Previously on "The Astronaut Wives Club"...
The Gemini men are arriving in a few weeks.
Don't worry, babe. Those guys are the "B" team.
The Gemini wives... the new nine?
Now Mercury's over. It's go time.
Mercury is not over.
You might as well be the first to know.
Deke is being promoted.
I'm writing my article myself.
I'd like people to know the real me.
Pigs will fly in space before a woman does.
Pigs have flown in space.
Did you know that your friend Dot won
the All-Woman air race?
Yeah. We were training together.
It's our time.
Thank you.
Thanks.
You really don't notice anything different about me?
Oh, come on. Don't make me guess.
I mean, I... the shoes?
The hair.
It's completely different.
What guy notices hair?
- Mr. Cooper! - Mr. Cooper!
Mr. Cooper, on your upcoming flight,
you'll be orbiting the earth for an unprecedented 34 hours.
What do you plan on doing up there for so long?
Besides breaking every space record there is?
Was thinking of catching up on some sleep.
Oh, why do I get the feeling
wearing the suit was your idea, not Dunk's?
Look, they're lovin' it.
All right, I gotta go. We good?
The night's barely started.
I told you I couldn't stay. I'll see you at home.
Don't let me hog him, ladies.
Who else wants their picture taken?
It's been six months since the last launch.
We're starvin' for spacemen.
Wonder where Trudy Cooper's off to?
Oh, those Mercury wives never seem to have
much time for us, do they?
Well, I'm sure they're just busy being Mercury wives.
Look at them. Like moths to a flame.
Oh, hi.
That was us not too long ago.
We were butterflies, never moths.
We spread our gossamer wings with grace.
But Th-they're just n-n-nervous like w-we were.
Well, I'm still a little nervous.
You? Why?
Well, you see that man over there in the red tie?
That's Cal Butterfield.
He's the editor of "The Post-Inquirer."
I'm gonna go and meet him tonight,
and I'm gonna get myself a job.
Job?
What the hell happened?
I barely recognize you.
You're exactly the same.
Mr. Glenn, Stu Warren.
We met at Hickory Hill last year.
Stu, sure. Call me John, please.
Well, John...
You mind if we have a moment in private?
Sure.
Ma'am.
Mrs. Glenn, Mrs. Ted Wilkins.
And this is Mrs. Frank de Longpre.
We just wanted to introduce ourselves.
We have such admiration watching you and your husband.
You are our favorite astronaut wife.
It's true!
Th-th...
thank...
Y-you.
We're so sorry.
If... if you'll excuse us.
What happened?
Rene Carpenter.
Astronaut Scott Carpenter's wife.
Guess astronauts get all the luck.
Mr. Butterfield, I wanted to talk to you tonight because...
Well, because I'd like to write a column for your paper.
Your own column?
- Is that so? - I have a lot of ideas,
and I believe I could offer a unique perspective,
something that I feel the paper needs.
I'm more than capable,
and if you give me half an hour of your time,
I could prove it to you.
All right.
Meet me this Friday at 4:00.
The address is 423 Park.
Well, all right, then. I'll see you there.
Who's that guy?
My new boss.
Subtitle sync and corrections by awaqeded for www.addic7ed.com.
Looks good.
Your hair, I mean, not the buffet.
You changed it.
I did, yes.
It's good to see you.
Thank you for the holiday card, by the way.
It was nice.
Well, if it isn't the "life" of the party. Mr. Kaplan.
Mrs. Slayton. Nice to see you.
For now.
What's this I hear about you leaving after Gordo goes up?
Trudy told me you're quitting the magazine for San Francisco?
Yes, I, uh...
I have a friend who's starting a progressive paper out there.
Uh, politics, social issues, that sort of thing.
There's a lot going on out in California,
and I-I knew I'd regret it if I didn't give it a try.
Well, word of advice,
don't try everything those beatniks give you.
My cousin knew a guy. Thought it was tobacco.
Woke up two days later on a freight train to Missoula,
missing a pinkie finger.
Well, it sounds like a great opportunity.
Excuse me.
Forgot my purse.
You still fakin' it with Gordo?
Still no, "oh, my God. Yes!"
You know I came back for Gordo to get a mission.
And you know what? It's happening.
And I get to be there up close, closer than anyone.
Unless you were the astronaut.
Do you have any idea where I've been
while you've had your face buried in "Good Housekeeping"?
The Lovelace Clinic.
A woman?
Yeah.
At Dr. Lovelace's test facility?
He made a trip to Russia.
They train women right alongside the men there.
So he decided to do an experiment.
We're called F.L.A.T.S....
First Lady Astronaut Trainees.
You're gonna be an astronaut?
Well, not yet.
13 of us passed every test that the Mercury guys did.
I'm talking physical, psych, you name it.
But NASA won't let us onto a military base
to do the training.
- That's... - Total b.s., I know,
which is why I'm going to Washington.
In two days, a subcommittee has to make a decision
about NASA changing their policy.
- Me and Jackie Cochran are testifying. - Oh!
And so are two Mercury astronauts.
What? Well, wh-which ones?
I don't know.
That's what I wanted to talk to you about.
Trudy, do you realize?
This is our chance to go into space.
So that fellow tonight, Stu Warren?
Uh, he's Bobby Kennedy's chief advisor,
and, uh...
Well, it turns out, Bobby's been thinking of me, uh,
for the election.
There's an Ohio senate seat in contention this November,
and this guy Stu says
they're ready to put everything behind me.
Run... for o-o-office?
But y-you are... you're an astronaut.
Well, Stu says that's a big asset.
All these new guys, they all have degrees.
No one's really talking about me for the Gemini missions.
But p-politics,
reporters, all those... people.
Well...
We... we don't have to give up on NASA just yet.
All the same tests?
Lovelace must've been going easy on you.
All right, how long did you last in the deprivation chamber?
I won that one.
3 hours and change till the hallucinations got ugly.
8 hours, 42 minutes.
Oh, come on.
Just like the rest of 'em.
Can't imagine a female in space
unless she's pulling a cake out of the oven.
Well, I mean, space cake does sound nice.
I just can't believe you knew about the hearings
the whole time and never told me.
Trudy, I'm sorry.
All I heard was John and Scott were asked to testify.
And what are they going to say?
- How should I know? - You didn't ask?
I've got a launch in two weeks.
There's a few other things on my mind.
You should look at the test results, Gordo.
Women have more endurance than men
and are less emotional.
Less emotional? Really?
Seriously? Don't even bother.
You ever seen this one during her time of the month?
Imagine being locked in a steel capsule
with that hurdlin' through space.
Oh, come on. It's way too serious in here.
All right, fine, I'm gonna hit the hay.
And where do you think you're going?
Dot's sleepin' in the spare room,
- So I'm sleepin'... - In the den.
Okay.
Married life.
Forget him.
But Scott Carpenter and John Glenn
are two of the most open-minded guys in Mercury.
If we put together some talking points,
I think they'll support us.
We've got the truth on our side.
I'll get my statement.
Oh, this heat. I swear I'm like a pot roast in here.
Well-done and still cookin'.
This heat wave is killin' me.
You have to calm down. It'll only make things worse.
Get down low, get somewhere down low.
I could kill Wally for this...
When it's cooler.
And you know what I heard?
That Marilyn See?
She's happy as a clam and cool as a cucumber.
Wait a minute.
She has air conditioning?
Hello.
Hi, Marilyn. How are you?
We were talking just now, and one thing led to another,
and we realized, well, gosh,
we need to welcome Marilyn See to the neighborhood.
So...
I've been living here six months now.
Better late than never.
Well, thank you. I'm...
I'm not really prepared for company right now.
I was just looking through some slides.
Elliot took me to Acapulco last winter...
Oh, well, that just sounds wonderful.
We love Acapulco.
Just crazy for it.
Well... then, come on in, I suppose.
That sounds wonderful.
And you'll be writing about what you really care about.
No more astrowife puff pieces.
I never called them that.
To anyone's face.
I imagine you'll meet all kinds of interesting people.
And you won't miss the Houston humidity.
Louise, why did you invite me to lunch?
Do I need a reason?
I thought we were friends.
Friends?
"Best wishes, Louise."
That's all you wrote on the card you sent.
What else could I say?
I'm leaving right after Gordo's launch.
If you wanna see me, let me know.
Anytime.
Women weigh less and consume less than men.
We're more radiation-resistant
and less susceptible to heart attacks, monotony,
loneliness, heat, cold, and pain.
There were women on the "Mayflower,"
and on the first wagon trains west.
Now we ask to be a part of the pioneering of space.
We offer you 13 qualified volunteers
who are ready to take on that challenge.
Thank you, Ms. Bingham.
If the whole purpose of space exploration
is to someday colonize other planets,
I don't see how we can do that without women.
Now you passed all the tests required for eligibility
to Project Mercury.
Yes, sir, everything from swallowing 3 feet of rubber hose
to crash landings in the Dilbert Dunker,
and an airborne E.E.G.
That means flying a jet
through a high-gravity load-stress pattern
with 18 monitor needles stuck in my head.
Does this mean you now qualify for astronaut training?
No, sir.
NASA Requires that all astronauts
have jet test pilot experience,
but the only test pilot schools in the United States
are operated by military services,
which don't allow women.
It is currently impossible for women
to fulfill that requirement.
Do you feel it's essential for astronauts
to have test pilot experience?
No, sir.
Some of us in this group
have 8,000 to 10,000 flying hours.
Now that's four times the amount of hours
of some of the Mercury Seven,
with no greater accident rates than our male counterparts.
We have a very real contribution to make.
Surprise, surprise. She did show up.
Hello, Mr. Butterfield.
Well, hello there.
All right, boys, why don't you give me
and the little lady here a few minutes?
Thank you.
So, Mrs. Carpenter,
astrowife turned aspiring journalist.
I'll have to admit, never heard of that before.
Well, that's exactly why you should hire me.
I do believe that as a forward-thinking woman,
I could offer a very unique perspective to your paper,
something I mentioned to you the other night.
I'm sure, I'm sure.
We have a recipe column in our paper.
I was thinking, assuming, you and I get along,
that I could work you in as an alternate once a month.
Mr. Butterfield, I used to edit my high school newspaper,
and in college I majored in history, and...
I wrote my own "Life" profile.
I'm interested in far more than just recipes.
Between you and me,
I don't understand why a woman like you
wants to write at all.
I take myself very seriously, Mr. Butterfield,
and perhaps you could do the same,
starting by meeting me in your office
and not on your second Martini.
Excuse me?
I have reporters on my staff with 20 years experience...
war correspondence, published authors,
remind me exactly why I should take you seriously?
Is it the one article you wrote about yourself?
Or the fact that you're married to an astronaut
whose name I don't even remember?
All right.
Well, you tell me what it is I need to do
to prove myself to you as a writer.
As a writer?
Why don't you bring me 20 sample articles?
Then we'll talk.
20?
Unless you're not up to it.
Honorable members of congress,
Colonel John Glenn
and Commander Malcolm Scott Carpenter.
It's okay. They're the good guys.
Now on the subject of our previous inquiry,
Colonel Glenn,
do you think an astronaut has to be a test pilot?
Well, first, sir, I'd like to say
that I'm not anti any particular group...
whatever sex, color, creed, or... or anything else.
I'm just pro space.
Uh, to your question, test pilots are expected
to perform functions under high stress,
which is exactly why we are ideal candidates
to deal with the pressures of space travel.
What about the extensive hours in civilian aircraft
flown by these women pilots?
Is that not equivalent experience?
Well, you can have thousands of flight hours
in a civilian craft.
You just don't come up against the same emergencies
as you do as a test pilot.
- There's no comparison. - But, Colonel Glenn,
didn't NASA relax certain requirements
to admit you into the Mercury program?
Yes, I, uh...
I did not have an engineering degree
at the time of my selection,
but it was agreed that I had the equivalency of a degree
due to my experience.
By that logic, a woman with equivalent abilities
shouldn't be rejected because of a requirement
she's barred from fulfilling.
Don't you agree?
Let me say this...
if we could find women today
with the exact qualifications as our best male astronauts,
we should surely welcome them into the program
with open arms.
And you, Commander Carpenter,
do you think a woman can stand the pace and stress
of being an astronaut?
I believe the answer is yes.
But...
With the space race in full throttle,
the U.S. needs to choose people with the best qualifications.
And...
At this time...
We can't find that type of woman.
What was that?
In five minutes, you managed to ruin everything
those women have spent years trying to achieve.
Trudy, I wanted to help...
Astronauts should be test pilots.
I-I'm sorry that women don't have that opportunity, Trudy,
but that's our opinion.
Why don't you admit what this is really about?
I hear Gordo talk. This isn't about women at all.
It's about civilians.
You're afraid a bunch of scientists
will swoop in and take your jobs.
If you open the door to us, you open the door to them, too,
so you're keeping everybody down.
Like I said,
we believe astronauts should be test pilots.
I'm sorry, Trudy.
Apologize to your daughters.
You don't even want your turn in orbit?
Well, the oxygen's all down here, Bob.
I'll take Cocoa Beach.
You got your sun, the water.
You got your cape cookies.
Alan Shepard likes those cape cookies, too.
He likes them so much,
I don't think he'll be going back into space anytime soon.
There's no fuel left in his "rocket," Bob.
I'm gonna take a shower.
Don't turn that dial.
We'll be back after a word from our sponsors
with more from...
Hello?
Louise?
I'll be here all day tomorrow, writing.
I hope I see you.
I miss you already.
If I had to get my ass kicked by a bunch of men in suits,
I'm glad it was with you.
They're wrong and they know it.
Things will change.
They are changing.
Not fast enough for you and me, huh?
Hey, Mom.
Hey.
Take care of yourself, okay? And them.
Hi, babies.
How was Washington? Did you win?
No, we lost.
I'm sorry. Are you sad?
Yes, but proud, too.
Dot did great.
And all the smart things she said got written down,
and now they're a part of history.
The funny thing is, is Elliot's been so worried
about how I've been getting along, you know, socially,
and now I have Betty Grissom and Jo Schirra coming over
almost every afternoon.
I'm just... surprised.
They get me so nervous. I just keep loading more slides.
I've done Mexico. We've done the Keys.
Yesterday was my wedding.
And they enjoy this?
I can't get them to leave.
They're just so... interested.
Oh.
Perfect timing.
My nephew's Little League photos are all ready to go.
Oh! We love Little League.
Ohh. Heaven.
Ohh.
Ladies.
Susan.
Hello.
You... you like slides, too?
Oh, yes. Big fan.
Oh.
Do you... do you mind turning off the A.C.?
I've got a chill.
Oh, of course.
20 articles.
I mean, I would've understood 5 or even 10. But 20 articles!
And you should've seen the look on his face when he said it.
He just loved sending me off.
Are you okay?
Yeah.
No. Not really. I-I don't know.
I testified at that hearing knowing that Kraft
would never let me get a Gemini mission.
So... is this gonna be my final contribution
to the space program?
- Oh, Scott. - ...One voice at a time,
carrying a message that cannot be ignored.
- They may deny us access to their business! - Yeah!
They may prevent us from sitting in their seats!
We can't cross this picket line.
Should we try another theater?
In the words of James Baldwin...
"Not upon a bigger cage,
but upon no cage at all"!
Jim Crow must go!
Jim Crow must go! Jim Crow must go!
Jim Crow must go!
I gonna kill those doctors, I swear.
I got enough on my mind already, and now they wanna
punch a hole in my suit for another monitor?
It's like they're looking to screw everything up.
Hey, you okay?
How'd it go in D.C.?
John and Scott both testified against us.
Ah, damn, Trudy.
Come on, let's do something.
We just gotta make it from here to the runway.
If anyone stops us or asks us any questions,
say you're Gus Grissom.
That's the plan?
You might be a little taller than him,
- but if you just keep nodding your head... - Gordo!
Okay, fine, stay here, don't get spotted,
and keep your eyes on the sky.
No one messes with the Coopers.
All right, 6 is marked lunar landing,
9 is re-enter.
3 we're gonna move to L.M. around.
5 to descent, 2 men.
Who was it?!
Who the hell was that?!
Whoo!
What the hell were you thinking?!
You could lose your mission over a stunt like that.
I don't care.
What they decided at those hearings was wrong
and I'm...
What was that?
That never happened.
I think it definitely did,
- which means... - Nothing.
It was a moment and that's it.
A-apologies, sir.
The privacy sign wasn't on the door.
I know.
It's okay.
Thank you.
Hey.
Are you sick?
It's nothing serious.
Good.
Gordo pulled a flyby on the M.S.C. Today.
Kraft was so pissed,
he almost told Deke to give me his mission.
I swear, I was that close to going back up again.
Anyway... gotta pack.
Hi.
Wow.
This is quite a get-together.
How's Trudy?
Fine, I think.
She's waiting for Gordo to call.
You know, for a fake wife in a sham marriage,
she sure seems to care a lot.
Hello?
They just woke me up from a nap and said it's "go time."
One sec.
Hang up the phone!
You there?
Mm-hmm.
I'm gonna take this tin can up for a spin
and I'll see you and the girls in Houston in a couple days.
Mm-hmm.
You know I gotta come back
'cause I'm not lettin' you off the hook about that kiss.
That was enough to get a man's hopes up.
Dream on, Gordo.
It's all I've been doing since we moved to Houston.
Gordo?
- Just... - Come on, wrap it up.
Let's go.
Trudy, I gotta go. Kiss the girls, okay?
Okay.
Time to go into space, make some history.
All right.
You're gonna be on TV.
"Faith 7" has been in orbit for over an hour,
and it will continue to be in orbit
well into tomorrow.
If all goes well,
this will be the longest space flight to date.
Not just for the United States, but the world.
Only 32 hours to go.
...orbit over nearly every part of the world,
from 32.5 degrees north to 32.5 degrees south...
You know, I have to go. I left the girls home alone.
I'll come back later for another shift.
...been assigned to support the mission.
Cooper's first task will be to eject
a 6-inch diameter sphere...
I couldn't sleep.
Thought I might as well come over.
I'm glad you did.
I hope you weren't offended by my invitation.
I had to ask.
No one gets what they want if they don't ever ask.
Hello?
Trudy. It's John.
I'm sorry to wake you, but, um, but there's a problem.
Gordo's automatic systems have all shut down.
He's got carbon dioxide building up
and the capsule's overheating.
He's gonna have to come down now.
Just wanted you to know.
How will he get the right angle for re-entry
without the automatic system?
Well, he's gonna have to do it manually.
He can use the horizon as a point of reference
- and then calculate the... - Manually?
John, you tell Gordo
that the girls and I are coming to Hawaii.
You tell him that
this couldn't happen to a better pilot,
and we will be there when he lands,
no matter what.
I will.
He can do it.
I believe that.
I know you do.
"Faith 7," this is Capcom. Do you read?
Gordo?
You... you can't just leave.
I have to be with you for the story.
I have to go with you.
Well, you've got two minutes to decide.
The plane is waiting at the base,
and we are leaving right now.
I won't be coming back here.
This isn't the way I wanted to say goodbye.
Come on!
Let's go!
Beating terrifying odds,
Astronaut Gordo Cooper positions "Faith 7" perfectly
for re-entry into earth's atmosphere,
the best landing in Mercury history,
right on the old bazoo
in the first-ever completely manual landing.
Cooper now holds the world record
of 34 hours and 22 orbits in space.
Aloha.
Commander!
Commander Cooper!
Word is you just got off the phone
with President Kennedy.
Could you tell us what he said to you
after your historic landing?
The president believes I've proved once and for all
that astronauts aren't just "Spam in a can."
They need to be pilots... proven pilots.
They're no way around that.
And how did you get to be such a good pilot?
Well, not many people know this,
but my wife Trudy was a pilot before I became one.
She's the one who suggested I get my license
right here in Hawaii, where we met.
And not only is she the best teacher a pilot could have,
but...
There's just no way I could be standing right here, right now
without her.
Excuse me.
John said you were coming, but...
I thought he was just leading me on to keep me wantin' to live.
I can't do this anymore.
What's that?
"Lady Louise,"
"frosty."
Your "rock."
W-where is this coming from?
I watched you go up into space,
and I pretended I was never worried.
I know you're with other women,
and I pretend I don't care.
I look the other way when I find condoms in your bag
and act like it's funny
when the whole world laughs about your... rocket.
I don't want anyone else.
You and me, together.
It's all I ever wanted.
People say I'm supposed to ask for what I want.
This is what I want.
You.
All to myself.
Women often marvel about how I brave I am,
but I've never felt brave.
To witness true bravery,
one should look instead at the events
of the past 12 months.
To fight for one's dignity, whatever the adversity...
that is the mettle that sends men and women into the skies.
Gordo! Look at this.
They did it.
The Russians sent the first woman into space.
Oh!
"In a record-breaking flight,
"Valentina Tereshkova orbited 48 times in 3 days,
"obliterating American astronaut Gordon Cooper's flight
of 22 orbits last month."
Damn it!
I believe there is a place
at this grand banquet table for us all.
We are not simply the cooks in the kitchen,
the mothers of children, the wives of great men.
The world will only fulfill its shining promise
once each one of us is allowed to take flight.
20 articles, just like you wanted.
Here's one about a protest at a movie theater
that your paper never bothered to cover.
Another about women's pay in the job market.
Coverage of my dinner with the President in Houston
from just last night.
Oh, and after last week's pathetic banana bread,
a decent recipe for bundt cake.
Mrs. Carpenter, I will admit that...
Mr. Butterfield, I know that you have no intention
of hiring me, and to be quite honest,
I wouldn't work for a man like you.
But you challenged me to write 20 articles,
and I did. And I have now found my voice.
And for that, I thank you.
For everything else,
go screw yourself.
The president has just been shot.
It's on the radio.
His motorcade in Dallas...
He was such a young man.
An eerie silence has gripped the nation
as Americans stayed glued to their televisions.
We have just learned that father Huber,
one of the two priests called into the hospital room,
has administered
the last sacraments of the church
to President Kennedy.
I don't understand.
- And Jackie. - John Fitzgerald Kennedy was...
That poor woman.
- ...Brookline, Massachusetts on may 29, 1917... - We have to send her something.
...A businessman and politician,
Joseph Patrick "Joe" Kennedy senior...
...And philanthropist and socialite
Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald Kennedy.
John lived...
Nobody can stand sittin' in front of the TV
for another minute.
We're all gathering down at the park.
Gonna try and get something to eat.
On a day like today, it just...
Feels like people should be together,
not apart.
Will you come with us?
I brought potato salad, coleslaw,
and two kinds of pickles.
I got buns... hot dog and hamburger.
You got butter for those buns?
What do you think?
Is she gonna be okay?
Rene had the highest hopes of any of us.
She's takin' it hard.
- You gonna help me unpack? - Sure.
You h-have to r-run f-for office now.
You think so?
It won't be easy.
I won't be an astronaut anymore.
NASA won't protect us.
We'll both be out in the open.
I-I kn-know.
Subtitle sync and corrections by awaqeded for www.addic7ed.com.