The Dish Script - Dialogue Transcript

The Dish Script

Excuse me, sir. Yes? 

I'm afraid you've come in the wrong way. 

I'm sorry... This is the old entrance. 

The visitor's centre's out and around to the left. 

Right, well... I'll wander over then. 

Well worth it. Been through some amazing times. 

(Murmurs) Yeah. 

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. 

SONG:  Come and see the real thing 

 Come and see the real thing Come and see 

 Come and see the real thing Come and see the real thing 

 Come and see 

 There's a meaning there 

 But the meaning there doesn't really mean a thing 

 Come and see the real thing...  

MAN: Godspeed, John Glenn. 

 Come and see 

 I am the real...  

KENNEDY: 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. 

 Trying hard to understand but really not just seeing me 

 Trying hard to understand but really not just seeing me 

 There's a meaning there 

 But the meaning there doesn't really mean a thing...  

MAN: lgnition sequence starts. 

 Come and see the real thing Come and see 

 I am the real thing...  MAN: Tower, clear. 

RADIO: 'Apollo 9', you are go... 

RADIO: 'Apollo 1 0', your trajectory and guidance are go. 

MAN: Man is about to launch himself on a trip to the moon. 

MAN: Neil Armstrong. Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin. 

Michael Collins. 

Next stop for them - the moon. 

The lunar age is about to begin. 

 I am not seeing you 

 Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah.  

When the guy counts down to zero, 

the three astronauts will take off in 'Apollo 1 1 ' from America. 

And the rocket will fly up to the moon like this and, er... 

Landing module. 

Landing module comes off and lands on the moon. 

The astronauts will come out in their spacesuits, 

and get shot by martians! (All scream) 

Damien... And their heads will explode! 

They'll fly back to Earth and kill everyone. 

That's not going to happen. It might. 

Who's next? Graeme? 

Um, just a minute, Graeme. Melanie? 

I haven't done the moon landing. 

(Mutters) Thank God. 

I've made a model of the telescope and receiving dish 

in the town of Parkes. 

When astronaut Neil Armstrong lands on the moon, 

people all over the world will be watching television pictures 

provided by the radio telescope in Parkes. 

WOMAN: Mr Callem, the Prime Minister wants to see you. 

Can it wait? I don't think so. 

What's it about? 

He's just got off the phone to the White House. 

Do you know who was on the phone then? 

No, sir. The US President. 

Nixon... Sorry, sir... 

..thanking me for allowing NASA to use our facility. 

Yes, sir. And something about an upgrade? 

Right. What's he talking about? 

There's a briefing docu... I don't read those! 

( BELL RINGS ) 

Are we raising this? I think we should. 

So what's this all about? 

The President was referring to our radio telescope. 

Some months ago, NASA requested - and you approved - 

its use in the Apollo program, originally as a backup receiver. 

Originally? They upgraded its role. 

When 'Apollo 1 1 ' gets to the moon, 

Parkes will now be the prime receiving station. 

Meaning? We've got the moon walk. 

Shit. The people at this place - do they know what they're doing? 

I believe so. I 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? 

MAN: The Parkes radio telescope, or, as we call it, the dish, 

will track 'Apollo 1 1 ' throughout its journey 

gathering voice signals from the astronauts, 

telemetry from the spaceship 

and then, most importantly, the TV signals from the moon itself. 

It's 21 0 feet in diameter, it weighs 1 ,000 tons 

and it can be moved to point in virtually every direction. 

It's the most powerful receiving dish in the world. 

..in the world. 

Can I have their full names and specific roles? 

This is Ross Mitchell. 

He's responsible for manoeuvring the dish. 

This is Mr Glenn Latham. 

Glenn's in charge of all the electronics. 

Glenn's a Sagittarius. He enjoys knitting, flower-arranging... 

Mitch, I do not! Don't write that. 

From NASA, AI Burnett. 

AI makes sure the signals get back safely to Mission Control. 

Enjoying your stay in Australia? Very much, sir. 

The people are warm... And friendly. That's great. 

And you, Cliff. What's your official title? 

Cliff Buxton, director. 

Or the 'dishmaster'. 

OK. Now I just need a few personal details. 

You married? Yeah. 

Glenn? Fiancee, Janine Kellerman. 

Mitch! She's not my fiancee. Local girl. 

I don't have a fiancee. 

Married. Two boys, in Houston. 

And you, Cliff? 

Married. 

And just finally, I mean, no offence, 

but when you think about it, 

the Americans spent 1 0 years, billions of dollars, 

to let us watch man walk on the moon, 

and in the end it falls to you blokes. (Laughs) 

I mean, how do you feel about that? 

A lot better before you opened your trap. 

We feel confident we have the expertise to complete our role. 

But, Cliff. I mean, it's pretty amazing, isn't it? 

Yes, it is amazing. 

And so Australia finds itself a vital cog 

in this grand endeavour. 

ALL: Hear, hear. 

Only 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. 

ALL: Hear, hear. 

And I thought it fitting 

to accept the invitation of the mayor of Parkes 

to be there on Monday and witness first-hand 

our vital contribution. 

ALL: Hear, hear. 

Now THAT is an RSVP. 

The Prime Minister coming to Parkes. 

I'll frame that. The icing on the cake. 

You know why this means so much? Helps your political career. 

No, Len. It does. 

The PM standing with the candidate. 

It's all about brownnosing. Licking arse! 

No! It's a vindication. 

Oh! 

Oh, vindication. 

Vindication of my campaign 

to get that dish here in the first place. 

That was an episode! 

You know what people said when I proposed Parkes? 

That you were grandstanding. 

It's a self-serving stunt to big-note yourself. 

Who said that? 

Oh... 

They said I was a dreamer. A visionary. 

Yeah, that's right. 

"Bob Mclntyre," they said, "you'll never pull it off." 

And now, which town is part of the 'Apollo 1 1 ' mission? 

RADIO: Honeysuckle network, Net 2. 

HONEYSUCKLE: Honeysuckle. 

NET 2: Roger, would you confirm that Parkes is all up... 

NEWSREADER: As 'Apollo 1 1 ' is being 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 will allow communications with 'Apollo 1 1 ' 

on its historic journey. 

AL: ..and it deposits signals straight to Sydney. 

Strip the TV, send that to Moree... 

Both receivers. 

Sorry, go on. 

The rest will be sent to the demodulator 

at Honeysuckle Creek first. 

The biomed telemetry feeds - 

can we send those on separate lines? 

Mitch? Yeah, no problem. 

AL: OK. Biomed, TM split feeds. 

It's a big book you've got there, Al. 

Hold on. What is it? 

These coordinates don't match. They've been changed. 

Are you sure? This is unacceptable. 

Glenn, come here. 

What? 

Every coordinate in this book has been changed. 

Yeah? 

I changed them. 

You what? I changed them. 

Why? Because they were wrong. 

Why were they wrong? I don't know. 

No, what about them was wrong? 

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 point in the wrong... 

It might be a good idea to tell us. 

Oh, sure. I just didn't want to worry you. 

Cup of tea, Al? 

No, thank you. 

MITCH: I'll have one. Thank you, Glenn. 

This is why we have to 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... OK, Mitch. Let's get on with it. 

I'll go and start the dish. 

MAN: Hi, Bob! 

Phil. 

Keith. 

Major Mclntyre. 

I'm a long time out of uniform. 

You fought, sir. In a war, sir. You'll get your chance. 

I hope so, sir. 

Kid's a cadet. He's keen. 

Hello, Bob. How's it going, Pearl? 

Bob, busy as a bee. The whole town's abuzz. 

They'll have something else to talk about 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. 

Don't worry. How are the boys at the dish? 

They're raring to go. The American chap settling in? 

I think so. Quiet fella. 

Came in here yesterday... wanting pretzels! 

Pretzels? 

Yep. It's a world event. 

The Prime Minister. 

Better get a jig-along. See you later. 

MAN ON RADIO: Last report, all systems were go at the cape 

and the countdown proceeding to schedule. 

MAN 2: Let's go back to Cape Kennedy 

and correspondent Fred Turner. 

( RADIO BABBLE CONTINUES ) 

(Yells) The launch is definitely going ahead tonight. 

And the ball is definitely going ahead Friday night. 

So can we get back to fixing... Oh, yeah. Got another surge. 

(Plays 'Cuando, Cuando, Cuando') 

(Band stops) Oh! I could rumba right now. 

I hope we've got some slow numbers. 

Yes, Mrs Spears. 

Um, we've got a new song too. 

Who's it by? J-James Hendrix. 

Let's hear a couple of bars. 

(Band plays 'Foxy Lady') 

There's a slower version. 

That is not to go above three. Yes, Mrs Spears. 

You're right with the American anthem? 

The what? 

Are you telling me 

you haven't prepared the American national anthem? 

How does it go? 

You've got 48 hours. 

MITCH: I knew it the day he arrived! 

NASA sent him - fine, they're renting the dish. 

But how about some respect? Two-way street. 

Honestly, I wouldn't worry about it. 

We're a professional unit... GLENN: Mitch. 

You right? 

Sorry, mate. 

Still not flat enough, Glenn. 

I'll give it a tweak. 

Drop it down a couple of clicks. Probably on NASA settings. 

MITCH: We're senior members of the department of radio physics. 

We're not mugs at this game. Know what he asked me? 

Do we have a dress standard? I mean, can you believe that? 

That is hard to believe. 

Wish he'd gone home with the rest. 

What's his problem? 

Well, perhaps he's just feeling the pressure. 

(Scoffs) Feeling the pressure. He's got to learn to relax. 

I'll tell you a little secret, Mitch. 

He's not the only one. 

(Hatch opens) 

We just got word from Houston. It's go for launch. 

( 'SPANISH FLEA' BY HERB ALPERT AND THE TIJUANA BRASS PLAYS ) 

BOB: Ha-ha! Kelsos! Now the party can start. Come in. 

Melna! All the way from Grenfell. 

Wouldn't miss it! 

How's Clem? Chesty. 

Happy to have you home from university. 

It's for the weekend. I go back Monday. 

Phone's been ringing all day. 

You'll miss the moon landing. Good. 

This whole mission's typical of America's imperialistic greed. 

CSIRO, reporters, Reg Baxter. 

They're just walking on it. And then what? 

Come home, I suppose. That's enough, Marie. 

Mr Purvis doesn't want to hear all that nonsense. 

Pick up the phone and I yell, "Yeah, what?" 

And do you know who it was? The science minister. 

Who's for another devil-on-horseback? 

They've all got families. I know. It's extraordinary. 

I wouldn't let Don go. I know exactly what you mean. 

How do you reckon they go to... (Whistles) ..up there? 

I suppose they just hold on. For four days. 

Looking forward to the dance. It's a ball. 

They're not eating big meals, just pills and stuff. 

You can't hold on for four days, Len. 

They should try these - block them up for a week. 

TELEVISION: And all is still go as we monitor our status... 

How's it looking, Billy? It's full of liquid hydrogen. 

Can they fix that? 

No, it means it's go for launch. Oh, hydrogen! 

And the Prime Minister? He'll be here on Monday. 

For the lunch! Luncheon, Melna. 

Men on the moon, eh? Yep, and we're part of it, Dad. 

Part of it - we're slap-bang in the middle of it. 

MAY: And there could be a small announcement. 

Really? It's not official yet. 

But Bob's got the nomination for Parkes. 

(Squeals) But we're not telling anybody! 

What's that? 

Bob's got the nomination for Parkes. 

Bob, congratulations on the nomination. 

Bob, the nomination. Well done. 

May... 

BILLY: Dad, they're talking about Parkes! 

Crikey! 

TELEVISION: Well, the signals from the radio telescope antenna at Parkes 

will come in here 

over the postmaster general's video system. 

We're building a new antenna in Australia... 

LEN: 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. 

TELEVISION: All indications coming in to the control centre 

TELEVISION: All indications coming in to the control centre 

indicate we are go. 

Our status board indicates 

the third stage completely pressurised. 

T-minus 60 seconds and counting. 

We've passed T-minus 60. 

55 seconds and counting. 

All still go at this time. 

Neil Armstrong reported back when he received good wishes, 

"Thank you very much. We know it will be a good flight." 

Good luck and Godspeed. 

40 seconds away from the 'Apollo 1 1 ' lift-off. 

All the second-stage tanks now pressurised. 

35 seconds and counting. We are still go with 'Apollo 1 1 '. 

30 seconds and counting. 

Astronauts report, "It feels good." 

T-minus 25 seconds. 

20 seconds and counting. 

Guidance is internal. 

TELEVISION: 1 5 seconds. Guidance is internal. 

Guidance is internal. 

TELEVISION: 1 2, 1 1 , 1 0... 

Ignition sequence starts. 

TELEVISION: lgnition sequence starts. 

Six, five, four, 

three, two, one, zero. 

All engines running. 

Lift-off. We have a lift-off. 

32 minutes past the hour. Lift-off on 'Apollo 1 1 '. 

( ROCKET RUMBLES ) 

TELEVISION: Tower cleared. 

ARMSTRONG: We've got to roll program. 

TELEVISION: Neil Armstrong reporting 

the roll and pitch program 

which puts 'Apollo 1 1 ' on proper heading. 

ARMSTRONG: Roll is complete and the pitch is programming. 

TELEVISION: Plus 30 seconds. 

Down range - 1 mile. Altitude - 3, 4 miles an hour. 

Godspeed. 

Amen. 

TELEVISION: Velocity - 2,1 95 feet per second... 

TELEVISION: 'Apollo 1 1 ' is now out over the lndian Ocean 

approaching the western shore of Australia. 

And as you perhaps know, 

the crew will make 1 .5 revolutions of the Earth... 

RADIO: ..from the ABC, read by Tom Kelly. 

The 'Apollo 1 1 ' has had a perfect launching 

on its journey to the moon. 

The Saturn rocket rose on a blur of orange-red flame 

from Cape Kennedy, 

right on time at 1 1 :32 tonight, Eastern Australian Time. 

The spaceship and the rocket's final stage 

are now orbiting the Earth, before setting out in 4 hours... 

KEITH: Ten-hut! 

Morning, Marie. 

SONG:  Good morning, starshine 

 You lead us along 

 You lead us along 

 My love and me as we sing...  

( GEARS CRUNCH ) 

 Baby, la-be-loo-be la-la 

 La-la-la lo-lo...  

(Sighs) 

 Do-be-do-be wah-la 

 Do-be-aba-naba 

 Early morning singing this song.  

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, Janine. She'll come and take it off me. 

This is getting cold. I've got to sign you in. Janine! 

Entry authorised. 

A bickie too. JANINE: Hello, everyone. 

Morning, Mr Buxton. 

Well, if it isn't the most beautiful girl in Parkes. 

Good morning, Mr Burnett. Thank you, Janine. 

Good morning, Mitch. Janine. 

Good morning, Glenn. Hi, Janine. 

I put extra cheese on yours. Thanks, Janine. 

You tiger. Mitch. 

How's Mum? She's good, Mr Buxton. 

Getting ready for the ball. The whole town is over the moon. 

(Janine and Cliff laugh) 

JANINE: It is so exciting. The ambassador arrives tomorrow. 

Oh! Over the moon. 

(Giggles) The Prime Minister's here on Monday. 

On the news they showed Parkes. They show the dish? 

Mm-hm. Everyone's so proud. 

RADIO: PKS, Houston Flight Control. 

Awaiting downlink frequencies. 

PKS. Roger that, Houston. 

Was that Neil Armstrong? 

No, we're not online at the moment, Janine. 

Sorry? 

There's two major tracking stations. 

There's us and Goldstone. 

Goldstone? California. 

When the moon's on our side of the world, Parkes is online. 

When it's on the other, then it's Goldstone. 

Right, but... 

Why don't you explain it, Glenn? Go on. 

Um...OK. 

Imagine the Earth is a basketball. 

This'll be good. 

On top of the basketball is... 

What's that thing you put the pump into? 

The hole. Yeah, but it's got a name. 

Oh, the valve. 

The valve is Goldstone, on the other side is another valve... 

Basketballs only have one valve. 

What's something with two valves? 

A tuba. No, round. 

Tambourine. Doesn't have valves. 

Coconut... Mitch. 

Let's just say it's a basketball with two valves. 

When the Goldstone valve can't see 'Apollo 1 1 ', 

the Parkes valve can. 

That's it. Good work, Glenn. 

But how do you know where 'Apollo 1 1 ' is? 

Computer. Wow. 

20 seconds it does what took me five hours with a slide rule. 

And a basketball. 

Does the computer move the dish? 

Mitch does that.... 

Janine, we'll have to return to work. 

Thank you for the refreshments. 

Oh, it was my pleasure. 

Thanks very much, Janine. See you, love. 

She's a lovely girl. 

Yeah. Not much of a driver but. 

You should ask her out when all this is over. 

Oh, boy. Ask Janine out - I don't know, Cliff. 

You should see her come to the cricket club 

and everyone wants to talk to her. 

And Garry Kenny - wouldn't be surprised if they're going out. 

Do you reckon? 

Yeah, I reckon. 

What if she said no? 

Well, sometimes you've just got to take a risk. 

( NEWS THEME MUSIC ) 

Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins started their epic mission 

a little more than 1 9 hours ago. 

Where are they now, Kevin? 

At the moment, the astronauts are 93,250 miles from Earth 

and the moon is 1 46,750 miles ahead. 

If we look at it on this scale, 

which we should stress is not drawn to scale... 

Pity they don't mention who got the dish here. 

Come on, love. 

You've never got due credit, Robert Mclntyre. 

I've done alright, Maysie. 

Please don't call me Maysie in front of the ambassador. 

What do I care if some bigwig Yank sees 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! 

If you get into Parliament, will you abolish the national draft? 

Anything for you, sweetheart. 

Dad, it's a political issue. 

Oh. Leave it with me. 

Cliff, about before. 

I don't want you and Mitch to think I'm holding on too tight. 

Well, 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, there's a lot at stake, Al. 

There's no guarantees. A lot of variables. 

We'll be right. 

( 'CLASSICAL GAS' PLAYS ) 

MITCH: Zenith - 59, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60. 

6001 . CLIFF: Hold it there. 

( SHEEP BLEAT ) 

Glenn? 

Nothing. 

HGA? 

Prelimit. 

CLIFF: Run APP prime. 

Antenna porting processor running. 

We've got a signal. Glenn? 

It's weak. 

Pick it up, Mitch. 

Azimuth - 8522, 24, 26, 28... AL: It's up. 

GLENN: 90DBM. Solid. 

( BEEP ) RADIO: 'Apollo 1 1 ', Houston... 

CLIFF: OK, switching to M.E. 

Equatorial control locked on. Reading? 

2.5. 

Set... 

..and holding. 

Acquisition of signal. We are go for command. 

PKS, Houston NC. 

RADIO: Houston Network Control. Go ahead, Parkes. 

Standing by for handover. 

HOUSTON: Copy that, Parkes. 

All stations Net 2, we are switching to PKS. 

ASTRONAUT: Roger, understand... 

Who's for a cup of tea? 

HOUSTON: '1 1 ', it was a good readback, 

and we'd like a crew status report, over. 

ASTRONAUT: Houston, 'Apollo 1 1 ', the battery charging is complete 

and the crew status report is as follows. 

CDR, VMV, LMD, negative medication. 

Fit as a fiddle, over. 

HOUSTON: Roger, copy, '1 1 '. Thank you so much. 

We'd like you to verify a reading... 

(English accent) Houston, the moon city of the US. 

Dr Charles Berry is the astronauts' doctor. 

(Speaks ltalian) 

We've had concerns about whether they're able to rest adequately. 

We're pretty sure we know how to do it. 

(Speaks Japanese) 

..is following the 'Apollo 1 1 ' mission 

with intense personal interest. 

RADIO: PKS, Houston. Contact. 

RADIO: PKS, Houston. Contact. 

MITCH: Go ahead, Houston. 

HOUSTON: Can we have a CSM switch reading, please? 

1 -3-0. 

Roger, signal strength is negative 1 -3-0. 

Solid lock on prime. 

HOUSTON: Standby for UDB. 

Uplink data buffer standing by. 

What was that? 

Just a CSM switch. Nothing to worry about. 

Won't be long. Take your time. 

Can you run a verification of the projected plot points 

for the next handover? 

I've done it. Now with the adjusted bearings. 

Oh, well, I stand corrected. 

No, you're wrong. 

Got a problem? 

Yeah. CLIFF: Mitch... 

No. 

You treat us like a pack of galahs. 

That's a kind of parrot. 

Just because I don't wear a tie 

or spend all day buried in a manual 

doesn't mean I'm a drongo. 

That's a hopeless... Yeah, I get the idea, Glenn. 

I've got nothing but complete respect for your capabilities. 

I'd appreciate the same in return. 

Al, it's probably time to get along now. 

Let me know if... Don't worry. 

RUDl: 'Bye, Mr Burnett. 

Guys, I've been calling you... 

Oh, right. It's been switched off again. 

Testing, 1 , 2, testing... ( FEEDBACK ) 

Right. 

MITCH: What were you calling about? 

What's that? 

You've been calling - what were you calling about? 

Oh, it was just the, um... 

..the... Routine call? 

Yep, that's right, Mr Buxton. It was the routine call. 

Anyway, I'd better get back to my post. 

Can we set up over here? 

That's it - there's a camera crew downstairs. 

Entry's been authorised. 

Ambassador's taking his time. 

Must still be at the motel. 

You organise that fruit platter? 

Yep, nice big one. 

Major Mclntyre. Keith. 

Is Marie here, sir? 

No, apparently the ambassador is a "cultural imperialist". 

Sorry, sir? She's gone in. 

Be careful, son. Yes, sir. 

That boy's about to get a taste of war. 

In a few days time, 

we'll be watching television pictures from the moon. 

Could you explain how these pictures will be received? 

Got a basketball? 

When Armstrong emerges from the lunar landing module, 

he'll activate a small camera here, 

which will capture pictures of him descending the ladder 

and walking on the surface of the moon. 

REPORTER: These pictures - how will they make it back to Earth? 

Carrier pigeon. 

There's a small S-band transmitter on top 

which sends the images back down to us. 

It's certainly amazing technology... 

(Glenn laughs) Carrier pigeon. 

REPORTER: We'll have to go again. 

LEN: 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, Bob. 

MAY: What do we call him? Your Excellency? 

Turn it up. He's not bloody royalty. 

It's important, Bob. 

We're his first impression of Parkes. 

Mr Ambassador, on behalf of the people of Parkes, 

we welcome you to Parkes. 

Why, thank you, Bob. 

I can call you Bob? Absolutely, Mr Ambassador. 

Howard. And this is...? 

Len. G'day. 

I mean May. My wife, May. She's the lemon. 

RADIO: 'Apollo 1 1 ', Houston. We recommend you accept 1 '49. 

Continue through your sequence of sighting 

and then we'll analyse the data afterwards, over. 

ASTRONAUT: OK. 

Cliff? 

Time for a cup of tea? 

I haven't been treated like this since I stripped harvesters. 

He reckons the only people who can do a job properly 

are Americans. 

Aren't you being a little unfair? 

Cliff, what's happened to you lately? 

I'm sorry. I'm sorry, that came out wrong. 

But this was always your dish. 

You'd never let anyone else come in and run the place. 

We're part of a worldwide team on this. 

Part of NASA. And what's NASA? 

It's money and equipment on a plate. 

No, Mitch. NASA's just a bigger bunch of us. 

Have you thought about what's being attempted here? 

Of course I have. 

We're in the middle of the greatest feat ever attempted. 

This is science's chance to be daring. 

What are you doing? 

Standing around, bitching. 

( FOOTSTEPS ) 

Rudi. Fellas. 

Janine dropped some food over from the dance. 

Lovely. 

Her and Glenn are down there by themselves? 

Yeah. 

I don't know if you guys have noticed, but Janine likes Glenn. 

Is that right? 

Rudi, what's with the gun? 

It's an official NASA installation, Mr Buxton. 

We may need this. Don't worry about that - I've tasted it. 

What? The food. 

It could have been tampered with. 

We can't take chances, guys. 

Do you want a couple more? Thanks, I'm still starving. 

(Clicks radio) Leaving Sector A. 

Um, I thought the foyer was Sector A. 

Yeah. It was. 

But now I've decided to go alphabetically 

from the top down. 

That's not locked in yet. 

Cliff. 

This whole thing - I can't believe I'm a part of it. 

Certainly can't believe Rudi's a part of it. 

(Laughs) 

Me too. 

Helen would've been proud. 

(Band plays 'God Save the Queen' badly) 

Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, 

please remain upstanding for the national anthem 

of the United States of America. 

(Plays 'Hawaii Five-0' theme) 

(Mouths) 

CLIFF: PKS, Houston. Confirm handover at 1 700 hours. 

HOUSTON: Roger, PKS. Copy, 1 700. 

PKS, out. 

Where'd you get the chocolate? 

Janine. 

So, um... 

I will, Cliff. I will. I promise. 

( BAND PLAYS, GENERAL CHATTER ) 

The Prime Minister's people want to meet and greet, 

and I can't find the car keys! 

About to call a cab and what do I see... 

The keys in the car door. Why don't we dance? 

(All laugh) 

Keys were hanging out the door. (Laughs) 

( 'A TASTE OF HONEY' PLAYS ) 

Not too racey? 

Oh, no. 

Marie. 

What? 

I was wondering if you'd like to dance. 

Are you stupid? 

No. 

Would you? 

You're sure I wouldn't be in the way? 

We'd be honoured to have you visit. 

Sorry about that mix-up earlier, Howard. 

No harm done, Bob. 

Sometimes I wish it was our national anthem. 

(Laughs) Oh, beauty. You'll love this bloke. 

(Sings)  Fly me to the moon 

 Let me swing among the stars...  

He's from Brisbane. 

Is he? He's a little like Frank Sinatra. 

Mmm, if not better. 

 ln other words, hold my hand...  

( ELECTRICITY FUSES ) 

Oh, who's playing funny buggers? 

Shit! 

( DRAMATIC MUSIC ) 

We're sorting it out. Copped another surge. 

It's not that pie-warmer again? 

MITCH: What's happened? CLIFF: Blackout. 

GLENN: Control panel's dead. 

Sorry, folks. Have it fixed in a jiffy. 

Receivers. Negative. 

Demodulators. Nuh. 

Whole rack's dead. Everything's dead. 

Bloody hell. 

What happened to the backup generator? 

Shit. 

(All gasp) 

( APPLAUSE ) 

Sorry about that, Howard. 

No trouble for me, Bob. 

As long as everything is fine out at the installation. 

What, the dish? Oh, they'd have all that under control. 

Backup generators, the works. I'll check with Al. 

Where's Al? 

( 'THE LOVED ONE' BY THE LOVED ONES PLAYS ) 

Anything? 

Nothing. 

We've lost lock. 

What happened to the generator? 

Er, the fuel pump. 

What about it? 

Well, when I drained it, I must have... 

I forgot to prime the lines again. 

You forgot?! It was... 

How could you let that happen?! 

This is what happens... Don't you dare! 

Alright. 

We've got to find that ship. 

Switch to manual drive, see if we can get a lock. 

What's its position? 

Um... 

CLIFF: Come on! 

I think the computer's wiped. 

Oh, shit. 

Are we stuffed? Kinda. 

Glenn? Yep, we're stuffed. 

What's that noise? 

It's moving. 

CLIFF: How? 

M.E. must be chasing its own tail. 

Shut it down. We'll have to override... 

( GEARS STOP ) 

How far did it move? 

Far enough. 

Are we sending anything? 

RADIO: Sydney OTC, this is Flight Control Houston. 

Are you receiving a signal from Parkes? 

SYDNEY: Negative, Houston. 

HOUSTON: PKS, Flight Control Houston here. Do you copy? 

Flight Control, this is Parkes. We copy. 

HOUSTON: Parkes, we've lost your signal. Confirm status. 

Er, Houston, this is Parkes. We still have a strong signal. 

Must be a relay problem. 

HOUSTON: Copy that, Parkes. We'll look into it. Stand by. 

Parkes, standing by. 

Cliff, that's bullshit. 

You just bullshitted NASA. 

That's not good. 

Oh... 

I bought us some time. 

AL: Let me get this straight. 

You've lost 'Apollo 1 1 '. 

Yep. 

Southern Hemisphere's prime receiving station 

has no idea where 'Apollo 1 1 ' is. 

It's on its way to the moon. 

Computer can't lock us back on? 

Once it loses power, it loses data. 

I thought there's an uninterruptable power source. 

It was designed as a UPS, but, um, 

the generator didn't kick back in. 

How come? 

It just didn't, Al. 

Look, the power's back on. Everything's under control. 

Except we've lost 'Apollo 1 1 '. Except for that. 

We have the data, it just has to be programmed back in. 

How long will that take? Glenn? 

Hours. A day. Month. How long, Glenn? 

Take a shot. 

1 2, 24 hours. It's a lot of calculations. 

If we're not relaying data, Houston would've noticed. 

Well, 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? GLENN: Bullshitted them. 

We have to tell them, Cliff. That we stuffed up? 

Yes, that we stuffed it. 

Like they stuffed the Southern Hemisphere coordinates. 

They'll give us the current position. 

And say we're not required. Excuse me? 

We're dickheads who can't maintain a practice signal. 

I'm telling you... Listen, Al. 

We can reprogram the system. 

We need you to keep NASA off our backs. 

Cliff, I am NASA. And I'm saying we tell them what happened. 

RADIO: PKS, Houston NC. 

Go ahead, Houston. 

HOUSTON: Spoken to IMCO. 

No closer to finding this breakdown. 

Are you sure it's downstream? 

PKS... 

..is still online, Houston, 

confirming loss of signal downstream. 

HOUSTON: Roger that, Parkes. We'll maintain alternative feed. 

(Murmurs) What have I done? 

You bullshitted NASA. Good man, Al. 

Right, let's get cracking. 

SONG:  I chose you for the one...  

I've never been more proud of being mayor than I was tonight. 

Plus I got to go home with the prettiest girl at the dance. 

You look great in yellow. 

Lemon. Lemon. 

( PHONE RINGS ) 

Who's that? 

Crikey! There'll be 1 0 or 1 5 press coming with it. 

They're not going to be mugs. 

Alright. 

Alright, what if you come clean, just tell NASA? 

Tell them what? Th-that, um... 

That we lost 'Apollo 1 1 '? 

I wouldn't say that first. What would you say? 

Well, you know, "Hey, you'll never guess what happened..." 

Bob, it's 'Apollo 1 1 '. 

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 moon walk. 

Try keeping a lid on that. 

We'll be the punchline to a joke. 

RUDl: Who goes there? 

It's just us, Rudi. 

Oh, OK. 

Who? 

Cliff and Bob. 

Hi, Bob. 

Rudi. 

How are you? 

Good. Fine. OK. Nighty-night. 

We know roughly when they reappear, but not where. 

The same place as yesterday. 

Yesterday, they were orbiting. Now they're translunar. 

We'll have to re-do every angle. 

That'll take forever. 

Make it a two-body calculation. 

Get an approximate fix then scan. 

Yeah, that should do it. 

I'll give you a hand with the figures. 

Al, I found out 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 fulfil it. 

Haven't heard that tone for a while. 

You remember that night at my place, 

trying to sort out the contract with that fella from 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 1 1 ' mission." 

That was it - one sentence. They couldn't believe it. 

It was a wonderful moment. 

But this isn't. 

No, this is a shithouse moment. 

RUDl: Halt. Who goes there? 

( SHEEP BLEATS ) 

( WONDROUS MUSIC ) 

MITCH: Glenn? 

No, I'm not sure. 

I thought 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 miss it. 

And if we sweep wider, well, we still might miss it. 

You're confident about that? 

They're in the commanding service module 

until they reach the moon, and the rockets aren't on. 

Really? They just sit and wait. 

Is that right? 

This is the fastest man's ever travelled. 

Go on. 

If you ask me, 

it's the biggest chauvinistic exercise in history. 

That's why nobody asks you, darling. 

There you go, Bob. 

I'll go get my 'Saturn V' rocket. 

Yeah, go get it. Thanks, love. 

Is everything alright at the dish? 

Maysie, can you keep a secret? (Laughs) No. 

What's happened, Bob? 

What if we split the difference? Ship's moving too fast. 

OK, let's just call Houston and ask for the current coordinates. 

Which tells them we've been bullshitting. 

Just tell them what happened. 

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 again last night. 

Is everything alright? 

Glenn? 

Um, yeah. It's fine. 

Glenn was just checking... some stuff. 

Oh, really? 

Oh, well, I'd better let you get to it. 

I'm sorry for interrupting. 

Not at all, Janine, really. 

Thanks for bringing the food. No problem, Mr Buxton. 

Cliff, what do you want to do? 

Just give this a little more thought. 

RUDI ON RADIO: Sector G, come in. 

GLENN: Let me just try something. 

Not now, Rudi. 

You've got a visitor. 

It's the ambassador. 

Of the United States of America. 

Oh, God. 

RUDl: ls this thing working? Just a minute, Rudi. 

Roger that, Sector G. Confirm Sector A, hold on. 

He asked to visit. I didn't think he'd come so soon. 

He's here. 

Space nut. Knows everything about 'Apollo 1 1 '. 

Does he know where it is? 

OK, 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. 

Didn't want to pull rank or anything. 

Now, correct me, but the other facilities down this way - 

North West Cape and Honeysuckle Creek - 

they 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. 

Oh. So you'll be getting transmissions? 

Yeah. 

You'll be able to hear Armstrong talking to Houston? 

Just by hitting a couple of buttons there. 

Oh, let's do that. 

Sure. OK. 

I don't think that, er... No, you're right. 

I don't think... 

Just a brief listen and then I'll go. 

MITCH: Not a problem. 

Er...l'll just have to... reorient...the, er... 

Al. 

Cliff, if you could patch the audio in from Mezzanine 3. 

MAN ON RADIO: Columbia, Houston. Guidance systems OK. 

You're still go for auto. 

MAN 2: Copy that. 

MAN 1 : Telemetry reports that O2 and CO2 are OK and steady, 

and biomed telemetry is now reading your vital statistics 

as being adequate within the limits. 

(American accent) Copy that. 

Neil, we have you currently at 1 24,000 nautical miles from Earth 

and at an approach velocity of 32,000 feet per second. 

MITCH: Copy that. 

AL: We might just let you get back to work. 

MITCH: Copy that. 

RUDl: ls that you, Neil? 

I repeat, this is Sector A. Is that you, Mr Armstrong? 

(Pulls plug) That's funny. 

Must be a crossed line from Honeysuckle Creek. 

Sir, we must get back to work now. 

Oh. Oh! 

I'll see you out. 

I'll just move the dish. 

Oh, it'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. 

Mr Buxton, you'll never guess what happened. 

Later, Rudi. 

Should I get him to sign out? Just wait. 

That's got to be a felony. 

Right, let's find this ship. 

Glenn. 

Moving target. Everything's moving. 

If we had a point of reference, maybe we could do it. 

We take a punt. Choose a sector, arc that. 

GLENN: It's still a long shot. I thought you were confident. 

I know where 'Apollo 1 1 ' is. 

It's on its way to the moon. 

That's your point of reference. 

They've gone 1 50,000 miles. 

They've got to be within 3 or 4 degrees. 

Yeah. That might be OK. 

I think it might be OK. 

Yeah. 

So, we can rub this out? 

MITCH: 5707...5708... 

( GEARS STOP ) 

There's your moon. 

Have a fish around, Mitch. 

( SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC ) 

6730. 

MITCH: 6731 . 

( BEEP! ) We've got a signal! 

It's 'Apollo 1 1 '. 

Definite? 

GLENN: 2.28. AL: It's the tin can. 

Glenn? 

Yep! Signal lock! 

( RADIO BABBLE ) 

PKS, Houston Net 2. 

HOUSTON: Houston, PKS. 

Parkes is online. 

HOUSTON: Copy that, Parkes. 

And, copy, we're receiving your signal. 

Switching to master equatorial. 

And with 1 5 minutes to spare. 

Just enough time to go and check the generator. 

(Chuckles) 

It's great news, Cliff. 

( KNOCK AT DOOR ) 

Ah, look, I've got to dash. 

Um, look, I appreciate the call. 

What? (Laughs) 

Yeah! 'Bye. 

Major Mclntyre. Keith. 

What? 

Oh, 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? 

MARIE: Don't you get it?! 

Get what, sir? 

I think that's a no. 

Oh. 

You're a brave lad. 

RADIO: 'Apollo 1 1 ', this is Houston, over. 

ASTRONAUT: Roger, go ahead, Houston. 'Apollo 1 1 '. 

HOUSTON: '1 1 ', Houston. You are go for LOl, over. 

ASTRONAUT: Roger, go for LOl. 

Houston, 'Apollo 1 1 '. You want to give me a time check, please? 

HOUSTON: Give you a mark of 1 3 minutes and 30 seconds to ignition. 

ASTRONAUT: Roger. HOUSTON: Roger, out. 

HOUSTON: 'Apollo 1 1 ', all your systems are looking good. 

Going around the corner, we'll see you on the other side, over. 

TELEVISION: ..will orbit the moon 

in preparation for its historic descent to the lunar surface 

on Monday afternoon... 

That's all we need to know. Vol-au-vent? 

Ah, thank you. 

The boys give 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. (Gasps) 

SONG:  We have got to get it together 

 We have got to get it together now...  

That was a day and a half. 

I'll be 52 on Monday. 

Oh, happy birthday. 

52 years, 

and half of them in radio telescopes, mapping the stars. 

And then this came along. 

Your pipe. 

No, the moon mission. 

Do you know what I thought when it first came up? 

You beauty. 

I thought, "Imagine stuffing that up." 

Isn't that odd? 

What? 

Well, that I was more scared than excited. 

I don't think that's 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. 

Yeah, pretty good. 

I wish someone would tell me that. 

God bless you, Glenn. 

( 'LET'S GET TOGETHER' BY THE YOUNGBLOODS PLAYS ) 

 Love is but a song to sing 

 And fear's the way we die 

 You can make the mountains ring 

 Or make the angels cry 

 Though the bird is on the wing 

 And you may not know why 

 Come on, people, now Smile on your brother 

 Everybody get together 

 Try to love one another right now...  

Al. 

Yeah. 

When I said I was sorry about... 

..l meant I was sorry for everything. 

Mitch, that's not necessary. No. 

When you first arrived, I felt a little... 

..you're this hot shot from NASA 

and I'm some country kid with the arse falling out of me daks. 

Your...? Pants. 

The point is I was wrong. 

I never thought of you 

as a guy with the ass falling out of his... 

Daks. ..daks. 

Everyone at NASA is a college genius. 

The guy I most admire is from a one-horse town in Ohio. 

And what's he do? 

Tomorrow he's going to walk on the moon. 

Who's the guy? 

AL: Armstrong. 

You know, it would've been OK to tell Houston. 

Things go wrong there all the time. 

Oh, yeah. 

Mission Control turns blue every launch 

from 50 people holding their breath. 

Guess how many rockets blew up before we put men inside them. 

That's a while ago. Six weeks ago. 

Testing the lunar landing module. 

1 0 simulations without a hitch. 

On the 1 1th, the controls jammed. It crashed and burned. 

Strewth. Any idea why? 

No, they still have no idea why. 

Let's hope 1 1 isn't an unlucky number. 

We pray also for those three brave souls who, as we speak, 

are taking the first steps and exploring God's great universe. 

And for the many technicians and scientists 

whose efforts contribute to this brave endeavour. 

BOB: lf you think this 'Apollo 1 1 ' thing's big here, 

you should hear what's going on in the States. 

Really? 

What were you saying last night, Howard? 

You shouldn't drink so much. (All laugh) 

If you'll excuse me. 

He was round for dinner last night. 

Imagine two basketballs. 

One's there and one's there and there's a valve on top. 

They won't be televising the whole time? 

Wouldn't have thought so, no. 

Bounces off the basketball, 

and then it bounces off the Goldstone one... 

They could sneak around the back and have a... (Whistles). 

Reckon it depends. 

On whether they're doing a number... (Whistles) 

..or a number... (Whistles twice) 

What was that, Ray? 

We're just having a chat about the television coverage. 

Oh, yes. 

Listen, whereabouts around here can I take a... (Whistles) 

Ah, thanks. 

 Smile on your brother 

 Everybody get together 

 Try to love one another right now...  

Thanks for bringing the sandwiches. 

Thanks for fixing my bumper bar. 

Oh, that's OK. 

Have you... Janine, I was wonder... 

(Both giggle) You go first. 

No, you. What were you going to say? 

N-nothing. 

What about you? 

Nothing. 

CLIFF: Has he asked her out yet? 

(Sighs) No. 

Oh, this is painful. 

JANINE: No, I really like weekends too. 

Yeah, I like Fridays 

'cause you're always looking forward to the weekend. 

BOTH: Yeah. 

What were you gonna say before? 

Nothing. 

What were you going to say? 

Nothing. 

Alright. 

See you. See you. 

Do you want to go out Friday night? 

What did you say? Um, nothing. 

Did you just say, "Do you want to go out Friday night?" 

Um, maybe. 

I'd love to go out Friday night. 

Oh...with me? 

(Giggles) Yes. 

Righto, then. 

Righto, then. 

(Starts engine) 

He ask her out? 

Um, I'm not sure. 

Cliff, I had a chat to AI this morning. 

Really? Yeah. 

He's not such a bad bloke. 

You should give him a chance. 

You'll be right for a couple of hours? 

Yeah, we'll be right. 

If you've got problems... I'll call Rudi. 

BOB: Have more. That's prime Parkes lamb. 

I've got enough. More where that came from. 

I'll just have the vegetables. Yes, dear. 

Cliff? This is wonderful, May. 

Glad you could get away. The boys have it under control. 

When are you up? Not till 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 whole world watches. 

Certainly takes your mind off our trivial concerns. 

Elbows. 

Our school's watching it. 

I think every school will watch it. 

What are they estimating? I believe it's 600 million. 

600 million? 

600 million. 

Peas? 

Do the people in lndia get to watch it? 

Yeah, but all on the one telly. (All laugh) 

I'm serious. 

Far too serious, darling. 

How are they filming it? 

Cliff. No, go ahead. 

There's a boom outside with a camera. 

Once Armstrong's outside, he'll pull a ring and it'll swing out. 

Is there an antenna on the roof? Transmitter, Dad. 

Right, Billy. It's about the size of that bowl there. 

Pumpkin? Yes, please. 

All this effort for television. 

When NASA first came, they hardly mentioned television. 

Interesting change, isn't it? 

Still not sure what's more important to get back safely - 

the astronauts or the pictures. 

MAY: How lovely. Elbows. 

MARIE: Can I ask a question? Sure. 

Is this mission being funded by the CIA? 

Not entirely. 

Really? No. 

(All snicker) 

How do they know they won't sink when they land? 

Crikey! MAY: Oh, good Lord! 

Well, we actually know a great deal about the moon - 

soil composition, density, the gravitational force. 

There aren't too many mysteries. 

If we know so much, why go? 

There's one thing that we don't know. 

BOB: What's that, Cliff? 

Whether we can get there. 

(Whispers) Elbows. 

Well, let's start. 

Man on the moon or not, we've still got to eat. 

You'll really like that. 

MAY: Oh, dear. BOB: Oh, strewth. 

Back to work, eh? 

Well, it's all go. 

May, that roast lamb was magnificent. 

I'll bet you don't get that in Houston. 

No. 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. 

Oh, Cliff. 

Billy. Good luck for tomorrow. 

Thank you. 

Marie, it was an absolute pleasure to meet you. 

Really? 

Really. 

How are you feeling? 

I'm fine. 

Heard the Prime Minister on the news this morning. 

Could he just shut up about it? 

Do you ever have those moments and you wonder, 

"What are we doing in the middle of the 'Apollo 1 1 ' mission?" 

Never mind, Bob. They'll probably knight you for this. 

Or behead me. 

Dad! 

Keith! 

About face! 

Quick march! 

Boy's not a soldier, he's a Kamikaze. 

SONG:  I like to dream 

 Yes, yes 

 Right between the sound machine 

 On a cloud of sound I drift in the night 

 Any place it goes is right 

 Goes far, flies near 

 To the stars away from here...  

What are you grinning about? What? Nothing. What? 

You've had a smile on your face all day. 

(Laughs) No, I haven't. Yes, you have! 

Hello. How was lunch? 

Actually, it was wonderful. I think we ate an entire sheep. 

Glenn. Rudi's on the way. 

All in order? 

Yeah, I'll just check the receivers. 

I'll do it. I'll stow the dish. 

I'll take a hayride. Yep. 

Hayride? What's a hayride? 

CLIFF: When it's down we can't get up through the core, 

so it's just as quick to go for a ride. 

AL: OK. Interesting. 

OK, Mitch. 

And, strangely, this is not in the manual. 

Mm-hm. Curious oversight, wouldn't you say? 

(AI chuckles) 

( GEARS WHIRR ) 

It wasn't good, what you said at lunch. 

What's that? 

One thing we don't know is whether we can get there. 

Yes, it's easy to forget. 

Before I left Houston, 

the scientists 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 - if Armstrong gets to the moon, 

"what's the most important thing he should do?" 

FD says, "Get off it." 

(Both chuckle) 

CLIFF: Well, 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. 

Something about putting a footprint on the moon. 

Makes our spirits soar. 

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 this. 

Made me realise that I should be excited too. 

And I am. 

The only thing is she's not here to share it. 

So, there it is. 

( MELANCHOLY MUSIC ) 

MITCH: 34, 36.. CLIFF: Hold it there. 

Glenn? Yep. 

Strength? Negative 1 40. 

Intermittent lock on prime. 

Do you want me to... No. 

Glenn, run AGC. 

Auto gate control running. 

Yep, negative 90. Solid lock. We're on, Cliff. 

( RADIO BABBLE ) Switching to M.E. 

Got it. All yours, Al. 

AL: Houston Net 2, PKS. 

RADIO: Houston Net 2. 

AL: Parkes is online. 

ASTRONAUT: Control, Houston, 

the RCS has supervised that we're all go. 

HOUSTON: Roger. 

Mike, would you confirm thruster B3 and C4 are off? Over. 

COLLINS: C4 is off. B3 is off. 

I've got my roll jets back on now. 

ARMSTRONG: And you're manoeuvring, right? 

COLLINS: I will be shortly, Neil. 

HOUSTON: 'Apollo 1 1 ', Houston. We are go for undocking, over. 

ARMSTRONG: Roger, understand. 

HOUSTON: 'Eagle', Houston, we see you on the screen, over. 

( SOPRANO ARIA UNDERSCORES ) 

ARMSTRONG: Roger. 'Eagle's undocked. 

HOUSTON: Roger. How does it look? 

ARMSTRONG: The 'Eagle' has wings. 

HOUSTON: Roger. ARMSTRONG: Looking good. 

HOUSTON: Roger, Neil. 

If you give us data, we've got some notes for you. 

HOUSTON: We reckon now you're go for PDl, over. 

ARMSTRONG: Roger, understand. 

RADIO: Bob McNeil with another 'Apollo 1 1 ' update. 

The descent of the 'Eagle' landing module 

has entered its fifth and final hour. 

And according to the Flight Control Centre at Houston, 

the status is still go for a landing. 

We believe the 'Eagle' module 

is in the final critical stages before touchdown. 

So, just repeating, in a matter of minutes, 

astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin 

will attempt to land on the surface of the moon. 

MITCH ON RADIO: Rudi. 

Rudi! 

Rudi, Sector 5...A...D...E. 

Um, Rudi, over. 

They're about to land, mate. 

RADIO: 'Eagle', Houston. 

After yaw around, 

angle S-band pitch minus 9 yaw plus 1 -8. 

'EAGLE': Roger. 

HOUSTON: You are go...you are go to continue powered descent. 

You are go to continue powered descent. 

RUDl: Have they landed? 

Almost. 'EAGLE': ..go for landing. 

3,000 feet. 

HOUSTON: We are looking great. 

'EAGLE': 2,000 feet. 2,000 feet. 47 degrees. 

HOUSTON: Roger. 'EAGLE': 37 degrees. 

HOUSTON: You're go. 

'EAGLE': Program alarm. AL: Did he say alarm? 

'EAGLE': 1 201 alarm. 

HOUSTON: Roger, 1 201 alarm. 

"1 201 - executive overflow." Computer's overloaded. 

They're gonna abort. 

'EAGLE': OK, we're go. 

HOUSTON: We're go. MITCH: Jesus, they're going it. 

'EAGLE': 743. 

'EAGLE': 540 feet, down at 1 5. 

'EAGLE': 350 feet, down at 4. 

'EAGLE': Altitude-velocity light. 

And down. 220 feet. 

1 1 forward. Coming down nicely. 200 feet. 4.5 down. 

5.5 down. 

1 00 feet. 3.5 down. 9 forward. 

75 feet and looking good. Down a half. 

6 forward. 

HOUSTON: 60 seconds. 

'EAGLE': Lights on. Forward. 

Fuel? I think so. 

'EAGLE': 30 feet down. 2.5. 

Kicking up some dust. Faint shadow. 

4 forward. Drifting to the right a little. 

HOUSTON: 30 seconds. 

It's definitely a fuel call. 30 seconds of fuel left. 

'EAGLE': Contact light. 

'EAGLE': OK, engines stopped. 

HOUSTON: We copy you down, 'Eagle'. 

'EAGLE': Houston, er... 

..Tranquillity Base, here. 

The 'Eagle' has landed. 

HOUSTON: Roger, Tranquillity. We copy you on the ground. 

They're on the moon. 

(Laughs) 

(All laugh) 

Whoo! MITCH: Bloody hell. 

(Sighs) Oh! 30 seconds of fuel. 

RUDl: So what happens now? 

AL: Sleep break. 

RUDl: It's a good idea. 

TELEVISION: Just confirming, 

Armstrong and Aldrin are on the moon, 

both men preparing now for EVA... 

What's that? Extra-vehicular activities. 

Hey? The moon walk! 

Oh. 

Hey, did they get rid of that hydrogen? 

Dad, they needed that for fuel. 

Oh... 

TELEVISION: I must stress these are not to scale. 

Marie, the Prime Minister's on his way! 

He's a fascist! I beg your pardon! 

Bob, speak to Marie. 

(Calls) Marie! (Sighs) 

TELEVISION: ..to collect some rock samples. 

Here at the CBS news space centre... 

I might just shut that. 

What? 

Wind. 

Glenn's onto the bureau. 

What's it blowing? 1 5 knots. 

And we're rated to... 30. 

So we're fine. 

For now. 

Come on, Glenn. And if it goes above 30? 

If it goes above 1 0 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. Did he say anything else? 

Just "hello" and "goodbye". He was very polite. 

30 knots can't be the absolute maximum. 

It's the theoretical maximum. So it's never been tested? 

No. So... 

Al, we don't know. 

And quite frankly, I don't want to know. 

There's 1 ,000 tons above that azimuth track. 

GLENN: That's not good. 

Alright, let's just... 

We've got nine hours until they walk. 

Could this thing blow itself out by then? 

Yeah, I reckon it could. 

Yeah... 

Yeah. 

Good. 

Cliff, Bob. 

Just ringing to say good luck. 

( CAR HORN TOOTS ) Hang on. 

There in a minute. 

It's a bit breezy this morning. That wouldn't affect...? 

Right. 

What happens then? 

Oh, I see. So... 

You reckon? 

Yeah. 

Crikey. 

It's a special day, Bob. Yep. 

It's thanks to you. 

I wouldn't take all the credit. 

You got the dish here. Thanks. 

When people think of the moon walk, 

when they think of the role Parkes played, 

they'll think of Bob Mclntyre. 

Your name... Len! Shut up! 

RADIO: The Prime Minister arrived in Parkes 

where he was greeted by US ambassador Mr Howard Cotfield, 

along with local dignitaries 

and townspeople eager to watch the historic lunar landing. 

BOB: This is Cliff Buxton, the director of the facility. 

Oh, yeah. 

That was the official opening. 

Why did they decide to build the thing 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. 

( ALARM RINGS ) 

(Turns off alarm) 

Fire? 

We've hit 30 knots. 

Glenn, get back to the bureau. Sure. 

RUDl: What's up? Relax, Rudi. 

What's the bell for? Lets us know it's windy. 

I could've told you that. It's blowing a bloody gale. 

Well done with all this. The ladies helped hang these. 

No, 'Apollo 1 1 '. 

Your dish. 

Thank you, Prime Minister. 

And congratulations on getting the nod. 

The party needs performers. 

How are they going out there? 

Oh, good, good. Perfectly. 

We sit here on our arses for five bloody days. 

Not a breath of bloody wind. 

Then, on cue, out of nowhere, just when it's our turn, 

a bloody cyclone decides to park its arse on us! 

Um... I'm sorry, lads. 

(Clears throat) I just... 

..might just go check some bloody thing. 

Yeah, it's all going well. 

Obviously nothing's foolproof. There's always limitations. 

Well, there are no guarantees, all things considered. 

Life, I guess. 

You're joking, aren't you, Mclntyre? 

Yeah. (Chuckles) 

Yeah, everything's fine. 

You know, Mclntyre, we have a saying in the party. 

You don't fuck up. Eh? 

That's it. 

Cliff! 

What? 

They're walking early. Armstrong overruled the sleep break. 

Armstrong's overruled it? 

Said, "We don't want to sleep. We want to walk." 

Armstrong - he goes for it. Rudi! 

When do they walk? 

Soon. Now. 

So we're off the hook. 

No. 

Goldstone are having relay problems. 

They want us up from the start. 

How? We don't see the moon till 1 :00. 

GLENN: 1 2:56. 

AL: Come 1 2:56, if Armstrong hasn't walked, 

this dish has got to be pointed at the moon. 

From now this place is locked down. 

No-one gets in. Understand? Yes, sir. 

We'll have to move this dish. 

There is a safety issue, Al. I understand that. 

We're under no obligations in these conditions. 

Mitch, what will happen? Dunno. 

What do you think will happen? 

It's a big sail area. 

The wind grabs hold of it... 

( WIND RUSHES ) 

We wait. 

Come on. They're going early. It could happen any moment. 

Come on, quickly. You'll miss it. 

I'd do the same. 

If I just landed on the moon, I wouldn't want to sleep. 

Like telling your kid to sleep in Christmas morning, eh? 

(Laughs) 

More tea, Prime Minister? 

Oh, yes. Lovely. 

Bob, they're going early. 

Yeah, I know. 

Are you alright? 

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 be able to use us later. 

Still, it would've been nice to have been there from the start. 

Bob, it doesn't matter what pictures are caught by who. 

We're part of the team. 

That's the most important thing right now. 

Yeah, you're right, Maysie. 

Shirt, Bob. 

At least the boys at the dish can relax for a while. 

( BANGING ) 

Mitch? 

Getting worse. It's gusting to 50. 

Can't move this dish. 

RADIO: PKS, Radio Houston TV Net 2. 

AL: PKS Video. Go ahead. 

HOUSTON: We've still got relay problems with Goldstone 

and we'll need you as a prime receiver. 

Prime? 

HOUSTON: The signal between Goldstone and Houston's dead. 

It's gone to ground somewhere, and it's still go for walk. 

Roger, Houston. We'll advise when in position. 

HOUSTON: Roger, PKS. As soon as possible, please. 

AL: Cliff? 

Glenn, come here. 

Mitch, talk to me. 

It gets shaken like this in the upright position. 

What are you saying? 

It's not designed to take these forces. 

It was a question... Wait. Finish. 

It could collapse. 

Man's about to walk on the moon. 

And he still will. No-one's going to see it! 

Al, let's be clear about this. There are five lives at risk. 

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, Cliff. This is science's chance to be daring. 

If we don't move this dish now, it may as well be rubble. 

Al? 

I still think 1 1 's a lucky number. 

Glenn? 

What? 

Sometimes you've got to take a risk. 

Alright. 

Let's do it. 

I like that Cliff - he goes for it. 

From north to south They came from near and far 

To witness man take to the sky 

In search of moon and star. 

But ponder this as rockets fly... 

( GEARS WHIRR ) 

( TENSE MUSIC ) 

( BANGING ) Oh, Jesus! 

65 miles an hour. 

Keep going, Mitch. 

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, the lunar surface near. 

TELEVISION: Geoffrey, what's happening now? 

GEOFFREY: From the voice transmissions, 

we can tell Armstrong has commenced his evacuation. 

We expect television pictures any moment. 

( TENSE MUSIC ) 

Christ! What the hell was that? 

Drive cog must have slipped a few teeth. 

Either that, or Janine's trying to park. 

CLIFF: Stick with it, Mitch. 

I'm staying, mate. Whatever happens. 

ARMSTRONG: Houston, I'm on the porch. 

He's out of the LM. HOUSTON: Roger, Neil. 

He's outside! 

HOUSTON: Columbia, Columbia, this is Houston. 

One minute, 30 seconds to LOS. All systems go. Over. 

( MUSIC INTENSIFIES ) 

HOUSTON: Houston, roger. We copy. 

'EAGLE': Standing by... 

And we're in position now. 

Good boy. 

CLIFF: Glenn? 

Nothing. ARMSTRONG: Houston. 

This is Neil. Radio check. 

HOUSTON: Neil, this is Houston. Loud and clear. Break, break. 

Buzz, this is Houston. 

Radio check and verify TV circuit breaker in. 

ALDRIN: Roger, TV circuit breaker's in... 

..and read you loud and clear. 

HOUSTON: Parkes, please advise status. 

PKS in position, signal... 

..negative. 

MITCH: Glenn? 

The moon's still not high enough. 

If he could just wait a couple of minutes. 

CLIFF: Go lower, Mitch. 

I'm at 6003. Next stop's concrete. 

Offset feed. 

Offset. Offset. 

ARMSTRONG: OK, that's good. 

ARMSTRONG: OK, you want this bag? 

Come on. 

ARMSTRONG: Better. 

HOUSTON: And we're getting a picture on the TV. 

BETTY: Man will then have travelled... 

It's Armstrong! 

..so far from home... Thanks. 

I've got another two verses. Man's walking on the moon. 

Oh. 

ARMSTRONG: You have a good picture, huh? 

HOUSTON: There's a great deal of contrast in it. 

We can make out a fair amount of detail. 

GLENN: That's Armstrong. 

On the moon. 

HOUSTON: OK, would you verify the position... 

Well. 

(Mitch chuckles) 

HOUSTON: OK, Neil, we can see you coming down the ladder now. 

( WONDROUS MUSIC ) 

ARMSTRONG: I checked getting back up to that first step. 

The strut isn't collapsed too far, 

but it's adequate to get back up. 

HOUSTON: Roger, we copy. 

ARMSTRONG: It's a pretty good little jump. 

CLIFF: Glenn. 

Glenn! 

Switch back to main axis. 

How's that? 

GIRL: Fine. 

ARMSTRONG: The LM's 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. 

ARMSTRONG: OK, I'm going to step off the LM now. 

That's one small step for man... 

..one giant leap for mankind. 

ALDRIN: That looks beautiful from here, Neil. 

ARMSTRONG: It has a stark beauty all of its own. 

It's like much of a high desert of the United States... 

Dad! He's on the moon! I know, mate. 

ARMSTRONG: It's very pretty out here. 

Thank God for that hydrogen, eh? 

ARMSTRONG: Are you getting the TV picture now, Houston? 

You betcha. 

HOUSTON: Neil, yes, we are getting a TV picture. 

You're in our field of view now. 

ALDRIN: OK, I'm on the top step. 

It's a very simple matter to hop down from one step to the next. 

ARMSTRONG: You've got three more steps and then a long one. 

ARMSTRONG: There you go. 

ALDRIN: Beautiful view. ARMSTRONG: lsn't that something? 

ARMSTRONG: Magnificent sight out here. 

ALDRIN: Magnificent desolation. 

(Whispers) Alright, you can stay this once. 

Get it off! 

ARMSTRONG: For those who haven't read the plaque, 

we'll read the plaque that's on the landing gear of this LM. 

It says, "Here men from the planet Earth 

"first stepped foot upon the moon. 

"July, 1 969 AD. 

"We came in peace for all mankind." 

It has the crew members' signatures 

and the signature of the President of the United States. 

( MUSIC CRESCENDOS ) 

HOUSTON: Columbia, this is Houston. 

Reading you loud and clear, over. 

COLLINS: How's it going? 

HOUSTON: Roger, the EVA is progressing beautifully. 

COLLINS: Great. 

HOUSTON: I guess you're about the only person around 

that doesn't have TV coverage of the scene. 

COLLINS: That's alright. I don't mind a bit. 

How is the quality of the TV? 

HOUSTON: Oh, it's beautiful, Mike. It really is. 

COLLINS: Beautiful, just beautiful. 

Bob, it's a wonderful day for Parkes. 

Pearl, they're good pictures. 

HOUSTON: The President of the United States 

is in his office now 

and would like to say a few words to you, over. 

ARMSTRONG: That would be an honour. 

HOUSTON: Go ahead, Mr President. This is Houston, out. 

NIXON: Hello, Neil and Buzz. 

Excuse me. 

NIXON: ..from the Oval Room at the White House... 

(Whispers) That was Cliff on the phone. 

The pictures - they came from us! 

You bloody beauty! 

Bloody fantastic! 

Here's to Parkes. 

MAN: The lunar age has begun. 

MAN 2: 500 million people 

gathered at TV sets around the world... 

MAN 1 : The date's now indelible. 

It'll be remembered as long as man survives - July 20, 1 969. 

NIXON: And for people all over the world. 

I am sure that they too join with Americans 

in recognising what an immense feat this is. 

Because of what you have done... 

Well done, guys. 

What sector is Rudi again? 

(Chuckles) A? 

Copy that, Sector A. 

Well done, Mr Armstrong. 

HOUSTON: Roger, Columbia, this is Houston. 

Reading you loud and clear. 

The crew of Tranquillity Base is back inside their base. 

Everything went beautifully, over. 

COLLINS: Hallelujah. 

HOUSTON: Tranquillity Base, this is Houston, over. 

TRANQUILLITY BASE: Roger, go ahead. 

HOUSTON: 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. 

TRANQUILLITY BASE: 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 

"in man's first lunar surface expedition." 

Signed C. Charlesworth, 'Apollo 1 1 ' Flight Director. 

Well, we did it, eh, guys? 

Yeah, we did, Al. 

Good work, Mitch, and well done. 

Thanks, Cliff. 

Congratulations, Al. 

Cliff. 

Good on you, Glenn. Thanks. 

I'm proud of you. 

And happy birthday, Cliff. 

Thanks, Glenn. 

BOB: "This should be the contract - 

"We agree to support the 'Apollo 1 1 ' mission." 

MAY: It's extraordinary, sending men off into the galaxies... 

BOB: ..when you wonder, "What are we doing 

"in the middle of the 'Apollo 1 1 ' mission?" 

NIXON: It inspires us to redouble our efforts 

to bring peace and tranquillity to Earth. 

For one priceless moment, in the whole history of man, 

all the people on this Earth are truly one. 

Sir, I have to ask you to go back and in the public entrance. 

I'm very sorry. Tours leave on the hour. 

Well, maybe not today. 

But you never know, I might come back another time. 

I'd do it. People get 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'd better be off. 

Right, sir. Back out and around to the left. 

SONG:  Wa-hoo 

 Wa-hoo-hoo-hoo !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

 Wa-hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

 On the wings of an eagle!!!!!!!! 

 I find myself lifted through the skies!!!!!!!!! 

 Lifted up above the world to sing!!!!!!! 

 On the wings of an eagle!!!!!!!! 

 I find myself lifted through the skies!!!!!!!! 

 Lifted up above the world to sing 

 Can you see me? 

 Can you see me? 

 Can you see me? 

 As the days roll on When the nights get long 

 The changing of the seasons 

 And the falling autumn leaves They bring me down 

 They bring me down 

 They bring me down 

( INSTRUMENTAL BREAK ) 

 Do you lose your way in the middle of the day? 

 Do you see your brother crawling? 

 And all the while was calling out for help from you 

 Wa-hoo 

 Wa-hoo-hoo-hoo 

 Wa-hoo 

 On the wings of an eagle 

 I find myself lifted through the skies 

 Lifted up above the world to sing 

 On the wings of an eagle 

 I find myself lifted through the skies 

 Lifted up above the world to sing 

 Can you see me?