- The British launch the world's first orbital vehicle. Their military sends a super-bomb along, which goes wrong and threatens the crew and a stowaway.
- A crew of astronauts, including a scientist and a reporter, launch from England into outer space on a rocket which can serve as a satellite. Their mission is to test a new tritonium bomb, but after the bomb fails to repel itself from the ship, the crew has only a matter of hours to defuse or destroy the weapon before it explodes.—Marty McKee <mailto:mmckee@soltec.net>
- A new rocket engine is being tested at the British Airforce base, Thunder Hill. Lefty Blake (Barry Keegan) and another man are supervising what we are told is the 23rd test with the new fuel. A Vulcan bomber flown by Cmdr. Michael Haydon (Kieron Moore) arrives at the airfield
In another section of the installation a news conference to discuss operation Stardust is getting under way. Prof Blandford (Walter Hudd) Assures the press he will be as frank as possible. Then goes to on to explain the craft, not really a spaceship, is to be fired to a height of 1000 miles.
In theory it should continue at this rate forever. He then introduces Cmd Haydon as the chief test pilot and Larry Noble (Jimmy Hanley) who will be the navigator of the flight. The briefing continues with the explanation he will be taking a flight up at 15.00 hours, the fly to 50,000 feet to test the new engine. If the test is a successful, the Stardust will be launched the next day
Kim Hamilton (Lois Maxwell) Special correspondence for the world press service asks Haydon what the whole point of the mission is. She claims there are enough issues on Earth to deal with first before worrying about space. Hayden counters that it is all about knowledge and efforts to gain it. She finishes the discussion with a claim that given the deaths that have already occurred, his mission is simply suicide.
Later the aircraft is readied for the test. As planed it lifts off from the airfield and quickly begins to climb to the assigned height. As the plane descends it gets into trouble but is recovered at the last second before the plane hits the ground
Despite the potential for failure, Operation Stardust is scheduled for 10.00am the next day.
Hayden bumps into Hamilton at the press lounge and they continue their discussion about what exactly what they will find in space. She then asks Hayden to show her the Stardust. Hayden doubts the motive of her interest but agrees to show her. On the way they bump into Jimmy Wheeler (Bryan Forbes) who is the telescreen operator and photographer for the mission.
Jimmy then encounters Lefty and asks his advice about an engagement ring he's bought. He is going up that night to London to ask Ellen to marry him
Hayden arrives at the hanger and shows Hamilton the craft they will be flying the next day. Hamilton is amazed by the beauty and power of the craft, but sees the evil side of such power. She asks to leave and is as convinced as ever of the futility of what they are trying to achieve.
Nobel arrives home and is greeted by his wife Barbara (Thea Gregory) There is clear friction between the two, she accuses him of only caring about her when it suits him. She then declares she is going to a party and cares little whether he attends or not. Frustrated and not knowing what else to do he grabs he and kisses her passionately. She wilts from the argument and declares that wasnt fair
At the rocket installation, Hamilton sneaks back after parting company with Hayden. Avoiding a number of guards she sneaks aboard the ship.
Larry and Barbara are preparing to go out when the phone rings. Larry is required back at the base. It is the last straw for Barbara and she tells Larry it is over
At the base Hayden has already arrived at the base. A check has revealed Hamilton never handed her pass in, Haydon doesnt see this as much of an issue. When Nobel arrives they are introduced to Prof Merrity (Donald Wolfit) who goes on to tell them about a new weapon, a tritonium bomb developed by the Americans. Nobel is appalled at the development, but is reminded that most of the cost of the project had been met by the Americans. Therefore the government was committed to following through with the deployment.
Merrity tells the men the bomb needs to be tested in space because the T1 is so destructive it cant be exploded on Earth. They want the bomb blown in space so the whole world can see the awesome power and the need to avoid war.
Having been briefed on this information Nobel and Hayden are ordered to sleep at the base. Nobel tries to contact his wife without success
Meanwhile Jimmy has arrived in London to talk to Ellen (Shirley Lawrence) However she and her girlfriend Pat have been instructed by their boss to cover a fashion show, so the date has to be put off. Jimmy is extremely upset at the development and storms out of the house
At the party Barbara socializes with everyone, answering questions about Larrys non appearance. Tony (Peter Neil) takes an interest in her and offers to take her dancing after the party, an offer she accepts without hesitation.
At a pub Jimmy is well on the way to getting drunk, the barman convinces Jimmy that a fashion show is no real competition. Bolstered by the alcohol Jimmy rings Ellen and at the show and proposes to her. She says yes without hesitation. At the Nobel house, Tony drops Barbara home and arranges to contact her the next day In the morning huge crowds are milling out the front of Thunder Hill in expectation of the launch. Inside the crew are making final preparations for liftoff including stowing the bow correctly. Hayden is given his final briefing on how to deploy the bomb.
The engines are fired up needing over 45 minutes to warm up. As they wait, a special arming device is delivered and installed on the bomb . At the main gate Ellen is trying to get in to see Jimmy, but the guards refuse to let her in. At the Nobel house Barbara is woken by the sound of the launch, she sits up and looks at the sky with a strange sense of guilt and regret.
The ship lifts off as expected and begins the long climb into space.
On Earth the press a briefed on the bomb thats onboard the ship and the reason for detonating the weapon On the ship Hayden reveals to the rest of the crew the main reason for the mission, and explain Merritys presence on the ship. The crew reacts with mixed feelings, but no one seems to disagree with the course of action
In the offices of World Press, concern is growing over the whereabouts of Hamilton. She was supposed to write the lead article about the launch, but has not been seen since the press photographer left the launch site Merrity goes to check everything is alright with the bomb when he discovers Hamilton unconscious in one of the storage areas. Hayden reports back to Earth that Hamilton is onboard as a stowaway.
The ship settles into a stable orbit and all the instruments suggest they are perfectly on course. Hamilton makes herself useful making coffee and antagonizing comments to Merrity about how easy the whole venture seems.
At the newspaper, word comes through that Hamilton hide at Thunder Hill overnight and has smuggled herself aboard the ship
Back on board Jimmy tells Hamilton about the bomb. He does not know much other than the T1 bomb was the main part of the mission. She wonders how Jimmy and Lefty reacted to news. Both are extremely neutral and this clearly puzzles Hamilton
Down in the bomb bay Merrity begins the process of arming the bomb. He explains as soon as it is armed it has to be released. On Earth small tremors and strong winds should be the only outward sign of the detonation. Hamilton tells Hayden she thinks it is a complete waste of scientific resources. In an odd moment Hayden agrees with her
The conversation continues as Hamilton wonders where the dream went wrong. Everybody presumed spaceflight would be about planting flags on planets. She asks Hayden what he knew, he admits the first he was aware of the device was the night before launch. He wants nothing to do with that side of the mission and wants no glory as being part of the crew that detonate the T1 Hamilton is convinced the bomb should not be released. She challenges Merrity if he is prepared to take full responsibility for everything that might happen. He pointedly says no. He is simply following the instructions of his superiors.
The bomb is released and its engine fires to move the device away from the ship. Hamilton again argues with Merrity, he dismisses her concerns as unscientific.
To everyones shock the rockets cut out on the bomb and it drifts back towards the ship. Merrity orders the engines fired as soon as possible. They need to be as far away as possible from the T1 when it explodes Nobel needs to close the bomb bay doors before the ship can be moved. He goes down to do this manually and tells Hayden to watch for his signal. He will ride the maneuver out in the bomb room, because the need the extra chair for Hamilton.
They briefly accelerate away from the bomb, but somehow it has become stuck to the ship and cant be dislodged. Hayden tells them he knew the maneuver was going to fail. Without air resistance or gravity, the metal of the bomb has welded itself through magnetic attraction to the hull of the ship.
The crews begin searching for options, by their calculation they have less than 9 hours to find a way to get clear of the blast. During a news broadcast announcing the situation, Barbara gets a call from Tony. When she realizes her husband may be in life threatening danger she hangs up on him.
Hayden begins to make preparations to go outside and see what he can accomplish with the bomb. Merrity is beginning to get panicky and insists the craft land, possibly in the Sahara desert so they can escape. Hayden talks him down, the stories Merrity told about the bomb indicate it cant under any circumstances be detonated on Earth.
Hayden appears to push the bomb clear, but before they can get the ship underway it once again sticks to the craft. Hayden abandons any further attempts and returns to the ship
On Earth a council discusses the options that could be tried. The only idea they come up with is to try and disconnect the primer. The concern is, this may accelerate the bombs detonation. Finally it is agreed to communicate to the crew they are not to try and return to Earth. It is better to sacrifice the 6 people on the ship than the millions who would be affected back on Earth
On board Hayden reports that metal fatigue caused the rockets to fail. Jimmy is upbeat about the situation, they are going to go out in a very extraordinary way. He is to die, let it be memorable
Merrity is becoming more unstable and desperate, he insists they try a desert landing. Merrity lunges at the controls and tries to fire the jets. The crew fights him off and restrains him.
On Earth Prof Blanford has still been unable to contact the ship. An American advisor Col Galloway (Alan Gifford) is trying to make contact with the president to see if a rescue mission cant be arranged with only 4 hours left till detonation.
As time grows short, Hayden and Hamilton have a heart to heart. She explains as much as she was against the project, she knew she had to be in on it. Her opposition to the program is based on the death of her brother, killed flying an experimental jet. She is angry because Hayden carries the same attitude her brother did. She then reveals her father was killed testing rocket fuel. Hayden connects the dots and realizes Hamilton is the daughter of the man who made the current successful fuel a reality
Nobels wife arrives at Thunder Hill wanting to speak to Blandford. He agrees to see her, and explains there is a rescue mission on the way, there is hope, but he cant promise any proof of success
On the ship they are becoming increasingly resigned to their fate. Merrity has calmed down enough to be released and apologizes to Hayden for his behavior. The crew breaks out coffee and sandwiches and decides to have a last meal.
Finally Stardust re-established contact with Thunder Hill. Messages are exchanged between Barbara and her husband, and Jimmys fiancé sends an encouraging note about their future together
Unknown to the rest of the crew, Lefty and Merrity decide to go back out one more time and look at the bomb. As time ticks down Hayden declares his love for Hamilton and asks would she have married him, She immediately says yes and they kiss.
In the control room they realize what Merrity and Lefty are up too. Helpless they watch as the two men attempt to defuse the bomb. It quickly becomes clear the fuse is too badly damaged and they cant complete the mission.
Merrity suggests the two men have to work together to get the bomb away from the ship. Lefty nods, realizing it means his own death
Hayden realizes they are on a suicide mission and orders the ships engines fired. However the airlock still being open is preventing them. Once secured the ships engines fire and Stardust moves away from the location of the bomb.
The ship lands just as the bomb detonates in space obliterating both Lefty and Merrity
chapman_glen@yahoo.com
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