Guess what, NASA’s countdown was inspired by a silent sci-fi film!
If you’ve ever got the opportunity of watching the live broadcast of any rocket launch, you would know that the moments just before the blast-off is no less than cinematic! The anticipation clubbed with the countdown drama makes it all the more worthwhile. Okay, so what’s so special about the US space agency’s countdown? Turns out that it was the first national space agency to have incorporated the countdown. And guess what? It wasn’t all that random. In fact, it has a unique backstory. NASA’s countdown was inspired by a silent sci-fi film, as early as 1929. Here’s digging deeper into it today!
Inspiration
Sit back and relax as we take you through the real-life story of what inspired NASA’s countdown. But first, have you ever heard of sci-fi pioneer Fritz Lang? Well, he was a German-American filmmaker of Austrian origin, and it was his silent film Frau im Mond (literally translated into “Woman in the Moon”) that motivated the US space agency NASA to engage in countdowns, before their mission launch. Okay, so here’s how the story unfolds.
Lang, who was a popular filmmaker back in those days had surprisingly delivered a flop called Metropolis in 1927. This film, although considered to be a classic now, was almost the one that ruined Lang’s career. In fact, his production company UfA GmbH almost wanted to cut him off. What was worse is that, Lang’s speciality was silent films, and the contemporary 20th century was gradually moving on to sound films. As a result, Lang was under a lot of pressure to make his next movie a box office success, so much so, that the world wouldn’t realise it is silent.
Fortunately, Lang had a ready subject matter at hand. He was still based in Germany, the country that was still trying to overcome their back-to-back space failures, especially during the First World War. In fact, it was trying hard to keep up with the new technology while not losing touch with its traditions. This is when the common people found an escape route, aka, space travel. No, we aren’t talking about space travel in real-life, it was more about space travel in fiction.
The Germans were so enthusiastic about space travel that a group called Society for Space Travel was formed, that published a monthly magazine called Die Rakete (The Rocket). Now, one of these editions contained a story called Die Frau im Mond that was penned by Lang’s wife and lifelong collaborator Thea von Harbou. The story was an overnight hit, which is when Lang decided to adapt it into a film. But Lang being a perfectionist, wanted better-detailed and scientifically accurate script for his movie. This is when he hired Hermann Oberth, the Transylvanian teacher as his film’s scientific advisor. Why? Because Oberth was the one responsible for starting the space-related fantasy in Germany.
As you can imagine, the collaboration was no less than historic. In fact, the making of Frau im Mond wasn’t anything the world has ever seen before. It was meticulous and accurate, starting from the rocket designs to taking zero gravity situation into consideration. Now, here comes the most interesting part, for what you have been eagerly waiting for so long. The countdown!
As it happened, Lang and team wanted to make the space launch as real and convincing as possible. In fact, Lang believed that it was worthy of a dramatic build-up. But, in absence of sound and special effects, he had to come up with a unique way out. This is when he introduced intertitles. Brace yourself as we narrate you the rest.
The astronauts are all set, the entire atmosphere is full of suspense, and suddenly it’s announced “10 seconds remaining!” The leader of the mission takes control of the firing lever as the countdown begins, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Now! What happens next? Well, the lever is pulled and the rocket is launched and the audience cheers on, both on and off screen!
Adopting the countdown
Here comes the question, why NASA took its countdown from this film. Well, before this film, filmmakers and authors only used count-ups in their works, and Frau im Mond was perhaps the first that featured countdowns, and that too as a silent, sci-fi movie. In fact, this film revealed that timing launches was not only dramatic, but also helpful, as it helped the suspense and tension sink in, preparing the people involved for the final few moments.
Now, it is not known exactly when and how NASA got inspired by Lang’s film, but it’s known that it did. So, in 1958, when NASA launched its first ever successful satellite, Explorer 1, they decided to incorporate the countdown element. Here’s how it turned out, as the TV and radio broadcasted, “The moment is at hand, the countdown reaches zero!” But here’s something we should clarify. NASA doesn’t use countdowns to race against the clock. In fact, over the years, NASA has also paused the clock on several occasions, in case of technical issues.
Interestingly, NASA’s countdown, although inspired by the silent sci-fi movie, has its own uniqueness. It starts from T-minus 43 hours all the way until the final ignition, and is often regarded as the rocket launch sequence. This means, that the countdown clock starts counting backwards 43 hours ahead of the launch, which is the period during which the technicians and astronauts and others involved in the launch get to synchronise their roles. In case you’re wondering whether the purpose of the countdown is merely practical, it isn’t so. It also allows build up the suspense, making the audience gather up their excitement as the launch time draws closer.