RACE FOR THE MOON

[Music] so race to the moon is presented by timex world's largest manufacturer of watches timex the dependable watch timex the fashionable watch two important reasons why more people buy timex than any other watch in the world we were given the unbelievable luck of having an opportunity of energizing our spirit by the idea of going to the moon by the idea of man leaving the earth going to the next celestial body and setting personally put on it but the great majority of scientists feel that this is rather a waste of money and that it should not have the priority that has been allocated to it i would say that we have about a 50 50 chance or maybe a little better of beating the russians to the to the lunar base and return with a man shot i see no military advantage in putting a man on the moon i'm told by good scientists that there's no real scientific advantage it's purely a stunt and i don't think it's worth 30 billions of dollars these phony reasons that are advanced for the program will in the long run work against the public acceptance of the space program i'd like to get it back on target by emphasizing the original purposes of the space program which should be space research and not jobs in southern california yes we can make it by 1970. provided we don't uncover some unexpected uh scientific uh or environmental condition that we had not anticipated comments on project apollo the united states manned expedition to the moon i'm bill stout an estimated 30 billion dollars will be required to complete this controversial program before 1970. one perspective on what this vast sum represents in everyday terms was given by dr warren weaver of the alfred sloan foundation with thirty billion dollars he reported we could build and endow more than fifty large universities give ten million dollars each to two hundred of our best colleges finance fifty thousand seven year fellowships create ten new medical schools and give a ten percent salary raise over a ten-year period to every teacher in the united states the final cost of project apollo will be enormous and is now a critical point of contention relative to the program's future 1970 men on the moon 238 000 miles in space can we can't we should we shouldn't we issues which could not have been taken seriously 10 years ago are today subjects for serious debate ever since october 1957 when the soviet union orbited the first man-made satellite around the earth and heralded the official beginning of the space age for three months sputnik's ethereal course was followed by the eyes of an amazed world with barely time to blink we saw this feat followed by the launching of the first living creature into outer space leica proved that survival in this airless region was possible she also demonstrated further that russian technology was equal if not superior to that of the united states late in january 1958 we hurled our first object into space explorer one although lighter in weight than sputnik it was a much more complex instrument and it relayed back to earth the profound discovery that a belt of lethal radiation surrounds our planet at an altitude of 300 miles the dramatic new knowledge acquired from succeeding american satellites was abruptly overshadowed by the flight of bostock one in april 1961 major yuri gagarin the first man to enter space had orbited the earth for 108 minutes and returned safely another non-military but politically potent blow had been struck against the non-communist world three weeks later however commander alan shepard's 15-minute sub-orbital flight was to diminish the propaganda value of the soviet achievement although far less spectacular than gagarin's mission freedom 7 convinced the world that america had accepted the challenge that we were moving more cautiously perhaps but by televising the event we were keeping nothing secret while space matters now appeared to be running well for the united states international affairs namely in cuba and berlin were in a critical state the administration felt the need for a specific national goal which it thought could capture the people's imagination and bolster their self-esteem on may 25 1961 in a special session of congress president kennedy set forth the challenge 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 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 none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish nine months later on february 20th 1962 the united states was ready to attempt its first manned orbit of the earth colonel john glenn had been selected to command friendship seven his every movement on this momentous suspense-filled day was to be recorded and transmitted to an anxious america soviet cosmonaut german tito had orbited the earth several months earlier but glenn's flight meant more than simply keeping up with the russians since the president's address the space budget had been increased twofold and the project apollo phase of the program given top national priority we were no longer exploring space only we were going to the moon by 1970 and this flight was to be our first major step [Music] john [Music] a little bumpy along about here roger backup clock is started fuel 102 101 oxygen 78 100 amps two seven roger loud and clear white paper is good six nine now roger and i could see the booster just a couple of hundred yards behind me beautiful roger roger coming in to hike you a little bit that little contrail went by the window or something there main shoot is on green shoot is out in reach condition at 10 800 feet and beautiful shoot [Applause] john glenn's 4-hour and 56-minute flight restored confidence in america's image as a world leader in technology moreover it reinforced our enthusiasm and belief in the goals of project apollo we could and would land on the moon by 1970. [Music] these are exclusive films of valentina tereshkova training into your tongue central asia on june 16th 1963 she was to become the first woman and at this date the last human being to enter space although premier christian has repeatedly stated russia is not in a race to the moon with the united states he doesn't deny the soviet union is intent on pursuing dramatic achievements in space the flights of valentina and colonel valerie bikowski launched two days earlier bear this out according to russian scientists the purpose of their joint flight was to compare the biological and psychological effects of long-duration flight on male and female systems it was determined a success although western observers claim their purpose was to rendezvous in space connect and return together to earth nevertheless the flights of tereshkova and pikovsky brought russian manned space flight experience to 382 hours as compared to the 53 hours obtained thus far by the united states cause enough to declare a national holiday we have logged 53 men in space hours so far two thousand are required before we attempt to land the first men on the move american engineers and scientists working on project apollo are confident that prerequisite can be met before nineteen seventy they also feel that in certain critical flight areas where miniaturization and power systems are the key elements we are well ahead of the russians however to meet the nineteen seventy target date the money and manpower deemed necessary three years ago cannot be reduced yet this june in the senate an amendment to cut the 1965 space budget by 10 or half a billion dollars was narrowly defeated by a vote of 43 to 38 obviously second thoughts on the validity of our race for the moon are becoming increasingly widespread but can we turn back this new playground is located outside houston texas it is adjacent to a new government facility created to originate and execute all manned space programs thousands of families whose heads have responsible positions at the installation are relocating here in several large planned communities the homes they are buying in this area until recently as swampland range in cost from twenty to forty thousand dollars these people don't anticipate any change in our national policy they intend to stay a long time the manned spacecraft center itself is now nearing completion at a cost of 150 million dollars one of its major functions will be to determine how and if apollo will withstand the rigors of its lunar flight in order to accommodate the entire apollo system we have built the largest vacuum chamber in the world here we will test the craft's reliability in the duplicated airless environment of space another unique facility of the houston complex is its communications and control center headed by christopher columbus craft former operations director for project mercury scheduled for completion by mid 1965 the center will be the main point of contact with all space born astronauts moreover all spacecraft control will be directed from here both for apollo flights and projected trips to venus and mars forthcoming manned missions will range not hundreds of miles into space but hundreds of thousands of miles demanding the ultimate sophistication in electronic systems [Music] equipment and techniques at houston will be so refined so flexible that controllers will be able to train one space crew while simultaneously directing the flight of another and the recovery of a third the instruments will also determine whether a mission should be continued or aborted this then will be the heart of the manned spacecraft center a giant laboratory created to assure a successful landing on the moon and safe return in this decade responsible for the design and development of the apollo spacecraft itself is dr joseph shea 37 year old engineer and scientist you mentioned the problems what in particular do you have here in this program the biggest problem is the meshing problem and the working problem we have just on the spacecraft part of the program some hundred and thirty thousand people working at various plants around the country and i think from my point of view the biggest job is to be sure that all these people are well motivated and are able to do their job with sufficient rigor so that problems don't show up in flight can we make it do you think by 1970 i'm very encouraged just within the last two weeks i've been on a tour of all of our major subcontractors and in plants all around the country the hardware is just beginning to come into fruition to meet project apollo's target date research development and training processes must be carried out concurrently with the actual spacecraft production more than 5 000 companies are now engaged in the program and in several cases whole communities are dependent upon nasa contracts [Music] this year seventy five percent of the space agency's five point two billion dollar budget has been allocated to the lunar project to the american taxpayer this means 10 million dollars a day a sum of unprecedented size for a non-military objective the most unique aspect of this 30 billion dollar goal is the reliance on a small group of men for its ultimate success but space exploration at this time is a new inexact science and no matter how well prepared the men and machines may be the possibility of failure will loom over every mile of the monumental [Music] journey [Music] [Music] is a trip to the moon at all necessary are we racing with ourselves can we benefit here on earth from the technological achievements of project apollo questions are currently being raised and provocatively argued but for this fiscal year unless congress reduces apollo appropriations they will remain academic the budget continues in the high priority class before men are sent to the moon a number of instrumented packages must precede them the first of these ranger has televised the moon's surface to determine a landing site for the apollo crew the pictures were taken as it descended for a crash landing developed by jet propulsion laboratories under a 200 million dollar program ranger failed four times before successfully relaying these pictures [Music] sometime in 1965 surveyor will be ready for launching this complex laboratory built by hughes aircraft at a cost of 125 million dollars will land and relay back to earth vital data on radiation hazards and other phenomena it will also take a sample of the lunar crust and analyze it this two-man capsule gemini represents the next phase in project apollo built by the mcdonald aircraft corporation the capsule is part of a one billion dollar program in which ten manned flights will be conducted solely in earth orbit for space flight experience gemini's design will permit the astronauts to leave the capsule they will be able to conduct experiments and make repairs while floating free in space because he will be in orbit for periods up to 14 days the germany's astronaut must drastically reorient his living habits to cope with his weightless environment freeze-dried foods reconstituted with water will provide his main sustenance [Music] the titan ii an intercontinental missile produced by the martin company is the germany launch vehicle the first manned flight is scheduled for late this year following a series of unmanned launches more than a thousand hours in space will be logged by germany missions before the nasa program is completed manned launches will continue to be made from cape kennedy while flight control will be directed from the new houston center nearing the final stages of development is the apollo spacecraft itself the system which will carry three men into lunar orbit and back to earth twice the size of the germany capsule it weighs five tons and has been constructed to withstand the searing heat of planetary reentry the apollo command vehicle is being manufactured by north american aviation under a one billion dollar nasa contract its first earth orbital flight with three men on board is scheduled for 1967. although the first lunar mission will last only seven days the module is designed to house in its eleven by thirteen foot structure more than two-week supplies of life-sustaining materials another feature of this craft is its ability to be maneuvered in the atmosphere somewhat like an airplane countless tests in the laboratory and in flight will provide the confidence required for the actual moonshot here the escape rocket lifts the command module in a test simulating an abort off the launch pad this would take place during countdown and within microseconds of any technical failure the moon's gravity is one-sixth that of the earth and man will have to develop new techniques for locomotion on the lunar surface here at roman aircraft an astronaut experiments with entering and leaving his lunar vehicle with a rig that reduces his weight by 5 6. the vehicle is called the lunar excursion module or lamb and is being built at a cost of more than 600 million dollars the first flight model is scheduled for delivery in 1966 perhaps the most intricate maneuver eventually required by the apollo mission will be the rejoining of lem the lunar landed vehicle with the moon orbiting command module in which the men will return to earth this technique known as rendezvous will be perfected in the gemini program both in ground training with simulators and in earth orbit flights themselves rocket power the key to a successful lunar mission and the area in which the space program has advanced most rapidly since 1961. all major research and development of the giant rockets is being conducted at huntsville alabama here at the marshall space flight center the family of super boosters called saturn is tested and readied for launch from kate kennedy chrysler and boeing are the prime contractors for this project which will culminate in the immense apollo booster saturn v [Applause] this is an engineering mock-up of the saturn v tails section comprised of five f1 engines the flight vehicle will generate seven and one half million pounds of thrust equivalent to the horsepower of two million automobiles saturn 5 will launch the 45 ton apollo system on its lunar trajectory it will be the most powerful rocket ever built bernard tesman deputy director of the test laboratory at marshall is supervising the construction of the saturn v static test stand the concrete tower costing 30 million dollars is the largest of its kind in the world first firings on this stand will commence in december they will be the next crucial step in the race for the moon what do you think of the 1970 target date for the moon program well we better make it i i'm very confident that we will do and as far as things went so far it looks very promising you think we'll make it yes we can make it what if the russians got there first well good for them but i would say we have a good chance this time to uh beat them i hope also we should not be confused by the quietness from their side as you probably know they always did work behind the fence and once they were first but i hope this time we will beat them it appears that apollo will meet its projected 1970 target date the russian timetable if there is one remains unknown [Music] hello i'm marilyn vanderbilt come along with me to a timex holiday in hawaii let's go to a hukilao a hokie lau is a fish fry a kind of beach party and it begins like this listen the guests have a great time fishing for their dinner and a good catch means they'll eat very well looks like it's dinner time right now the food is wonderful but aren't little girls the same everywhere what really interests her is mother's pretty timex watch can you blame her look at the lovely lines the slender cord band it's good fashion wherever you go this girl is lucky two ways she's found a beautiful shell and she wore her waterproof timex this watch can take almost anything there's a timex watch that's perfect for everything you do and everything you wear and at timex prices you can have a whole wardrobe of them remember more smart women wear timex than any other watch in the world [Music] because there is no atmosphere on the moon its physical appearance and composition are the same today as they were a billion years ago once we finally understand the moon's makeup we may very well determine the origin of the earth itself however political and military incentives are the more immediate justifications given for our race to the moon but how much worldly wealth and manpower these objectives are worth and how urgently they are needed remain subjects of heated controversy we met in washington with a number of lawmakers among them paul douglas senior senator from illinois senator douglas what do you think of the apollo program to put a man on the moon by 19. i think it will cost altogether too much 30 billion