When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions 6 parts - SBS 14 Dec 2012 20:30

[gary]

Starting tonight, Friday 14th Dec 2012, SBS is airing a 6 part documentary series
"When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions".

Originally Posted by SBS

Using re-mastered high definition footage from the libraries of NASA, this series reveals the missions, the people and the triumphs of space exploration.

Originally Posted by SBS

Episode 1: Ordinary Supermen

NASA, formed in 1958, one year after the launch of Sputnik, is leading the search for test pilots who have what it takes to enter the unknown of outer space. The seven men chosen to fly the Mercury capsule each know what it means to risk their lives. On average, one test pilot a week is dying in an air crash - the danger of riding in a rocket will not faze these men.

The first American in space will face a number of unanswered questions: Will a man in space be able to swallow food or drink? Will he go insane? Will he die from radiation exposure? Faced with fierce Soviet competition, the race is on to answer these and many other important questions. President Kennedy dares America to get to the Moon within 10 years, and early missions are critical steps in a process that will culminate in the ultimate goal of landing a human on the Moon.

SBS web page including synopses of other episodes here -
http://www.sbs.com.au/documentary/program/1091

[mbaddah (Mo)]

Hi Gary,

I purchased this a few months ago on DVD and thought it was the best documentary on the Nasa missions i've ever watched, and I've seen quite a few (including 'In the shadow of the Moon').

Highly recommend everyone go out there and buy it

[gary]

Originally Posted by mbaddah

Hi Gary,

I purchased this a few months ago on DVD and thought it was the best documentary on the Nasa missions i've ever watched, and I've seen quite a few (including 'In the shadow of the Moon').

Highly recommend everyone go out there and buy it

Thanks Mohammed!

Looking forward to it even more now!

Best regards

Gary

First episode tonight Fri 14th Dec 2012 at 20:30 on SBS 1.

[Varangian (John)]

I'll be watching, thanks for the lead, I haven't seen any advertising for this and we watch SBS most nights

[lacad01 (Adam)]

Better setup the dvr, thanks for the heads up.

[Dennis]

Thanks Gary!

Cheers

Dennis

[spacezebra (Petra)]

Thanks Gary

Programed to record all. Cheers Petra d.

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

Yes , I spotted this in todays paper and it looks good , I will be watching this series , thanks Gary for the reminder .
Brian.

[gary]

For those who missed it, Episode 1 is available for Australian viewers for the next
14 days at SBS On Demand here -
http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video...inary-Supermen

What I particularly enjoyed about Episode 1 was that the documentary
makers had gone to a lot of trouble to include less commonly seen footage.
Much of it I had never seen before. Even tiny details such as the brief glimpse of
the woman painting the very familiar Friendship 7 emblem artwork onto the capsule. Wonderful!

Looking back, its amusing to see those images of a Mercury astronaut and
flight directors such as Gene Kranz smoking cigarettes. Just when you thought
people were less informed about the very real personal dangers of smoking,
at one point (12:05 in video) during the pre-launch operations for Alan Shepard's flight, you
see an enormous tanker coming out with "LIQUID OXYGEN" in big letters
emblazoned across it but then with smaller writing above that stating
"NO SMOKING WITHIN 100 fT". Not "NO SMOKING ANYWHERE ON THIS FACILITY" but
"feel free to light up whilst we are transferring rocket fuel but be sure to keep
back, say, at least 100 feet". How OH&S has changed.

[Hans Tucker (Hans)]

So smoking is the biggest sin in this series....none are you are bothered by Engineers wearing a tie with a short sleeve shirt.

[gary]

Originally Posted by Hans Tucker

So smoking is the biggest sin in this series....none are you are bothered by Engineers wearing a tie with a short sleeve shirt.

Hans! LOL!