Brief

Narrator is fixing up her house when she comes across a journal of a NASA employee. She seeks him out and he begins to tell her the story of space exploration in America. The narrator is enthralled to see her first shuttle launch, and the man leaves her with his prized journal in the end.

What We Liked

- The story has good heart, and is a great tale of remembrance. It focuses heavily on the life and times of Harry the early NASA employee as he sees through the history of America's many successful and unsuccessful shuttle launches.
- The film would be a story of remembrance. It is focused entirely on the past, with limited present interactions. The heartstrings will be pulled at each tense launch and, whether it succeeds or fails, the pressure is on NASA and the audience will wait in anticipation for the next arc of the story. Limited scenes and characters are good, but special effects/royalties for NASA footage would likely be high for all the flashbacks.
- The TV aspect is in the drama, and would do well as a limited series. There is quite a bit of dialogue and limited action, so a focus on flashbacks to found or remembered footage of the launches would be key. The two characters are consistent with minimal B or C characters and there are limited scene changes to keep location costs down. Everything is retold from the older character's memory, so an actor with good narration talents is essential.
- Key points: History, Space Exploration, Remembrance, Nationalism, Space Race.

Synopsis

Narrator is fixing up a house in Virginia when they come across a notebook written by Harry Shoaf, a NASA engineer who worked on aerospace engineering since the early 40's. The narrator is a school administrator at a middle school focusing on Astronomy' so they decide to read the journal and type it into a manuscript. The narrator contacts many eager libraries and Aerospace facilities to confirm Harry Shoaf's career and to deliver typed copies of the manuscript. In Cape Canaveral, Florida the narrator meets a man claiming to be Harry Shoaf who takes the journal and scurries off without saying anything.

Harry meets the narrator the next day and they begin to go through his work in the Space Age. He talks about the rush of the Space Race and takes pleasure in being able to share his story. Over the next few days the narrator meets with Harry and discusses how the “arrow” design for rockets began. They walk along the beach one day as he explains all the way from World War I and Eisenhower’s presidency to the World War II era testing that opened gateways to the future of rocket design. The mysterious figure Harry seems to have made a friend of the narrator, who has a deep interest in the history. Just as easily as he shares these stories, he often slips away from the narrator without her even realizing.

Four days of rain stop the two from meeting, but afterward Harry returns and starts talking about the formation of Wallops Island and how he headed up the flight management there. Despite the storms, he acts as if nothing has happened. The story meanders around the formation of the rocket testing facility on Wallops and then Harry gets into the Mercury Project. He mentions how on October 1, 1958 the organization was renamed to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The Space Task Group (STG) began work on the Mercury Project that same year. Their goal: orbit a man around the moon.

Cape Canaveral opened not long after and the operations began to speed up exponentially. There were initial problems because the land at Cape Canaveral was owned by the Air Force and the Department of Defense wasn’t totally clear on NASA’s workings there, but things eventually sorted out. Harry disappears for a few days and the two meet again. They talk about the formation of the boosters and all the problems Harry had to solve under the noses of NASA and the inspectors. Then he mentions the training of the astronauts and how he came to see them as an essential piece of the program. They had to be shaped and tested and readied just like the boosters and shuttle itself. Harry finishes the evening by telling the story of the the first successful booster separation and how it almost ended badly. At this point a few weeks have gone by and save for a few conversations with the hotel staff and a local couple who warned her that the beach grass is off limits to sit on, the narrator has spoken almost exclusively to Harry. The next few days Harry goes through the story of how the parachutes, heat shields and types of fuel were tested. He mentions how relatively unknown the astronauts were, in an era before mass media coverage, it took time for the American people to even get wind of all the work Harry and his fellow engineers were doing at Canaveral.

After failures to launch and indecision between the Titan and Atlas boosters, NASA’s image was starting to take some dents. The monkey astronauts Ham and Miss Sam had seen some success in space travel time, but ultimately the Russians beat them to punch with a manned trip around Vostok I three weeks before NASA’s own. The Atlas rockets were still causing problems, and Harry comments on how spectacular all of the massive booster explosions were, even if they were a set back.

Not long after the Redstone mission saw a successful manned launch, and Harry was elated. Several more tests sported less than ideal re-entries, but eventually the Mercury mission succeeded and the 400 million dollar project got astronauts into space for just under 54 hours. After the success of Mercury, Harry moves on to the beginnings of Gemini and Apollo, and the first time he saw a young Neil Armstrong. He had to move around the country to stay on top of the new enthusiasm as NASA filled out its branches under the bolstered enthusiasm of the Mercury Mission.
Harry rattles of the history of the 12 Gemini missions, the loss of two of their pilots and one of his mentors/leaders as the future of NASA looks bolder and brighter with every launch. Data is being gathered by the non-returning rockets and a new level of confidence is instilled in space exploration.

Each of the Gemini missions breaks new feats in weight, time, distance and acceleration. The more that they test, the more successes NASA seems to have. One of the astronauts in the later Gemini missions takes a fondness to the one of the “monkeynauts” and takes him with his family when they retire. The general sense of comradery Harry mentions between the engineers and astronauts is strengthened more by the rapid continual successes of the Gemini launches. Three months after Gemini XII, Apollo has a terrible accident and three astronauts die. It would be nearly two years until Apollo would get back into gear. Problems with the machinery and the landing schemes set Harry and his team back, but eventually the metal started to get cut and the operations ramped up. The Gemini, Saturn and Pegasus rockets were all being tested in preparation for the 17 Apollo missions to come. The variable success of each keeps the narrator on her toes as Harry squeezes more and more into each session. Weeks have gone by at this point and the narrator is still deeply enthralled with their daily meetings.

The first manned Apollo mission with Saturn rockets was a failure, and the astronauts, Harry’s dear friends, perished as a result of a toxic gas leak. The two walk along the water and the narrator tries to console her new friend Harry. Hundreds of government officials were involved in the investigation. After all the red tape cleared, Apollo was given the go ahead to continue launches. The first several were hit or miss, and by Apollo 7 there was a big stall as a lot of re-work had to be done to get to accomplish the lunar orbit proposed for Apollo 8. Apollo 8 astronauts performed a 20 hour stint with 10 lunar orbits--it was a massive success. Apollo 9 followed shortly after and the separation stages were becoming smoother each time. NASA was hitting their stride.

Apollo 10 prepared the engineers and astronauts for the upcoming lunar landing that Apollo 11 would embark on. At this point there had been dozens of launches across Gemini and Apollo, and the public send in suggestions as to what should be left and taken on the lunar expedition. The narrator is ecstatic over Harry’s recounts of Apollo 11’s success, but she tries not to show too much of it. Successful lunar orbits and landings were now a part of American history and scientific possibility. The rest of the six mission would expand on those two feats. Apollo 13 was unsuccessful, but that didn’t stop the push for the remaining 4 landings. President’s Kennedy and Johnson had inspired scientists to push for more space exploration. This included updated gear in the Apollo 15 mission and lunar rovers to improve mobility.

Apollo 17 featured its first geologist and the longest time in space at over 12 days. Samples were collected across 20 miles of lunar surface and despite the public’s loss of fascination with space travel, Harry and his fellow NASA employees were still deeply enthralled with the continued progress.

Harry talks about the sputtering out of the Apollo missions and shrinking NASA budgets. He shows some excitement in the formation of SkyLab, but the dream that had once been his pride and joy had taken a bit of a dive. SkyLab renewed his hopes. The Russians came and collaborated in new training in Houston and joint missions were planned. Harry jumps to the Columbia missions and the formation of new Space Centers in the 70’s and 80’s. The success of the first commercial space flight on the Columbia prompted President Reagan to embark on the 8 billion dollar formation of a manned space station. Then the Challenger mission’s failure set back a lot of that trust and progress. Harry went through the mess of the investigation, the pressures from outside forces, the Air Force’s desire to influence NASA’s construction to fit their own aeronautic desires--and in the end he helps the narrator find a chance to see a shuttle launch. The narrator and Harry talk about the future of space travel, short and long distance, and many of the frustrations of long term space travel. The final day Harry leaves his notebook in the grass with a note, hoping for the future of space travel to be orchestrated by the many players of the world who want to see mankind advance into space.

About The Author

Retired educator and administrator for an Aerospace Magnet Middle School. Together, with volunteers from the community, pilots, parents, teachers and students, she built an Ultra-light Flying Vehicle. She spent a “simulation week” at Space Camp, Huntsville, Alabama; was awarded “Aerospace Teacher of the Year” by the local Air Force Association, and was a Nominee for the Christa McCuliffe Aerospace Educator Memorial Award; served three years on the National Magnet Schools of America Board; served twelve years on the local School Board; served four years on the Tidewater Community College Board of Directors. She had the original journal of Harry Shoaf, NASA Design Engineer, which offered her the opportunity and privilege to create an interesting novel of dreams, not only of his experience, but the excitement and friendships shared with the first seven astronauts and with all who “sent a man to the moon.” She has recently made the arrangements and donated the original journal to the NASA Air and Space Archives, Washington D. C. where the replica of his lunar lander, which he designed, is displayed.