Trailer
Plot summary
In July 1969, NASA plans to use the radio telescope at Parkes, in rural New South Wales, as its main antenna for broadcasting the Apollo 11 moonwalk. Cliff Buxton, who runs the observatory, and his technicians Ross 'Mitch' Mitchell and Glenn Latham expect to receive the pictures from the Moon. NASA sends its liaison Al Burnett to work alongside them, and Mitch reads his presence as a sign that the Americans doubt the Australians can manage the job. Cliff tells him the liaison is there to help the landing go smoothly. The dish's role draws the U.S. Ambassador, the Prime Minister and other visitors to Parkes, where Mayor Bob McIntyre, who helped secure the telescope for the town, welcomes the attention.
Cast
- Tayler Kaneas Rudi Kellerman - Safeguard
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Dish (2000)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Some of the film's "props" were in fact original NASA equipment used during the Apollo 11 landing, left behind in Australia because they were too heavy, and so too expensive, to ship back to the United States.
- NASA's Honeysuckle Creek near Canberra and the Goldstone station in California both had the signal first, and Armstrong's first step and his "one small step" words were received on Earth by the Honeysuckle Creek antenna; the Parkes signal was used eight and a half minutes after the moonwalk began.
- The Parkes team did operate in very high winds gusting to 110 km/h, or 59 knots, at 60 degrees inclination, risking damage to the dish and even injury to themselves to keep the antenna pointed at the Moon during the moonwalk.
- In reality no power failure occurred, there was no friction with the NASA representatives, of whom there were not just one but several, and Prime Minister John Gorton visited Honeysuckle Creek rather than Parkes.
