13 Minutes to the Moon: Trailer, T-minus 1
The final part of our audio countdown to the launch of 13 Minutes to the Moon, with Kevin Fong. Lift off is on 13 May 2019.
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Transcript
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Cap Conwer, go for landing.
Eagle Gissing, you're go for landing over.
On the 20th of July, 1969, humanity took a giant leap.
Tranquility Base here.
The Eagle has landed.
We remember the first moon landing as one of the greatest triumphs.
It was an incredible achievement for humankind.
But it almost didn't happen.
The tension in mission control was through the roof.
Communications to the spacecraft kept breaking down.
We can't communicate to to them.
They can't communicate to us.
The technology stretched beyond its limits.
There was something happening inside the computer that we did not understand.
They were low on fuel.
They were running out of gas.
He's telling me we got 60 seconds of fuel.
Having missed the planned landing site.
Neil kept changing his landing area, keeping on going forward and forward because he was overflying a large crater.
We got 30 seconds of fuel.
My mind was, that's it.
We're not going to land.
The crew and the team at Mission Control had to face stark choices.
Here's some 26-year-old kid, kid, sitting here at a console who could stop the lunar mission.
From the BBC World Service, 13 Minutes to the Moon, the dramatic, definitive story of Apollo 11.
It's about the men and women who reached for the moon.
It's their story.
about how they made it happen.
As we come around, out of the lunar horizon comes a blue and white ball, which is the Earth, 240,000 miles away.
You know, I started to think, wow, that's home.
They were led by an ambitious president.
We choose to go to the moon and this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.
You stirred a nation.
It was inspiring and we were all dedicated.
The world was into it.
It was unifying.
And mobilized a vast young workforce.
When we landed on the moon, our average age was about 27.
What, are they crazy letting us kids near this thing?
But, you know, this was to beat the Russians to the moon.
Born out of the shadow of war, it was one of the defining moments of the 20th century.
But during the final 13 minutes of descent to the moon's surface, it looked like it could end in failure.
It was dead silence in mission control.
Everybody listening, are they going to make it?
Are they going to make it?
100 feet, 3.5 down, 9 forward.
It was quite a drama, and it wasn't fake.
It was not a fake drama.
This was the real drama.
We were holding our breath.
875 feet.
It seemed like forever.
It was an eternity.
Never will forget when...
Neil and Buzz were coming down that final phase
and I still get chills.
Buzz was reading out altitude and descent rates to Neil
and between a couple of the readings he said we're picking up some dust.
And I thought, good God, we're there.
We got an engine blowing dust off the moon, the exhaust,
as he was coming down.
And
still such chills up my back that, you know, we're going to make it and we've done it in this decade.
Just like Kennedy said we would.
This is the real story behind that incredible journey.
It's about the people and how, over the course of a single decade, they turned a dream into a reality.
We've had shutdown.
We copy you down, Eagle.
I'm Kevin Fong.
The theme music is by Hans Zimmer.
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Tranquility Base here.
The Eagle has landed.
Rocket Tranquility.
We caught you on the ground.
You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue.
We're breathing again.
Thanks a lot.
13 Minutes to the Moon.
The new podcast from the BBC World Service is coming soon.
Run.
Zero.
All-engine running.
The Mercedes-Benz dream days are back with with offers on vehicles like the 2025 E-Class, CLE Coupe, C-Class, and EQE sedan.
Hurry in now through July 31st.
Visit your local authorized dealer or learn more at mbusa.com slash dream.