- 2 days ago
Military Documentary
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:03That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
00:14Since man first looked upon the moon, he has dreamed of probing its mysteries.
00:18On a summer day in 1969, that ancient dream becomes a reality,
00:22as two United States astronauts carry the stars and stripes to the Earth's natural satellite
00:27almost a quarter of a million miles from Earth.
00:30Americans are justly proud of their nation's achievements in space exploration,
00:35achievements in which the United States Army played an important early role.
00:43Beneath the sea, men of the U.S. Army move in another alien environment,
00:48as Army divers go underwater to repair military facilities
00:51and salvage costly equipment sunk by accident or lost in action.
00:57Astronaut and aquanaut, each accomplishes his goals supported by an array of technical knowledge
01:03unparalleled in the history of man.
01:06Today on The Big Picture, the United States Army's contribution demands conquest
01:11of the two vast and mysterious boundaries of his world, the sky and the sea.
01:40July 20th, 1969, Cape Kennedy, Florida.
01:44The day of the beginning of a new era of discovery.
01:48U.S. spaceflight Apollo 11, powered by the giant Saturn launch vehicle,
01:53is about to take off for man's first landing on the moon.
01:57That giant leap for mankind began with many smaller steps.
02:01The operation of the Saturn engines powering Apollo 11,
02:05with almost 8 million pounds of thrust,
02:07can be linked to experiments in rocketry conducted by the U.S. Army Air Forces 24 years earlier.
02:21In 1944, events are taking place across the Atlantic,
02:25which will have a far-reaching effect on America's space efforts.
02:29At Peenemun, Germany,
02:30the Nazis continue to test their deadly V-2 missiles,
02:34which had brought destruction to England.
02:38But time ran out on the Third Reich.
02:41As Hitler tottered on the brink of defeat,
02:43the German rocket experts fled from the advancing Russians
02:46and sought out the protection of the U.S. Army.
02:51During their hectic escape,
02:53Wernher von Braun, the top German missile expert,
02:56is injured in an accident.
02:58But nevertheless, he and his staff reach the American forces.
03:03In an operation codenamed Paperclip,
03:06this important team of scientists and technicians
03:08is quickly transferred to Fort Bliss, Texas.
03:14By late 1945,
03:16the vast open lands at White Sands, New Mexico,
03:19close to Fort Bliss,
03:21become the main testing site
03:22for the U.S. Army Missile Program.
03:25As the new technology develops,
03:28the Army's White Sands Proving Ground,
03:30to be known later as White Sands Missile Range,
03:33builds facilities needed to house
03:34the complex launch and control equipment
03:37essential to the rocketry art.
03:40Army ordnance experts and the von Braun group,
03:43most of whom become U.S. citizens,
03:45conduct missile testing programs.
03:47By assimilating the German expertise
03:49and by actual firings of the V-2,
03:52America gains its first practical experience
03:55in the operation and handling of large missiles.
03:58Here began the research that heralded
04:01all of our future space effort,
04:03both civilian and military.
04:09Under operational control of the Army,
04:12White Sands is used during this period
04:13by all the services in perfecting their missiles.
04:16The U.S. Navy's Viking Missile
04:18receives its early test firing cheer,
04:20carrying intricate electronic apparatus
04:23for research of the heavens
04:24in radio communications,
04:26weather forecasting,
04:27and high-altitude flight.
04:32Air Force sleds use the vast Army range,
04:36racing at higher speeds than ever before,
04:38to learn more about human reaction
04:40to the tremendous forces
04:42that a man's body must survive
04:44as he is thrust into the vast realms of outer space.
04:51The nation's first operational surface-to-surface guided missile,
04:55the Army's corporal,
04:56is successfully tested.
05:02The intensive space studies of the 1950s
05:05are a tribute to the work of Dr. Robert Goddard,
05:07who had conducted solid propellant rocket tests
05:10for the Army in 1918
05:12and had fired the world's first liquid-fueled rocket
05:15as far back as 1926.
05:18Much of today's space technology evolved
05:20from the cornerstone laid by Dr. Goddard,
05:22and his contribution as a rocket pioneer
05:25is honored by the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland,
05:28which bears his name.
05:33In the decade following World War II,
05:35the Army almost alone pursued the advancement
05:38of rocket-propelled missiles and space vehicles.
05:41For a while,
05:42it was virtually a shoestring operation,
05:45with only token budgets from the government.
05:48Still, the Army managed to continue its research and development
05:51until, during the Korean War,
05:53additional funds become available
05:55to back the Army's effort to keep America ahead
05:58in space technology.
06:03Gradually, the new technology
06:05shapes the pattern of things to come.
06:11Tracking devices,
06:13specially designed camera,
06:15and a variety of telemetric equipment
06:17are devised under Army supervision
06:19to analyze the performance
06:21of projectiles hurled skyward.
06:26Each step in the perfection
06:28of military missile systems
06:29points inevitably in the direction
06:31that man will take to the stars.
06:40On test ranges,
06:41rocket engines undergo
06:42prolonged static firings
06:44to determine their efficiency.
06:52In April 1950,
06:54the Army's rocket experts
06:55were moved to the Redstone Arsenal
06:57in Alabama,
06:58and thereafter,
06:59Redstone becomes the chief center
07:01for rocket and guided missile research.
07:07Here, named for its birthplace,
07:09there was created
07:10the powerful Redstone missile,
07:12a weapon that was to play
07:14a vital role in our steps
07:15to the moon.
07:23Following Redstone,
07:25fueled by liquid propellants,
07:27the Army began the development
07:28of solid fuel rocket engines
07:30and missiles that could be
07:31emplaced and fired without delay.
07:34The first of these was sergeant,
07:36highly mobile,
07:37quickly emplaced,
07:38and extremely accurate.
07:45Next came Pershing,
07:47big, powerful,
07:48highly mobile,
07:49easily moved by air,
07:51range 400 miles.
07:54Later,
07:55a wheeled transporter
07:56is fitted to the Pershing 1A
07:58so that it can travel across country
07:59under its own power.
08:03But Redstone,
08:05sergeant,
08:06and Pershing
08:06were only a part
08:08of a whole series
08:09of rocket-powered army weapons
08:10developed by the Army Missile Command.
08:16Some like Little John
08:19and Honest John
08:21were simple free-flight rockets
08:23designed for artillery use
08:24in battlefield areas.
08:27Others, like Dart,
08:29were guided by wire
08:30and were directed by the gunner.
08:42and Shillelagh,
08:43that would become
08:44the main striking force
08:45for America's armored vehicles.
08:52Or Dragon,
08:53the free world's first assault missile,
08:56light enough to be carried
08:57by one soldier,
08:58yet powerful enough
09:00to destroy armor
09:01and other enemy strong points.
09:11For air defense
09:12against high-flying aircraft,
09:14the Army provided
09:15the Nike Ajax.
09:20Then followed
09:21the longer-range,
09:22fast-reaction Nike Hercules.
09:36Later, work began
09:37on protection
09:38against intercontinental missile attack.
09:40First in the new family
09:42of longer-range missiles
09:43was the Nike Zeus.
09:52Today, Nike Zeus
09:53has become the Spartan missile.
10:00and Spartan has been teamed
10:02with a high-acceleration
10:04sprint missile.
10:05Together,
10:06these two highly accurate weapons
10:08are part of the Safeguard
10:09ballistic missile defense system.
10:20The shield against low-flying enemy aircraft,
10:24there was Hawk,
10:25used by both U.S.
10:26and Allied forces
10:27around the world.
10:32And for the infantryman,
10:34Red Eye,
10:35a portable shoulder-fired guided missile
10:38designed to destroy
10:39by homing on the heat
10:40of a jet engine.
10:44But while the Army's prime objective
10:47was defense of our nation,
10:48the vast and rapidly growing fund
10:51of rocketry knowledge
10:52that the Army accumulated
10:53was to become America's foundation
10:55for the peaceful exploration
10:57of outer space.
10:59A massive output of data
11:01on rocket propulsion,
11:02performance,
11:03and control
11:04is filed away,
11:05indexed,
11:06and made available
11:07for research.
11:14America learns more
11:16about rocket fuels.
11:20More about nose-cone design
11:22to survive the fiery plunge
11:24back into the Earth's atmosphere.
11:28More about self-contained
11:30guidance systems
11:31that can steer a vehicle
11:32unerringly
11:33through all types of weather
11:34and atmospheric conditions.
11:42And of particular importance,
11:45more about designing engines
11:47powerful enough
11:47to lift a man-made satellite
11:49beyond the pull of gravity.
11:53This Saturn booster,
11:55first tested by the Army
11:57in 1958,
11:58was one of several
11:59dramatic accomplishments
12:00that would lead
12:01to man's first steps
12:02on the Moon.
12:06Several other key milestones
12:08on the road
12:09to Project Apollo
12:09also took place
12:10in the late 1950s.
12:12An Army Jupiter-C missile
12:14has chosen to put into orbit
12:15the free world's
12:16first scientific satellite,
12:18which becomes
12:19the historic Explorer 1.
12:21Explorer 1
12:22will radio back data
12:24on the radiation belt
12:25surrounding the Earth.
12:26Knowledge indispensable
12:28to manned space flight.
12:35Shortly afterward,
12:37another Army satellite,
12:38Pioneer 4,
12:39will become the first
12:40successful American lunar probe,
12:43passing within 33,000 miles
12:45of the Moon
12:46and sending back
12:47more information
12:48essential to future
12:50space exploration.
12:52In May of 1959,
12:54America achieves
12:56a historic breakthrough.
12:58A Jupiter missile
12:59launches a capsule
13:00into space
13:01containing monkeys,
13:02Abel and Baker.
13:03Their journey,
13:04300 miles up
13:05and 1,200 miles downrange
13:08from Cape Canaveral,
13:09ends in their live recovery,
13:11one hour after liftoff.
13:13Living, breathing animals
13:15have voyaged safely
13:16into the dark regions
13:17of outer space
13:18and back again.
13:20Throughout this series
13:22of successful space launches,
13:24Army spokesmen
13:24take the lead
13:25in urging
13:26a national space program.
13:31Major General John B. Medeiros,
13:33head of the Army Ballistic
13:35Missile Agency
13:36at Redstone,
13:37and Dr. Von Braun,
13:38now Chief of Development
13:39and Operations,
13:40suggest that the country
13:42could and should
13:43begin a full-scale program
13:45of space exploration.
13:48A separate civilian
13:49space agency
13:50is created
13:51by executive order
13:52of President
13:52Dwight D. Eisenhower.
13:54Many Army scientists
13:56involved in the early
13:57rocket studies
13:57at White Sands
13:58and Redstone
13:59move into
14:00the new organization,
14:01the National Aeronautics
14:03and Space Administration,
14:04NASA.
14:06Secretary of the Army,
14:08Wilbur Brucker,
14:09guides and encourages
14:09the Army's historic
14:11pioneering efforts
14:12in the exciting days
14:13at the beginning
14:13of the missile
14:14and space era.
14:18May 5th, 1961
14:20is the start
14:22of U.S. manned space flights.
14:24Commander Alan Shepard
14:25becomes the first American
14:27in space.
14:29Secured in a capsule
14:30atop a modified
14:32Army Redstone missile,
14:34Commander Shepard
14:34is rocketed
14:35115 miles up
14:37and 302 miles
14:38downrange
14:39from Cape Canaveral
14:40for a successful mission.
14:47Thus did history
14:48record the United States
14:50Army's early leadership
14:51of America's adventure
14:52into space.
14:57Then,
14:58with NASA established,
15:00the Army continues
15:01to concentrate
15:01on the military applications
15:03of using the space environment.
15:05Army agencies
15:06develop new
15:07electronic communications
15:08for the growing family
15:09of missile systems.
15:11The Signal Corps
15:12moves ahead
15:12in communications research,
15:14not only in missilery,
15:15but in the gradually
15:17developing field
15:17of satellite communications
15:19for linking
15:19widely deployed
15:21troop units
15:21in the field.
15:23As far back
15:24as 1946,
15:25the Signal Corps,
15:26in Operation Diana,
15:28had bounced radar signals
15:29off the moon,
15:30demonstrating that
15:31communications
15:32through outer space
15:33were possible.
15:36In 1958,
15:38Project SCORE,
15:39the world's first
15:40orbiting communications
15:41satellite,
15:42developed at
15:43Fort Monmouth Laboratories,
15:45transmits the voice
15:46of President Eisenhower
15:47around the world,
15:49a Christmas message
15:50that literally
15:51comes from the sky.
15:52To the men,
15:53women,
15:54and children of America,
15:56and to all peoples
15:57throughout the world,
15:58a Merry Christmas,
15:59and a Happy New Year.
16:04Now,
16:05Signal Corps scientists
16:06pioneer in a whole new
16:07field of modernized
16:08communications
16:09built around the concept
16:11of orbiting satellites.
16:15To fully explore
16:17the potentials
16:18in space communication,
16:19the U.S. Army
16:20Satellite Communications
16:21Agency
16:22is created
16:22in September 1960.
16:27In the years that follow,
16:30SATCOM develops programs
16:31for both tactical
16:32and strategic
16:33satellite communications
16:34and becomes a leading
16:36participant
16:36in the nation's
16:38space program.
16:44SATCOM's tactical ground
16:45terminals consist of
16:47various types of radar
16:48receiver
16:48and transmission equipment.
16:59The nation's
17:00communications satellites
17:01are launched
17:02by Air Force missiles.
17:04Orbiting high above
17:05the Earth,
17:05they carry important
17:06Department of Defense
17:07messages 24 hours a day.
17:12The Army,
17:13through the Satellite
17:14Communications Agency,
17:15is responsible
17:16for providing
17:17the ground environment
17:18for the military
17:19satellite communications
17:20program.
17:25Deployed around the world,
17:27tactical satellite
17:28communications terminals
17:29can get the message
17:30through,
17:31whether the distance
17:32is across a hill
17:33or thousands of miles
17:35across an ocean.
17:36SATCOM tactical terminals
17:38were instrumental
17:38in relaying
17:39communications data
17:40via satellite
17:41for safe recovery
17:43of the astronauts
17:44on their return
17:44from space.
17:47Today,
17:48like other Army agencies,
17:50the Satellite
17:51Communications Agency
17:52continues to provide
17:53support for our country's
17:54space explorations.
17:56At its Fort Monmouth
17:58headquarters,
17:59banks of telemetric
18:00equipment monitor
18:01SATCOM's hundreds
18:02of orbiting satellites.
18:04These not only
18:05carry vast amounts
18:06of information,
18:07but provide television
18:08transmission
18:09around the world,
18:10including pictures
18:11from Apollo moon missions.
18:15Personnel skilled
18:16in communications electronics
18:17tune in on the satellite
18:19broadcasts to check
18:20the efficiency
18:21of the signal
18:21and to make certain
18:23that all satellite stations
18:24are operating.
18:27Control, control,
18:28this is Tricom 85,
18:29over.
18:32Great, 85.
18:34Control,
18:35this is 85.
18:36Can you give me position
18:37of satellite LESS 6,
18:38over?
18:41Roger, 85.
18:43Operations in space
18:45demand the concentrated
18:46efforts of many types
18:47of scientific skills.
18:49Manned space exploration
18:50requires very special planning
18:52in the preparation
18:53of navigational maps.
18:54Map making for the U.S.
18:56space program
18:56is one of the activities
18:58of the U.S. Army
18:59Topographic Command.
19:10In a special
19:11topographic command project
19:13for NASA,
19:14Army scientists
19:14mapped the lunar surface
19:16for the early moon landings.
19:17Now they continue
19:19the increasingly important job
19:20of charting space.
19:24Working from aerial photographs
19:26taken by space satellites,
19:27pictures of the moon
19:29are projected in fragments
19:30and assembled
19:31into a large reproduction
19:32of a section
19:34of the lunar surface.
19:40A giant plastic simulation
19:42of the moon's surface
19:43made by Army map experts
19:45provided a practical
19:46training facility
19:47for the first landings
19:49on the moon.
19:50Lunar map making
19:51has proved invaluable
19:52to astronauts
19:53in the Apollo program.
20:06To learn more
20:07about how men
20:08and equipment
20:09will function in space,
20:10scientists and engineers
20:12have gone underwater.
20:13The weightlessness
20:14of outer space
20:15is simulated
20:16in this neutral buoyancy tank
20:17at the Marshall Space Flight Center
20:19in Alabama.
20:20Inside the tank,
20:22astronauts practice activities
20:23they will have to perform
20:25during their flights.
20:26Some of the space hardware,
20:28clothing, and foods
20:29they use
20:29are developed
20:30by Army scientists
20:31in cooperation with NASA.
20:40The Army has designed
20:41a special environmental
20:42test chamber
20:43which is being used
20:45at White Sands Missile Range.
20:47The astronaut spacesuits
20:48are tested
20:49to see how well
20:50they can withstand
20:51the extremes
20:52of heat and cold
20:53that are encountered
20:54on the surface
20:55of the moon.
20:59The panorama
21:00of space exploration
21:02and the U.S. Army's
21:03contribution
21:04to the program
21:04is dramatically
21:06on display
21:06at the Alabama Space
21:08and Rocket Center
21:09in Huntsville.
21:11Man's earliest dreams
21:13of flight
21:13are portrayed
21:14in works of art.
21:23realistic exhibits
21:25activated by visitors
21:26illustrate many principles
21:28involved in space flight.
21:33The gyroscopic chair
21:35suggests the spinning action
21:37astronauts might feel
21:38as they rocket
21:39through space.
21:47much of the research
21:49in stabilizing
21:50and guidance systems
21:50needed for space travel
21:52was evolved
21:53from early Army
21:53missile guidance systems.
22:07On view at the center
22:08is a replica
22:09of the capsule
22:10in which Commander Shepard
22:11made the country's
22:12first space journey
22:13atop the Army
22:14Redstone Missile.
22:17An impressive array
22:18of various stages
22:19in the progress
22:20of space flight.
22:33milestones in Army
22:34development
22:35of the projectile art
22:36are vividly displayed
22:37in an outdoor exhibit.
22:40This early effort
22:41in space technology
22:43provided the nation
22:44with its first exploration
22:45in a new dimension.
22:47In devising a body
22:48of rocketry knowledge
22:49that opened a window
22:50into a new world,
22:52U.S. Army scientists
22:53laid the groundwork
22:54for the brilliant
22:55achievements
22:56of the National Aeronautics
22:57and Space Administration
22:58which they continue
23:00to support.
23:06Beneath the sea,
23:08U.S. Army skill
23:09moves in another
23:10strange and challenging
23:12frontier
23:12as Army divers
23:14train for the difficult
23:15and dangerous job
23:16of underwater salvage
23:17and repair.
23:18At Fort Eustis, Virginia,
23:21the Army Divers School
23:22provides intensive instruction
23:24in how to maneuver
23:25and work
23:26in an underwater environment.
23:29A select group
23:30of young men
23:31in excellent
23:32physical condition
23:33receives a 26-week course
23:35in three forms of diving,
23:37shallow water,
23:38scuba,
23:38and deep sea.
23:41The mission
23:42of the Army diving team
23:43is to salvage
23:44sunken equipment
23:44and repair
23:45underwater facilities
23:46such as pipelines
23:47or pier supports.
23:51a working model
23:52of a recompression chamber
23:54is used
23:54to determine
23:55the student's reaction
23:56to underwater pressure
23:57at various depths.
24:09Controls on the training apparatus
24:11create pressure conditions
24:12inside the chamber
24:13similar to those
24:15the diver may encounter
24:16underwater.
24:17The recompression chamber
24:19is designed
24:20essentially for treatment
24:21of divers suffering
24:22from compressed air illness
24:24sometimes known
24:25as the bends.
24:27A diver breathing
24:28compressed air
24:29beyond the depth
24:29of 35 feet
24:30is subject
24:31to this condition.
24:33Relief is provided
24:34in the chamber
24:35by simulating
24:36the pressure
24:36at the diver's
24:37original depth
24:38and then gradually
24:39reducing it.
24:51instruction in metal
24:52cutting and welding
24:53prepares the student
24:54for underwater salvage
24:55and repair operations.
25:00Training is also provided
25:02in underwater demolition.
25:10Before the students
25:11are assigned tasks
25:12in actual waterways
25:14they receive practice training
25:15in a specially designed tank.
25:20In this exchange
25:21they will learn
25:22how to remove
25:22a disabled propeller
25:24from a ship.
25:25Student divers
25:26face rigorous training.
25:27Only the best
25:28can make it
25:29through the course
25:29and qualify
25:30as full-fledged members
25:32of the army diving team.
25:50With classroom
25:51and tank training
25:52completed
25:53the student diver
25:54gets a chance
25:55to put it all
25:55into practice
25:56in actual
25:57underwater problems.
25:59Home base
26:00is the army diver
26:01school training barge.
26:03A student descends
26:04to make an underwater survey.
26:07Materials have been placed
26:08at the bottom
26:09of the water
26:09near the barge.
26:11The student diver
26:12must report
26:13to his instructor
26:13exactly what he sees
26:15below
26:15and make an appraisal
26:17of the salvage
26:17or maintenance problem.
26:18I want you to go down
26:18and analyze the situation
26:20now and then
26:20and tell me just
26:21what the bottom condition is
26:22and when you get
26:23onto the steel pipe
26:24I want you to go out
26:25and check it out
26:26and tell me exactly
26:27what you're going to need
26:28in order to do this job.
26:30Alright, top side.
26:32Army divers
26:33are responsible
26:34for clearance
26:35and maintenance
26:35of inland waterways
26:37and harbors
26:37used by our military units
26:39around the world.
26:40The first salvage diving school
26:42was formed
26:43at Fort Scrivens, Georgia
26:44in 1943
26:45to furnish divers
26:47for port construction units
26:49in World War II.
26:50From Antwerp
26:51to Naples
26:52from Fort Moresby
26:53to Manila Bay
26:54Army divers
26:56went below the sea
26:57to make certain
26:57that the waters
26:58were clear
26:59for navigation.
27:01Following World War II
27:02the salvage diving school
27:04was transferred
27:04to Fort Eustis.
27:06In the Korean War
27:07another urgent need
27:08for divers
27:09to clear the ports
27:10of entry
27:10drew on the skills
27:12of graduates
27:12from the Fort Eustis
27:13training facility.
27:15The Army divers mission
27:17in Vietnam
27:17salvaged millions
27:19of dollars worth
27:19of equipment
27:20kept underwater pipelines
27:22in repair
27:22helped build docks
27:24and secured
27:25the harbor environment
27:26for safe passage
27:27of transport
27:28and supply vessels.
27:32A major test
27:33of Army diver training
27:34was participation
27:35of members
27:36of the Army diving team
27:37in Operation Tektite II
27:39off the Virgin Islands
27:40in 1970.
27:42The purpose
27:43of the program
27:43was to test
27:44man's ability
27:45to survive
27:45and work beneath the sea
27:47for long periods of time.
27:49Army divers
27:50brought supplies
27:51down to the aquanauts
27:52and provided
27:53for underwater safety.
27:54Should an aquanaut's
27:56breathing apparatus
27:56become fouled,
27:58an accident occur
27:59in their underseas quarters
28:00or shark
28:01or barracuda threaten,
28:03the divers would be
28:04immediately available
28:05for rescue operations.
28:07Whether the effort
28:08is deep beneath the sea
28:10or in the farthest reaches
28:12of outer space,
28:13it is supported
28:14by the highly skilled
28:16and inventive scientific team
28:18of the United States Army,
28:20an Army constantly
28:21in search of new horizons
28:23for the advancement
28:24of our nation.
28:26A
28:27A
28:27A
28:27A
28:28A
28:28A
28:28A
28:28THE END
Comments