Man in Space Documentary Double Feature: Friendship 7 (1962) / Assignment: Shoot the Moon (1967)

FRIENDSHIP 7 (1962): The story of John Glenn's historic first space flight is told in this beautifully made feature-length NASA documentary. Mercury-Atlas 6 (M-A6) was the fifth human spaceflight, after the Soviet Vostok 1 and 2, and the American suborbital flights Mercury-Redstone 3 and 4. But M-A6 was the first crewed American spaceflight around the Earth, and a history-making one for Glenn, who proved he had the "right stuff" in his many years with NASA and later as a U.S. Senator. Witnessed by millions of people in their homes on television, the awe-inspiring saga of this Mercury spacecraft (named Friendship 7) and its heroic crew will never be forgotten. Fans of the Rocky films will recognize narrator Bill Baldwin's voice; he appeared on-camera as a fight commentator in the first three entries of the series.

ASSIGNMENT: SHOOT THE MOON (1967): This episode of The Challenge of Space shows the difficulties faced by NASA scientists in cataloging the vast amounts of data and photography brought back by the unmanned Ranger, Surveyor, and Lunar Orbiter spacecraft, all in preparation for the historic 1969 Moon landing. The breathtakingly beautiful photography taken by those lunar probes is shown in full detail. Director Russell Morash is known for his work on Julia Child's cooking programs, and is played by Fran Kranz in the HBO series Julia.