"American Experience: Chasing The Moon" Part One

Over the years, I have always said that the U.S. Space Program is the only worthwhile government program. I still do.

As part of the commemoration this month of the fiftieth (hard to believe it's has been that long) anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, PBS is broadcasting "American Experience: Chasing The Moon". Part one was on last night. It was directed by Robert Stone.

The first part details the start of NASA, Sputnik and the selection of the first 7 Mercury astronauts. It brought back a lot of memories. As part of my Cub Scout projects, I made a scrapbook of newspaper clipping of all Mercury missions. Unfortunately, the scrapbook got trashed. How I'd love to have it now!

The PBS synopsis:

“Chasing the Moon,” a film by Robert Stone, reimagines the race to the moon for a new generation, upending much of the conventional mythology surrounding the effort. The series recasts the Space Age as a fascinating stew of scientific innovation, political calculation, media spectacle, visionary impulses and personal drama. Utilizing a visual feast of previously overlooked and lost archival material — much of which has never before been seen by the public — the film features a diverse cast of characters who played key roles in these historic events. Among those included are astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Frank Borman and Bill Anders; Sergei Khrushchev, son of the former Soviet premier and a leading Soviet rocket engineer; Poppy Northcutt, a 25-year old “mathematics whiz” who gained worldwide attention as the first woman to serve in the all-male bastion of NASA’s Mission Control; and Ed Dwight, the Air Force pilot selected by the Kennedy administration to train as America’s first black astronaut.

My only quibbles about the first part was the lack of good Mercury-Redstone and Mercury-Atlas launch footage. I know there's some great footage available (they were used in the movie, The Right Stuff).  And, another quibble, the "screw job" of America's almost first black astronaut, Ed Dwight by Southern Democrats (they were in charge of the space program's purse strings in congress). They hint at it, but don't come right out and say it. Ever wonder why most of the space program's facilities are in the Deep South? At least that was pointed out.

It did cover well the heady times of the early space program and how it captured the imaginations of Americans.

Tonight, part two of "Chasing The Moon" will be broadcast. Part three will be broadcast tomorrow night.

To read about "American Experience: Chasing The Moon", go here.