space."" ""People ask me, 'how do you handle it?" "..." ""'the worrying, the waiting.'" ""and I tell them it's not the first time, and it won't be the last."" ""What I don't say is that a part of me relishes it." ""An easy life would be a boring one, and mine is anything but."" ""I am one of the lucky ones..." "lucky to be in love with a man" ""who loves the world so completely," ""who loves me and loves his children..." ""all his children," ""the ones with us and the one who left us too soon." ""I have faith that my husband will return home to me." ""I have faith that my friends will be there," ""even when I push them away." ""I have faith that life is an amazing adventure." ""I have faith that we will reach the moon," ""and that in our effort to get there, in our trying, we will end up exactly where we need to be.""