Anatomy of a triumph.

[Music] in his constant search for new worlds to conquer man had always the sky above him and marvel it beckoned with a promise of a boundless adventure and freedom he found he could ascend into the sky in balloons and glide in vehicles with wings but what he really needed was a source of power before he could conquer the sky his comical results [Music] then on December 17 1903 Orville and Wilbur Wright found the answer and man was on his way to one zero ignition five years after the historic first flight the Signal Corps awarded a contract to the Wright brothers to build a plane for the army at a purchase price of twenty five thousand dollars provided it could meet government specifications [Music] it must develop a speed of 36 miles an hour carry two men and stay in the air for one hour newly elected president tab in the center was an interested spectator at the trial run the plane was tested at Fort Myer Virginia and Orville Wright and captain fool or succeeded in making a cross-country flight to nearby Alexandria Virginia and back setting a national distance record of 10 miles [Music] once world war 1 was underway the competitive national spirit of the roaring European countries accelerated European flight technology well beyond that of the United States and all combat missions flown by American pilots were in planes designed and built by the British Italians and French the best fighter planes could go 120 miles an hour and Americans like the famed captain Eddie Rickenbacker in his 94th squadron focused national attention on fly it became a glamorous tool of war but this business of flying was not free from problems fire was an ever-present hazard and then of course you had to be able to get the plane started before you could fly the obvious lack of American technological know-how prompted President Wilson in 1915 to establish a National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics to supervise and direct the study of flight three years later the US government put its airplanes to their first non-military use a group of dignitaries led by president and mrs. Wilson gathered at the Polo Grounds in Potomac Park in Washington DC to view the inauguration of the world's first airmail service since the Curtis biplanes chosen for this service had a range of only 90 miles six were ordered for the event which was to include simultaneous flights between Washington and New York City with a stop in Philadelphia of the six pilots selected the two who had family ties with post office department officials were chosen for the first-day flights President Wilson posted a letter from Postmaster General Albert s Burleson to the postmaster of New York City the president had canceled the stamp with his own signature the mail bags were loaded on the Jenny and the plane was readied for takeoff that's when the problems began after numerous unsuccessful attempts to start the airplanes engine embarrassed officials checked the fuel tanks and found they were empty the problem was corrected and the flight got underway with a pilot missing the trees at the end of the runway by only three feet that wasn't the end of his problems however an hour later the pilot telephone to report he had become lost run out of gas and crash-landed in Waldorf Maryland some 20 miles from Washington the New York to Washington part of the run went off without a hitch with a male arriving at the Polo Grounds three hours and 20 minutes after leaving New York although it was a shaky beginning the events of the day did prove the feasibility of airmail service by the 1920s the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics cooperating with the Army and Navy laboratories the National Bureau of Standards and the young and struggling aircraft industry enlarged the theory and technology like extensive aerodynamic research it was not only an age of development it was an age of great pioneering flights and contests the competition for the Arctic lies induced Charles Lindbergh to attempt to fly the Atlantic in 1927 [Music] [Applause] [Music] Charles Lindbergh's flight from New York to Paris in the spirit of st. Louis won the acclaim of the world while the airplane was coming into its own there were those who are attempting variation on an ancient means of propulsion sometimes with rather disastrous results Robert H Goddard a professor of physics at Clark University in Massachusetts had been experimenting for many years with rockets in 1926 he made the world's first liquid-fuel rocket demonstration his experiments earned him the title of the father of rocketry for he took the newly invented gyroscope to guide his Rockets developed fuel pumps valves everything necessary to extend the range and to control the rocket in flight despite the Depression years of the 30s there was a steady improvement of aircraft design and performance airlines were established for passenger mail and freight transport the all-metal plane was further developed a vast improvement over the stick and wire type with fabric covered wings by 1936 the workhorse of the aviation industry was in production the dc-3 or c-47 as it was named by the military by the next year more than a million passengers flew in Airlines in the United States alone the airplane became a way of life as Europe moved nearer to war and Nazi Germany drying in part from the published findings of NACA was fast outstripping the United States in the development of jet and rocket power Hitler had military aircraft driven by turbo jets and a group of scientists headed by dr. van or von Braun working at Pina Mundi in the Baltic developing the technology of rocketry von Braun drawing upon the experiments of Goddard Colbert and the Russian soul cost II used a fuel of liquid oxygen alcohol and water to develop what Joseph Goebbels propaganda machine christened a vengeance weapon number 2 v2 [Music] [Music] at the end of the war von Braun and his Peenemunde a group fled southward where they surrendered to the 44th division of the Seventh Army and were sent to the United States in addition to the scientists the army obtained 100 partially assembled v2 s and America began serious rocket research during the late 1940s over 60 were tested at the white sands proving grounds in New Mexico at the same time NACA and the airforce were experimenting with rocket-powered planes which could fly faster than the speed of sound as America continued its basic research in rocketry the decision was made to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile system giving the military a virtual monopoly on rocket development by 1957 declared the International Geophysical Year America was finally ready to undertake its first non-military application of the rocket program the launching of a space satellite but American prestige was to suffer a setback when in October of that year the Soviet Union launched the world's first artificial satellite Sputnik one America's reaction soon evidenced a widespread concern about a possible missile gap President Eisenhower emphasized at a press conference but America's satellite program had been deliberately separated from ballistic missile efforts and we were not in competition with other nations in a space race but public concern saw it even higher when a month later Sputnik 2 was launched into orbit this time President Eisenhower in a major address to the nation stated that in the interest of future security the United States would step up its efforts in missile development as 1957 drew to a close the United States prepared to test its first launch vehicle before a national television audience as embarrassed officials looked on the Vanguard rocket collapse into the wet sand of Cape Canaveral it wasn't until the end of January 1958 that Explorer 1 was successfully orbited around the earth followed by the tiny Vanguard 1 launched 2 months later and another Explorer the satellites carried instruments developed by James Van Alen of the University of Iowa and transmitted data revealing the existence of a deep zone of radiation griddling the globe despite our successful launchings russia was able to orbit a satellite weighing 3,000 pounds some 56 times as heavy as the combined weight of all three American satellites Americans were demanding to know why the United States was behind President Eisenhower and the Congress responded by establishing a new agency the National Aeronautics and Space Administration the president's war in dr. Hugh Dryden and T Keith Glennon as its leaders they would oversee an all-encompassing agency for the development of America's space effort with the establishment of NASA America stood on the threshold of States at centers around the country NASA coordinated programs in rocket design booster capability capsule specifications a solution of range and tracking problems and the exploration of the upper atmosphere on December 17 1958 the 55th anniversary of the famous flight at Kitty Hawk administrator Glennon announced a man's satellite program to be called Project Mercury it was a period of design to develop it over the next 10 years microorganisms plant life frogs and monkeys were sent into space and return for testing [Music] the development of the intercontinental ballistic missile provided vehicles with enough thrust to launch a man into space on July 29 1960 a mercury Atlas was tested to determine its capability moments later the project was cast into despair when the rocket exploded failures felled a six-month delay right at the beginning of the mercury program yet on the same day as the explosion NASA announced plans for a manned space flight program to the moon it was to be called Apollo in the satellite program these successes mounted by the end of 1961 America had launched 64 satellites to Russia's 13 though the Soviet payloads remained heavier America sent complicated instrumented globes into orbit to relay weather data to test solar winds to detect high-energy gamma rays from cosmic sources and to enlarge communications throughout the world through telephone and television relays later communication satellites brought the world closer together by relaying television pictures of such diverse events as the Olympic Games and doctors using new surgical techniques meantime the mercury program continued its testing of its machines and the men who would fly them the seven astronauts who had been chosen to be pioneers in this realm of astronautics learned to cope with problems of weightlessness multiple g-loads and the psychological problems of isolation in the space capsule all had to be solved before a man could ride atop a rocket with confidence but 22 days before America's first scheduled flight this country space effort was again upstaged by a Russian cosmonaut named Yuri Gagarin in an official Soviet film the gardens epic voyage of April 12 1961 was described this way academician Carl Jung the chief designer wished the astronaut a happy landing [Music] [Music] [Applause] Gagarin was out in space and the earth could see him [Music] all this was being done for the first time the flight itself cosmovision the pictures of a stellar world and the view of the Earth from space Gagarin stayed in space a hundred and eight minutes he touched down near Saratov on the Volga this first flight in space proved conclusively that man could live and work there the Soviet government on the communist party declared we regard the victories scored in the conquest of space as an achievement not only of our people but also of all mankind we gladly placed them at the service of all nations in the name of progress and the happiness and welfare of all people on earth the success of the Soviet manned flight had a profound impact as America's first astronaut Alan Shepard was preparing for his 300 mile flight President John Kennedy was wrestling with the problem of restoring this nation's prestige the US had been a leader in the industrial age the age of automation and the Atomic Age the question facing Kennedy was would this nation strive for leadership in the Space Age roll okay there's a power though on May 25 1961 20 days after Alan Shepards flight down the testing range President Kennedy in a special address to Congress set America's space goal these are extraordinary times and we face an extraordinary challenge our strength as well as our convictions that imposed upon this nation the role of leader in freedoms cause if we are to win the battle that is now going on around the world between freedom and tyranny the dramatic achievements in space which occurred in recent weeks should have made clear to us all as is a Sputnik in 1957 the impact of this adventure on the minds of men everywhere who are attempting to make a determination at which road they should take concer lead in my term our efforts in space have been under review with the advice of the vice president who is chairman of the national space council we have examined where we are strong and where we are not where we may succeed and where we may not now it is time to take longer strides time for a great new American Enterprise time for this nation to take a clearly leading role in space achievement which in many ways may hold the key to our future on earth I therefore ask the Congress above and beyond the increases I have earlier requested for space activities to provide the funds which are needed to meet the following national goals first I believe that this nation 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 no single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind or more important for the long-range exploration of space and non will be so difficult are expensive to accomplish in July Gus Grissom in Liberty 7 duplicated the Shepard flight and on February 20 1962 John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth carpenter in Aurora 7 Shorai in Sigma 7 and Cooper in faith 7 ended the mercury program after 22 months of preparation and testing America launched Yemeni the second shot in the series gemiini for saw Edward fight in a twenty minute walk in space although it was a new experience for man it was an enjoyable one for astronaut white very open honest I don't know we're coming over the West right there they want you to come back hip doc run back here listen II could almost not drag me in but I'm coming in December 1965 America launched two Gemini 6 and 7 Gemini 7 was launched on December 4th and 11 days later gemenese six went aloft to rendezvous with it Shira and Stafford brought their craft to within six feet of Worman and Lovell and maintain formation with them for five and a half hours the third phase of Germany involved the docking of two spacecraft accurate document techniques had to be developed before a lunar module could leave the mother craft journey to the surface of the Moon and return safely after some initial problems the astronauts and Gemini perfected the technique docking successfully with an Agena rocket the byword in Gemini became accuracy launches and recoveries occurred on the nose with splashdowns occurring within sight of the recovery ship the Apollo program became a national effort the first stage of Apollo came from Louisiana the second and third stages from California they were tested and made ready in Alabama guidance and navigation equipment came from Wisconsin and it's checked in Massachusetts systems in the spacecraft came from Florida and New Hampshire 10,000 questions had to be answered 22,000 separate flight steps had to be met nine million separate pieces of hardware refined and perfected while the national effort went on there was a hope that the future would hold an international cooperation for the peaceful development of space President Lyndon Johnson expressed the hope of millions this way if men and nations will reason together if they will cooperate together if they will make the improvement of the condition of man their common goal then I am confident that we can safely predict that during the next decade of the 1970s many more nations will be joined together in the adventure of space developing its potential for bettering life on this earth in 1967 the space program underwent a reappraisal of workmanship and management procedures following a flash fire that swept an Apollo capsule during a static test killing three American astronauts it was a time of intensified research training and redesign the space program took on a new seriousness the Apollo program began with unmanned flights followed by Apollo 7 when astronauts schirra Eisley and Cunningham orbited the earth for 10 days and 20 hours in October of 1968 the flight proved the Apollo command/service module and its systems it was during Apollo 8 that man finally approached the moon as Americans prepared for Christmas they watched and listened as astronauts Borman Anders and Lovell broke free of Hertz gravity circled the moon and returned with a priceless cargo of photographs data and observations the following month as preparations continued for the final lunar adventure the nation greeted its new leader President Richard Nixon and on that cold January day President Nixon in his inaugural address issued a call to all nation those who would be our adversaries we invite to a peaceful competition not in conquering territory or expending Dominion but in enriching the life of man as we explore the reaches of space let us go to the new worlds together not as new worlds to be conquered but as a new adventure to be shared Apollo 9 Apollo 10 and finally all systems were go astronauts Buzz Aldrin Neil Armstrong and Mike Collins were ready the mothership Columbia was ready and Eagle was written this is what all the years of testing training and preparation were all about man for the first time was the journey to an alien world the moon and as people throughout the world watched the journey was being made not with timidity but with confidence their journey would take them three days and while there was much to be done there was also time for housekeeping and relaxing the store up strength for what lay ahead [Music] and finally on July 20 1969 it was time the lunar module with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin inside separated from Columbia and began the long careful descent to the moon surface the ambitious goal set by President John Kennedy eight years earlier was about to be achieved we had raced to the moon and one day they came forward how the floor would come down I place two hundred feet horn a half down five and a half 60 seconds Python down to a nap forward forward yep pretty big down to a nap like nothing but for forward forward ripped into the right little head how'd that bike okay engine stop we copy it down eagle and gaudy Dave here the eagle has landed it's one small step for man one giant leap for man the Americans who first set foot on the lunar surface stand at an end and a beginning the end of a 66 year journey that began at Kitty Hawk and the beginning of man's exploration of the world beyond his earth so this first step toward the Stars represents more than a triumph of Technology over time and distance more than a fulfillment of man's dreams it becomes a moving experience to be shared in a brief bond of worldwide brotherhood President Nixon expressed the anatomy of a triumph this way some way when those two Americans stepped on the moon the people of this world will rock closer together the spirit of Apollo transcends geographical barriers and political differences it can bring the people of the world together in peace and [Music] Oh you