Putting on the Dish Page #6

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Whether we can get there.

Elbows.

Well, let's start.

Man on the moon or not,

we've still got to eat.

You'll like that.

Back to work, eh?

It's all go.

That roast lamb was magnificent.

- You don't get that in Houston.

- No.

- We can't have you wasting away.

- Thank you.

Thank you very much, May.

It's been quite a while since

I've had a good roast.

- Good luck for tomorrow.

- Thank you.

Marie, it was an absolute

pleasure to meet you.

Really?

Really.

How you feeling?

Fine.

I heard the prime minister

on the news.

Could he shut up about it?

Don't you wonder what we're

doing in the Apollo 11 mission?

They'll knight you for this.

Or behead me.

Dad!

About face!

Quick march!

Boy's not a soldier,

he's a kamikaze.

- What are you grinning about?

- Nothing.

You've had a smile all day.

- No, I haven't.

- Yes, you have.

All right?

How was lunch?

- Wonderful.

- We ate an entire sheep.

All in order?

- I was gonna check the receiver.

- I'll do it.

- I'll stow the Dish.

- I'll take a hayride.

Hayride?

What's a hayride?

When it's down, we can't

get up the core.

- It's quicker to go for a ride.

- Interesting.

Okay, Mitch.

Yet strangely, this

is not in the manual.

Curious oversight, right?

It was good what you said at lunch.

What?

We don't know whether

we can get there.

Yes, that's easy to forget.

Before I left Houston...

the scientists had planned

everything for Armstrong.

Rock samples,

measuring radiation.

Flight director put his foot

down. So they say:

"When Armstrong gets to the moon,

what should he do?"

F.D. Says:
"Get off it."

That would be number one.

I kind of felt for him.

There's really only one

thing I want to see.

There's something about putting

a footprint on the moon that...

Makes our spirits soar?

Yeah, exactly.

Did you come up with that?

I'm ashamed to say I didn't.

It was my wife.

She died last year.

Sorry to hear that, Cliff.

She was so excited by all of this.

Made me realize I should

be excited too.

And I am.

The only thing is,

she's not here to share it.

So... there it is.

Hold it there.

- Strength?

- Negative one-forty.

Intermittent lock on prime.

- Do you want me to...?

- No.

Glenn, run AGC.

Auto Gain Control running.

Negative 90. Solid lock.

We're on.

- Switching to M.E.

- Got it.

All yours, Al.

Houston Net Two, PKS.

Houston Net Two.

Parkes is on-line.

Apollo, Houston. RCS

went to super dust.

We're all go.

Roger. Mike,

would you confirm...

thruster B-3 and C-4

are off? Over.

C- 4 and B-3 are off and

I've got roll jets back on.

Jets maneuvering, right?

Will be shortly, Neil.

Apollo 11. Houston,

we are go for undocking.

Roger. Understand.

Eagle, Houston, we see you.

Roger. Eagle undocked.

- How does it look?

- The Eagle has wings.

Rog.

Roger, Neil. Give us

cooling data.

You're a go for PDI. Over.

Roger. Understand.

Rod McNeil with another

Apollo 11 update.

Eagle module descent has

entered 5th and final hour.

According to Houston

Flight Control...

status is still go

or a landing.

Eagle module is in critical

stage before touchdown.

In a matter of minutes....

astronauts Armstrong

and Aldrin...

will attempt to land

on the surface of the moon.

Rudi. Sector 5A. D. E.

Rudi, over.

They're about to land.

Eagle, we have to go around.

Angle S-band pitch minus

niner yaw plus one eight.

Roger. You're a go to continue.

Go to continue powered descent.

They're landed?

Almost.

You're looking great.

2,000 feet.

Into AGS, 47 degrees.

Roger.

- You're go.

Program alarm.

He said alarm?

Program alarm.

- 1201.

- Roger, 1201 alarm.

Computer's overloaded.

They'll abort.

- Okay, we're go.

- We're go.

- They're going it.

- 723.

540 feet, down at 15.

350, down at 4.

Altitude, velocity light.

31/2 down. 220 feet.

Coming down nicely.

200 feet, 412.

5 and a half down.

100 feet, 312 down,

9 forward.

75 feet. Guys looking good.

Down a half.

- 6 forward.

- 60 seconds.

Lights on.

- Fuel?

- I think so.

30 feet down, 212.

Picking up some dust.

Faint shadow.

- 4 forward. Drifting right.

- 30 seconds.

That's a fuel call.

- What?

- 30 seconds of fuel left.

Contact light.

Okay, engine stop.

We copy you down, Eagle.

Houston....

Tranquillity Base here.

The Eagle has landed.

Roger. Tranquillity.

They're on the moon.

About to turn blue. Breathing

again. Thanks a lot.

Bloody hell!

- What happens now?

- Sleep break.

It's a good idea.

Confirmed:
Armstrong and

Aldrin are on the moon.

Both are preparing for EVA.

- What's that?

- Extra vehicular activities.

The moonwalk.

They got rid of that hydrogen?

They needed that for fuel.

These are not to scale.

- The prime minister's on his way.

- He's a fascist!

I beg your pardon!

Bob, speak to Marie.

I might just shut that.

What?

Wind.

Glenn's under the Bureau.

- What's it blowing?

- 15 knots.

- We're related to...?

- 30.

So, we're fine.

- For now.

- Come on, Glenn.

If it goes above 30?

Above 10, we stow the Dish.

That's pointing up. We've

got to be pointing east.

We understand that.

Forecaster says it

doesn't make sense.

- Great.

- He say anything else?

Hello and goodbye. Very polite.

absolute maximum.

It's the theoretical maximum.

- It's never been tested?

- No.

The Disc can take more than...

Al, we don't know.

And I don't want to know.

azimuth track.

That's not good.

All right, let's just...

We got 9 hours till they walk.

Could this blow itself out?

Yeah, I reckon it could.

Yeah.

Just ringing to say good luck.

Hang on.

There in a minute!

It's a bit breezy this morning.

That wouldn't affect...

Right.

What happens then?

Oh, I see.

You reckon?

Crikey.

It's a special day, Bob.

The prime minister

arrived in Parkes....

received by the United

States ambassador....

and local dignitaries eager to

see the historic landing.

This is Cliff Buxton, the

director of the facility.

Governor-general. That was

the official opening.

Why did they build it here?

If I may, Bob?

Weather, prime minister.

Parkes has the stable

climatic conditions...

conducive to the operation

of large radio telescopes.

Fire?

We hit 30 knots.

- Get back to the bureau.

- Sure.

- What's up?

- Relax, Rudi.

What's the bell for?

Let's us know it's windy.

I knew that. It's blowing

a bloody gale outside.

- Well done with this.

- The ladies helped.

No, Apollo 11. Your dish.

Thank you, prime minister.

And congratulations on the nod.

Party needs performers.

- How are they going out there?

- Good. Perfectly.

We sit here for 5 bloody days,

not a breath of bloody wind.

And then, out of nowhere...

when it's our turn, a bloody

cyclone parks on us!

Sorry lads.

I might just...

go check some bloody thing.

Obviously nothing's foolproof.

There's always limitations.

There are no guarantees,

all things considered.

Life, I guess.

You're joking, aren't you?

Yeah, everything's fine.

We have a saying in the Party:

- "You don't f*** up.!

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