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ABILENE, Kan. - "October Sky," the third film in the "Eisenhower: Agent of Change" Film Series, is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, October 4. It will be shown in the Visitors Center Auditorium at the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum. All films in the series are free, open to the public and include free soda and popcorn.
"October Sky" is the story of a coal miner's son who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father's wishes. He goes on to become a NASA engineer. Based on a true story, the award-winning movie was adapted from Homer Hickam's #1 New York Times bestselling memoir, Rocket Boys. The movie name is an anagram of Rocket Boys; that is, if you move the letters around, you get October Sky.
The space race began during the Eisenhower Administration when the Soviet Union beat America by sending the first satellite, Sputnik 1, into space on Oct. 4, 1957. In April 1958, Eisenhower made the crucial decision to put space exploration under civilian control in the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (later Administration). After this move, the space program progressed rapidly.
It took the U.S. many tries to successfully send an American into space, but that goal was finally accomplished when Alan B. Shepard, Jr., flew the Freedom 7 capsule on May 5, 1961. A full scale replica of the Freedom 7 capsule is currently on display in the "Eisenhower: Agent of Change" exhibit courtesy of the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, Hutchinson, Kan.
The "Eisenhower: Agent of Change" exhibit and programming is made possible thanks to the generous donations by the Hall Family Foundation, Emma Balsiger Foundation, Robert M. Beren Foundation, Inc., and Barton P. and Mary D. Cohen Charitable Trust. If you would like to make a donation to the Eisenhower Foundation, please visit the online donation page at www.dwightdeisenhower.com.
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