AstroSpies (6 of 22)

AstroSpies

NARRATOR: For the students, it was more than just books and flying.
They were poked and prodded, spun in centrifuges, bounced in chairs and battered with psychological testing.
TRULY: And, lo and behold, they finally came out with a list, and I was on the list.
I... I almost fell over.
I had no idea.
Then I had to go through a screening with a couple other guys to see whether I would fit.
The previous height limit had been six feet, and I was almost 6'2".
I was determined, so I pulled that helmet down so tight I was almost dying.

But I just barely made it.
I think there were about a hundred people that started out.
And to survive down to eight or so is...
made you feel pretty good.
TRULY: This was in 1964.
In 1964, only Mercury had flown.
The Gemini astronauts were down at NASA.
And here we were going to get to fly in space, even though it was a military program.
So we were sitting on the top of the anthill.
BAMFORD: Then they finally did tell the people that they selected, but they only told them a cover story.
They didn't tell them the real story about what they were being selected for.
What they told them was that they were just going to go up to space and do experiments.
NARRATOR: Unlike U-2s or spy satellites, launching man into space just couldn't be kept secret, so a decision was made to call it a laboratory and to try hiding the project by putting it in plain sight.
MAN: Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States.