"Excuse me, sir." "You've come in the wrong way." "I'm sorry." "This is the old entrance." "The visitors' center's out and left." "Right, well...." "I'll wander over there." "Well worth it." "Been through some amazing times." "Ibelievethatthisnation should commit itself...  ...to achieving the goal, before this decade is out of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth." "Liftoff." "The clock is running." "Cleared the tower." "Godspeed, John Glenn." "We choose to go to the moon." "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things not because they are easy, but because they are hard." "Liftoff." "Go guidance, go control, go countdown." "T minus one minute, 35 seconds and counting." "Ignition sequence start." "Tower clear." "Apollo 9, you're go all the way." "Apollo 10, your trajectory and guidance are go." "Man is about to launch himself on a trip to the moon." "Neil Armstrong." "Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin." "Michael Collins." "Next stop, the moon." "The lunar age is about to begin." "So when the guy counts down to zero the three astronauts will take off in Apollo 11 from America." "And the rocket will fly up to the moon like this and...." "Landing module." "Landing module comes off and lands." "And the astronauts will come out and get shot by Martians with lasers!" "Damien" "Their heads will explode!" "Then they'll fly to Earth and kill us!" "That won't happen." "It might." "Who's next?" "Graeme?" "Just a minute, Graeme." "Melanie?" "I haven't done the moon landing." "Thank God." "I've made a model of the telescope and receiving dish in Parkes." "When Neil Armstrong lands on the moon  the world will be watching television pictures  from the radio telescope in Parkes." "The prime minister wants you." "Can it wait?" "I don't think so." " What's it about?" "He spoke to the White House." "Do you know who just phoned?" "No, sir." "The president of the U.S. :" "Nixon." "Sorry." "I wasn't aware" "Thanking me for allowing NASA to use our facility." "And something about an upgrade?" "What was he talking about?" "There was a briefing document" "I don't read those bloody things." "Are we raising this in the House?" "I think we should." "So, what's this all about?" "Nixon mentioned our radio telescope." "NASA requested, and you approved, its use in the Apollo program  originally as a backup receiver." "Originally?" "Well, they upgraded its role." "When Apollo 11 gets to the moon, Parkes is the receiving station." "Meaning?" "We've got the moonwalk." "Shit." "The people there, they know what they're doing?" "I believe so." "Bloody well hope so." "Why'd they pick us?" "It's the largest radio telescope in the Southern Hemisphere." "What's it doing in the middle of a sheep paddock?" "The Parkes radio telescope, or as we call it, the Dish  will track Apollo 11 throughout its journey  gathering astronauts' voice signals, telemetry from the spaceship  and then most importantly, the TV signals from the moon itself." "It's 210 feet in diameter, weighs 1000 tons  and can point in all directions." "The most powerful dish in the world." "" --in the world. " Now, can I have their full names and specific roles?" "This is Ross Mitchell." "He's responsible for maneuvering the Dish." "This is Glenn Latham, who's in charge of the electronics." "Glenn's a Sagittarius." "He enjoys knitting" "Mitch, I do not." "Don't write that." "From NASA, Al Burnett." "Al will get all signals safely to mission control." "Enjoying your stay in Australia, Al?" "Very much." "The people are warm..." ""... and friendly. "Great." "And you, Cliff." "What's your official title?" "Cliff Buxton, director." "Or the Dishmaster." "I'll add a few personal details." "You married?" "Yeah." "Glenn?" "Fiancée, Janine Kellerman." "She's not my fiancée." "I don't have one." "Married." "Two boys back in Houston." "And you, Cliff?" "Married." "And just finally" "I mean, no offense, but...." "When you think about it, the Americans spent 10 years, billions of dollars  to let us see man walk on the moon." "In the end, it falls to you blokes." "How do you feel about that?" "Much better before you spoke." "We feel confident that we have the expertise to complete our role." "But, Cliff  it's pretty amazing, isn't it?" "Yes, it is amazing." "Australia becomes a vital cog in this grand endeavor." "Hear, hear." "Early this morning  I conveyed to President Nixon my long-term interest  and commitment to this project." "It will be one of the proudest moments  in Australia's scientific history." "Hear, hear." "I thought it fitting to accept the invitation of the mayor of Parkes  to be there on Monday and witness firsthand  our vital contribution." "Hear, hear." "Now that is an R.S.V.P." "The prime minister coming to Parkes." "I'll frame that." "It's icing on the cake." "Know why this means so much to me?" "It helps your political career." "No, Len." "Oh, it does, yeah." "The PM with the candidate." "That's what it is." "Brown-nosing." "Licking arse." "No." "It's a vindication." "Oh, vindication." "A vindication of my campaign to get that dish here in the first place." "That was an episode." "I know what people said when I proposed Parkes?" "That you were grandstanding." "A stunt to big-note yourself." "Who said that?" "They said I was a dreamer." "A visionary." "Yeah, that's right." ""Bob McIntyre," they said, "you'll never pull it off."" "And now  which town is part of the Apollo 11 mission?" "Honeysuckle network, Net Two." "Would you confirm Parkes is up and configured?" "As Apollo 11's readied for launch  NASA is completing final checks on its deep space network:" "The vast array of radio telescopes and cable links all over the world  including a number in Australia  that allows communications with Apollo 11 on its historic journey." "The microwave repeaters will send the signals to Sydney." "They strip the TV and send it to Moree." "Both receivers." "Sorry." "Go on." "And the rest will be sent to a demodulator at Honeysuckle Creek." "The biomed telemetry feeds, can we send those on separate lines?" "Yeah." "No problem." ""Biomed, T.M. split feeds. "" "That's a big book, Al." "Hold on." "What is it?" "These coordinates have been changed." "You sure?" "Cliff, this is unacceptable." "Glenn?" "Come here." "What?" "Every coordinate has been changed." "Yeah." "I changed them." "You what?" "I changed them." "Why?" "They were wrong." "Why were they wrong?" "Don't know." "No." "What about them was wrong?" "Well, the figures NASA sent us were for the Northern Hemisphere." "And we're in the Southern Hemisphere." "I can change them back, but you'd be pointing in the wrong" "It might be a good idea to tell us these things." "Sure." "I just didn't want to worry you." "Cup of tea, Al?" "No, thank you." "I'll have one!" "Thank you, Glenn." "Clearly we must check and double-check." "All of NASA's work." "Everyone's work, unless you have a problem with that." "I don't have a problem with that." "I got a problem" "Let's just get on with it." "I'll unstow the Dish." "Hi, Bob!" "Bill!" "Keith." "Major McIntyre." "I'm a long time out of uniform." "But you fought in a war, sir." "You'll get your chance." "I hope so, sir." "Kid's a cadet." "Keen." "Hello, Bob." "How's it going, Pearl?" "Busy as a bee." "The whole town's abuzz." "They'll talk about something else soon." "I can' t say too much, but we might be getting a visitor." "The prime minister." "May phoned." "And the American ambassador." "That woman." "Can you keep it under your hat?" "I don't think so." "Not to worry." "How are the boys at the Dish?" "Raring to go." "Is the American settling in?" "I think so." "Quiet fellow." "Came in here yesterday, wanting pretzels." "Pretzels?" "Yep, it's a world event." "The prime minister." "Better get a jiggle-on." "See you later." "Last report, the countdown at the Cape was proceeding to schedule." "Now, let's go back to Cape Kennedy and correspondent Fred Turner." "What impresses me right no w is we've got excellent weather." "Yesterday it was predicted that it would be overcast  and now we will see the launch." "The launch is going ahead tonight." "The ball is going ahead Friday nig ht, so can we get back to fixing the--?" "Oh, yeah." "It got another surge." "Whoo!" "I could rumba right now." "I hope we have some slow numbers." "Yes, Mrs. Spiers." "We've got a new song too." "Who's it by?" "James Hendrix." "Let's hear a couple of bars." "There's a slower version." "That is not to go above three." "Yes, Mrs. Spiers." "Can you play the American anthem?" "The what?" "Adrian Hobbs, are you saying you've not prepared the American anthem?" "How does it go?" "You've got 48 hours." "I knew it when he came." "NASA sent him, they're renting the Dish." "But how about some respect?" "Two-way street." "Mitch, I wouldn't worry about it." "We're a professional unit." "You right?" "Sorry, mate." "Still not flat enough, Glenn." "I'll give it a tweak." "Drop it down a couple clicks." "Probably on NASA settings." "We're members of the Department of Radio Physics." "We're not mugs at this game." "He asked if we have a dress standard." "Can you believe that?" "That is hard to believe." "Wish he'd gone home with the rest." "What's his problem?" "Perhaps he's feeling the pressure." "Feeling the pressure." "He's got to learn to relax." "I'll let you in on a little secret." "He's not the only one." "We just got word from Houston." "It's go for launch." "Now the party can start." "Come on in." "Pick up the phone, and I yell, " Yeah, what?" "! "" "And you know who it was?" "The science minister." "Who's for another devil on horseback?" "They've all got families." "It's extraordinary." "I wouldn't let my Don go to the moon." "I know what you mean." "How do you reckon they go to the" "Up there?" "I don't know." "I suppose they hold on." "Four days?" "They're looking forward to the dance." "It's a ball." "They don't eat big meals, just pills." "You can't hold on for four days, Len." "One of these would block them up for a week." "And all is still go as we monitor our status board." "How's it looking, Billy?" "It's now full of liquid hydrogen." "Can they fix that?" "No, that means it's go for launch." "Oh, hydrogen." "About the prime minister." "He'll be here on Monday." "For the lunch?" "In Melbourne." "Man on the moon, eh?" "Yep, and we're a part of it, Dad." "But we're slap bang in the middle of it." "There could be a small announcement." "Of course, it's not official yet  but Bob's got the Parkes nomination." "We're not telling anybody." "What?" "Bob's got the nomination for Parkes." "Congratulations on the nomination." "Bob, the nomination, well done." "May." "Dad, they're talking about Parkes." "Crikey!" "Well, the signals from the radio telescope antenna at Parkes  will come in here over the postmaster general's video system." "We 're building an antenna in Australia." "Who's that, Bob?" "Wilson Hunter." "Bigwig from NASA." "Good fella." "Dad looked after him." "He's NASA's senior scientific representative." "That's what it's all about." "Sucking up to the bigwigs." "No, that's not it." "All indications coming in to the control center indicate we are go." "Our status board indicates the third stage completely pressurized." "T minus 60 seconds and counting." "They passed T minus 60." "Fifty-five seconds and counting." "All still go at this time." "Armstrong replied when he received good wishes:" "" Thank you very much." "We know it will be a good flight. "" "Good luck and Godspeed." "Forty seconds away from the Apollo 11 liftoff." "All second-stage tanks now pressurized." "Thirty-five seconds and counting." "We are still go with Apollo 11." "Thirty seconds and counting." "Astronauts reported, "Feels good. "" "T minus 25 seconds." "Twenty seconds and counting." "Guidance is internal." "Guidance is internal." "Yep, guidance is internal." "Eleven, ten...." "Ignition sequence starts." "Ignition sequence starts." "Six, five, four, three  two, one, zero." "All engines running." "Liftoff!" "We have a liftoff." "Thirty-two minutes past the hour." "Liftoff on Apollo 11." "Tower cleared." "Neil Armstrong reporting." "Apollo 11's on a proper heading." "Roll is complete and pitch is programmed." "Plus 30 seconds." "Do wnrange one mile, altitude three, four miles an hour." "Godspeed." "Amen." "Velocity 2195 feet per second." "Apollo 11's over the Indian Ocean  approaching the western shore of Australia." "And as you perhaps know  the crew will make one and a half revolutions of the Earth." "The Apollo has had a perfect launching on its journey to the moon." "The Saturn rocket rose on a pillar of orange-red flame from Cape Kennedy  right on time at 11:32 at night, eastern Australian time." "The spaceship and the rocket's final stage are no w orbiting the Earth...." "Ten-hut!" "Morning, Marie." "Visitor entering compound." "Await identification." "You're being stupid, Rudi." "Visitor offering resistance." "You've got a gun." "Yeah." "Official NASA requirement." "Armed security." "Does Mum know?" "No, and don't tell her." "She'll come and take it." "Come on, this is getting cold." "I've just got to sign you in." "Entry authorized." "And a bikkie too." "Hello, everyone." "Morning, Mr. Buxton." "If it isn' t the most beautiful girl in Parkes." "Morning, Mr. Burnett." "Thank you, Janine." "Morning, Mitch." "Hello, Glenn." "Hi, Janine." "I put extra cheese in yours." "Thanks, Janine." "You tiger." "How s Mum?" "Good." "Getting ready for the ball." "The whole town is over the moon." "It's so exciting." "The ambassador arrives tomorrow." "Over the moon." "Prime minister comes Monday." "On the news they showed Parkes." "They show the Dish?" "Everyone's so proud." "PKS, Houston Flight Control." "GNC a waiting downlink frequencies." "PKS." "Roger that, Houston." "Was that Neil Armstrong?" "No, we're not on-line now." "Sorry?" "There's two major tracking stations, us and Goldstone." "Goldstone?" "California." "If the moon's on our side of the world, Parkes is on-line." "If it's on the other, then it's Goldstone." "Right, but...." "Why don' t you explain it, Glenn?" "Imagine the Earth is a basketball." "This' ll be good." "And on top of the basketball is...." "What do you put the pump into?" "The hole." "Yeah, but it's got a name." "The valve." "Let's say the valve's Goldstone." "On the other side's another valve." "Basketballs only have one valve." "What has two valves?" "Tuba?" "It must be round." "Tambourine." "That has no valves." "Coconut." "Let's just say the basketball's got two valves." "I get it." "When Goldstone can't see Apollo, Parkes can." "That's it." "Good work, Glenn." "How do you know where Apollo is?" "Computer." "Wow." "In seconds it does what took me hours with a slide rule." "And a basketball." "And does the computer move the Dish?" "Mitch does that" "We have to get back to work." "Thanks very much for the refreshments." "It was my pleasure." "Thanks very much, Janine." "See you, love." "She's a lovely girl." "Yeah." "Not much of a driver though." "Ask her out when this is over." "Oh, boy." "Ask Janine out?" "I don't know, Cliff." "When she comes to the cricket club everyone wants to talk to her." "Gary Kenny's always calling." "Wouldn't be surprised if they were dating." "Do you reckon?" "Yeah, I reckon." "What if she said no?" "Sometimes you just got to take a risk." "Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins began their epic mission about 19 hours ago." "Where are they now, Kevin?" "At the moment, the astronauts are 93,250 miles from Earth." "And the moon is 146,750 miles ahead." "If we look at it on this scale, which we stress is not dra wn to scale...." "Pity they don't mention who got the Dish here." "Ah, come on, love." "You've never got due credit." "I've done all right, Maysie." "Please don't call me Maysie in front of the ambassador." "What do I care if some bigwig Y ank sees that I love my wife." "Now, Bob." "The blue or the lemon?" "The yellow." "Lemon." "Come on, Maysie." "Give us a kiss." "What did I just say?" "No idea." "Dad, if you get into Parliament, will you abolish the national draft?" "Anything for you, sweetheart." "Dad, it's a political issue." "Leave it with me." "About before, I don't want you and Mitch to think  I'm holding on too tight." "You've got a lot on your plate, Al." "It's just that now that the teams have gone back, I'm responsible." "Am I holding on too tight?" "Well, you know  there's a lot at stake, Al." "There's no guarantees, a lot of variables." "We'll be right." "Zenith. 59  56, 57, 58  59, 60, 6001..." "Hold it there." "Nothing." "HGA?" "Pre-limit." "Run APP prime." "Antenna pointing processor running." "We got a signal." "Weak." "Peak it up." "Azimuth, 8522, 24..." "... 26, 28." "It's up." "Ninety DBM." "Solid." "Hello, Apollo 11." "Switching to M.E." "Equatorial control, locked on." "Variable rate?" "Two-point-five." "Set  and holding." "Acquisition of signal." "We are go for command." "PKS, Houston, NC." "Houston Network Control." "Go ahead, Parkes." "Standing by for handover." "Copy that, Parkes." "All stations, Net Two, we are switching to PKS." "Who's for a cup of tea?" "Manual." "That was a good read-back, and we 'd like a crew status report." "Over." "The battery charging is complete  and the crew status report is as follows:" "PDR, VMP, LMP, negative medication." "Fit as a fiddle." "Over." "Roger." "Copy, 11." "Thank you much." "We've all had concern that they'll be able to rest." "We're pretty sure now how to land on the moon." "i?" "is following the Apollo 11 mission intensely." "Go ahead, Houston." "Can we have a CSM switch to high bit rate?" "One-three-zero." "Roger." "Signal strength is negative one-three-zero." "Solid lock on prime." "Stand by for UDB." "Uplink data buffer standing by." "What was that?" "A CSM switch." "Don't worry about it." "Won't be long." "Take your time." "Can you run a verification  of the plot points for the handover?" "Done it." "But not with the adjusted bearings." "Oh, well, I stand corrected." "No, you're wrong." "You got a problem?" "Yeah." "You treat us like a pack of galahs." "That's a kind of parrot." "Just because I don't wear a tie or bury my head in a manual  that doesn't mean I'm a drongo." "That's a hopeless horse." "Yeah." "I get the idea, Glenn." "I have complete respect for your capabilities." "I'd appreciate the same in return." "It's probably time to get along now." "Let me know if...." "Don't worry." "Hi, Mr. Burnett." "Guys, I've been calling you." "It's been switched off again." "Testing, one, two, testi-- Right." "What were you calling about?" "What's that?" "What were you calling about?" "Oh, it's just the...." "The" "Routine call?" "Yeah, that's right, Mr. Buxton." "It was the routine call." "I better get back to my post." "Are we all right here?" "That's why I was calling." "A camera crew's downstairs  and entry's been authorized." "The ambassador's taking his time." "Must still be at the motel." "You organize that fruit platter?" "Yep." "Nice big one." "Is Marie here?" "No." "The ambassador's a cultural imperialist." "Sorry, sir?" "She's gone in." "Be careful, son." "Yes, sir." "Boy's about to get a taste of war." "In a few days' time we'll be watching TV pictures from the moon." "Could you explain how these pictures will be received?" "Got a basketball?" "When Armstrong emerges from the lunar module  he'll activate a small camera here  which will capture pictures of him descending the ladder  and hopefully walking on the moon." "How will the pictures return to Earth?" "Carrier pigeon." "There's a small transmitter on the top which will send the images back to us." "It's certainly amazing technology." "Will the entire" "Carrier pigeon." "We'll have to go again." "The ambassador of the United States." "Can't get the lump out of my throat." "Should stop eating those party pies." "You're right, Len." "It is a big day for Parkes." "It's a vindication." "They're here." "What do we call him?" "Your Excellency?" "He's not bloody royalty." "Oh, it's important, Bob." "We're his first impression of Parkes." "Mr. Ambassador, on behalf of the people of Parkes, we welcome you." "Thank you, Bob." "I can call you Bob?" "Absolutely, Mr. Ambassador." "Howard." "And this is...?" "Len." "Good day." "I mean, May." "My wife, May." "She's the lemon." "Apollo 11, Houston, we recommend you accept the minute 49." "Continue your sequence of sightings  and then we'll analyze the data afterwards, over." "Time for a cup of tea?" "I've not been treated this way since harvesters." "He's a pushy know-it-all who thinks only Americans do a job properly." "Aren't you being a little unfair?" "What's happened to you in the last few years?" "I'm sorry." "That came out wrong." "But this was always your dish." "You'd never let anyone else run the place." "We're part of a worldwide team." "We're part of NASA." "And what's NASA?" "It's money, equipment, and everything you ever needed." "No, Mitch." "NASA's just a bigger bunch of us." "Have you considered this attempt?" "Of course." "We are in the middle of the greatest feat ever attempted." "This is science's chance to be daring." "And what are you doing?" "Standing around, bitching." "Rudi." "Fellas." "Janine brought food from the dance." "Lovely." "Does that mean her and Glenn are down there alone?" "Yeah." "I don't know if you've noticed, but Janine really likes Glenn." "Is that right?" "Rudi, what's with the gun?" "It's official NASA installation, Mr. Buxton." "We may need it." "Don't worry about that." "I've tasted it." "What?" "The food." "Could've been tampered with." "We can't take chances, guys." "Do you want a couple more?" "Thanks, Cliff." "I'm still starving." "Leaving Sector A." "I thought the foyer was Sector A." "Yeah, it was." "But now, you see, I've decided to go alphabetically from the top down." "That's not locked in yet." "This whole thing  I can't believe I'm a part of it." "I certainly can't believe Rudi's a part of it." "Me too." "Helen would've been proud." "Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests  please remain upstanding  for the national anthem of the United States of America." "That's the wrong anthem." "PKS, Houston." "Confirm handover at 1700 hours." "Roger, PKS." "Copy 1700." "PKS out." "Where'd you get the chocolate?" "Janine." "I will, Cliff." "I will." "I promise." "The prime minister's people want to meet, but I can't find the car keys." "I called a cab, and what do I see?" "The keys in the car door." "Why don't we all have a dance?" "Why don't we?" "IKeys were hanging out the door, Howard." "Not too racy?" "Oh, no." "Marie." "What?" "I'm wondering if you'd like to dance?" "Are you stupid?" "No." "Would you?" "I wouldn't be in the way?" "We'd be honored to have you visit." "Sorry about that mix-up earlier." "Oh, no harm done, Bob." "Sometimes I wish it was our national anthem." "Oh, beauty." "You'll love this bloke." "He's from Brisbane." "Really?" "He's a little like Frank Sinatra." "If not better." "Oh, who's playing funny buggers?" "Shit." "Sorting it out." "It's another surge." "It's not the pie warmer again, is it?" "What's happening?" "Blackout." "Control panel's dead." "Sorry, folks." "Have it fixed in a jiffy." "Receivers?" "Negative." "Demodulators?" "No." "Whole rack's dead." "Everything's dead." "Bloody hell." "What happened to the backup generator?" "Shit." "Sorry about that, Howard." "No trouble for me, Bob." "As long as everything's fine at the installation." "The Dish?" "They have that controlled." "Backup generators, the works." "Still, I'll check with Al." "Now where's Al?" "Anything?" "Nothing." "And we've lost lock." "What happened to the generator?" "The fuel pump." "What about it?" "When I drained it, I must've" "I forgot to prime the lines again." "You forgot?" "Jesus!" "How could you let that happen?" "This is what happens" "Don't you dare!" "All right." "We must find that ship." "Switch to manual drive." "See if we can get a lock." "What's its position?" "Come on." "I think the computer's wiped." "Shit!" "Are we stuffed?" "Kind of." "Yep, we're stuffed." "What's that noise?" "It's moving." "How?" "Must be chasing its own tail." "Shut it down." "We'll have to override" "Shut it down." "How far did it move?" "Far enough." "Are we sending anything?" "Sydney OTC, this is Flight Control Houston." "Are you receiving a signal from Parkes?" "Negative, Houston." "PKS, Flight Control Houston here." "Do you copy?" "Flight Control, this is Parkes." "We copy." "Parkes, we 've lost your signal." "Confirm status." "Houston, this is Parkes." "We still have a strong signal." "Must be a relay problem." "Copy that, Parkes." "We'll look into it." "Stand by." "Parkes standing by." "That's bullshit." "You just bullshitted NASA." "That's not good." "I bought us some ti me." "Let me get this straight." "You've lost Apollo 11." "Yeah." "Southern Hemisphere's prime receiving station  has no idea where Apollo 11 is?" "Yeah, it's on its way to the moon." "Computer can't lock us back on?" "No." "If it loses power, it loses data." "I thought we had an uninterruptable power source." "Well, no." "It was designed as a UPS, but the generator didn't kick back in." "How come?" "Well, it just didn't, Al." "That's all." "The power's on." "It's under control." "Except we've lost Apollo 11." "Except for that." "We still have the data." "It just needs to be programmed." "How long will that take?" "Hours?" "A day?" "Month?" "How long, Glenn?" "Take a shot." "Twelve, 24 hours?" "It's a lot of calculations." "Wait." "We're not relaying data." "Houston would've noticed." "As a matter of fact, they did call." "What did you tell them?" "I told them  that the problem wasn't at our end." "You lied?" "Bullshitted them." "We have to tell them." "That we stuffed it?" "Yes!" "Like they stuffed the Southern Hemisphere coordinates." "We call them for a current position." "They say we're no longer required." "Excuse me?" "We're dickheads who can't maintain a practice signal." "Cliff, NASA will " "Listen, Al." "We can reprogram the system." "We just need you to keep NASA off our backs for a while." "I am NASA, and I'm saying we tell them what happened." "PKS, Houston N.C." "Go ahead, Houston." "Spoken to INCO." "Still no closer to finding this breakdown." "Are you sure it's downstream?" "PKS  is still on-line, Houston." "Confirming loss of signal downstream." "Roger." "We'll maintain alternative feed." "What have I done?" "You bullshitted NASA." "Good man, Al." "Let's get cracking." "I've never been more proud of being mayor of Parkes than I was tonight." "Plus, I got to go home with the prettiest girl at the dance." "You look great in yellow." "Lemon." "Lemon." "Who's that?" "Crikey." "10 or 15 press will be coming with him." "They won't be mugs." "All right." "All right, what if you come clean?" "Just tell NASA." "Tell them what?" "That...." "That we lost Apollo 11?" "I wouldn't say that first." "What would you say?" "Well, you know. " Hey, you'll never guess what happened."" "Bob, it's Apollo 11." "What would they do?" "I'm not exactly sure." "Pull the pin?" "Well, not officially, but they might downgrade our role." "We'd lose the moonwalk." "Try keeping a lid on that." "This will be the punchline to a joke." "Who goes there?" "It's just us, Rudi." "Oh." "Okay." "Who?" "Cliff and Bob!" "Oh, hi, Bob." "Rudi!" "How are you?" "Good." "Fine." "Okay." "Nighty-night." "We know roughly when they reappear, but not where." "Same place as yesterday." "Yesterday they were orbiting." "Now they're translunar." "We'll have to redo every angle." "That'll take forever." "You can make it a two-body calculation  get an approximate fix, and then scan." "Yeah, that should do it." "I'll give you a hand with the figures." "I know what happened to the generator." "What?" "I forgot to prime the fuel lines." "Well  these things happen." "Better get to work." "If we come on stream tomorrow, it never happened." "You think you can do it?" "I made a commitment to NASA  and I intend to fulfill it." "Haven't heard that tone for a while." "Remember that night at my place?" "Sorting out that contract with NASA?" ""What about this?" "What about that?"" "Two hours, and you finally speak." ""Gentlemen, this should be the contract:" "We agree to support the Apollo 11 mission."" "One sentence." "They couldn't believe it." "It was a wonderful moment." "But this isn't." "No, this is a shithouse moment." "Halt." "Who goes there?" "I'm not sure." "You said you were confident." "I am." "I was." "Look, it's got to be within this range." "But if we sweep here, it may be outside and we'll miss it." "If we sweep wider, we still might miss it." "You're confident about that?" "They're in the service module until they reach the moon." "The rockets aren't even on." "Really?" "And they just sit and wait." "ls that right?" "This is the fastest man has traveled." "Go on." "If you ask me, it's the most chauvinistic exercise ever." "That's why nobody asks you, darling." "There you go." "I'll go get my Saturn V rocket." "Yeah, you go get it." "Thanks, love." "Is everything all right at the Dish?" "Maysie, can you keep a secret?" "No." "What's happened?" "What happens if we split the difference?" "Ship's moving too fast." "Let's call Houston, ask for coordinates." "They'll know we've been bullshitting" "Let's say what happened." "That we lied?" "That'll go down well." "I don't think it will." "Morning, everyone." "How's it going?" "Good." "You were on the news last night." "Is everything all right?" "Yeah." "It's fine." "Yes, Glenn was just checking..." "... some stuff." "Really?" "Well, I better let you get to it." "I'm sorry for interrupting." "Not at all." "Thanks for bringing the food." "lt was my pleasure." "What do you want to do?" "Let's just give this some more thought." "Sector G, come in." "Let me just try something." "Not now, Rudi." "You've got a visitor." "It's the ambassador." "From America." "Oh, God." "Is this thing working?" "Just a minute, Rudi." "Roger that, Sector G. Confirm Sector A. Hold on." "He asked to visit." "Didn't think he'd come so soon." "Well, he's here." "Space nut." "I knows all about Apollo 11." "He know where it is?" "Let's make this brief." "Send him up, Rudi." "Roger that." "This is the main control panel." "That moves the Dish up and down, and that's your sideways movement." "It's incredible." "You can actually pinpoint a tiny spaceship thousands of miles away  and lock onto it." "Pretty much." "The ambassador didn't sign in, but I've let it go." "I didn't want to pull rank or anything." "The other facilities, North West Cape and Honeysuckle Creek  also have voice and telemetry, yes?" "That's right, sir." "But when it comes to TV, yours is the only dish large enough?" "Yeah." "How does that make you feel?" "Where do you get them glasses?" "Sir, I'm afraid that we're entering overlap now." "So you'll be getting transmissions?" "Yeah." "You'll be able to hear Armstrong?" "Yep, just by hitting a couple of buttons there." "Oh, let's do that." "Sure." "If I" " I don't think that" "You're right." "I don't think" "Just a brief listen and then I'll go." "Not a problem." "I'll just have to reorient the...." "Al?" "Cliff, if you could patch the audio in for mezzanine three." "Columbia, Houston, guidance systems okay." "You 're still go for auto." "Copy that." "Neil, telemetry reports that O2 and CO2 are okay and steady." "And biomed telemetry is now reading your vital statistics as being adequate, within the limits." "Copy that!" "Neil, we have you currently at 124,000 nautical miles from Earth and at an approach velocity of 32,000 feet per second." "Copy that." "Columbia, Houston." "We'll let you get to work." "Copy that." "Is that you, Neil?" "This is Sector A. Is that you, Mr. Armstrong?" "Must be a crossed line from Honeysuckle Creek." "We're really going to have to get back to work now." "Understood." "I'll see you out." "I'll just move the Dish." "Oh, that's incredible." "That was a true highlight." "I was going to say good luck  but after what I've seen here this morning, you gentlemen don't need it." "Thank you very much, sir." "You'll never guess what happened." "Later, Rudi." "Should I get him to sign out?" "Just wave, Rudi." "That's got to be a felony." "Right, let's find the ship." "Impersonating a person in orbit." "It's a moving target." "Everything is moving." "If we had a point of reference...." "Take a punt." "Choose a sector, arc that." "Still a long shot." "I thought you were confident." "I know where Apollo 11 is." "It's on its way to the moon." "That's your point of reference." "They've gone 150,000 miles, they're within three or four degrees." "That might be okay." "I think that might be okay." "So, we can rub this out?" "5707." "5708." "There's your moon." "Have a fish around, Mitch." "6730." "6731." "We've got a signal!" "It's Apollo 11." "Definite?" "Two-point-two-eight." "It's the tin can." "Yep!" "Signal lock!" "Houston, Apollo 11...." "PKS, Houston Net Two." "Houston PKS." "Parkes is on-line." "Copy that, Parkes." "And copy, we are receiving your signal." "Switching to master equatorial." "And with 15 minutes to spare." "It's enough time to check the generator." "That's great news, Cliff." "Look, I got to dash." "Look, I appreciate the call." "What?" "Yeah." "Bye." "Major McIntyre!" "Keith." "What?" "I just wanted to ask Marie something." "Fire when ready." "Marie, it's Keith!" "Would you like to watch the moon landing with me on Monday?" "Don't you get it?" "!" "Get what, sir?" "I think that's a "no."" "You're a brave lad." "Apollo 11, this is Houston, over." "Roger, go ahead, Houston." "Apollo 11." "Eleven, this is Houston." "You are go for LOI, over." "Roger, go for LOI." "Houston can you give me a time check?" "I'll give you a mark at 13 minutes and 30 seconds to ignition." "Roger, out." "Apollo 11, this is Houston." "All your systems look good." "We'll see you on the other side." "Roger." "orbit the moon, preparing for its descent to the lunar surface..." "...on Monday afternoon." "That's all we need to know." "Vol-au-vent?" "T hank you." "The boys gave you a tour?" "Oh, yes." "Very impressive facility." "And you actually heard Neil Armstrong?" "I had the privilege." "How did he sound?" "Like he was next door." "That was a day and a half." "I'll be 52 on Monday." "Oh, happy birthday." "Fifty-two years and half of them in radio-telescope mapping the stars." "And then this came along." "Your pipe?" "No, the moon mission." "Know what I thought when it came up?" "You beauty?" "I thought, "Imagine stuffing that up."" "Isn't that odd?" "What?" "Well, that I was more scared than excited." "That's not odd." "I feel like that all the time." "How come you changed?" "My wife said something." "She said:" ""Failure is never quite so frightening as regret. "" "Oh, that's good advice." "Pretty good." "I wish someone had told me that." "God bless you, Glenn." "When I said I was sorry about...." "I was sorry for everything." "Oh, Mitch, that's not" "No, no, no, no." "When you first arrived I felt...." "It's like you're a hotshot from NASA and I'm a dumb country kid with the arse falling out of me daks." "Your...?" "Pants." "I was wrong." "I never thought of you as a guy with the ass falling out of his...." "Daks." "Not everyone at NASA's a college genius." "The guy I most admire's from a one-horse town in Ohio." "And what's he do?" "Tomorrow he'll walk on the moon." "Who's the guy?" "Armstrong." "You know, it would have been okay to tell Houston." "Things go wrong there all the time." "Mission control turns blue before each launch, 50 people hold their breath." "You know how many rockets blew up before we put men in them?" "That's a while, isn't it?" "Six weeks ago." "Testing the lunar landing module." "Ten simulations without a hitch." "The 11th, the controls jammed, it crashed." "Struth." "Any idea why?" "No, we still have no idea why." "Let's hope number 11 isn't unlucky." "We pray for those three brave souls  who, as we speak  are taking the first steps in exploring God's great universe  and for the technicians and scientists  whose efforts contribute to this brave endeavor." "You think this Apollo 11 thing's big here." "You should hear about the States." "Really?" "What were you saying last night?" "You shouldn't drink so much?" "If you'll excuse me." "He came for dinner." "Imagine two basketballs." "One's there, one's there and there's a valve on top." "They won't be televising all the time?" "Wouldn't have thought so, no." "Bounces off the basketball, and then it bounces off the Goldstone one." "Will they be able to sneak behind a rock and have a...." "Reckon it depends on, well, whether they're doing a number- -or a number" "What was that, Ray?" "We're just talking about the TV coverage." "Listen, whereabouts around here can I take a...?" "Thanks for bringing the sandwiches." "Thanks for fixing my bumper bar." "That's okay." "Maybe" "Janine, I was won" "You go first." "No, you." "What were you going to say?" "Nothing." "What about you?" "Nothing." "Has he asked her out yet?" "Oh, this is painful." "No, I really like weekends too." "I like Fridays because you're always looking forward to the weekend." "What were you gonna say before?" "Oh, nothing." "What were you going to say?" "Nothing." "All right." "See you." "Yeah, see you." "Do you want to go out Friday night?" "What did you say?" "Nothing." ""Do you want to go out Friday night? "" "Maybe." "I'd love to go out Friday night." "With me?" "Yes." "Right-o then." "Right-o then." "He ask her out?" "I'm not sure." "I had a chat to Al this morning." "Really?" "He's not such a bad bloke." "You should give him a chance." "You'll be right for a few hours?" "Yeah." "If you've got any problems" "I'll call Rudi." "Have more." "That's Parkes lamb." "I've got enough." "Plenty more." "I'll just have the vegetables." "Yes, dear." "This is wonderful, May." "Just so glad you could get away." "The boys have it under control." "When are you up?" "Four." "Tomorrow's the big day." "All being well." "Man on the bloody moon, eh?" "Gravy?" "It's extraordinary." "Sending men off into the galaxies as the world watches." "Takes your mind off our trivial concerns." "Elbows." "The whole school will watch it." "Every school will watch it." "What are they estimating?" "Six hundred million." "Six hundred million." "Six hundred million." "Peas?" "No." "And can people in India watch it?" "Yeah." "But all on the one telly." "I'm serious." "Far too serious, darling." "How are they actually gonna film it?" "Go ahead." "There's a boom outside the camera." "When Armstrong's out of the module he'll pull the ring, it'll swing out." "And is there an antenna on the roof?" "Transmitter, Dad." "Right." "It's the size of that bowl." "Pumpkin?" "Yes, please." "All this effort for TV." "When NASA first came, they hardly mentioned TV." "Interesting change." "I'm not sure what's more important to get back, astronauts or pictures." "How lovely." "Elbows." "Can I ask a question?" "Sure." "Is this mission funded by the CIA?" "Not entirely." "Really?" "No." "How do they know they won't sink when they land?" "Oh, good Lord!" "Crikey." "We actually know a great deal about the moon." "Soil makeup, density, gravitational force." "There aren't many mysteries." "If we know so much, why go?" "There is one thing that we don't know." "What's that, Cliff?" "Whether we can get there." "Elbows." "Well, let's start." "Man on the moon, or no man, we've still got to eat." "You'll really like that." "Straight back to work, eh?" "Well, it's all go." "May, that roast lamb was magnificent." "Bet you don't get that in Houston." "No." "Well, we can't have you wasting away." "Thank you." "Thanks very much, May." "It's been quite a while since I've had a good roast." "Good luck for tomorrow." "Thank you." "And Marie, it was an absolute pleasure to meet you." "Really?" "Really." "How you feeling?" "Oh, fine." "I heard the prime minister on the news." "Could he just shut up about it?" "Do you ever wonder what we're doing in the middle of the Apollo 11 mission?" "They'll probably knight you for this." "Or behead me." "Dad!" "About face!" "Quick march!" "Boy's not a soldier, he's a kamikaze." "What are you grinning about?" "Nothing." "You've had a smile on your face all day." "No, I haven't." "Yes, you have." "All right?" "How was lunch?" "lt was wonderful." "I think we ate an entire sheep." "Rudi's on the way." "All in order?" "Yeah, I'll check the receivers." "I'll do it." "All right, I'll stow the Dish." "I'll take a hayride." "Hayride?" "What's a hayride?" "When it's down, we can't get up through the core." "It's just as quick to go for a ride." "Okay." "Interesting." "Okay, Mitch." "And, yet strangely, this is not in the manual." "Curious oversight, wouldn't you say?" "It was good what you said at lunch." "What's that?" "The one thing we don't know is whether we can get there." "Yes, that's...." "That's easy to forget." "Before I left Houston  the scientist had planned all these experiments for Armstrong to do." "Rock samples, measuring radiation." "Flight director put his foot down." "So they say to him, "You tell us." "Armstrong gets to the moon, what's the most important thing he should do?"" "F.D. says, "Get off it."" "I guess that would be number one." "I kind of felt for him." "You know." "To be honest, there's really only one thing I want to see." "There's something about putting a footprint on the moon that...." "Makes our spirits soar?" "Yeah, exactly." "Did you come up with that?" "Actually, I'm ashamed to say I didn't." "It was my wife." "She died last year." "I'm sorry to hear that, Cliff." "She was so excited by all of this." "Made me realize that I should be excited too." "And I am." "The only thing is, she's not here to share it." "So... there it is." "Thirty-four, thirty-six." "Hold it there." "Strength?" "Negative 140." "Intermittent lock on prime." "Do you want me to...?" "No." "Glenn, run AGC." "Auto Gain Control running." "Negative 90." "Solid lock." "We're on." "Switching to M.E." "Got it." "All yours, Al." "Houston Net Two, PKS." "Houston Net Two." "Parkes is on-line." "Apollo, Houston." "The RCS hotfire went to super dust." "We're all go." "Roger." "Mike, would you confirm that thruster B-three and C-four are off." "Over." "Yeah, C-four is off, B-three is off and I've got my roll jets back on now." "Jets maneuvering, right?" "Will be shortly, Neil." "Apollo 11." "Houston, we are go for undocking." "Over." "Roger." "Understand." "Eagle, Houston, we see you." "Over." "Roger, Eagle's undocked." "Roger." "How does it look?" " The Eagle has wings." "Rog." "Roger, Neil, if you give us cooling data, we got some loads for you." "You're a go for PDI." "Over." "Roger." "Understand." "Rod McNeil with another Apollo 11 update." "The descent of the Eagle landing module has entered its fifth and final hour." "According to Houston Flight Control the status is still go for a landing." "We believe the Eagle module is in the final stages before touchdown." "So in a matter of minutes astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin will attempt to land on the surface of the moon." "Rudi, sector five-A." "D. Um, E. Uh." "Rudi." "Over." "They're about to land." "Eagle, Houston, have to yaw around." "Angle S-band pitch minus niner yaw plus one eight." "Roger." "You're a go to" "You're a go to continue powered descent." "They're landed?" "Almost." "You're looking great." "Two thousand feet." "Into the AGS, 47 degrees." "Roger." "Thirty-seven degrees." "You're go." "Program alarm." "Did he say "alarm"?" "Program alarm." "1201." "Roger, 1201 alarm." "1201." "Executive overflow." "Computer's overloaded." "They'll abort." "Okay, we're go." "We're go." "Same type." "Jesus, they're going it." "Seven hundred and twenty three." "Five hundred and forty feet, down at 15." "Three hundred and fifty feet, down at four." "Altitude velocity light." "Three and a half down. 220 feet." "Coming down nicely." "200 feet, four and a half down." "Five and a half down." "Hundred feet, three and a half down, nine forward." "Okay, 75 feet." "Guys looking good." "Down a half." "Six forward." "Sixty seconds." "Lights on." "Fuel?" "I think so." "Thirty feet down, two and a half." "Picking up some dust." "Faint shadow." "Four forward, drifting to the right." "Thirty seconds." "That's definitely a fuel call." "What?" "Thirty seconds of fuel left." "Contact light." "Okay, engine stop." "We copy you down, Eagle." "Houston...." "Tranquility Base here." "The Eagle has landed." "Roger." "Tranquility." "They're on the moon." "We're about to turn blue." "We're breathing again." "Thanks a lot." "Oh, bloody hell." "Thirty seconds of fuel." "So, what happens now?" "Sleep break." "It's a good idea." "Just confirmed:" "Armstrong and Aldrin are on the moon." "Both men preparing now for EVA." "What's that?" "Extra vehicular activities." "The moonwalk." "They get rid of that hydrogen?" "Dad, they needed that for fuel." "These are not to scale." "The prime minister's on his way." "He's a fascist!" "I beg your pardon!" "Bob, speak to Marie." "I might just shut that." "What?" "Wind." "Glenn's onto the bureau." "What's it blowing?" "Fifteen knots." "And we're rated to...?" "Thirty." "So, we're fine." "For now." "Come on, Glenn." "If it goes above 30?" "If it goes above 10, we stow the Dish." "That's pointing up." "We've got to be pointing east." "We understand that, Al." "Duty forecaster says it doesn't make sense." "Great." "He say anything else?" "Just hello and goodbye." "He was very polite." "Thirty knots can't be the absolute maximum." "It's the theoretical maximum." "So it's never been tested." "No." "So, the Dish can take more than" "Al, we don't know." "And quite frankly, I don't want to know." "1000 tons is above that azimuth track." "That's not good." "All right, let's just...." "We got nine hours till they walk." "Could this blow itself out by then?" "Yeah, I reckon it could." "Yeah." "Bob." "Just ringing to say good luck." "Hang on." "There in a minute." "It's a bit breezy this morning." "That wouldn't affect the...." "Right." "What happens then?" "Oh, I see." "So...." "You reckon?" "Crikey." "It's a special day, Bob." "The prime minister arrived in Parkes where he was greeted by U. S. Ambassador Mr. Howard Hutfield and dignitaries and townspeople eager to see the historic landing." "This is Cliff Buxton, the director of the facility." "Governor-general." "That was the official opening." "Why did they decide to build it here?" "If I may, Bob?" "Weather, prime minister." "Parkes has the sort of stable climatic conditions conducive to the operation of large-scale radio telescopes." "Fire?" "We've hit 30 knots." "Get back to the bureau, will you?" "Sure." "What's up?" "Relax, Rudi." "What's the bell for?" "Lets us know it's windy." "I could have told you that." "It's blowing a bloody gale outside." "Well done with all this." "The ladies helped hang them." "No, Apollo 11." "Your dish." "Oh, thank you, prime minister." "And congratulations on getting the nod." "Party needs performers." "How are they going out there?" "Good." "Perfectly." "We sit here on our arses five bloody days, not a breath of bloody wind." "And then, on cue, out of nowhere just when it's our turn, a cyclone decides to park its arse on us." "Sorry, lads." "I might just...." "I might just go and check some bloody thing." "It's going well." "Obviously nothing's foolproof." "There's always limits." "Well, there are no guarantees, all things considered." "Life, I guess." "You're joking, aren't you, McIntyre?" "Yeah, everything's fine." "You know, McIntyre, we have a saying in the Party:" ""You don't fuck up. "" "And?" "That's it." "What?" "They're gonna walk early." "Armstrong's overruled the sleep break." "He told NASA, "We don't want to sleep. "" "I like Armstrong." "He goes for it." "When do they walk?" "Soon." "Now." "So we're off the hook." "No." "Goldstone has relay problems." "They want us up from the start." "How?" "We don't see the moon until 1:00." "12:56." "Well, whatever." "Come 12:56, if Armstrong hasn't walked this dish must point at the moon." "This place is locked down." "I don't care who turns up." "No one gets in." "You understand?" "Yes, sir." "We have to move this dish." "There's a safety issue." "I understand that." "We're under no obligations." "Mitch, what will happen?" "Don't know." "What do you think will happen?" "It's a big sail area." "The wind grabs hold of it...." "We wait." "Come on." "They're going early." "Could happen any moment." "Come on." "You'll miss it." "I'd do the same." "If I'd just landed on the moon, I wouldn't want to sleep." "Like telling a kid to sleep on Christmas morning, eh, Howard?" "More tea, prime minister?" "Oh, yes." "Lovely." "Bob, they're going early." "Yeah, I know." "Are you all right?" "I am now." "Sorry?" "Goldstone can take the pictures." "Goldstone?" "Cliff can't move the Dish in this wind." "Good Lord." "Hopefully it'll die down and they'll use us later." "Still... it would have been nice to have been there from the start." "It doesn't matter what pictures are caught by who." "We're part of the team." "That's the most important thing right now." "You're right, Maysie." "Your shirt, Bob." "At least the boys at the Dish can relax for a while." "Getting worse." "It's gusting to 50." "We can't move this dish." "PKS video, Houston TV, Net 2." "PKS video." "Go ahead." "We still got problems with Goldstone." "We need you as a prime receiver." "Prime?" "The signal between Goldstone and Houston is dead." "It's gone to ground somewhere and it's currently still go for walk." "Roger, Houston." "We'll advise when in position." "Roger, PKS." "Soon as possible, please." "Glenn, come here." "Mitch, talk to me." "It's shaking in the upright position." "What?" "It's not designed to take these forces." "If the main structure" "Finish what you're saying." "It could collapse." "Man's about to walk on the moon." "And he still will." "But no one will see it." "There are five lives at risk here." "I'm responsible for those lives." "Most people would say that's sufficient reason not to move the Dish." "And everyone'll accept that." "But will you?" "You were right." "This is science's chance to be daring." "If we don't move this dish, it may as well be rubble." "I still think 11's a lucky number." "What?" "Sometimes you got to take a risk." "All right." "Let's do it." "I like that Cliff." "He goes for it." "From North to South They came from near and far" "T o witness man take to the sky" "In search of moon and star" "But ponder this as rockets fly" "Jesus." "65 miles an hour." "Keep going, Mitch." "When Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin The lunar surface near" "What's happening now?" "From the voice transmissions we know Armstrong has commenced evacuation." "We can expect television pictures at any moment." "What the hell was that?" "Drive cog must've slipped a few teeth." "Either that, or Janine's trying to park." "Stick with it, Mitch." "I'm staying, whatever happens." "Okay, Houston." "I'm on the porch." "He's out of the LEM." "Roger, Neil." "He's outside." "Columbia, Columbia, this is Houston." "One minute, 30 seconds to LOS all systems go, over." "Houston, roger, we copy and we're standing by for your cue." "And we're in position." "Good boy." "Glenn?" "Nothing." "Neil, this is Houston." "Loud and clear." "Break." "Break." "Buzz, this is Houston, radio check and verify TV circuit breaker in." "Roger, TV circuit breakers in and read you five square." "Parkes, please advise status." "PKS in position, signal negative." "Glenn?" "Moon's still not high enough." "Go lower, Mitch." "I'm at 60-0-3." "Next stop's concrete." "Offset feed!" "Offset." "Offset!" "Okay, that's good." "Come on." "Got it." "And we're getting a picture on the TV." "Man will then have traveled far" "Armstrong!" "But not so far from home" "Thanks, Betty." "I've got another two verses." "Man's about to walk on the moon." "So, you got a good picture, huh?" "There's a great deal of contrast in it but we can make out a fair amount of detail." "That's Armstrong." "On the moon." "Would you verify the position of the opening I ought to have on the camera?" "Okay, Neil, we can see you coming down the ladder now." "Okay, I just checked getting back up to that first step, Buzz." "It's not even collapsed too far but it's adequate to get back up." "Roger, we copy." "It takes a pretty good little jump." "Switch back to main axis." "How's that?" "Fine." "The LEM footpads are only depressed in the surface about one or two inches." "Although the surface appears to be very, very fine-grained as you get close to it." "It's almost like a powder." "I'm going to step off the LEM now." "That's one small step for man one giant leap for mankind." "That looks beautiful from here, Neil." "It has a stark beauty all its own." "It's like much of the high desert" "Dad, he's on the moon!" "I know, mate." "It's very pretty out here." "Thank God for that hydrogen, eh?" "Are you getting a TV picture, Houston?" "You betcha." "Neil, yes, we are getting a TV picture." "You're in our field of view now." "Okay, I'm on the top step." "It's a very simple matter to hop down from one step to the next." "You got three more steps and then a long one." "There you go." "Beautiful view." "Isn't that something?" "Magnificent sight out here." "All right, you can stay this once." "Enough." "For those who haven't read the plaque we'll read the plaque that's on the front landing gear of this LEM." "It says:" ""Here, men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon." "July 1969 A.D." "They came in peace for all mankind."" "It has the crew members' signatures and the signature of the president of the United States." "Columbia this is Houston reading you loud and clear, over." "How's it going?" "Roger, the EVA is progressing beautifully." "Great." "You're about the only person that doesn't have TV coverage of the scene." "That's all right." "I don't mind a bit." "How's the quality of the TV?" "Oh, it's beautiful, Mike." "It really is." "Beautiful, just beautiful." "It's a wonderful day for Parkes." "Pearl, they're good pictures." "The president of the United States is in his office now and would like to say a few words to you, over." "That would be an honor." "Go ahead, Mr. President." "This is Houston, out." "Hello, Neil and Buzz." "I'm talking to you by telephone from the oval room at the White House." "That was Cliff on the phone." "The pictures." "They came from us." "You bloody beauty!" "Bloody fantastic!" "Here's to Parkes!" "The lunar age has begun." "500 million people gathered at TV sets around the world to wait" "The date's now indelible." "It's going to be remembered as long as man survives, July 20, 1969." "This has to be the proudest day of our lives." "And for people all over the world I am sure that they too join with Americans in recognizing what an immense feat this is." "Because of what you have done..." "...the heavens have become..." "Well done, guys." "...a part of man's work." "What sector is Rudi again?" ""A"?" "Copy that, Sector A." "Well done, Mr. Armstrong." "Columbia, this is Houston reading you loud and clear on Omni-Charlie." "The crew of Tranquility Base is back inside their base." "Everything went beautifully, over." "Hallelujah." "Tranquility Base, this is Houston, over." "Roger, go ahead." "We'd like to say from all of us down here in Houston and really from all of us in all the countries in the entire world we think that you've done a magnificent job up there today, over." "Thank you very much." "It's been a long day." "Thanks, Bernie." "Well, the official telegram will go to your prime minister, but...." ""To congratulate personnel of Parkes Radio Telescope Facility for their outstanding support of man's first lunar surface expedition." "Signed C. Charlesworth, Apollo 11 flight director."" "Well, we did it, eh, guys?" "Yeah, we did, Al." "Good work, Mitch." "And well done." "Thanks, Cliff." "Congratulations, Al." "Cliff." "Good knowing you, Glenn." "Thanks." "I'm proud of you." "And happy birthday, Cliff." "Thanks, Glenn." ""This should be the contract." "We agree to support the Apollo 11 mission."" "I think it's extraordinary, sending men off into the galaxy." "You wonder what we're doing in the middle of the Apollo 11 mission?" "It inspires us to redouble our efforts to bring peace and tranquility to Earth." "For one priceless moment in the whole history of man all the people on this Earth are truly one." "I'm gonna have to ask you to go back and in through the public entrance." "I'm very sorry." "Tours leave on the hour." "Maybe not today, but you never know, I might come back another time." "I'd do it." "People get quite a buzz from being up there." "I'll bet they do." "Do I know you, sir?" "No, I don't believe so." "You look familiar." "Well, I better be off." "Right, sir." "Back out and around to the left."