HBO Miniseries From the Earth to the Moon

[bknight]

I searched for and didn't find any post newer than about 4 years, so I thought I would start a new thread.
I watched for the first time the first few episodes of this miniseries.  I found it somewhat enlightening in an astronauts perspective.  It did bring up some questions concerning the true rendition of history.  For example the Buzz Aldrin wish to exit prior to Armstong and the ensuing fuss he made prior to the launch.  All the information I have seen has not depicted this "issue", even if he harbored tis desire.  So did he make his issue a reality to management?  And the dispute with Armstong on a simulator crash that Armstrong did not listen to/act on Aldrin's suggestion to abort the landing?
I was unaware that the Apolo 1 capsule was completely disassembled during the investigation, was that accurately shown?
Wally's insistence on a wind speed/direction prior to Apollo7 launch, I assumed there was always a wind speed/direction prior to any of the launches. This fed his desire to "not follow orders" to wear his helmet during reentry, fearing ear damage due to his cold.  One of his reasons were that since management overrode the wind speed or direction during launch, he was justified not wearing his helmet.
I was pleased that the close personal relationship nature of the A12 crew members was brought out.  Exiting the LM without uniforms because Gordon told them to clean up prior to exiting the LM and rejoining him in the CSM?  That I had never heard of and the following mission had more regolith on the suits due to the length of the EVAs.  Besides they would have needed the suits for reentry 3-4 days hence.
That's all I have because I am on A13 mission next.

[Peter B]

I searched for and didn't find any post newer than about 4 years, so I thought I would start a new thread.
I watched for the first time the first few episodes of this miniseries.  I found it somewhat enlightening in an astronauts perspective.  It did bring up some questions concerning the true rendition of history.

There are a few places where the series perhaps "illustrates" the truth, rather than directly showing it. That is, I think there are scenes which aren't literally true, but which instead summarise a situation or attitude. For example, the character of Emmett Seaborn allows the show to ask and explain things which weren't ever directly asked or explained by journalists at the time.

For example the Buzz Aldrin wish to exit prior to Armstong and the ensuing fuss he made prior to the launch.  All the information I have seen has not depicted this "issue", even if he harbored tis desire.  So did he make his issue a reality to management?

Apparently he did. According to the ALSJ: "Readers interested in the question of how the decision was made as to who went out first should consult Andy Chaikin's excellent book "A Man on the Moon", together with Buzz's "Return to Earth". In the simplest terms, the decision hinged (if my readers will pardon the pun) on the design of the hatch, which swung into the cabin to the right, blocking Buzz's access to the exit until after Neil was out. Despite this engineering reality, Buzz expended some effort prior to the flight in trying to convince Deke Slayton, the former Mercury astronaut who was Director of Flight Crew Operations, and others that he, rather than Neil, be the one to go out first. His efforts were in vain."

However, one thing I've never found out was how and when the decision about the side of the door hinge was made. In the Seaborn interview of the Apollo 11 crew in the "Mare Tranquilitatis" episode, Seaborn suggests it was a 50/50 coin toss of a decision made years prior. Yet I'm also sure I've read in various books about Apollo that there was a very conscious decision by NASA management that the CDR should be the first out of the hatch. Does that mean that NASA management spoke to Grumman and told them to position the hinge to lock in that decision? Or was some sort of post hoc rationalisation of an engineering decision they had no control over?

And the dispute with Armstong on a simulator crash that Armstrong did not listen to/act on Aldrin's suggestion to abort the landing?

Yes, this is also described in Chaikin's book. I don't remember for sure, but it may also be in Michael Collins's book "Carrying the Fire".

I was unaware that the Apolo 1 capsule was completely disassembled during the investigation, was that accurately shown?

The process is described in the Murray and Cox book "Apollo: The Race to the Moon". It includes a description of the folding work platform the engineers built so they could work inside the capsule without touching it; and how the disassembly process was so painstaking that when engineers used a torque wrench to loosen each screw, they recorded the amount of force needed to loosen it, and compared it with the force used to tighten it during construction.

ETA: As I understand it, the capsule wasn't "completely disassembled". Rather, they removed enough material from inside the capsule to serve the purpose of the accident investigation.

Wally's insistence on a wind speed/direction prior to Apollo7 launch, I assumed there was always a wind speed/direction prior to any of the launches. This fed his desire to "not follow orders" to wear his helmet during reentry, fearing ear damage due to his cold.  One of his reasons were that since management overrode the wind speed or direction during launch, he was justified not wearing his helmet.

I'm not sure about this one either way.

I was pleased that the close personal relationship nature of the A12 crew members was brought out.  Exiting the LM without uniforms because Gordon told them to clean up prior to exiting the LM and rejoining him in the CSM?  That I had never heard of and the following mission had more regolith on the suits due to the length of the EVAs.  Besides they would have needed the suits for reentry 3-4 days hence.

Yeah, I think "That's All There Is" is one of the best episodes in the series. I don't know about the stripping off scene. It's not directly described in the Apollo Flight Journal. However there's a possible implication given that at one point Conrad asked Mission Control whether his and Bean's Liquid Cooled Garments could be left in the LM because they were so dirty. So, obviously at one point they'd stripped to remove them.

The problem with the scene in the episode is that it implies the crew were so busy they didn't have time to dress before LM jettison. Obviously I don't know for sure, but I doubt they were under that much time pressure.

That's all I have because I am on A13 mission next.

Enjoy! 

[bknight]

Thanks

[Dalhousie]

I searched for and didn't find any post newer than about 4 years, so I thought I would start a new thread.
I watched for the first time the first few episodes of this miniseries. 

I first watched it in 2002, and probably rewatched every year or two since.  It's amazing.

[bknight]

I searched for and didn't find any post newer than about 4 years, so I thought I would start a new thread.
I watched for the first time the first few episodes of this miniseries. 

I first watched it in 2002, and probably rewatched every year or two since.  It's amazing.

Yes it presents a more personalized viewpoint of the program.  I enjoyed it also and will most likely view it again in the future.

[Dalhousie]

I searched for and didn't find any post newer than about 4 years, so I thought I would start a new thread.
I watched for the first time the first few episodes of this miniseries. 

I first watched it in 2002, and probably rewatched every year or two since.  It's amazing.

Yes it presents a more personalized viewpoint of the program.  I enjoyed it also and will most likely view it again in the future.

Keep us posted!

[JayUtah]

I really love this series. I watch it every few years. The producers of the documentary where we recreated some of the Moon lighting effects in the California desert managed to find some of the same grips who had worked on this show and hired them. I wish I had had more time to talk with them about their time on the series.

[Kiwi]

My favourite quote occurs at just 20 minutes into the first episode:
0:20:01   Chris Kraft:  "Rendezvous:  Two spacecraft meeting up in orbit.  Want to have fun?  Come over to my house.  You stand in the back yard, I'll stand in the front yard.  You throw a tennis ball over my roof, I'll try to hit it with a rock as it comes sailing over.  That's what we're going to have to do."

I was so thrilled with this series that I typed a 31-page breakdown of the bits that interested me, including errors. Any of our members are welcome to a copy if they'd like it, so do me a personal message with email address if you do.

Some samples:

From the Earth to the Moon — Part 1 — Can We Do This?
0:00:00   1 — Opening credits
0:00:17   President John F. Kennedy at Rice University, 12 September 1962:  We choose to go to the Moon.  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.
0:02:05   Tom Hanks — Introduction
0:02:56   Part One — Can We Do This?
0:03:05   Credits
0:04:10   A Red Moon
0:04:20   12 April 1961 — Yuri Gagarin — first manned spaceflight
0:05:42   Jerome Weisner, Presidential Science Advisor
0:05:52   James Webb, NASA Administrator
0:05:56   Ted Sorensen, Deputy Counsel to the President (Misspelt Sorenson onscreen)
0:06:16   Hugh Dryden, NASA Deputy Administrator
0:06:30   David Bell, Budget Bureau Chief
0:07:40   James Webb:  Well, certainly the President realises that the moment a man steps on the moon will be a definitive one in the history of the world.
0:08:09   2 — "Does anybody want my job?"
0:08:16   5 May 1961 — Alan Shepard — First American manned spaceflight
0:08:99   Liftoff
0:09:26   Deke Slayton, Capsule Communicator
0:09:46   Chris Kraft, Flight Director
0:15:14   End of Freedom 7's flight — Parades and newspaper headlines
0:15:35   25 May 1961 — President John F. Kennedy's speech to the U.S. Congress
0:15:59   Robert Gilruth, Director, Manned Spacecraft Center
0:16:23   President John F. Kennedy's speech to the U.S. Congress, 25 May 1961:  For while we cannot guarantee that we shall one day be first, we can guarantee that any failure to make this effort will make us last.
0:16:49   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.
0:18:37   James Webb:  Can we do it?
0:18:40   Bob Gilruth:  Put a man on the moon in nine years?  Yes.  Absolutely!  We have to.
0:19:02   Mission Objectives Briefing — Chris Kraft
0:20:01   Chris Kraft:  Rendezvous:  Two spacecraft meeting up in orbit.  Want to have fun?  Come over to my house.  You stand in the back yard, I'll stand in the front yard.  You throw a tennis ball over my roof, I'll try to hit it with a rock as it comes sailing over.  That's what we're going to have to do.
0:20:42   Error?  Long Duration Spaceflight colour graphic.  (Done on a modern printer or copier?)
0:21:18   Chris Kraft:  You know those, daring, dashing young throttle jockeys who call themselves astronauts?  Well, we're gonna need a whole bunch of new ones.
0:21:29   3 — The new nine
0:21:38   Ed White
0:21:43   Hotel Manager
0:21:49   Pete Conrad
0:21:57   John Young
0:22:00   Tom Stafford
0:22:07   Jim Lovell
0:22:26   Hotel Desk Clerk, Sheila
0:22:57   Jim Lovell
0:23:02   Pete Conrad
0:23:13   Ed White
0:23:16   Jim McDivitt
0:23:18   Elliott See
0:23:20   Frank Borman
0:23:23   Tom Stafford
0:23:24   John Young
0:23:27   John Young:  What's the point of having top secret code names, fellas, if we ain't gonna use 'em?
0:23:31   Jim Lovell:  Well heck, what'd I say, Jim Lovell?  I meant Max Peck.
0:24:45   Frank Borman:  Hey Neil, would you vote for John Glenn for President?
0:24:50   Neil Armstrong:  Glenn for President, huh?  Well, that'd depend.  Who'd be running for king?
0:25:02   25 November 1963 — Funeral of President John F. Kennedy
0:25:10   President Lyndon Johnson:  A great leader is dead.  A great nation must move on.  And as we bow our heads in submission to divine providence, let us also thank God for the years that He gave us inspiration, through His servant, John F. Kennedy.
0:25:40   And to honour his memory and the future of the work that he started, I have today determined that Station Number One of the Atlantic Missile Range and the Nasa Launch Operation Center in Florida shall hereafter be known as the John F. Kennedy Space Center.
0:26:01   18 March 1965 — Alexei Leonov — First space walk
0:26:33   News clips
0:27:02   Woody Woodpecker film
0:27:23   Elliott See
...

0:46:51   5 — "Are we going to beat the Russians?"
0:46:59   Roger Chaffee
0:47:06   Ed White
0:47:14   Gus Grissom
0:47:23   Meet The Press — James Webb
0:47:50   Host (played by Andrew Chaikin), Ann Hedges and Gavin O'Rourke
0:48:32   11 November 1966 — Gemini 12
0:48:55   Spectators
0:49:24   Jim Lovell
0:49:28   Buzz Aldrin
0:49:34   Emmett Seaborn — Aldrin's use of a sextant for rendezvous
0:50:33   Gemini 12 and "Dr Rendezvous" above the Mediterranean
0:51:07   Gemini 12 above a peninsula — possibly Noto-hanto, Japan
0:51:24   Jim Lovell
0:51:30   Buzz Aldrin:  Jim, I'm gonna clean your windshield.
0:51:33   Jim Lovell:  Hey Buzz, check the oil too, would you?
0:51:46   Emmett Seaborn
0:52:09   Aldrin sitting astride the Agena rocket
0:52:50   Error:  Most of the moon's southern hemisphere is in shade and the north sunlit.  This never happens.
0:52:56   Error:  The sun is above the moon but more than half of the moon is lit.  In this case it should be nearly new.
0:53:00   Error:  The spacecraft have just come into the sunlight and crossed the terminator, so the sun should be low ahead but it is casting light downward from high above Aldrin.
0:53:14   6 — "The men in this room..."
...

THE MOONLANDING That is: The first of the six manned moonlandings.
Part 6
0:06:17   Emmett Seaborn:  The date is July 20th, the year 1969.  If everything goes according to plan an event will take place today that will forever mark the 20th day of the seventh month of the year.  I can guarantee that you will remember this day, where you are and what you are doing...  Today is the day we set foot on the moon.
0:06:57   News clips
0:07:41   Emmett Seaborn:  Just how do you land on the moon?
0:07:53   Jay Honeycutt, Nasa Flight Simulation Supervisor
0:08:35   April 1969 — Simulation Supervisors' briefing, Houston.  The descent to the lunar surface.
0:09:44   Jay Honeycutt:  The landing is, by far, the most difficult part of this mission...  One shot, no second approaches, a quarter of a million miles from home.
0:10:02   Jay Honeycutt:  For the next three months you and I will do everything in our power to see that these men are able to land safely, which means that for the next three months we must do everything in our power to kill them.
0:10:15   Seaborn and Honeycutt
0:11:06   Seaborn, Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins
0:11:11   Mike Collins, Command Module Pilot
0:11:40   Neil Armstrong, Commander
0:12:01   Lunar Landing Research Vehicle
0:12:23   6 May 1968 — Armstrong's LLRV crash, Ellington Air Force Base, Houston
0:14:51   Interview
0:14:57   Neil Armstrong:  I did bite my tongue pretty bad.
0:15:03   Emmett Seaborn:  Neil, let me wax a little philosophic here.
0:15:29   Neil Armstrong:  I just hope I don't trip.
0:15:43   February 1969 — Frank Borman's house
0:15:59   Jan Armstrong, Susan Borman, Joan Aldrin, Pat Collins
0:16:22   Frank Borman:  What are you guys gonna say?
0:16:27   Michael Collins:  If you had any balls, you'd say, "Oh, my God, what is that thing?"  Then scream and cut your mike.
0:16:40   Interview
0:17:04   Buzz Aldrin, Lunar Module Pilot
0:17:38   2  — March 1969
0:18:39   March 1969 — Astronaut Offices, Houston
0:19:47   Buzz and Joan Aldrin
0:20:33   Buzz and Priest
0:21:37   Neil, Buzz and Deke Slayton, Director of Flight Crew Operations
0:21:59   Deke Slayton:  Neil gets out first.
0:22:30   Interview
0:22:54   3  — May 1969
0:22:57   Mike Collins
0:23:38   Emmett Seaborn:  You even practise crashing, don't you?
0:23:41   Neil Armstrong:  Well, actually, Emmett, we practise avoiding crashes.
0:23:45   May 1969 — Mission Operations Control Room, Houston — Landing simulation
0:23:53   Gene Kranz
0:24:13   Steve Bales, GUIDO
0:24:17   Advanced Lunar Simulator Module, Cape Kennedy
0:25:01   Charlie Duke, Capcom
0:26:28   Steve Bales:  Uh, they've exceeded H-Dot max.
0:27:29   Buzz, Mike and Neil
0:29:44   4 — "Godspeed, Apollo 11"
0:29:45   Interview — Patch design
0:31:07   Emmett Seaborn
0:31:56   GET 88:14:00 — CSM and LM above the Moon
0:32:55   Capcom:  Oh Neil, you'll be happy to know the Russian newspaper Pravda is calling you the czar of the mission.
0:33:02   Michael Collins:  Well, the czar is brushing his teeth right now, but I'll pass that along.
0:33:07   Chang-O
0:33:20   Charlie Duke, Capcom
0:33:47   Undocking — MET 100:11
0:33:57   Guido
0:34:01   TELMU
0:34:03   GNC
0:34:05   EECOM
0:34:06   Surgeon
0:34:06   Gene Kranz:  Go for undocking
0:34:33   Undocking
0:35:23   5 — "You are Go for landing"
0:35:24   News flashes
0:35:51   MOCR
0:37:14   TELMU — Loss of data
0:38:04   FIDO
0:38:14   Charlie Duke:  You are Go for powered descent.
0:39:13   Powered Descent Initiation
0:39:20   Error:  The lunar surface at the top of the screen, Mare Fecunditatis, where the sun is higher, should be brightly lit.
0:39:23   Error:  Sunlight is coming from the right of the screen instead of the top, behind the LM.
0:39:23   Error:  Mount Marilyn, 1.5 degrees north, 40 degrees east, should be visible below.
0:40:33   1202 alarm
0:40:46   Back Room Man No. 1
0:41:13   Steve Bales:  We're Go on that, Flight.
0:41:18   Charlie Duke:  Eagle, Houston.  We are Go on that alarm.
0:41:43   Pitchover
0:42:06   Charlie Duke:  Eagle, Houston.  You are Go for landing.
0:42:12   3000 feet
0:42:15   Error:  The lunar surface is much too hilly.
0:42:23   Neil Armstrong:  I'm going to manual.
0:42:43   1201 alarm
0:42:58   West Crater
0:43:37   220 feet
0:43:57   Error:  West Crater again — by now the LM should be above East Crater.
0:44:08   60 feet
0:44:34   Buzz Aldrin:  Picking up some dust.
0:44:40   Error:  Dust billowing up from the surface.
0:44:53   Error:  Footpad and billowing dust.
0:45:00   Contact light
0:45:04   Error:  Engine shutdown before touchdown.  Eagle touched down gently with the engine still running.
0:45:04   Landing GET 102:45:40 (8:17:40 am Monday 21 July 1969 NZST)
0:45:36   Neil Armstrong:  Houston, Tranquility Base here.  The Eagle has landed.
0:46:22   Error:  LM on the surface from above.  Craters are wrong — the one at left rear should be two at left front.
0:46:25   6 — "One giant leap"
0:46:50   Capcom:  We are Go for an early EVA.
0:48:01   Buzz Aldrin:  Roger, this is the LM pilot.  I'd like to take this opportunity to ask every person listening in — whoever and wherever they may be — to pause a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours, and to give thanks, in his or her own way.
0:48:43   Buzz Aldrin:  I am the vine and you are the branches.  Whoever remains in me, and I in him, will bear much fruit.  For you can do nothing without me.  [John 15:5]
0:49:16   MET 109 hours 19 minutes — Hatch open
0:49:50   Neil Armstrrong:  Okay, Houston, I'm on the porch.
0:50:03   MESA release lever
0:50:23   Bruce McCandless:  And we're getting a picture on the TV.
0:51:08   Error:  Charlie Duke is shown as Capcom — the Capcom at this time was Bruce McCandless.
0:51:52   First step on the Moon GET 109:24:15 — 20 July 1969 (2:56:15 pm Monday 21 July 1969 NZST)
0:51:52   Error:  Neil Armstrong places his foot on an existing boot print.
0:51:59   Neil Armstrong:  That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.
0:52:35   Error:  Earth is shown too big and too low in the lunar sky.
0:52:42   Buzz Aldrin on the top step
0:52:51   Error:  Neil Armstrong is on the right side of the LM and doesn't have the camera.  He should be at the left front taking photos of Buzz Aldrin.
0:53:06   Error:  There is a large hill in the background which wasn't there in reality.
0:53:10   Flag-raising
0:53:56   End credits
0:56:04   End

BTW, Please correct me if I've stuffed up anywhere. I like accuracy. -- Doug Bennett (Kiwi)

[Obviousman]

I remember getting the VHS version of FTETTM in late 1998 / early 1999 and episode one blew me away; the graphics were outstanding (for the day). Absolutely love the series.