Hidden Figures Page #6

The FBI has arrested four white

men accused of throwing a fire

bomb into a Freedom Riders bus

south-side of Anniston, Alabama.

- Hi, baby!

- Hello!

- The kids dont need to be watching this..

- They need to see this!

Everyone needs to see this.

We think we arranging a

great service to our nation.

For this is not a struggle

for ourselves alone.

It is the struggle to save

the soul of America.

Mary Jackson.

Petition to attend courses at

Hampton High School.

Good morning, your honor.

Hampton High School is a white school,

Mrs. Jackson.

Yes, your Honor.

Im aware of that.

Virginia is still a segregated state.

Regardless of what the Federal

Government says, or regardless what..

Supreme Court says our law..

is the law.

Your Honor,

if I may.

I believe there are special circumstances

to be considered.

What would warrant

a colored woman attendin a white school?

May I approach the bench, sir?

Your Honor,

You of all people should understand

the importance of being first.

Hows that, Mrs. Jackson?

Well, you were the first in your family

to serve in the Armed Forces.

US Navy.

The first to attend University.

George Mason.

And the first State Judge to be re-commissioned

by three consecutive Governors.

Youve done some research.

Yes, sir.

Whats the point?

The point is, your Honor...

No Negro woman in the State of Virginia

has ever attended an all white school.

- Its unheard of.

- Yeah! Unheard of.

And before Alan Shepard

sat on top of a rocket,

no other American had ever touched space.

And now, he will forever be remembered

as the US Navy man from New Hampshire.

The first to touch the stars.

And I, sir.

I plan on being an engineer at NASA.

But I cant do that without taking those

classes at that all-white high school.

And I cant change the color of my skin.

So, I have no choice.. but to be the first.

Which I cant do without you, sir.

Your Honor,

of all the cases youll hear today,

which one will matter in a hundred years from now?

Which one will make you the first?

Only the night classes.

Mrs. Jackson.

Gus Grissom:
Launch and Landing Projection

By:
Paul Stafford

and Katherine Goble

- All right. Do you say, how it gonna be?

- Give me more 5 minutes' sir.

Gus Grissom's are going late..

Id like to get a jump on

John Glenns trajectory.

Do you have any idea what youre asking?

An orbital launch

with an Atlas Rocket is going to take time.

Is there a problem?

Mr. Harrison...

I was wondering....

Ive been wondering my whole life.

So just... Spit it out.

Well, sir.

Id like to get a jump on

John Glenns trajectory.

This isnt about plugging in numbers,

this is about inventing the math.

I think we talked about that, right?

It doesnt exist.

I can do it, sir.

Do you know any idea how exacting

these calculations have to be?

Its like shooting a sawed-off shotgun

from a thousand feet,

and getting that one beebee through a hole

so tiny, you cant even see it.

Im an excellent shot, sir.

How're Grissoms numbers. Paul?

They appear spot on.

Give Glenns orbit a go.

But you run it all through Stafford.

Understood?

Yes, sir.

Thank you.

Computers dont author reports.

July 21, 1961

Gus Grissom Recovery

Liberty Bell 7 capsule is stalking on water.

Gus Grissom is out of the capsule. Rescuers

are gonna bull him from the Ocean waves.

Unfortunately,

Liberty Bell 7 capsule..

.. is lost.

Mr. Harrison, Taxpayer money sank in

the ocean along with your capsule.

What makes you think you can

bring John Glenn home safely?

Let me say first that discovery is never

for the sake of discovery, Gentlemen,

but for the sake of human survival.

It will always come with risk.

Whoever gets there first, will make the rules.

Thats been true of every civilization. And so..

I think the bigger question for

this body to consider is..

who do you want calling the shots in space?

We have to know whats out there, Senator.

We have to touch the stars. If

only to ensure our own survival.

And only a man can do that.

Well get John Glenn home safely

because we have to,

because he has to tell us what he saw.

The Redstone Rocket went straight up.

But the capsule..

.. didn't have enough speed to go

into orbit. So came back down.

Essentially its a triangle..

Earth, sub-orbit, Earth.

The math was known.

It took Shepard,

it took Grissom.

But cannot take Glenn.

Now, The Atlas Rocket..

That can push us into orbit..

It goes up...

Delivers the capsule

into an elliptical orbit.

Earths gravity keeps pulling it,

but its going so fast that

it keeps missing the Earth.

That's how it stays in orbit.

Now, Getting it back down...

Thats the math we dont know.

Yes, Katherine!

So, the capsule will spin

around the Earth forever,

because theres nothing

to slow it down?

That's right. Slowing it down at precisely

the right moment,

by precisely the right amount

That is the task.

Yes, Katherine!

So, it means to move from an

elliptical orbit.. to a parabolic orbit?

Yes.

Thats the Go/ No Go.

Now, this point is a pin head.

- We bring him in too soon..

- He burns up on reentry.

That's right. We bring him too late,

and hes pushed out of Earths gravity.

Any changes in mass, weight, speed, time,

distance, friction... or a puff of wind..

would alter the Go/No Go.

And we start our calculatings.. over?

Yes.

So, we need to be able to

choose this re-entry point.

This Go/No Go.

This has to be exact.

Sam!

These are the latest Redstone numbers

and current capsule data.

Obviously, we know the launch spot

The Pentagon Briefing should illuminate

where the Navy needs the recovery zone.

When we work backwards from there.

And the rest is on us.

So, let's get to work.

- Mr. Stafford.

- What, Katherine?

If I can attended these briefings, I

would be more useful to the project.

Pentagon briefing is a closed door.

Yes.

But we don't have the information,

or the changes.. we cant keep up.

I need the changes as they occur.

- As you said, its a pin head.

- Katherine, thats the job.

Then, when you asked for the assignment.

So just calculate with what you have.

Or well find someone who can.

OK.

Thata girl.

And what the hell are you doing!?

You cant be in here!

Who are you?

Im with the West Computing Group.

Dorothy Vaughan, sir.

But, this is a very

delicate piece of equipment.

Im sorry, sir.

I'm just trying to be helpful.

Bill, weve got numbers.

What kind of numbers?

Look, Bill.

What's your name again?

Dorothy Vaughan.

Dorothy Vaughan?

Friendship 7 :
Launch Projections

Sir, Launch parameters

for Friendship 7.

Oh, Jesus! Its all moot. Were

altering the window on the capsule.

When did this happen?

6 minutes ago. The mass is changing.

Start over.

Sir.. If I could attend briefings..

I could stay current..

Katherine, weve been through this.

Its not possible.

Theres no protocol for women attending.

Theres no protocol for a man

circling the Earth either, sir.

OK. Thats just

the way things are.

Rate this script:5.0 / 2 votes