Margo Madison

> Your honor, I was always told that we shouldn’t let personal feelings cloud our search for the truth. But looking back now, I don't think that's right. Feelings may not be convenient. They may slow our progress, but they are also the only way to truly begin to understand the world around us.
>
> Margo Madison, in Season 4, Episode 10, "Perestroika"

**Margo Madison** is an engineer and flight controller and was the first woman in NASA's Mission Control at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) in Houston. She bacame flight director and later director of the by then renamed NASA headquarters, the Johnson Space Center (JSC).

Margo was mentored by Wernher von Braun, who was later discovered to have worked for the Nazis during World War IIW while aware of the poor treatment of the prisoners who built his V-2 rocketW. This led to her estrangement with von Braun. During this time, Margo also mentored Aleida Rosales, the daughter of Octavio Rosales, a custodian at JSC, due to her interest in the program and her brilliant mind.

Following the Bombing of Johnson Space Center where she was believed to have perished, Margo moved to the Soviet Union under the alias **Margaret Reynolds**, a Canadian expat facilitating deals between Soviet and Western corporations.

She is later revealed to the world in 2003 as having survived during a press conference where she denounces NASA and the United States. Senate Majority Leader Feinstein described Margo as the worst traitor in America's history.

## History

### Season 1

Margo watched the first Moon landing with her mentor, Wernher von Braun. Later, when von Braun considers retiring, Margo does not agree. Von Braun tells her to maybe consider dating someone, but Margo reminds him she does not have time. Changing the subject, von Braun mentions an interview with Gene Kranz, and Margo mentions she had not told him because it was something she wanted to do herself.

At her interview with Gene Kranz, Margo is asked how she can be sure she will not wilt at the first sign of pressure. She mentions she is different, and when asked how she knew von Braun, she tells Gene that her father used to teach at the University of Huntsville, and von Braun would come over for dinner and while she had never left Huntsville, he helped her believe that anything was possible and was the reason she became an engineer. Afterwards, Gene asked if she would like to have a family, which Margo denied for the time being. Gene replied by saying that not every woman was cut out to be a mother.

At her office, Margo is joined by von Braun who says he is disappointed in him because she made him look bad. All this because he was the second to the Moon, but she was the first woman in Mission Control. In a state of utter shock she hugs him, and von Braun congratulates her, giving her the gift of his slide rule. With this news, Margo moves her things to Mission Control. When she arrives at her station, she is greeted with a cafeteria tray of sauerkraut and bratwurst, and the men in the control room laugh, calling her Eva von Braun. When she sits down, her coworker Hank Poppen tells her to not take it personally, as they would do this with all new guys.

Back at Nasa, von Braun told Margo that apparently the Soviets had launched another N-1 right ahead of Apollo 12. She ignored him and simply asked if he had known the workers at his factory were slaves from Nazi concentration camps. Von Braun was surprised by the question, and stated he needed to move his work forward, and mentioned if he had done something, he could have been killed and everything he had done would be ruined. However, Margo told him he can not state what "could have been." Wernher stated that after the war, he chose the USA to give his life's work, but now he was an old man and could be replaced. Margo once again asked him if he knew, and he simply stated that progress was never free, always having a cost. Margo left in silence.

#### Training female astronauts

*See also: Women Astronauts Program*

On day 55 of the course, 15 candidates were left, and Margo was giving a class in which she explained how to safely return the crew. Since Molly was not paying attention, Margo helped her with her crossword puzzle in order to get her attention back. Molly Cobb defended herself by saying she understood the reentry equations, prompting Margo to give them a pop quiz. During the quiz, Molly got up and turned hers in, which Margo checked and found Cobb had gotten full marks on.

During a simulator, Tracy Stevens was assigned with Danielle Poole and Molly. There, Tracy yawned while Danielle responded to a question. Molly snapped her fingers at Tracy, and told her to be ready; when it was Tracy's turn, she was told to open all four helium iso valves, which she could not find until told by Molly.

As another exercise, Margo told the engineers to fail the guidance computer and have them come in manually, which the lead engineer mentioned they were too unexperienced to do. Margo, however, countered by saying they could not wait for them to be ready. While the engineer was doing that, he made a voice, which incited a discussion about a movie with a candidate, but Margo told them to flirt later.

Gene Kranz gives a conference to Edward Baldwin, Gordo Stevens, Margo, Thomas Paine, Deke Slayton, and others, saying that a man had been buried on the Moon, which the Soviets were keeping quiet. It seems they were trying to land near water. Looking at some cylinders, Gene says they might be pressurized modules, which makes Ed realize the Soviets were ahead of them once again. However, Deke mentions they do not even have a site, which angers Thomas Paine, telling him to "just pick one." Margo tells him that the base have been predicated on proximity to water ice, and they had yet to identify where they could find water ice. She was interrupted by Paine, who did not know who she was, soon realizing she was "Wernher's girl". Gene corrected him, telling Paine that Margo was a flight dynamics officer and was making a good point. Thomas was angered by how they were always losing to the Soviets, and reminded them the election was coming up, which would probably be against Ted Kennedy.

Margo was doing some math, but felt frustrated, and calmed herself down in order to continue. At night, she played the piano with a band at a bar. Molly watched her play, and Margo caught her eye. After her performance, Molly went up to her, and told her she finally saw a side of her that she liked. Wayne told her she did a good job, and Molly introduced him as her husband, which she scoffed at. Molly told Margo that she had to invite the other girls to the bar, but Margo asked her not to since it was her alone time, telling the astronaut not to mess with her.

At another training routine, 18 days before the launch, Margo tells Molly that she went into the final trim 30 seconds late. She tells the other engineers that Molly still does not know the standard procedures. They asked both Ed and Molly to repeat, and Molly complained that Margo was a "pain in [her] ass." Molly told Ed that all she was doing was adjusting the locking harness out of the way, but she was ready. Molly started humming, and Margo asked her to focus; Cobb started entering numbers, but got a mistake, which Ed dryly confirmed was wrong. After that, Ed asked to have more under his control, which an engineer said was too late to be doing. Molly told him she had it under control, but he was firm. Margo asked Ed if he remembered why they had laid it out that way to start with, but Ed reminded her he was the commander of the mission.

After training, Margo asked Molly what was going on. Molly told her to fuck off, since she was just messing with her. However, Margo told her that she was too busy joking to see that Ed does not trust her. Molly was confused, but Margo told her she was not good enough and she had to be in order to be the first American woman in space. Molly told her that she was who she was, and if people did not like it, then screw them, but Margo reminded her it was not about her, and that she was not just a pilot, but an astronaut.

Apollo 15 reaches the Moon after 4 days, 3 hours, and 46 minutes, while Deke Slayton and Margo Madison work at Mission Control. Molly Cobb is told she is live on all networks. Shane Baldwin asks his mother Karen why everything is about her, and Karen tells him that she is the first woman astronaut, but Shane reminds him that Ed is her boss.

Margo measured their flight dynamics, during which everything seemed to be running smoothly.

On the LEM, Ed felt relieved to be able to breathe, and Molly told Mission Control that they did not know how lucky they were. Mission Control told them that they did, since even Margo was smiling, which Cobb asked someone to take a picture of. They were instructed to rehydrate and breathe for fifteen minutes. During this time, Ed took pictures of Molly with the ice, which she mentioned was melting. They lifted off, and left.

At Mission Control, Irene Hendricks asks FIDO if they have updates on launch windows yet, which Margo confirms, telling her that they were within launch parameters. Irene asks her to keep an eye on the data, but they soon saw on their screen the abrupt explosion of the Apollo 23. All of Mission Control froze at the sight of the explosion, and Irene told someone to lock the doors.

Margo was at her desk, and was told that Administrator Weisner was looking for her. Her colleague pointed out that they now had to look at a picture of Gene everyday, which Margo mentioned helped keep his memory alive, but the man said that it only showed how insignificant everybody in that room was, since if there had been an astronaut's death, there would be a lot more than just a picture, so when they died, nobody would remember them.

Margo saw Aleida seated behind Mission Control, and asked her how she had gotten in there. Aleida explained that her father, Octavio had let her in after talking to a security guard. Margo put on her glasses and looked at the math Aleida was doing.

After that, she walked into Weisner's office and was told that the board of inquiry wanted her to collect an outside report that was prepared on the Saturn V explosion. She laughed, and wondered why she was being demoted to the mail room. Weisner reminded her that Irene had been the most qualified to be flight director, but Margo argued that she had been in NASA only five years, while she had started in 1966. Weisner apologized, but Margo told him that she was not a messenger. Weisner, however, wanted to restart the Saturn project and all they needed was the systems analysis report, which would only be given to her. Margo mentioned she did not want to see von Braun, but Weisner told her it was not personal and to go get it.

Margo visits von Braun, who asks her to come in to his house. She told him that she did not know why he wanted to see her. He changed the subject, telling her that she had left her father's funeral without a word. Margo kept trying to get back on-topic, but von Braun distracted her.

At von Braun's home, Margo and Wernher were having dinner. Von Braun could not believe Margo could not simply talk to him since they had known each other pretty much Margo's entire life. Margo told him she forgave him, and to just give her the report, but von Braun told her that he wanted to tell her something her father never had, but that made no sense to Margo.

He told Margo about how he had met her father, and presented her with a suitcase, which contained something he mentioned he did not agree with. Before he started, he told Margo that her father loved her, which she did not see. However, von Braun mentioned that what he was telling her were facts that her father did not know how to tell her, but Margo did not agree since her father had been beyond "remote."

Von Braun told her that during the war, her father had worked on very secret work for the government, which involved the Manhattan ProjectW. Margo denied it, but von Braun presented her the files where it was explained that he worked on compressing a plutonium core to a critical mass through a spherical implosion, which led to the creation of the weapon that was used on Nagasaki. The bombing had a profound effect on her father, and both he and von Braun talked about the moral ramifications of the bomb, but Margo's father ended up retreating from the world, and Margo.

Margo asks von Braun if she can keep the files, which he agrees to. She thanks him for having told her, and asks him for the report so she could go. Von Braun told her it was a long drive, so perhaps she could stay, which she refused since what they had talked about did not just wipe away everything that had happened between both of them. Von Braun reminisced with her, and told her he had pushed her when her father had wanted to but could not. Margo thanked him, but von Braun told her she was wasting her talent, not doing as well as Irene Hendricks. He asked her what she wanted to be doing in ten years; she said she would be running NASA, but von Braun told her she would not since she was not a team player. Margo defended herself, saying that she was in Mission Control, but von Braun told her that that was because he was her mentor, and Gene looked kindly upon her, but even with all her credentials, she was passed over for flight director which Wernher blamed her lack of social skills for. Margo once again asks him for the report, and von Braun gave it to her. He told her she had the key to her success in her hands, and told her to evaluate why the valve on the Apollo 23 had failed. He told her when he reviewed the supply chain for the Saturn, he found out the LH2 valve was manufactured by Kirkland Aerospace, which means NASA had changed the contractors in early 1973, asking why the change had been made.

Margo was going to read the report, but von Braun told her it was not necessary. The change in contract was so that Illinois would back the Equal Rights Amendment, so that the governor would be re-elected. Margo sat down, and wondered if Gene had only died for a political vote, but von Braun reminded her that eleven other men had also died. She mentioned the report would cause a fire in NASA, congress and the White House if it was made public. Margo asked why it would not be made public, and von Braun told her that the reason was that it holds potential to do great harm to the president, so the report would be buried. So, von Braun asked her who would benefit from the situation since every bureaucracy was corrupt.

When Margo handed Weisner the report, the latter mentioned that von Braun writes a compelling report. Margo asked what he was going to do with it, but he evaded the question and told her the board was thankful she had gone to von Braun's home. She asked him if von Braun's findings would be included in the final report on the explosion of the Apollo 23, but he told her that he was classifying it as top secret on his authority as NASA administrator. As an oath she had taken, she was bound not to reveal any knowledge she had about the report. Doing so could open her to being charged with revealing classified information and spending 20 years in a federal penitentiary. She muttered what von Braun had said, "every system is corrupt," and told Weisner that she had made a copy which could be sent to The New York Times. Asked what she wanted in exchange for her silence, Margo demanded a role as Flight Director, which she was later awarded despite the lack of such an opening.

Margo went to Aleida, and gave her a slide rule, telling her to go to her office in 20 minutes so she could show her how to use it. She asked Aleida if she could play the piano, and told her she would learn later.

Later, Margo was at NASA with Deke and Weisner. Deke told Margo that the neurologist was taking a second look at Shane and that they needed to tell Ed what was happening. Weisner said no, however, since Ed was all alone up there. Deke mentions that knowing Ed, he would want to know, but Margo argued that there had been many studies on the effects of bad news in high-pressure situations. Deke told Margo that this was not an equation, it was Ed's son and the astronaut had a right to know. Margo asked if anybody had talked to Karen, since she had heard a lot of opinions except for hers and it should be her call.

Aleida aplogized to Margo for arriving late a second time, but she had needed to run all the way to NASA. She asked Aleida about her necklace and her hickey. Margo told Aleida that she was looking forward to changing her life, but was not sure anymore since they needed to discuss Aleida's lies. She gives Aleida a letter from the Kennedy Math and Science Program, which she opened and found out she had been accepted for two advanced tracks. Margo told Aleida that that meant she would transfer to Kennedy school right after the first of the year, which was sooner than she expected and she had to leave all her friends, but Margo got angry since she was losing focus and she needed to work ten times harder than the men.

At Mission Control, Margo told everyone that she knew that everybody was thinking about Ed and Shane, but it was important for them to move forward with their work, so they had decided to not tell Ed so he could focus on Jamestown. This meant they needed to be careful with what they talked about with him especially since the press had gotten ahold of this information. Gordo and Danielle discussed the matter in private and told Margo that since they talked to him, they could not ask them to lie. Margo told them that if they did not lie, then she could find somebody else who would, telling them that this was at the request of Karen, so they would respect that.

Molly tells a crew about what they would be doing in order to help Apollo 25. Margo tells Weisner that they were the best people to do it. Weisner agrees and they decide to launch in two days. Apollo 24 and 25 started working together to fix 24. They installed the FCC they needed and then started a test, which Margo directed. Ellen Waverly mentions that the tank pressure had gone up. Margo realized what was happening and told them to get the remaining astronauts to get away from the booster since it was still armed. It was too late the booster ignited, making Deke slam into a steering nozzle, and Harrison Liu slid down the booster into the exhaust plume of the engine dissolving in the heat of the exhaust. Molly disconnected the tether holding 25 to 24 and then lost her grip and let go. Molly mentioned that she had almost no oxygen left and they tried to find her since they could not see her. Tracy managed to see her, but Apollo 24 was still uncommunicative.

Margo blind to the possibilities of Apollo 25 saving Molly and safely returning and made the call to leave Molly and come home, Gordo disagreed and refused to do so, so she did so herself. Tracy also disagreed with Margo even though Cobb had agreed and asked for Gordo to be put back in communication. Margo told Gordo to not make her regret letting him attempt saving Molly.

Gordo guided Tracy through the process, while Margo asked about Apollo 24, but was told that they would know in two minutes. Tracy was losing fuel, but Molly was getting closer to them. In the end they managed to get to her and bring her back on board.

Mission Control celebrates the landing of Apollo 25's crew, while Margo asks how 24 is doing. GUIDO is unable to communicate with them and all they knew was that they were headed for deep space.

It seemed Ellen and Deke were now heading towards the Moon and were moving very fast. Ellen switched to manual, but depleted the SPS and they did not make it by thirty feet. However, in Mission Control Margo stumbled upon everybody celebrating since they now knew they were alive. Aleida went to NASA and saw Margo, who was still working.

Margo explained to Weisner why it was troubling that 24 had wasted all their fuel and why what they had done had not worked. Weisner comments that he will call the president so he knew that everything was going badly once again. However, Margo mentions that there was something that Ed could do.

Aleida sees Margo at her office. She tells the young girl that she had heard about her father and Aleida told her what had happened. Margo sat down next to her and told her it would be okay since Octavio was smart. Aleida told her how everything was going and told her that she did not want to live with the woman, but Margo told her that it would only be temporary. Aleida asked her if she could stay with her and would not be a bother. Margo told her that they could still do their sessions, but living with her was a lot to ask at the moment.

Margo told Mission Control that they would have a 33 minute window during which 24 would be within lunar orbit range. Ed watched the transmission as well. Margo told everyone what to do and told them that if they did not play their cards correctly, Deke and Ellen might be lost in space. Gordo mentioned they might have another problem: the distance that Ed would be flying was pushing the LSAM's range. Ed asked about Apollo 15, since the descent stage still had fuel in it. They started working on it, and Margo told them that they did not have a lot of time.

Tracy and Molly walked back into Mission Control and were celebrated by everybody. When Gordo saw Tracy he ran up to her and kissed her. Molly told them to get a room, and then told everybody to settle down. She went to Margo, who tried to apologize by saying that she had to consider the safety of two astronauts over just her, but Molly told her that she had done the right thing and was not what she wanted to talk about. She proceeded to tell Margo that she thought that when their ship slammed into the side of 24 it may have knocked their antenna loose, which was the cause of their communication problems, but their short-rage radio might still be working. Margo thanked Molly, and Gordo told Tracy that she was not in uniform since she needed to wear gold. He gave her his pin, and she cried tears of joy.

Margo told everyone to focus and was handed a paper which prompted her to tell Danielle to call Ed so they could send him the fueling procedures.

Gordo told Ed that there were ten minutes left to launch, Ed then thanked Mikhail Vasiliev and gave the Soviet back the part to the rover and gave him his monitoring device. Mikhail wished Ed good luck, and the American left. He radioed *Houston* and began the launch sequenced helped by Gordo, Danielle and Margo.

Ed radios 24 and tells them that *Houston* was working on a fix, but Deke says that there would be no time for him to dock. Ellen suggests Ed throwing a tank. Weisner argues against it, but Margo tells him to shut up or fuck off. Ed removes the tank while Ellen exits 24; he throws the tank, but it went a little too high. Ellen removed her chord and jumped, successfully attaching it to the tank and barely able to hold on to it. Everybody at Houston celebrates, completely impressed by the stunt.

### Season 2

Margo wakes up at her office, which has a sofa bed and puts her glasses on. She takes a shower and gets ready for work. She calls Emma Jorgens and asks her for messages; her assistant tells her that she had sent flowers and food to her aunt, who was expected to make a full recovery from her surgery. She gave her more messages and handed her an envelope and they leave, while Emma still gives her updates. She is told that there was possibly lithium near Jamestown, and she asks if the Soviets had been informed, which Emma confirms.

Margo enters a room, where she tells General Nelson Bradford that she can get him a new printer. She asks how the tests had gone and he responds that thirty pages of data told them they missed. She mentions that is bad luck, but hands him the envelope, which excites him since it contained Army-Air Force tickets at the 50-yard line. He thanks her and asks what they would cost him. She tells him they are a gift, but also tells him that now he might consider allowing the *Kon-Tiki* to land at Edwards and also freeing up space for a couple of polar launches form Vandenberg. He tells her the former is possible, but the pentagon did not like the latter, especially after Berlin. He tries handing the tickets back, but she tells him to keep them; as she left, he told her that he now owed her a favor.

Margo, Ed and Thomas Paine got to Mission Control, where Margo told them that life on Earth was safe, but everything outside of the Earth's atmosphere was in danger, so they told different orbiting satellites to get closer to Earth, also ordering the Jamestown astronauts to get back to the base as soon as possible.

Margo is called by Bradford, who tells her that nobody knew how the satellites would react to the solar flare and asked if they could shield them. Margo, however, told him that for now the best plan was to wait, but they would lose sight of the Soviets. Margo mentions that the Soviets would also lose satellites, but Bradford was not convinced. He called and recommended DEFCONW, which Margo mentioned was close to declaring a nuclear war and reminded that it was just a solar storm. Margo thought what Bradford was saying was crazy, but the latter just left.

Earth was hit by the solar flareW, and they lost all forms of communication. Margo asked Ed what the last headcount was, and he mentioned that ten minutes ago 14 were in the shelter and three were within visual sight of the base. He told her that Molly was a survivor and that they would be okay. Thomas told them that the White House would be explaining the storm and revealed that President Reagan was on Air Force OneW since they were worried that the Soviets would make a move during the satellite blackout.

Thomas Paine asked Margo how much radiation a human could take, and she mentioned that it varied and people could even develop cancer over time. She also said that each astronaut had a dosimeter badge which measured their radiation while on the Moon.

Margo talks to Ellen through a video communicating device and asks her how the power situation was holding up. Ellen says that they were recuperating and told Ed that life support systems should be doing fine, but the Mars program would have to be put on hold, also mentioning that the fuel rods were damaged. Margo takes note that they would need to send more plutonium and says that she would alert Guam to implement nuclear transportation guidelines, only to be told by Bradford that they would need to ask the Pentagon first. Thomas walks in with news that the president wanted to ease tensions with the Soviets, mentioning that putting missiles on *Pathfinder* was on hold for now and that they needed an American astronaut and a Soviet cosmonaut to come together for a handshake in space. Margo laughed, but Thomas told Ed to prep the crew. Margo said that it would never be done, but Thomas told her to relax and to figure something out.

Ellen makes it to NASA, where she greets Margo, Thomas, and Bradford. Margo tells her their first meeting would be concerning budgets and they begin talking. Margo says they need more money for Jamestown and they would need to get it from the Mars program. Ellen says that the Mars program was very delayed and said that there had to be another way, but Thomas says that they need to pick their battles. Margo looks through index cards and finds Aleida Rosales listed, and asks for a minute.

Margo walks up to Emma and asks her what the flashcard meant, but Emma asked if she was supposed to know who that was. Margo said that it was fine and went back to the meeting distracted by the name she had read.

Later, Margo tries getting a sandwich from a vending machine, but has to hit it in order to get it out. Finally, she sees that she can cause negative pressure within the machine, by opening and closing the "push" flap, and gets it out, screaming triumphantly.

On the Moon, astronauts are moving towards Jamestown, but stop to take a look at gear they found on the way. It seems that they took their mining site, which they report to the base.

Ed tells Bradford and Margo that the only way that the Soviets knew about the lithiumW on the site was because they had cracked their code, despite NASA changing the encryption keys every month. Thomas tells them that Raegan had decided not to tell the United NationsW, instead taking the mining site back by replacing the gear the Soviets had placed and holding the area. This was due to the fact that if they did not do anything, nothing would stop the Soviets from taking other sites from them. Margo agrees, but Bradford is not very sure until Thomas tells him that the Soviets cannot stay there forever, while Ellen tells them that they could have three teams monitoring the site at all times. Ed mentions that the security detail would need weapons, but Thomas says that nobody had mentioned weapons. Bradford and Ed can not see any other solution to the problem, but Ellen reminds them that even if they could modify guns in order to be used on the Moon, no astronaut was qualified to use them. However, Ed and Bradford agree that if they sent marines to the Moon, it would be possible. Margo says that there has to be another way, but they simply can not see another choice.

Margo drives and gets out of her car when she makes it to a trailer park. She knocks at a trailer and is asked to come in since the person inside needed help. She is asked to grab some toilet paper, which she does and hands the toilet paper to a girl who stretches her hand and has several aggressive looking bracelets on. She tells Margo that she is Aleida Rosales and tells her to leave if she was collecting bills, until Margo introduces herself once more. Aleida leaves the bathroom and looks at Margo in disbelief, greeting her once again.

Aleida asks Margo what she was doing there, so Margo explains that she had gotten a call from her boyfriend, Davey Kowalski, telling her about the young woman being deported. Margo looks at a small keyboard and asks Aleida if she still played, but she says that she does not. Margo said that she wanted to apologize, but Aleida asked not to do that. Aleida mentioned that she was being deported since she had to have a job to stay in the United States, but she was a bad coworker and team player. Margo defended her, however, stating that she had called her former employers and they had all mentioned that she was a brilliant engineer despite her behavioral issues. Aleida asks Margo what she wants, and Margo says that she cannot explain why she did not take Aleida in ten years ago, she could now offer her a job as systems engineer, working on a low priority mission. She mentioned that it was not charity and was offering her a way out of her problem, but Aleida was not listening, so Margo told her that if she wanted the job, she should go to NASA.

At NASA astronauts tell Margo that they had not noticed any abnormalities at the time. Bradford tells Margo to ask about the overhead lights, so the astronauts check and find that Mikhail Vasiliev had managed to plant a bug at Jamestown when he was with Ed. Ed looks disappointed, while Thomas mentions that the president would not like that.

Ellen, Bradford, Margo, and Thomas congratulated him on his nine years of service as head of the astronaut office. When Ed asked if he had to make a wish, Margo told him that it had already been granted since he would be commanding *Pathfinder*. Ed blows out the candle and the meeting begins. Thomas tells them that the Soviets had agreed to mount a mission with them on the Moon, which nobody likes. Bradford says that the only reason they accepted was so that they could get a closer look on American technology, but Ellen says that they have old technology which they could use. Everybody likes the idea of that, and Thomas asks Ed to choose a crew. He says the commander would be Danielle, but Thomas says that they might want to consider different possibilities since they only wanted the best. Ed asks what that was supposed to mean, since what had happened to Danielle's arm was not her fault; Ellen agrees with Ed and Margo does as well. Everybody likes the idea and Bradford mentions that this would be a powerful message, and after Thomas says that he would let everybody know, he asks him to tell him if anybody gave him any trouble so he could call the Secretary of Defense so he would support it.

Gordo and Ed sit at NASA while listening to their recordings while on their jets. They are joined by Thomas, Margo, and Molly who pauses the recordings and asks them to give her a good reason why she should not pull their tickets. Gordo says that he takes full responsibility, but Molly asks him when he had ever done such a thing. Ed tells her that he cannot take him off *Pathfinder*, but she reminded him that she could. She tells them that they have one last chance and tells them to leave. Thomas asks Molly if that was it, since he wanted a harsher punishment, but Molly told him that it was not that big a deal since things had gotten out of hand, which happened all the time. Thomas reminded her that the jets were expensive; Margo also told Molly that she should set a certain tone, but Molly reminded them that she would handle them as she saw fit.

A ceremony is held, and Soviet cosmonauts are received by NASA. Margo tells Thomas that she believes if she can pretend to be happy, the Soviets could pretend as well. They greet the cosmonauts, and Ellen greets one in Russian, but tells him she is not fluent, which makes Molly laugh. Danielle greets the cosmonauts happily, and they move forward.

Later, Margo explains how the mission will proceed, and does not receive any questions in the quiet room. However, when Margo referred to the cosmonauts as "astronaut three and four," the Soviet representative told her they preferred being called "cosmonaut one and two," so as to not sound like afterthoughts. Margo agrees, and Sergei Nikulov tells her that they would also suggest naming the mission "Soyuz-Apollo" instead. Margo moves forward, saying that the astronauts and cosmonauts needed to get to know each other, and the Soviets immediately asked for their RF encryption protocol. Margo glanced over at Bradford and Thomas for an answer, and told the Soviet that they would exchange the encryption protocols, but the Soviet demanded that they show them first. As Margo continued explaining, the Soviet interrupted her, establishing the Soviet Union as the active mechanism, which did not please the NASA team at all.

Later, Ellen asked how they were supposed to get anywhere if nobody wanted to share information, and Bradford simply responded that they would not get anywhere. Margo complained, and Bradford told her that he was confident that she would make things not move forward.

Margo visits Thomas and asks him to make the Soviets go away, but he tells her that he wants this to happen, telling her that the handshake in space was his shining city on a hill so that people spoke about this gesture for years to come. He added that she needed to find a win-win scenario, which she does not like.

Margo knocks at the Sergei's office, who tells her that his bosses loved getting reports, which she empathizes with. She recommends playing livelier music, but he says that it would not be appropriate for him to listen to non-politically approved music at work, which surprises her. She tells him that they needed to find a way around the roadblock they had with the docking mechanism, but he told her that it was non-negotiable. She mentioned that the whole mission required them to be able to dock both ships together somehow, but he pointed his gaze towards the man who was outside and he told her that he believed that Soyuz-Apollo was a ruse in order to gain military advantage over the Soviets. Margo told him that if he really believed that, then he should head back to Moscow, writing on a sheet of paper that he should meet her at 11:59 at *Club 11:59*.

Margo plays the piano at the bar and sees the Soviet. He congratulates her on how she played the piano, and they sit down. She tells him that she was not sure if he would be able to get rid of the bodyguard following him, but he tells her that the Soviets knew he would never defect. He asks her if *11:59* was a secret place for her, and she mentions that it is because she chose not to share that part of her life with many people, and they toast to their shared secrets. She explained the meaning behind 11:59, saying that it referenced the "doomsday device", which he mentions is not far from the truth, telling her that they had civil defense drills in all their major cities. She told him that she remembered doing them as a little girl and asks what they should do about the docking problem. They cut their coasters and represented the docking with them, which excited them both.

Margo and Sergei make it to NASA, discussing plans, only to find Aleida in the room. Margo was surprised, but introduced both of them. Margo asked what she was doing there, and Aleida mentioned that the universal docking system and needed some inspiration, so she figured it would be best to go to the source, which Sergei agreed with. Margo asked her if that was under her purview, but Aleida admitted that it was not. Sergei mentioned that engineers who liked to get their hands dirty were the best, and told Margo to keep her. Aleida thanked him, but Margo mentioned he was drunk. Margo showed the drawings, which Aleida described as beautiful; Margo agreed, but Aleida told her that it would not work since there was nothing to disperse the energy of contact and the hull could be ruptured if they were hit hard, which Margo agreed with. Aleida told them that they could place a ring and the three got to work.

The next day, Margo, and Aleida presented the docking system to Thomas, Ellen, Bradford and the Apollo-Soyuz team. Sergei talked to the Soviets and they agreed that it would work for them. Margo told Sergei that they would need to coordinate their approach while in space, and Sergei gave her the frequencies, with Margo returning the favor. Thomas told Ellen that the cat was out of the bag now, and Ellen agreed.

Aboard his flight to Korea, Thomas tells Margo about Ellen's father who had had a heart attack and she sympathizes, knowing that Ellen wanted to go to Korea. Thomas wishes her father good luck so she could join him later. She asks him if he slept, but he mentions that he cannot sleep on planes. She tells him to read novels, but he makes a joke about it. He asks how Poole and Morrison were doing in Star City and she tells him that training was going smoothly. He liked hearing that and told her he wanted to check on negotiations for the EASA before he landed. As he asked, a jet behind the plane he was on shot a missile, and Margo lost connection to him.

#### NASA Administrator

At a meeting, Margo asks what the airliner was doing flying over SakhalinW and Molly says it could have been a navigational error, but Margo thought 400 miles was too much and wondered why a commercial airliner would be shot down. Bradford mentioned they had spy planes flying over Sakhalin all the time, so the Soviets were paranoid. However, he mentioned that it was more likely that they suspected that the plane was being used to spy, but said that it would be ridiculous. Molly was annoyed that she had not been able to reach Poole or Morrison, but Bradford told her that the FBI had shut down access to all Soviet officials in the US including the Apollo-Soyuz engineers. Ellen agreed and told everybody that she had spoken to the White House and until they found a replacement, she would be acting administrator. She mentions that their priority was contacting the astronauts, maybe contacting Sergei first.

Bradford asks if they will really ask for help after being attacked by the Soviets, and Margo tells him that Sergei will listen to reason. Ellen tells Bradford that they should consider all their available options before making the whole situation worse. Ellen tells Margo that she would contact him. When Margo leaves, she whispers something in Ellen's ear and leaves.

Margo walks to Sergei's room, but is told that nobody could go in or out of the room. Margo tells him she is the director of Johnson Space Center, but the soldier tells her that she would not get in anyway, calling her "honey". She asks him his name, and he introduces himself as Sergeant John Perkins. Margo quickly calculates how much time it takes for each step in the chain of command, from contacting his superior officer to the point to let her in, and concludes, that he is 97 seconds away from either a cold beer at the end of his shift, or a transfer to Thule, GreenlandW.

The officer lets Margo in and she tells Sergei she brought borscht. She goes in the room and she tells him about their situation. Sergei asks her if she tried contacting the embassy, but she tells him that she was met with silence. He tells her that he does not think anything will happen to the astronauts, but she is not comforted. She asks if he has a way of contacting Star City, but he says that he is trapped in there with no phone. She asks if she can arrange a call, since astronauts Danielle Poole and Nathan Morrison were not a part of what was going on. He reminds her that he is not part of it either, but he was being held against his will. She tells him that Thomas Paine had been killed along with over 200 others which is why they were where they were at. Sergei gives Margo his condolences and she tells him that Thomas was a good man. He lets her know that in his religion when someone dies, it is custom to make the first meal you eat after the funeral, since it was believed that the steam will carry the soul of the departed to heaven. They eat their borschtW and he tells her that when she gets him the phone he will call Moscow and tell them that he was not being tortured other than eating bad borscht.

Margo tells a Senator over the phone that she was doing everything she could to contact the astronauts while Larry Wilson helps her with coffee. Pam Horton walks in and asks if it was a bad time, but Ellen walks up and kisses her. Larry greets Pam as well and tells her that the phone had not stopped ringing all day. Ellen asks for money for NASA's security and is told that she would get it.

Bradford asks Margo if he was able to get Sergei to help them out, so she tells him that he would do his best. Bradford says that he expected that, but she believes it was worth trying. He lets her know that the Pentagon had received reconnaissance photographs in which it appeared that the Soviets had put their Buran shuttle on a launchpad, which they did not think was ready. He tells her that the photographs were from Sakhalin Island, where the Soviets had a secret military facility. She asks if the photographs were not taken by the commercial plane, and he denies it, but she did not buy it. He asks her if the Buran could be armed, but when she looks at the blueprints she asks where he got them. She does not get a reply, but tells him that it looked like their plans, so it could be armed. She sees their boosters and figures out that they were like their designs from two years ago, so they could blow up at any minute. She tells Bradford that they needed to warn the Soviets, but he says that they have smart peole over there as well and could figure it out. She tells him that if they decided to use Buran as a weapon it did not matter, since at the moment, they could save human lives, but Bradford refuses and tells her that the information was classified.

Margo hears Aleida struggling with the vending machine. She tells her to try negative pressure, which in the end works for her. She asks Aleida if she wanted something to wash her food down with since they had finally been able to reach their astronauts in Star City. Aleida thinks it is good and follows Margo.

In Margo's office, she pours them some brandy. She teaches Aleida how to hold the glass and the latter mentions it is strong, and points out that she never thought she had seen Margo that happy. Margo admits she is happy and adds that she can still be surprised by humanity at times. However, Aleida tells her to say that to Bill Strausser since he was the biggest jerk of all time. Margo tells her that he was harmless, but lacked social skills, calling him complicated but a good engineer and committed to his work. She tells her about an incident in which he had been at his console for 23 hours and refused to leave it, even urinating there which earned him the nickname "Peanut". Margo tells her that if she could find a way to get along with Bill since even she did it, also reminding her that she would face many difficult people in her career.

Margo, Molly and Bradford are called to a meeting along with other people who did not know what the meeting was about. Ellen walks in and greets everybody, telling them that the president had decided to arm *Pathfinder*. Bradford agrees with it since they were being left with no choice, but Margo mentions it is a defensive measure until it suddenly is not. Ellen ignores her and proceeds to say that they were moving up the retaking of lunar claim site 357 Bravo, which would happen within 48 hours. Molly says that the plan was to use lunar night in order to maintain the element of surprise and reminds Ellen that the astronauts had not finished training, but Ellen tells them that the president was comfortable with moving forward after her recommendations. Margo and Molly were left in shock.

Margo visits Sergei, who tells her he would be going back to the Soviet Union, and she thanks him for his help. She tells him that after everything got resolved she wanted to see him again to continue planning the mission together. Sergei agrees, but Margo tells him that it might be a good thing to take a step back and see if anything with the docking module specs was wrong. He asks her what she means and she replies that she was worried they might have overlooked something, telling him that they had discovered a flaw a year ago with their boosters. Sergei understands and smiles, saying goodbye.

Tracy and the armed astronauts get ready to retake the claim and fly on the LSAM. They approach it while humming a tune. Tracy says the landing site was not clear, but she found one after a time. Tracy lands the LSAM and the astronauts get into the claim with their guns in hand, which make the Soviet cosmonauts leave. Bradford celebrated while Margo remained expressionless.

The claim has been taken back by American astronauts and Ellen, Margo and Bradford inform the president about their success. Margo asks about Apollo-Soyuz and Ellen says that since they have the moral high ground, they should keep it and the president agrees, also noting her great work, nominating her to the Senate and naming her permanent NASA administrator and asks her to think about it. Bradford and Margo congratulate her and think it is ridiculous that she was thinking it over, adding that they could go to Mars now. Bradford tells Margo that the Soviets had delayed the Buran shuttle probably due to repairs and tells Margo that they had probably figured it out by themselves.

#### Compromised

When he leaves, Margo asks Emma to call Sergei and tell him that they needed to get back as soon as possible. She is told Gordo's flight *Columbia* would be taking off and she hopes he is sober.

Ed Baldwin, Gary Piscotty, and Sally Ride are told by Bradford and Margo that the president had armed *Pathfinder*, so the mission would now be a joint mission between NASA and the Department of Defense. Ed asks if they would be firing missiles, and Bradford informs him that there would be a fire exercise to demonstrate the system, firing towards drones which would simulate Soviet satellites. They are told that *Pathfinder's* missiles were primarily for self-defense, which makes Sally question if they would be used for offensive purposes, but Margo tells them that that is not the mission plan.

Emma tells Margo that she had done a budget analysis the night before for the *Pathfinder* while she picks out her clothes for her meeting. Emma tells her to wear red since Sergei liked it, so Margo asks her why what Sergei liked mattered and Emma dismissed her idea.

Margo greets Sergei with her red blazer, which he immediately compliments her on. He tells her that there was a new directive from Moscow, mentioning the politburo had determined that the symbolism of the first handshake was important and it should be equidistant so, that nobody is the host or visitor. They get into the model, where they practice the handshake, but discuss where the camera would be. They decide to flip a coin in order to decide who would be the host. Sergei flips the coin towards Margo and as they try to find it, his pants get stuck, so their faces get close together. They are interrupted by Emma who tells her that there was a situation she was needed for.

At her office, Margo tells Aleida that Bill Strausser had quit and she was the cause of it. Aleida says she had not done anything, but Margo reads that after their conversation, Bill had seen he did not have the respect of his colleagues. She asks what she had said to him and Aleida admits to calling him Peanut, which shocks Margo. She tells Aleida that Bill had worked at NASA for over 20 years and did not deserve to leave over something like that, adding that if Aleida did not convince him to come back, she would fire her. Aleida tells her that she does not owe her anything and tells her that if she wanted to fire her, she should do it. Margo realizes that when something gets rough for Aleida, she gets mad and left her job.

Paramedics try helping the injured cosmonauts while Alex Rossi, the commander, spoke to Houston on the line. The astronauts tell the commander that they had perceived a hostile intent, but the cosmonauts had only been reaching for their translation cards. Ellen asks them if they were sure that there were no weapons on sight before she took the incident to the president.

Ellen tells Bradford and Margo that the situation was not good, and Margo points out that wars have started over a lot less.

Ellen, Margo, and Bradford watch the news, where the Soviet Union mentions they would not be intimidated and knew that the United States had plans to bring nuclear weapons to the Moon and said that they would get in the way and destroy them before they got there. Bradford tells them that there had just been a launch from Sakhalin island - the Buran shuttle, which the CIA says was armed. Ellen mentions that was a problem since it could orbit space, shoot them down and they would never even see it coming. Margo takes her glasses off angrily once everyone leaves.

They track the shuttle at DODCOM, but after three hours, they find that they had done was dock it with their space station, which made Margo think that they were overreacting. Bradford would like to believe that, but mentions that they had been stockpiling fuel on that station. Suddenly, Buran launched and Bradford mentioned it could shoot Sea Dragon down before it entered lunar orbit, which worries Ellen since the Moon was being blockaded.

Ellen tells Margo and Bradford that since the cosmonaut had requested asylum, they would grant it, which is what the president had said. Ellen tells them that the plan was to get him to the United States on the next shuttle the next month. Margo stops Ellen and asks her if she had asked the president about Apollo-Soyuz. Ellen says that they had not, but would recommend that they cancel it if she was asked her opinion. Margo asks if they could wait to see if the Soviets launched Soyuz and Ellen agrees to see how things played out.

Danielle and her teammate discuss whether or not they would actually be launching the Apollo 75. They sit while they wait for Soyuz to launch. At Mission Control, Margo tells Bill and Aleida that they had received no word from Moscow yet. As they wait, Margo gets a call from Sergei, who happily tells her that Soyuz had launched. Margo thanks him and tells them that they were ready to launch as well.

At Mission Control, Bill and Aleida supervise Apollo-Soyuz, when Frank Sedgewick tells flight director Hendricks that Jamestown was depressurizing, so he tried to contact them to no avail. Margo finds out, and Rossi comes in, saying that they had been having some issues with their sensors and pressure returns to normal.

Ellen makes it to Mission Control, where she is told by Margo that the Soviets were asking for more time before docking with no reason given. Margo is optimistic, but Molly tells them it has to do with the lunar blockade. Margo asks about Buran, but Ellen tells her is classified which Margo finds ridiculous since they would not be able to make informed decisions.

Sergei tells Margo that they would need to delay docking once more since they needed more time, which Margo does not agree with. Sergei apologizes and tells her that the best he could do would be giving her their state vector for their next docking opportunity, which Margo accepts.

Ellen tells Margo and Molly that they could not keep this up, but Margo does not want to give up since they were on the brink of war. She asks Ellen for one more orbit, and she gives Margo 90 minutes. Molly tells Bill that they had one more orbit before they called it quits, which Aleida protests since people had worked very hard. Molly asks Bill who Aleida is and mentions she likes her when she sees her attitude.

Margo walks to a telephone and types the number that Sergei gave her. He picks up and apologizes and she tells him to come clean with her. He admits that they were having avionics issues, which Margo does not buy, but he tells her that if he told his supervisor that they were having problems, then the mission would be called off. He tells her he was trying to do the best he could, but she tells him that she could only do one more orbit.

Margo tells Mission Control to contact Rossi, but they get no response.

Margo tells Ellen and Bradford and tells them that Jamestown was not responding. Margo says that there was a backup, but Bradford tells her that it might not be that simple and reveals that there was a second reactor in order to make weapons on the Moon which meant there was no failsafe. She tells them to forget that it was nonsensical to have nuclear weapons on the Moon, but to keep it from the people in charge was wrong. She storms out of the room after that.

Aleida gets a snack and hears a radio sounding. She walks into a small room and hears Gordo communicating. She reveals herself and Gordo greets her. Aleida walks up to Margo and Molly and tells them about Gordo, so both of them rush with her.

Molly asks Gordo and Tracy if they had been in contact with anyone, but Gordo reveals that the comms had been taken down and they had no suits. Margo tells them that in about 45 minutes there would be a massive nuclear meltdown which would kill everyone on the base and rendering Shackleton uninhabitable for a thousand years. Gordo asks what they can do and is told that they could swap out the cable connectors from the backup computer to the primary loop, but they had no way to reach them with no suits on. Gordo asks how far the cables were and says that he could get to them, but Tracy and Margo tell him it was not possible. Molly defends him, however, and says that if they gave him some sort of protection, he could last longer outside.

In NASA's Mission Control, the siren starts sounding, so Ellen tells them they're in DEFCON 2 since the Soviet fleet off the coast of Panama is threatening the southern United States with ten nuclear bombs threatening Houston alone. Margo tells everyone where the bomb shelters are at, telling them that whoever wanted to go should go, but only one person leaves. Margo tells Bill that they would need to bring Apollo home.

Bill and Aleida tell Apollo 75 how to get back down, but Danielle refuses and tells him they would proceed with the docking maneuver. Danielle tells him that she would not be going back down. When Margo tells her what her orders were, Danielle told her she was choosing to ignore her orders and told them to begin docking procedures lest they crash. Molly says that she does not care what Danielle had said since she had been given an order, which Makes Margo comment that maybe it was due to it being okay that she had not followed orders many times before. Before Molly could react, Ellen tells them that it was okay for them to proceed since at least one good thing should happen on that shitty day. Aleida does not believe it, but Bill lets her talk to the astronauts, which Margo encourages. Apollo begins approaching Soyuz and they ultimately dock.

After everything, Margo gets a call from Sergei, who called to convey his respects. Margo understands and tells her that they were heroes for the entire world. He asks if she would be at the ICSE conference in the UK that summer and invites her for a drink if she goes. She says she would check if she would go, but tells him she would see what she could do.

After the call, Sergei is told he did a good job by a superior, who tells him that by the time Margo realized she was working for them, it would be too late. Margo, unaware of her counterpart's circumstances, silently reminisces at the grave of John F. KennedyW.

### Season 3

Over the last decade, Margo has maintained contact with Sergei, and has been passing NASA secrets to the Soviets, as has Sergei been passing Soviet secrets to NASA as a form of mutual aid with the other.

In 1992, Margo and Sergei have drinks at the hotel bar on the evening of day 3 of the 43rd International Astronautical Congress in London. When the bar is closing, they grab a bottle and move together to Margo's room. During what starts to become a romantic rendezvous, Sergei asks Margo to give them NASA's nuclear engine design, as they would not be ready for 1994 without help and that he would be under enormous pressure by his superiors. Margo reminds him, that everything of military use would be behind their agreement of supporting each other, and Sergei apologizes, then suddenly someone knocks on her door. Two KGB agents enter her room and try to blackmail her by threatening to expose photos of her meetings with Sergei to the FBI. When Margo refuses, one of the agents attacks Sergei and chokes him until he almost loses consciousness. The other agent then gives her a day to think about it and hands her a phone number she should call if she has made her decision. They leave the room and take Sergei with them.

After the Soviet *Mars-94* spacecraft suffers a catastrophic failure and requires a rescue from *Sojourner*, Margo is able to turn the table on the Soviets, and she forces them to release Sergei, who had disappeared since she last saw him in London, and bring him to the United States. During the following rescue mission of *Mars-94*, Aleida strongly suspects the Soviets to have copied her engine design and she tells Margo, who brushes aside Aleida's concerns, under the guise of cooperation between two countries and focusing on landing *Sojourner* on Mars successfully. When Aleida finds additional and concrete evidence that the Soviets have indeed copied NASA's engine design and could have only done so with the help of someone from NASA, Margo promises to take the information to the Department of Justice upon the completion of the Mars mission.

Through a process of elimination, Aleida eventually concludes Margo is the only person who has access to everything the Soviets have copied from NASA, but she is conflicted due to her loyalty to Margo and confides with Bill about her findings. Bill, in turn, reports the matter to the FBI behind Aleida's back, which opens an investigation on Margo. Lenara Catiche, the new director of the Soviet space agency Roscosmos, then warns Margo that she is being investigated and very likely arrested by the FBI soon, and that they could help her if she wants.

Right before the start of the mission to send pregnant Kelly Baldwin from the Martian surface to *Phoenix* to give birth, Margo gives a speech in Mission Control where she thanks the staff for all the good work, and leaves the room. Back in her office, she starts to play the piano.

After the Johnson Space Center is almost completely destroyed by a terror attack, Aleida enters Margo's room, which is torn open by the huge explosion of the bombing. Aleida sees this destruction and concludes Margo perished in the bombing.

### Season 4

#### Life in exile

On March 17, 2003, Margo, now living under the alias "Margaret Reynolds" in Moscow, awakes and undergoes her daily routine. She leaves her appartment and goes to a nearby bakery to buy some pastry, then heads to a newsstand in a park and buys some newspapers. After a short talk with the newspaper man Artem, she goes to a park bench and learns from the newspaper that cosmonaut Grigory Kuznetsov is going to be the first human to set foot on an asteroid later today.

Later that day, she hears about the Kronos tragedy and Kuznetsov's death during the mission in the Soviet news. She tries to call Roscosmos director Lenara Catiche, but is told she has no time for her. She decides to visit Roscosmos' headquarters but is only allowed to see a representative, Kirill Semenov, who tells her to return during a scheduled appointment. She explains she wants to learn what went wrong but is told that her knowledge would be obsolete after being out of action since 1995.

On another day, Margo is sitting in the park again, when a woman takes seat on the bench next to her, feeding the birds, and explaining that these Bullfinches are patient birds who have to wait for the spring for the flowers to bloom. When asked who the woman was, she said she only had Margo's interests in heart. The woman tells her to be patient like the Bullfinches before leaving a card with a phone number on the bench.

Some months later, Margo turns on her television and all the channels are playing Swan LakeW, while the phone line is down. As she walks outside, there were sirens blazing through the streets. When she asked the baker at her local bakery what was going on, he tells her to leave. As she walks to the park, protests ensued as authorities were shutting down Artem's newsstand. By standers demanded to know where Gorbachev was and what they did to him. When the authorities began beating down Artem, Margo intervened, but the police pulled her away as she plead she wasn't part of the situation.

Margo and other members of the public who were at the protest are arrested. Margo is taken to an interrogation room where Police Lieutenant Stepan Gura, who is loyal to Fyodor Korzhenko, the leader of the coup, questions her. He asks about the card that she was given, stating that the number redirects to the a section of the KGB loyal to Gorbachev. After a disturbance is heard outside, the Lieutenant leaves, with Margo handcuffed to the table, while gunfire is heard outside. After a while, another man enters the cell, introducing himself as Colonel Vidor Kolikoff. He apologises for Margo being caught up in Soviet politics, before having the Lieutenant brought back into the room, where he is made to give information on the number on the card under torture, with the Colonel stating that the number was linked to the section of the KGB that watches the rest of the KGB, before executing the Lieutenant. He then restrains Margo to a bar in the interrogation room and asks for information on the woman who handed her the card. Margo gives what information she can, before being taken down from the bar, and led to a truck with a bag over her head. She is driven to Star City, where the woman from the park introduces herself as Irina Morozova, and states that an agreement in regards to the political situation has been made between the Army and Gorbachev, while Korzhenko is the new President, having made Irina the new head of Roscosmos, before asking Margo to work for her.

#### Roscosmos

Margo begins work at Roscosmos, sitting in on her first meeting, where Irina gives her the meeting notes of another member who tried to speak in support of Svetlana Zakharova. She discovers that a conversion error that was made by Kirill Semenov's engineering team was the true cause of the Kronos disaster, and had been left out of the report. She gives this information to Irina, who dismisses Semenov, leading to him being taken by the KGB. She begins a wary friendship with a member of Semenov's team who she helps with a calculation issue, discovering that the workers at Roscosmos have been informed by Irina to keep a wide berth of Margo.

After asteroid **2003LC,** colloqioualy known as **Goldilocks** is discovered on an orbit that will take it near Mars, the M-7 nations look to capture it and bring it into Martian orbit, in order to mine it for it's estimated $20 trillion worth of Iridium. A summit on the capture is held in Leningrad, where Margo watches the arrivals of the US and Helios teams on a security camera, before feeding information to Irina who chairs the summit. She discovers that Aleida is the Helios representative, and listens into her testimony, continuing to feed information to Irina on what questions to ask and what information is accurate.

During a networking event, Irina meets with NASA Administrator Eli Hobson as well as Aleida, where Aleida unknowingly makes an argument to not capture the asteroid at all, as it will cost too much. Margo listening in, is shocked that Irina may not capture it, while Eli begins a train of thought about bringing it to Earth orbit instead. Irina begins to cut him off, but Margo says to let him finish. Margo then lets Irina know that they will be able to recoup their investments in 5 years instead 35, when Irina says this, Aleida remarks that's what she was about to say.

In a private room, the trio continue to talk about the Earth capture plan, Margo telling Irina about a program that NASA had in the 1990's called DART which had 8 different ways to redirect asteroids. Irina mistakenly calls it Bart, to which Eli and Aleida respond with surprise and ask what she's talking about, before she corrects herself. Aleida remarks that it's just another thing that they stole like the NERVA engine design, Eli tries to stop her saying that it won't help anyone, but Aleida asks how "our" idea may be useful today. Margo tries to tell Irina that the plans were published publicly for all to see, but Irina says that their loyalties are misplaced and that they no longer work for NASA. While the messag is supposedly to Aleida, it is also meant for Margo, although Irina continues by saying that the plans were published pubicly. After discussing different ideas, Irina calls for a break, ignoring Margo and Aleida's pleas to continue and taking Eli to dinner.

Margo then meets with Irina, Margo frustrated at the game of chinese whispers being played, and knowing that no plan will be able to be made while it continues, asks to meet Aleida. Irina refuses, but Margo insists. Irina tells her that she will be outed as alive and that she will become the most hated woman in America. Margo says that while she does not relish the idea, she knows what she has to do, that she wants to be an open member of the project, as well as it's head. Irina says that she wants power and that power is a drug, Margo says that the work is her drug and she wants to stop running.

Margo goes to Aleida's hotel room, finding the door unlocked, but Aleida is not inside, instead her calculations and work is strewn around the room, having tried to find the solution to bringing the asteroid to Earth. Aleida returns, and is shocked to see Margo, Margo starts to defend herself, but Aleida simply asks if she's alive and then runs and embraces her, crying. Later Margo tells her how she waited until Sergei and his family were safe, and then details her defection, saying that Prison was not for her, Aleida responds angrily telling her that she had a choice. Margo says that she didn't and that she was careful not to reveal anything that would jeopardise national security, Aleida counters with the NERVA engine, before telling her about her memories of the Johnson Space Centre bombing, and how Bill Strausser was one of the lucky ones because he only had a crushed pelvis and severed spine, but he was alive. She then says how she went to Aleida's office and after opening the doors, thought that she was in heaven and that she hoped that Margo was there too, before realising that the side of the building was gone. On her way out as she was taken away by others, she passed Margo's assistant Emma Jorgens body, who had died at her post. Margo says that she wishes she had been at her own post and had died during the bombing. Aleida refuses to work with Margo, but Margo says that she will always regret that there was a solution and that she will eventually find it, but it will be too late. Aleida silently accepts, and immediately moves into working on the problem.

#### Rebirth

A solution is found, and Margo is revealed to the world as alive, as she reads a pre prepared speech saying she defected due to NASA being more preoccupied with propaganda and that she was able to find the solution through her work with the engineers and scientists at Roscosmos.

With the Helios workers on Mars strike, a meeting is held at Roscosmos, where a member of the meeting argues that Helios is in bed with NASA, as they are both located in Houston, Margo laughs at him, and says that she has met Dev Ayesa and he only cares about his own interests, rather than America's. Irina says that Margo is correct, Margo then tables improved calculations on the optimal intercept for Ranger during the asteroid capture, crediting Tatyana Volkova. Irina calls the meeting to a close and calls for Margo to wait behind. She informs her that a representative is needed to go to Houston during the asteroid capture mission, Margo agrees and says that she will prepare them, but Irina says that President Korzhenko has specifically asked for her. Margo says that the agreement was that she would never have to return, but Irina says that she will have diplomatic immunity and that while she agrees that she is being sent as an insult to President Gore, it would be wise to accept the offer.

Aleida goes on Eagle News to notionally discuss the asteroid, but the interviewer Zoey Chase instead asks about Aleida's relationship with Margo, to which Aleida swears and insults her before storming out.

#### Stranger in a known land

Margo eventually arrives at the Cobb Space Center, amid protests about her arrival, Eli Hobson welcomes her, and she takes time to notice the new name on the building, as the last time she was there it was still named the Johnson Space Center, before she walks inside.

Margo helps plan the Goldilocks capture mission, under dual US Marine and Soviet agent guard. On her way to present the plan she runs into her former assistant Nuri Prabakar. Despite her attempts to congratulate her on a new posting, Nuri brushes her off. During the meeting she reveals that the plan requires a burn of 20 minutes near Martian orbit, in order to benefit from a gravity assistW. After the meeting she tries to make small talk with Aleida, who cuts her off and says that she will work with her, but to never mention her family again.

Her return to the US, also allows her pleasures she did not have in the Soviet Union, such as a hamburger, which she eats with visible joy.

After Sergei who has driven across the country to see her, arranges meeting through Aleida. She meets him outside a diner late at night. He is thrilled to see her, but she tries to stop him. She states that they have both moved on, but Sergei cuts her off. The woman she knows as Irina, was Sergei's KGB handler during his time at Roscosmos. She was the person who organised for the information trading, as well as who ordered Sergei's strangulation and purge. He finishes by telling her that she is not safe and cannot return to the Soviet Union.

A month later, Aleida briefs Eli and Margo on the timeline for the capture program. Eli refuses to go to President Gore for more money, as the program has already cost $1 trillion. After Aleida asks for an update on funding for new Mars transports, he brushes her off and leaves. Margo and Aleida bond over a shared dislike of politicians, before Margo asks for a message to be relayed to Sergei. Aleida at first refuses, as she has already been relaying messages for a month. Instead they plan for Sergei to meet them at Aleida's house.

Margo arrives at Aleida's house, along with a Soviet minder, although he waits outside. She is surprised to find Sergei has been there for hours, as to avoid surveillance, he parked blocks away and walked through backyards to get there. Over dinner, the three of them manage to work the timeline down from 2 years to 9 months for the first exploitation of the asteroid. Once the calculations are complete, he says that it will likely kill Mars. As Soviet Premier Korzhenko will now give up on Mars due to the funds coming in from the asteroid. Arguing that without this competition, NASA will follow suit.

Before Aleida's children go to bed, Margo plays the same game she did with Javier when he was a child, holding two hands out to her daughter Graciana, allowing her to pick out a candy. She then gives the other to a now teenage Javier.

Aleida leaves the Margo and Sergei to sit alone, and he gifts her a Duke Ellington cd, a callback to their original courting, of trading jazz records. He then asks if she has given any thought to being together. She at first denounces the idea of hiding, living out of a suitcase in motel rooms. But he has contacts in the Brazilian Space Agency and they can work there, protected from the US and Soviet governments. She agrees, stating it would be like the Apollo-Soyuz days, he disagrees saying it was Soyuz-Apollo, "for sake of convienence", another callback to their early days.

The two leave and take differing routes to their accomodations. Margo to her upmarket hotel, where she orders a room service hamburger. Sergei through a dingy carpark to his rundown motel. Although not before picking up a McDonalds takeaway bag with his own hamburger. As Margo listens to the CD in her room, an unknown assassin shoots Sergei in the side of the head, framing it as a suicide before leaving the room.

The next morning she is woken in her office by Eli's assistant Tim who informs her that Eli needs to see her. When she arrives, she is surprised to find Irina waiting for her. Irina asks if she is settling in, but she says that it's hard when she's constantly followed. Irina says this won't be an issue for much longer, once the asteroid is safely on it's way to Earth, the two of them will return to Star City.

When she gets to Mission Control, she asks Aleida to get a message to Sergei due to Irina's presence. Aleida has not heard from him since the night before, so she asks her to meet with him and either tell or force him to leave Houston.

She begins to lead the engineers on a revised burn calculation, when Aleida returns. Aleida says they have to speak in her office, but she at first refuses, only relenting after continued pressure. When they arrive, Aleida informs her that Sergei was killed in his room the night before, the motel clerk calling it a suicide. She is distraught, but tries to control her emotions. Eventually she storms out, tracking down Irina who is with Eli. She asks "what did you do?", but Irina feigns ignorance, simply telling her to calm down. Eli seems puzzled by the outburst and she walks away.

Ghost Ops has managed to regain control of *Ranger* and Eli and Irina begin discussing a solution. Seth Razack argues for a shutdown of the nuclear reactors to starve the engines of fuel, which Aleida agrees with. Aleida then meets with Margo in the viewing room.She tells her about her time here with Wernher von Braun, and how this is where she was when she asked if the allegations were true. How he told her that "progress is not free", and that he didn't have a choice. But she decides to make a choice. Convincing Aleida to help her extend the burn. The two work together on a piece of code to extend it, but Aleida says that she will uplink it.

The code works and Goldilocks is brought into Martian orbit. Irina is furious and immediately suspects Aleida, but Margo takes the blame. Before Irina leaves her she tells her that there will be consequences. The consequence ends up being the revocation of her diplomatic immunity. The FBI arrive and arrest Margo against Aleida's protest. Before she leaves, the two embrace and Margo lets her know that it will be okay. As she is led to the waiting cars, the JSC bombing memorial is shown with Margo's name vandalized.

Some time later, Margo stood trial, speaking to the judge about her idea of justice and that personal feelings shouldn't cloud our search for the truth.

## Trivia

* Margo's trajectory parallels her mentor, Wernher von Braun. Although once celebrated for their accomplishments, later shunned after their secrets were exposed.

1. ↑ Her coworkers calling her "Eva von Braun" was a parody of the name of Adolf Hitler's girlfriend, Eva Braun.

## See also

* Aleida Rosales
* Sergei Nikulov
* Wernher von Braun

## References

1. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 1, Episode 6: "Home Again" (34:39) → Screenshot
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 2, Episode 1: "Every Little Thing"
3. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 4, Episode 3: "The Bear Hug"
4. ↑ Season 3, Episode 7: "Bring It Down" → Screenshot
5. ↑   Big Gold Belt Media: Wrenn Schmidt Interview on YouTube *(Archived 2024-01-14)*
6. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 1, Episode 2: "He Built the Saturn V"
7. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 1, Episode 10: "A City Upon a Hill"
8. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 2, Episode 7: "Don't Be Cruel"
9. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 2, Episode 10: "The Grey"
10. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 3, Episode 1: "Polaris"
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 3, Episode 3: "All In"
12. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 3, Episode 5: "Seven Minutes of Terror"
13. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 3, Episode 9: "Coming Home"
14. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 3, Episode 10: "Stranger in a Strange Land"
15. ↑ Season 4, Episode 1: "Glasnost" (Newspaper date @ 15:03) → Screenshot
16. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 4, Episode 1: "Glasnost"
17. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 4, Episode 2: "Have A Nice Sol"
18. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 4, Episode 3: "The Bear Hug"
19. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 4, Episode 4: "House Divided"
20. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 4, Episode 6: "Leningrad"
21. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 4, Episode 7: "Crossing The Line"
22. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 4, Episode 8: "Legacy"
23. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 2, Episode 6: "Best Laid Plans"
24. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 4, Episode 9: "Brazil"
25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 4, Episode 10: "Perestroika"