 WROW Radio 59 next and now another tale well calculated to keep you in What will man's first flight into space be like Will he be able to re-enter the earth's atmosphere and how will he feel? Well, we don't know for sure. So this is only imagination as we bring you George Bambur's flight advances re-entry Oh brother this miserable cold and my sinuses haven't you heard about Dristan? Dristan decongestant tablets not only help drain all eight sinus cavities critical areas of colds infection But circulating through the blood Dristan reaches all congested areas in one fast-acting uncoated three-layer tablet Dristan for the first time combined a De-congestant to shrink all swollen membrane relief pressure and pain an Exclusive anti-allergen to help keep breathing passages dry and clear pain relievers to ease body aches Reduce fever vitamin C to help build body resistance This is Dristan today Dristan is widely imitated But the exclusive Dristan formula cannot be duplicated for real relief from colds misery and sinus congestion There is nothing nothing like Dristan decongestant tablets I don't think I'll ever get used to getting up and fixing your breakfast at 4 30 in the morning A lot of men get up and go to work for 30 in the morning Want some more eggs? Howard Would you like some more eggs? Hmm. Oh, no, no, this is fine Today's the day isn't it what day today's the day you take it up, isn't it? Yes, I suppose so if everything checks out. All right. There's no reason why not Silly, but I keep wanting to ask you if the ship's all right if it can really go up that high and withstand the Heat and shock of the plunge back to earth. Oh I know it is or else you wouldn't take it up, but I just want to hear you say everything's gonna be all right Aaron mechanically the X-15 has been engineered to perfection It's past every test metallurgical wind tunnel powerless flight in theory We've flown it a million times on the ground. We've taken it as far as we can go And now we have to take it up and see once and for all if it's possible for a man to ride a skyrocket And if he can can he steer it back to earth without a falling apart from heat and shock Aaron Oh happy. I'm sorry. I To bite my tongue. I Promise myself a million times that when the day came I wouldn't say a word Here I am. Oh, please forgive me. I know as well as you do that everything will be all right More coffee and no, I better be going You want the station wagon today Yes, I've got to get groceries. All right, let me walk you the door You got everything briefcase note. Mm-hmm. I Suppose on this day of days. I should be able to think of something witty and brave to say but All I can think of is Be careful Well, don't worry. I will Bye now. Bye Poppy, you want to look in on the kids before you go for I'll see them when I get home tonight. Oh, yes, of course Bye, dear Well, that's it Papi everything has been checked and double checked the x-15s locked in and ready to go At 07 30 hours that here will take off and carry you and your craft of thirty six thousand five hundred feet Ground control will wait two seconds and then ignite your rockets from then on you're on your own There's no change in aircraft tests. No Don't take it more than a hundred miles up. All we're interested in in this trip is re-entry And I don't think we'll have any problems there Any questions? No, sir. Very well, then I've got to get over to operations. I'll miss the whole show Good luck to you both. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Well, let's take the jeep over right Well, how does it feel to be a white collar hero? What do you mean by that? Is there any doubt in your mind Papi that she'll make it? There's always doubt that's why I fly To eliminate doubt Tell me something Papi. Are you scared? What do you think? Well, you're like me. I know I Wonder what it will feel like to fly into the edge of space to be out there all alone the first man up Ed I know that at first I'll be heavy From the thrust of the rocket seven times my own weight and then I know I'll be weightless when they cut out and Then during re-entry as the atmosphere starts to drag against the hull of the ship. I'll slowly gain weight again More than that. I don't know what I'll feel I'll find out when I get there. Papi when we're seven miles up. I might be so busy getting ready to drop your plane I might forget to wish you luck. Let me do it now Thanks, Ed. I might need it Well, you driver shall I I'll drive 15 this is ground control You're now zero minus one minute from drop-off Roger ground control X 15. This is aircraft commander X 15 This is aircraft commander. You're a laxian ammonia have been topped off and disconnected. You are free to fall. Thanks, Ed Our altitude is 36,500 feet in our airspeed is five zero constant the flight plan is now yours Okay, Ed everything checks out across the board just for kicks. Do you have your rocket throttle set on prime? I've been through this maneuver so many times. I can do it in my sleep. Everything here is straight stick Good, you are now seven miles above the face of the earth. Would you like to try for a hundred? I Have a lady in the balcony doctor. This is ground control. Please clear the air. You are now zero minus thirty seconds from drop-off Please clear the air Do you listen to them up there talking just like it was any other day? What do you want them to do get out on a wing and pray and do something? You know, they've never fired those engines in the air before I bet they blow right up in his face as they fire at all on knock it off So I'd when they were making the free fall test used to wear that chip at four like a stone Well, it didn't he flew it down better than a glider how the free fall was different this time. I'm right Judging blow to smithereens when it cuts in them rockets and she'll heat up and fall apart on reentry One way or the other he's not coming back You know, I'd like to make a little wager on that would you bet your months? Hey, you're on niggas two months of your pay You eat freeze don't make enough for a man to live on okay My show against your one says he makes it back and I say don't all right men knock it off tend to your equipment sir Zero minus 13 seconds from drop-off ready for countdown Roger ground control stable table on primer on All controls operational. I'm ready to roll cop down and nine eight seven six drop off Dr. May why doesn't he say something? His orders were to talk as much as he can minus 30 seconds to burn up give him time as soon as the rocket motors cut out He'll be able to talk right now. He's plastered back against his secret seven G's He feels it if he opens his mouth right now his jaw will tear off Aircraft commander to ground control. He's out of sight now both engines fired perfectly and he climbed upstairs faster than anything I've seen in a lifetime of flying. Tell that a good job. Well done sir I read our report 615 on course and climbing steadily. How about telemetrics? Respirations twice normal high feet up from normal 65 points body temperature normal 90 seconds 90 seconds is all that takes him to burn seven tons of fuel and time 25 miles That sounds fast enough but down here. It seems like forever. Take it easy general. He'll make it as I know Climb up. But what does he say something as soon as the rockets cut out? He's weightless and coasting. He should be able to talk Down control make sure we have radio contact x-15. This is ground control x-15. This is ground control Do you read me over? Ground control. This is your old copy and I read you just fine Just fine What's the matter with him? He doesn't sound right. He's completely weightless now I think he's experiencing a side effect of exuberance and exhilaration. It's to be expected Yes, general us chickens hear you loud and clear Try to keep us informed as much as possible on your observations and operations How does the ship handle like a dream, baby? Like an effortless dream everything is pinpoint control It seems like I'm just sitting still, but the stable table says we're still climbing at 45 degrees And if I'm to believe the airspeed indicator hanging on the wall, I'm traveling at 3,900 miles an hour Happy describe the effects of weightlessness Do you feel nauseated? Dizzy? No, I feel fine I feel like I'm home for the first time in my life Like this is where I belong and I want to stay It's so easy to move if I Want to lift my arm it jumps up If I stick it straight out in the air and relax It stays where I leave it so I can rest it anywhere I want it But that isn't the best doctor may not the best doctor But that isn't the best doctor may not the best All you should be up here doctor. It's beautiful Just beautiful What's beautiful? Space The threshold of the universe It's the beginning doctor may and it's the end Describe it, Patrick Well, it's black The universe is black But for a long while it was misty blue gray, but now it's just black velvet And the stars, stars are brilliant They crawl through the universe like huge Christmas tree bones Steady blue green yellow And they don't twinkle They just hang there And if I keep going I can reach one Just a little bit farther X-15, this is ground control You have now reached an altitude of 95 miles Begin re-entry maneuver Well, if it's all the same to you ground control I've got enough gas I just think I'll just go a little bit farther X-15, you've passed the apex of your flight Your orders are to level off for re-entry But I have to keep going I'll be back What's the matter with him? Evidently they are a well-being that weightlessness produces Has given him a dangerous false sense of purity Please, just let me climb another 10 minutes Another 10 minutes? By that time he won't be able to re-enter He'll shoot out into space Try giving him a direct order In this childlike state he might respond to the first positive suggestion X-15, this is General Brighton I order you to level off that aircraft and commence the classic re-entry maneuver Do you read me? Sir? That ship is property of the United States government I order you to level off and return it to this field in accordance with your contract But sir... Don't argue with me, bring it down Yes, sir What's he doing, Radar? He's leveling off, sir Now he's beginning the 45-degree angle of re-entry Telemetrics, what do you read? Temperature, normal, pulse, normal Respiration, normal Radar reports the aircraft has definitely become the correct angle of re-entry Happy, Dr. May again If it doesn't interfere too much, we would appreciate it If you'd keep giving your sensations and reactions whenever you can during re-entry What for? I don't see any point in it Please, Pappy, it may be important All right, when I push the nose down The edge of the earth broke above my instrument panel like the rim of a great sea A sea that has turned to blue-green mud Covered with a cataract film of clouds The rivers of leather beginning to pour through my veins Waiting down my arms It's getting harder to breathe Sound is beginning to come back And I feel like I'm turning my back on a new world and re-entering a dead one Sound is beginning to come back Sounds like the plane is falling apart And there are people standing on my wings outside She's getting difficult to handle The ship is pitching and yawing as she hits each shockwave of atmosphere And I can feel it start to heat up In spite of the air conditioning and insulation The heat is almost unbearable in here No! What's happened? No! I can't! I can't! Pappy, do you read me? What's going on out there? I can't! I can't come back to that crumbling world of gravity and death! I can't! She's having a thermal thicket. What's going on out there? This is where you'll melt apart in mid-air I don't belong down there What he does? I'm going back while there's still time Okay, Cox, I'll raise you another month's pay Money in a bank Pappy, what's wrong? I've got to get back! Before it's too late My arms are getting so heavy My fingers hardly move The ship's so hard to fly I've got to get out of this safety harness This ship must be too hot to fly. He's trying to bail out I think he's losing his mind Pappy, listen to me What do you think you're doing? Man was never meant to live, father Doctor May We were meant to live free Free from the oppressive weight of flesh Man was made to live in space And I'm getting out of this safety harness And going back out there Man, he's mad Pappy, I order you to fasten your safety harness And bring that ship in You can't order me, general It's getting hotter in here I can see the skin on the nose Changed from black to dull cherry red It looks like a hot piece of steel Hot and dirty like the coal of a cigarette on the cement I have to disconnect this umbilical cord Pappy, do not disconnect the umbilical cord You cannot live without it Right now you think you can, but you cannot You need the oxygen to breathe Pappy, that ship is property of the United States government The ship is yours My mind is my own, general I have to go back While there's still time While there's still time to disconnect this Pappy, listen to me You cannot live without the cord You need oxygen to live Pappy, for the sake of Erin and the children Leave the cord alone Pappy, do you hear me? What's the telemetric means? They've dropped a normal, sir Right across the board Normal? Normal, sir Radar, what you're reading? Aircraft adhering to the proper 45-degree angle of descent Losing altitude At the proper speed In just a moment, we will return for the concluding act of Welcome, Recording Star Mel Tormé It's terrible trying to sing with a bad cold So I always take four-way cold tablets To relieve cold miseries fast Good idea Tests of all the leading cold tablets Proved four-way fastest acting Four-way starts in minutes to relieve muscular pains Headache, reduced fever, calm upset stomach Also overcomes irregularity When you catch cold, try my way Take four-way cold tablets Fast way to relieve cold distress and feel better quickly Four-way, only 29 cents Our program will continue in a moment After a word about another fine product of Grove Laboratories To get rid of embarrassing dandruff in three minutes Change to Fitch dandruff remover shampoo Three minutes with Fitch regularly is guaranteed To keep on slightly dandruff away forever Apply Fitch before wetting hair Rub in one minute Add water, lather one minute Then rinse one minute Every trace of dandruff goes down the drain Three minutes with Fitch And embarrassing dandruff's gone At the same time, Fitch can brighten hair up to 35% Get Fitch dandruff remover shampoo today Ladies and gentlemen, this is your news reporter, Dave Miller At the moment I'm standing at the edge of Rogers Dry Lake In the Mojave Desert at Edwards Air Force Base In Southern California In just a few seconds, if all goes well A sleek black ferris alloy rocket-propelled aircraft Will come hurtling out of the sky from the east Slide across this flat desert at speeds up to 200 miles an hour And stop just a few yards away from where I'm standing And then Mr. Howard Papi Windfield will step from the cockpit And become the first man to have flown into outer space and returned It is a beautiful day at Edwards Air Force Base The sun is hot and bright, but there is a prevailing westerly wind Oh, right now, out of the ground control complex I see officers and men coming out climbing in the vehicles It won't be long now There's General Brighton Perhaps I can get him to say a few words on today's test General Brighton? Yes, General Brighton, would you care to comment on the success of this afternoon's test? It won't be counted as success until the plane is safely at a stop on that runway Well, is there any reason to believe it won't be a success? No comment Several men are pointing off to the east, but as yet... Yes, yes, now I see it too It looks to be hardly bigger than a speck, just a few feet above the horizon But it's growing bigger all the time Now, now we can see it quite clearly The pilot is jettisoned as ventral stabilizer This sprained, dark-light aircraft has no wheels It lands on steel skids on its underside There, she's touching down You can see a cloud of smoke from the floor where she hit She got stuck, now she's trying again This is the ship the newspaper men call the missile with the man in it And that's exactly what she looks like A huge black missile with stubby wings A plume of dust is following her It decreases as the ship slows down and it is slowing In a moment, in a moment, it will be almost a breath Now, but there it is, it is almost stopped Listen to the cheering of the technicians as they run towards the ship I'm trying to keep up with them, it sounds like Kate Canaveral on a good day Hey, you want me? And getting closer to the ship, the dust is settling over her dull black surface Her sharp needle nose looks deadly Now they're moving an aluminum ladder into place next to the ship Mechanics and asbestos gloves are working to get the canopy raised The latch is released, slowly the canopy is being raised In just a moment, we catch our first sight of the first man from outer space If I can just get closer Ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, there is no one there The cockpit is empty Suspense You've been listening to Re-Entry, written for suspense by George Bamber In a moment, the names of our players and a word about next week's story of suspense In this day and atomic age, another place to find suspense is in the news And one reporter who never loses an opportunity to make the most of a colorful, suspenseful news story is Lowell Thomas Heard weekday evenings on CBS Radio Get into the habit, get your news from Lowell Thomas Heard in tonight's story were liles to draw as pappy With Margaret Draper, Les Damon, Bob Radick, Frank Thomas Jr., Robert Donnelly, Mason Adams, Jim Bowles, Frank Butler, and Whitfield Conner Listen again next week when we return with The Last Trip Written especially for suspense by Ralph Bell and Eugene Francis A story of a man's last ride Another tale well calculated to keep you in suspense On CBS Radio