Produced by Christopher Muir Country Australia Initial release 18 May 1960 | Release date 1960 Language English Producer Christopher Muir | |
Production company Australian Broadcasting Corporation | ||
The Astronauts is a television film, or rather a live television play, which aired in Australia during 1960 on ABC. Broadcast originally in Melbourne on 18 May 1960, a kinescope recording was made of the broadcast and shown in Sydney at a later date (it is not known if it was also shown on ABC's stations in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth). Duration was 60 minutes, in black-and-white. Written by Don Houghton and produced by Christopher Muir.
Contents
Writer Houghton was quoted as saying "For the sake of the play, I hope any attempt to put a man into space will not be made before May 18". The play was not science-fiction, but likely reflected the growing interest in the real-life space race.
Plot
Four men (two Americans, an Englishman and an Australian) are training in Australia to become astronauts, and are preparing for the first manned space launch, for which only one of the men will be selected.