Gordo Stevens

## Statue

> I'm Gordo Stevens and I come in peace. Three times a night.
>
> Gordo Stevens, in Season 1, Episode 1, "Red Moon"

**Gordon "Gordo" Stevens** was a test pilot and astronaut with NASA. Stevens was part of Apollo 10 and came close to landing on the Moon but had not as that wasn't part of their mission. When the Soviets landed on the Moon shortly after, Gordo and Edward Baldwin faced criticism for not doing so.

He was selected for Apollo 15 but was replaced by Molly Cobb. He was then selected for Apollo 18 and later on for Apollo 22. During Apollo 22 he spent 146 days in space but had to be brought back to Earth due to episodes of psychosis during his prolonged stay at Jamestown.

Sometime later, Gordo divorced with Tracy Stevens. Ten years later, Gordo returned to the astronaut program and prior to returning to the Moon, made a promise to win Tracy back. While on the Moon, Gordo reconnected with Tracy. When the Soviets took over Jamestown, Gordo and Tracy sacrificed their lives to turn on the nuclear reactor's backup coolant systems, preventing a nuclear meltdown on the Moon. Though Gordo and Tracy made it back to the base, they died in each others arms due to their exposure on the lunar surface. As a result, Gordo was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor and buried next to Tracy at Arlington National CemeteryW.

## History

At some point, Gordo went to school in Chicago.
In 1965, Gordo and Ed were part of Gemini 7W.

### Season 1

#### Meeting Tracy

During 1961 in Gillespie, California, Gordo gets off a plane and greets other pilots, bumping into Tracy Stevens, who he had met earlier. He asks her why she is there, and she tells him she wanted to learn how to fly. She asks him for instructors, and he takes her flying with him in order to teach her, but she quickly shows a lot of talent for flying, later revealing she had been flying for 745 hours. After landing, both of them kiss.

In March 1962, Gordo and Tracy got married.

#### Working at NASA

Gordo went to a meeting with Deke Slayton, who mentions Apollo 11 is scheduled to fly in 2.5 weeks, and Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins would continue to train as had been planned. He also said training for Apollo's 12 - 20 would also continue, as there had been no instructions from the top. However, Deke told them that the training would not be continued that day, since it was time to be pissed about the events, suggesting they take the weekend off to get drunk and blow off steam.

The men raced to Outpost Tavern, declaring the last one to get there would buy the drinks. At the tavern, they sang and played darts while nailing a newspaper to the target. The men all called Pam Horton to throw a beer at the newspaper, and they all followed.

A man walks into Outpost, and asks the crew of Apollo 10 what they thought about the event, but they said they did not want to talk about it. The man tries to get them talking by telling them what happened to them must sting. They mention it wasn't true that the spacecraft was too heavy and had too little fuel, but it was not on their mission plan. The man stays with Ed Baldwin, and wonders why NASA didn't have the guts to let him land, and he starts remembering his mission. He concludes NASA does not have guts anymore since the Apollo 1 fire. What Ed does not agree with is changing the culture of test flights just because men died since they all know the risk they are taking when they take test flights.

While Karen Baldwin and her son Shane went to a dinner party, Ed was with Gordo at Outpost. A friend of his asks him what he would have said if he had been the first to land on the Moon, and Ed mentions he never thought about it. Gordo says that the Moon landing could have brought people hope since there was a lot of hate in the world. When asked what he would have said, he mentions "I'm Gordo Stevens and I come in peace. Three times a night," which makes Ed and Pam laugh.

When Apollo 11 managed to contact NASA again, Gordo celebrated with Pam and Ed.

At Cocoa Beach, Florida, Gordo gets a call from his wife. As a girl leaves his bed, he tells Tracy he misses her and is tired. During the phone call, Tracy starts yelling at her son Danny, and as Gordo is about to tell her to tell him to pay attention to her, the girl he was with flushes the toilet, which provokes an awkward silence.

Later, Gordo is flying a jet, and flies over his house. When Tracy feels the house shake, she tells her children their father is home. When Gordo walks in, he finds his watch on the front lawn. When he kisses Tracy, they both say it is good to see one another, and get ready for the barbecue Karen organized.

At Outpost, Gordo storms in angry because Ed did not say anything to him about landing Apollo 10, since it was not only his decision and he had not ask him what he had thought. Ed told Gordo everything was a joke to him, but he owned what he did and told him he resigned from NASA and would go back to the navy. Gordo could not believe it and asked Pam for two whiskeys.

When Deke told Gordo and Tracy that Nixon wanted Tracy flying as an astronaut with Gordo, Gordo said they would need to discuss it in private, but Tracy did not wait and accepted, and shook Deke's hand. Gordo got excited for Tracy, but she only asked if he really was okay with it, which Gordo confirmed, revealing that Deke had also given him a spot on Apollo 15.

Later, Tracy realized Molly was right and told Gordo it was a joke for her to still be in the program. However, Gordo supported her by saying she had a real chance, and had been told that her jet scores had been among the highest in the class. Gordo told her to see the test program through, but Tracy said she should have been cut weeks ago, but Shorty wanted a space couple. When the argument started heating up, Gordo told Tracy to have guts, but Tracy retaliated by asking if he really thought she was the one with no guts. She told him to get out of the house while throwing things at him.

Some time later, as Gordo drove home from NASA, he saw a fire at NASA and drove back only to see firefighters swarming the area. Ed intercepted him, and told him Tracy fine. Tracy saw Gordo and hugged him, telling him that Patty had crashed.

Tracy gets home and finds Gordo sleeping with their kids. They discuss whether or not Tracy is doing the right thing, and Gordo tells her that their children think the world of her due to her training to be an astronaut. They both kiss and tell each other they love one another.

Gene Kranz gives a conference to Ed, Gordo, Margo Madison, Thomas Paine, Deke, and others, saying that a man had been buried on the Moon, which the Russians 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 Russians were ahead of them once again. However, Deke mentions they do not even have a site, which angers Thomas, 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 Thomas, who did not know who she was, soon realizing she was "Wernher's girl." Gene corrected him, saying Margo was a flight dynamics officer and was making a good point. Thomas was angered by how they were always losing to the Russians, and reminded them the election was coming up, which would probably be against Ted Kennedy.

At home, Gordo saw a gift baskets sent to Tracy, and opened a bottle. Tracy told him that dinner was in half an hour, and that Fred Talmadge and Susie would be there soon. Gordo apologized, and told her that a few things had come up, and Tracy realized he was drunk, realizing he was not going to let her enjoy her accomplishments. Gordo, once again apologized, and told her that Deke had taken him off 15, replacing him with Molly Cobb. Tracy comforted him, and told him she could tell Sheila, her nanny, to go home, but Gordo told her that they were going to celebrate her for becoming an astronaut. He also told her they were going to be getting her a new corvette, but she told him that they would be sending her away the next week for maybe a week or more. Gordo did not like that, feeling they should discuss that first, but Tracy told him that he knew that she needed to go where they sent her.

Some time before the day of the takeoff, Gordo greeted Ed, telling him he would be going to Ellington. He apologized to Gordo for having not talked to him sooner, but Gordo told him it was okay. Gordo asked him how Karen felt about him spending a week in a little capsule with another woman, and Ed told him that his wife would be happier if his friend had been going with him instead and he would too. They shook hands, and said goodbye.

On the day of the launch, Gordo asked Tracy where she had been the past night, but Tracy told him she had unplugged the phone in order to sleep right, but Gordo asked what would have happened if there had been an emergency with their kids and she told him that BASEOPs can get to her at any time. He asked her when she would return, and she mentioned that maybe a few days, and she might go out to celebrate in the night. Gordo replied by saying that he thought she might be worried about being a bad mother. She flushed the toilet, and turned on the shower, prompting Gordo to ask what had happened. She pretended nothing had happened, and hung up on him.

Danielle Poole and her husband Clayton went to have lunch with Gordo who welcomed her to the crew of Apollo 18, and told her they would get together with Deke to go over the mission plan. Clayton noticed how fast Gordo drank while Danielle mentioned she was surprised she had been assigned so quickly, but Gordo told her that Molly was kicking ass on the Moon and had really put to bed the notion that women could not go to the Moon.

Gordo noticed Clayton had no Vietnam ribbons, and Clayton told him he had thrown them in the sentry's face on his way out, and Gordo told him he might have to do that as well as he downed another drink.

Gordo, Danielle, and Clayton take shots at Outpost. Gordo asked Clayton where he was posted in Vietnam, and Clayton told him that in Da NangW. Gordo told him he knew some chopper pilots in Da Nang, and added that he was too young to serve in Korea, and space had kept him out of Vietnam. Clayton told him he played it well, and Gordo told him that his father had been a marine in the South Pacific and he had read of his experience, which he qualified as horrendous and was curious to see how he would handle it. However, Clayton told him that he had never been curious enough to give up his astronaut pin and try it himself. Gordo asked him what he meant, but Clayton told him he was better off not knowing. The conversation started getting heated, and both men stood up to fight one another, but Danielle told Clayton to leave. Once he did, Danielle told Gordo he had been out of line since the point of going to Outpost was for Clayton to get his mind off what he had been through.

At some point between October of 1971 and August of 1974, Gordo participated in Apollo 17 and Apollo 18.

#### At Jamestown

Sometime in 1974, Gordo was selected for Apollo 22 along with Ed and Danielle to relieve the crew of Apollo 21. On August 24, 1974, administrator Weisner gave them a speech where he announced on behalf of President Kennedy, a new flight director, Irene Hendricks. The relief mission for Apollo 22, Apollo 23, was set to launch the same day but suffered a catastrophic explosion, killing 12 NASA personnel, including Gene Kranz.

60 days after the explosion, Ed, Danielle, and Gordo were still on the Moon conducting experiments, while receiving supplies via unmanned Titan rockets while they waited for NASA’s board of inquiry to identify the cause of explosion.

At Jamestown, Gordo was talking to Tracy, who mentioned she had put down a deposit on an apartment, but had not told their children anything. Gordo asked Tracy why she would not move in to the apartment, but Tracy refused, because she did not want Gordo and Sheila to keep the house to themselves.

As Gordo walked on the Moon, he saw unrecognized lights from the distance.

Later, Ed, Gordo, and Danielle are being told a new contractor was being used for the LH2 valve, but there was a mishap when the rocket was being built and were told that it would take time, so Apollo 24 would be delayed yet another two weeks. They were told that President Kennedy was doing everything he could, and wanted to apologize for the delays. The three astronauts discover a frequency which they find strange and cannot figure out. Gordo sees an ant and talks about seeing yet another one. Ed discusses spying on the Russians but mentioned that they would not tell Houston. Gordo loses his temper over the ants, since he is told to drop it, but Ed calms him down.

The crew of the Apollo 22 call Houston to tell them they were going back to the base. Once they got there, Danielle told Ed that even though they had gone 30km out, they had not seen anything. Ed told Danielle that the Soviets were crafty and they were still on their part of the crater, which was theirs since they had planted the flag first. Gordo took a walk in the meantime and saw nothing in the distance.

When Gordo got back, he said "Hi Bob" which angered Ed. He asked him what he was doing since they had already discussed that he could not leave the base without his authorization, since if Houston found out, they would punish him. Gordo argued that they first had to bring him back to Earth and tried to make a joke about it since he thought it was bullshit. The argument escalates since they start questioning whether or not Gordo had actually seen blinking lights. Ed tells Gordo to stand down, but the latter challenges him, so Ed throws him against the base. They are separated by Danielle, and Ed tells Gordo that he could not leave the base until further notice. Gordo just laughs and Danielle tells him that everything is getting out of control.

Ed, Gordo, and Danielle start getting desperate over a phone call with Buzz and were told that they were being told that they needed two more weeks and were being sent a surprise this time. A new plumbing assembly for the shower; Ed tells them that Gordo is feeling better after his cold. After the conversation with Houston, it appears that their "Hi Bob" tape was fixed, but the tape is ruined after a while. After a while, they all start reciting the tape since they know it by heart, even reciting the laughs.

Ed tells Houston that Gordo is still sick while they ascended from the mining site with new samples. Danielle asks him when Gordo would finally be allowed to go back outside, since she had been getting a bad vibe from him lately, but Ed told her that his friend would be fine. She looks out and is able to spot the Soviet base in the distance, so Ed immediately informs Weisner, who tells him that he would inform the White House and they were told to keep doing business as usual.

Gordo wakes Ed and Dani up so they could do the "Hi Bob" routine, but Ed tells him to quit horsing around since they had a busy day the following day and it was the middle of the night. He moved forward and did the routine himself which surprised Ed, but Gordo got mad whenever he was interrupted. Danielle told him that maybe it was time to call Houston, but Ed refused saying that Gordo needed to go outside. Ed approached him and told him that they should go for a walk.

They walk across the Moon's surface and mention taking some pictures, but Gordo mentions he would never do that since no photo could ever really capture what they were seeing. Ed asks Gordo to explain what he was doing back at the base, and Gordo mentions that he was fed up being locked in with the food he hated, and said that he did not sign up for what they were going through. As they were talking, Gordo feels something strange, which he mentions is an ant; he soon tells Ed that there were many ants and they were getting all over him, but was calmed down by Ed.

At the base, Gordo apologized, but was told it was fine. Ed told them that he would tell Houston the truth, which was that they had a medical situation, which he should have listened to before, especially with Danielle's warnings. He told them that he would not abandon the base so the Russians would not get it, but would send them both home. Gordo reminded him that if he stayed, then he had to wait for Apollo 24 to get there, and then the next crew, which Dani mentioned NASA would never approve, but Ed mentioned that he was commander. Gordo mentioned that he was too tired to argue and went to bed. Danielle asked what would become of Gordo, and Ed told her that he would be sent to the shrinks, but it was clear that his career was over and would never be allowed to fly anything ever again.

After a while. Danielle screams in pain, saying that she tried to change the battery, and it appeared she had busted her arm. Ed realized that she was doing that in order for Ed to call NASA and tell them that they needed medical attention. She told him that Clayton had left her and that if Gordo was grounded, he would not return either.

Ed told NASA this, and was told that Gordo and Danielle had been approved to go back home, and his new return date was another two weeks from then. He was promoted to Captain of the United States Navy by the president, with a salary increase retroactive to when the mission had started. He thanked his supervisor, and sent Gordo and Danielle on their way. They all said "Bye Bob" and left.

#### Back on Earth

At NASA, astronauts including Danielle are watching Gordo being celebrated for having landed them back on Earth, as well as congratulating Ellen, who was now married to Larry Wilson, on becoming the new commander for Apollo 24. Deke mentions that he was, in fact, part of Project MercuryW and mentioned that he was able to fly, but assigned Ellen as leader because he knew she was very capable. The interviewer, however, mentions that Danielle's accident at Jamestown had raised the question of having women living on the Moon, but Ellen defended her fellow woman. Harrison Liu defends the interviewer's obvious attacking of Ellen, saying he was not worried about serving under her.

Gordo tells his psychologist, Dr. Marsten, that it feels good to be back, keeping in touch with Ed. His shrink asks him if he remembered what he had told him the first time he had been with him. He reminded the astronaut that he needed him to be honest, and Gordo mentions that he is worried about Tracy, who had been acting differently towards him, sending him to a different apartment when she gets mad at him. He tells the shrink that he had been away 145 days and mentioned that Tracy would be going with Molly up into space, going away for 14 days if everything goes as planned. He starts talking about things falling apart in space.

Gordo greets Tracy and tells her that work had been good that day. She tells him he is a son of a bitch, asking where he had really been. She assumes that he had been with a lady, and he tells her that he was seeing a psychiatrist. She tells him that the shit he came up with to save his ass was unbelievable, but he shows her the card, which shocks her. He said he started talking to the doctor because he needed to talk to someone. Tracy asked him what had happened to him on the Moon, but he says that nothing had happened. Tracy picks up the phone and tells Karen she would be with her as soon as she could.

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.

While Ed worked out, he got a telex from the Soviets, sending him their condolences for what had happened to Shane. Ed asks Gordo what was going on, so the latter suggests that perhaps something had been lost in translation. Ed wonders if maybe the Soviets were monitoring his conversations since he had talked to Karen about Shane earlier. Gordo mentions that he has no idea what the Russians were up to and Ed starts getting angry, mentioning that what the Russians were doing was low, even for them.

Gordo calls Ed, but he does not answer and turns off communications while drinking a bottle of Chivas and starts banging his head.

Apollo 24 launched in order to bring back Ed, who had been stranded on the Moon for 159 days. Deke called Houston, telling them they were ready for trans-lunar injection. Gordo confirmed they had received the message and asked Deke if he liked the view. And so Deke, Ellen and Harry moved forward. However, when they tried to ignite, it failed.

The crew of Apollo 24 tries to look for the problem. Gordo calls them and tells them that the flight control computer had a bad board in the control circuit that could not be repaired. They are told that they would be brought one soon by Molly Cobb.

Danielle goes to Outpost and finds Gordo, who is drinking Ginger Ale. He tells her that he had good news and told her that he had decided he would not keep secrets anymore and wanted the world to know what had happened. He tells her that people should know that she was the real hero and not the other way around, but she told him that she knew and that was all that mattered. She told him not to reveal the truth or she would be grounded.

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.

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.

### Season 1.5

In 1979, Gordo featured in a story for the American automobile magazine Corvette News.

In July 1980, Gordo was still regularly meeting his psychologist Dr. Marsten.

### Season 2

Gordo is first seen giving a conference as a guest speaker for the Rotary ClubW and says that new technologies were approaching. He was drinking while answering questions such as how to go to the bathroom in space. He is asked how he saved Danielle when she broke her arm on the Moon. Gordo smiles and tells them that sometimes equipment and people fail and it all falls apart.

At home, Gordo asks himself why she had gotten married without even a phone call, but Jimmy tells his father that she had left a message on the machine the day before, but had not mentioned she was getting married since she sounded "loopy," which was typical of Tracy. As Jimmy left, Gordo asks him how he felt about his mother getting married again, but he mentions he does not know. The phone rings, and Ed asks Gordo if he was watching, which he mentions he was. Gordo asks his friend if he knew about it, but Ed mentions he did not and asks if Gordo is okay and if he needed some company, but Gordo says he would be fine.

Gordo played a video game, but was told by Ed that he would never win. After he loses, he goes to Ed who is manning the bar. In the meantime, Danielle was unsure about leaving her car; she read a passage from the Bible, but still did not get out. Gordo said that he could not imagine what Danielle was going through. As soon as Danielle got to them, they all said "Hi Bob" to each other. They discussed changes made to Outpost like a plant Karen wanted to put there and the removal of the pool table. Ed asked Danielle how she was and she said she was okay, but missed Clayton, who had struggled during his last nine years. She tells them that she wants to go back to Jamestown since none of them had been up there in nine years, but neither of them want to go back. Gordo tells her that there was more to being an astronaut than just going to space, but said she was tired of reminiscing. Ed tells her that he would start the paperwork the next day, and they all celebrate.

Gordo is at another event, telling the people about his story in Jamestown while drinking. Everybody laughs at what he has to say. Afterwards, he has sex with the waitress in his hotel room.

Gordo is cooking a steak, but just keeps looking at it while Jimmy hangs party decorations. Danny, who is now a midshipman at the United States Naval Academy, greets his father as Captain Stevens, saluting him. Gordo smiles and tells him to hug him instead. He tells his son it was good to see him. Jimmy greets his brother and the two hug; when Tracy makes it, she looks at Danny and holds him, while proud to see him. She hugs Jimmy afterwards and greets Gordo awkwardly. Gordo decides to make a toast, saying that Danny had made sticking out his first year at Annapolis look easy, also mentioning that he was proud. He also congratulates Tracy on her marriage and tells her he is happy for her.

Danny tells his family about his first year at the Naval Academy, and Gordo smiles while looking at everyone having a good time. Tracy gets up and says she has to go. They both say goodbye to one another and Gordo grabs another beer. He tells his kids that he had snacks and more alcohol, but Danny says that they were going to see some friends. Gordo says that it is fine, and tells them to have a good time.

Ed works on painting a small biplane, when he gets a call. He picks up and is called by Karen to Outpost, since Gordo was drunk and making everyone uncomfortable. Ed makes it to the bar and tells Gordo to go for a walk with him. They walk and Ed tells him to forget about Tracy since they had been divorced for nearly five years and she had moved on. He says that he cannot leave the past behind because he had left something up on the Moon and felt like he did not exist on Earth and did not know what he was doing. He recognizes that Ed had been through worse things, like Shane's death, but he had found a way to make peace. They sit down and Ed told him that his kids worshipped him; Gordo asks Ed if he remembered what it was like for them, and his friend said he did. Gordo said that before everything seemed possible, but not anymore, and starts crying. Soon after, Gordo tells Ed he would sleep and wishes Ed a good night. Ed looks at one of Gordo's pictures, one where he stood with him dressed in his space suit.

#### Return to space

Gordo is woken up by a call from a woman at JSC, who tells him that a weekly staff meeting had been moved to that day. She hangs up and Gordo gets up and heads to NASA. He makes it to the meeting room, where he immediately grabs a cup of coffee. Danielle tells him he looks like hell, but Gordo says he feels excellent. He asks Danielle why the meeting had been moved up, but she did not know. Ed enters the room, and wishes everybody a good morning. He tells them that there would be a Jamestown 81 debrief and that he had a new flight assignment to announce. He tells them that Danielle would be joining the crew of STS-83 Romeo. After everybody congratulates her, he says that Gordo would join her as well. When he goes to congratulate him, Gordo tells him that he would not head back up and reminds him that he knew it. However, Ed reminded him that he was the one who decided.

Molly is smoking a cigarette outside, joined by Gordo who asks her for one.

Gordo puts on his NASA suit only to find it does not fit him anymore due to his weight. He gets to NASA, where he apologizes for being late and sits next to Danielle, who points out he is not wearing his uniform. He tells her about the malfunction and has a hard time using his laptop until Danielle helps him.

Gordo is awakened by a phone call. Tracy tells him that he had left a message and he says that he wanted to tell her something. Tracy says that everywhere she looks she sees herself, so Gordo asks her if she is okay. She tells her that she is, but she had crashed her car and tells him to pick her up since her husband was out of town. Gordo mentions that it is 2 in the morning, but picks her up anyway.

Tracy asks what she should do about the car, but Gordo says that her new husband Sam Cleveland would probably buy her a new one. She says that Sam was a good man, but had a bit of temper when she pushed him, unlike Gordo, who she describes as easy. She tells him to take her to their old house, since whenever she was late, the staff treated her as if she was a teenager getting home past curfew. She tells Gordo to pull over, but he does not and she throws up in his car.

When they get to Gordo's house, she tells her that since both their children were at home, she would have to sleep on the couch. However, when he turned around, Tracy had gone into their bedroom and had taken her clothes off. Gordo picked them up and says that he would take the couch instead.

Tracy tells Gordo that the taxi would be there for her soon, also asking him where her keys were. Gordo tells her that he took them since it was not her house anymore, but she could visit the kids whenever she wanted. Gordo tells her that he would be returning to the Moon, which makes her laugh, until she realizes that he would be on Jamestown 1, which meant that they would both be on the Moon at the same time. She says that she does not want to go through the whole "space couple shit" again since it would affect her publicity. He yells that he would be returning to space after ten years, and did not like that she only cared about herself, but she left.

At home, Gordo had fallen asleep while on his laptop while watching TV. He takes his reading glasses off and looks at Tracy's keys which he puts in his drawer. He turns the television off and gets in bed, turning off his light as well. In the distance he sees a red dot flashing, but he turns the light back on and it disappears, turning out to just to be his TV source device, which makes him laugh.

Gordo gets into a space suit and is asked if he feels comfortable. He says that he does like it, When they put the helmet on and lock it, he feels his heart pumping faster and breathes heavier, but manages to tell the people helping him that everything was alright. He goes to the bathroom, breathing heavily.

Ed is poured three shots by Danny Stevens at Outpost. He tells him not to let anyone harass his daughter. Ed is joined by Danielle and Gordo and they all drink their shots. He tells them that he has decided to go back to space and command *Pathfinder*. When Danielle asks why, he tells her that she inspired him and that they had been doing great on their performance tests. Gordo does not look so good, and says that he had a weird moment in his suit where he felt trapped and mentioned that he had to take his helmet off. Ed mentions that Gordo had changed a lot in 9 years and Danielle says that he had gone to therapy. Danielle says it is good to be back, but mentions that she has to take care of family business in Dallas. Danielle asks who would be taking command of the astronaut office, and Ed laughs.

Tracy's launch was about to begin and she was interviewed during the launch. Gordo watched while Tracy mentioned that she kept to Stevens since she was known by her last name. Gordo changed the channel, but could not find anything he wanted to watch. He went back to the channel showing Tracy's launch, saying "see you soon."

Gordo sits at Outpost and yells at the TV while a wrestling match is on display. Karen smiles, and is joined by Danny, who is surprised she knows about wrestling. Karen asks Gordo if he was going to Ellington since he would fly down to the Cape with him. Gordo mentions that he could not miss the fight and would drive fast.

Gordo looked at his Pepsi can, but saw a bunch of ants, which made him lose his concentration. Danny asked if he was okay and mentioned that he too could see the ants since they were hard to miss.

Later, Gordo meets up with Ed, who asks him if he is ready to go. Gordo told Ed that he had seen ants while watching TV at Outpost while sober. He mentions that Danny had been there, but that the ants were real. Gordo tells his friend that he had thought he was losing it again and wonders if it would happen on the Moon again, but Ed told him he was fine. Gordo told Ed that his father was a very tough man, and had never backed away from anything until he got cancer, which scared him. Gordo says that that had been too much for him and says that maybe his father had always lived in fear. He asks Ed what he needed to do, and Ed told him to act like a man since he was an astronaut and started mocking him. Gordo told him to cut it out lest he do something about it. Ed walks out and Gordo follows him. They flew and Ed told Gordo he would test them to see if they had any balls.

As Gordo and Ed flew, Ed showed Gordo a few tricks, but Gordo told him that he had seen it coming. Ed's jet caught fire and he was forced to eject. He opened his parachute and headed straight for water.

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.

Gordo watches Tracy's Moon interview. At Jamestown, everybody gathers around to watch it as well. After the show, Tracy goes to bed while looking at a picture of her with her sons. Before she could go to sleep, the ventilation system turned on, which annoyed her and did not let her sleep very well. The next day, she got to work, and the same pattern repeated for the next few days, which started making her feel slightly depressed.

Gordo tried on his spacesuit and started working out, while cleaning up his house, and throwing away his alcohol. The next time he saw Tracy in an interview, he turned the television off. He tried feeling comfortable in his helmet and was found in the closet with one on by Jimmy, who asked him if he was okay. Soon enough, he started getting thinner, but still felt insecure in his helmet.

Gordo was underwater with an oxygen tank, when he was met with his kids. He told them he was training for the Moon, and they told him that he had been acting weird. He told them that there was a lot to keep track of on Jamestown, and he needed to be prepared. Danny asked if what he meant was about what had happened last time he was there. He mentioned all he knew was what had been mentioned on television. Gordo tells them that up there he tried being strong and keep it together, but told them that it was not always going to be okay. He told them that on the Moon he realized he was weak and was trying to burn it from his head before he went back up. Danny asked him how it was going, and his father answered that it was not going so good. Danny mentioned that maybe they could help, and shoved Jimmy into the pool.

Jimmy talks to Tracy through video-call. Tracy congratulates him on his birthday, which he mentions had been the day before. They reminisce about when Gordo tried to make him a cake when he was six since he had tried it again and his other birthdays. Gordo overheard while Tracy said that he really made her laugh at times, sometimes just by looking at him. She tells him that she wishes she could go back in time, but is told she had thirty seconds left. However, Jimmy hung up immediately, which she did not like.

Gordo visited Sam Cleveland's house, who greeted him warmly. Sam poured them some wine, and asked Gordo if he would be going back to the Moon. Gordo mentioned that he was and told him that he wanted to talk to him. He tells him that he would be getting Tracy back and told him that he wanted to tell him his intentions face-to-face. Sam laughed and reminded him that she was his wife now, also telling him that he had some balls. He told him that he did not think Tracy would be going anywhere since she had made her choice. He told him that he could try his best, but Tracy was free and would probably stay with him since she had made up her mind.

At Kennedy Space Center, a nervous Gordo and his crew prepare for the launch. Gordo greets Ed, who tells him he wanted to take a look at the old shuttles before *Pathfinder* made them obsolete and tells him he is proud of him. Gordo thanks him and tells him he is ready; when his helmet is placed on his head, he smiles at Ed and the two shake hands before his launch.

*Columbia* makes it to the Moon and Gordo and his crew are received and brought down. The first thing he does is feel the sand through his fingers and is brought to Jamestown, where he looks around and is welcomed back by everybody.

Nick Corrado tells him that the place must seem huge since the last time he had been there and Gordo tells him that there sure was not a lot of legroom. He is pointed to his old bunk and brought to the new one, which turns out to be next to Tracy's, but she was out with the marines flying their LSAM's.

Gordo goes to bed and has no complaints before being scared by Tracy, who whipped his curtain open. They greet each other and he tells her that things were very different. He is introduced to Vance Paulson, who was a marine and compliments her flying. They tell him they would get some dinner, but he chooses to sleep.

Gordo gets up and sees his picture helping Danielle with her broken arm which said "Don't let this happen to you." He looks out a window and sees Tracy, who was smoking into a tube. She tells him that Jimmy was sending her cigarettes, which surprises him. They share it and she tells him that he looks good and happy. He tells her that the last time he had been up there he had lost his mind and tells her about the truth about Danielle. She sympathizes about it and tells him that the place can feel lonely. He remembers hearing about Tracy talking to Jimmy about his sixth birthday and realized he had been afraid of moving out since he would be losing Tracy, which was the most important thing to him. He recognizes he had screwed up their marriage and says that he would not be happy until he had her back, revealing his intentions of getting back with her, also telling her that he had told Sam. She laughs about what Sam said about her and asks him what he thinks, and he says that she would only be caught if she wanted to. She tells him to catch her if he could and hands him the cigarette.

Tracy takes Gordo and the marines to 357 Bravo. Gordo is flying the LSAM and mentions that it does not respond like it used to before, but successfully brings them down. The astronauts see movement, so they grab their guns. They tell General Bradford that they had company, so he tells them to try to talk first. They see two cosmonauts, who were working on a sort of machine.

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.

Gordo approaches Tracy and asks her if she is okay. She tells him she is, but asks him how she could make her hand stop trembling. He tells her to give it time.

Tracy gets ready to smoke a cigarette, but hears Gordo singing a song for her. She asks him to quiet down and tells him to stop. He tells her to enjoy wine, which she thinks is terrible. He tells her he knows her and knows she is always in control, which scares him, but he did not want to run away from her anymore. She opens the door to the place were they smoke and the two walk in.

#### Death

Gordo looks out the window of the room he was stuck in with Tracy. They realize the inside was depressurized. Gordo realizes the Soviets had infiltrated the base, so he tells Tracy to hide. Rossi tells the astronauts that he was being held by the Soviets, who were offering an exchange between him and their cosmonaut Rolan Baranov.

Gordo watches the news and tells Tracy there was nothing on Jamestown. He tells her that last time he was there he watched a lot of Bob NewhartW, which he nearly memorized and tells her that they would act them out. He tells her that the only thing he looked forward to was fighting with her on the communication device. He tells her that there used to be an antenna which they used which might still work.

Gordo manages to connect the antenna and Tracy sees that the American marines were moving forward. She calls them and they recognize her, telling them that she was fine. A cosmonaut approaches Vance from behind, so she tries to tell him, but to no avail. Vance is shot and dies, which horrifies Tracy.

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.

Gordo and Tracy start making an impromptu space suit and are told what to do by Molly. He is asked if he wants to change his mind, but he does not and shuts down their communication. Tracy tells him that she would be going with him since they had a shot at making it back together.

American astronauts are being forced to move while Gordo and Tracy covered themselves up. Helena Webster shoots at the Soviets, who fire back at her.

When Tracy and Gordo are covered in duct tape with their suits. Gordo tells Tracy he loves her, and she returns the words. They put their helmet on and run outside with time running. As they move, they start bleeding from the pressure as their suits started coming off. They manage to get it done and start running back. Gordo falls, so Tracy picks him up and they run together. When Tracy falls, Gordo picks her up again and they start losing sight. They passed the fifteen seconds, but made it back into the room and tried to pressurize it once again.

With everything finished, Rossi and the rest go to Gordo and Tracy's room. They're found slumped over, having succumbed to their wounds and dead due to the pressure.

### Posthumous

Following his death, Gordo, along with Tracy were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for their heroic acts during the nuclear meltdown. Some time after this, they were honored with a ceremony at Washington D.C. before being buried at Arlington National CemeteryW.

At the end of 1989, a statue of him and Tracy was installed in front of the main administration building of the Johnson Space Center.

Soon after the unveiling of the statue of the two NASA heroes, the Hollywood blockbuster "Love in the Skies", starring Dennis QuaidW and Meg RyanW as Gordo and Tracy, premiered internationally, telling their story in an overdramatized way.

## Behind the scenes

Gordo and Tracey Stevens are loosely based on the real life Mercury 7 astronaut Gordon\_CooperW who was also known as Gordo. The real Gordo Cooper also had a tumultuous relationship with his wife Trudy, during selection for astronaut training, he had lied about their relationship, claiming they had a happy marriage. In reality, they had separated 4 months earlier. The couple then kept up the pretence during his NASA career. Unlike Stevens, Cooper was on the backup crew of Apollo 10, instead of the prime crew. Like Stevens, he was also seen as having a somewhat lax attitude to training, and Deke Slayton only placed him as backup due to a lack of qualified astronauts. After being pushed back from potentially commanding Apollo 13 and 14 due to Slayton's lack of belief in him, Cooper retired from NASA in 1970, divorcing from Trudy shortly after.

## See also

* Tracy Stevens
* Danny Stevens
* Jimmy Stevens
* Ed Baldwin

## References

1. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 2, Episode 10: "The Grey" (1:06:18 - date on grave)
2. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 3, Episode 3: "All In" (15:15 - date on memorial)
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 1, Episode 5: "Into the Abyss" (@ 37:50)
4. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 1, Episode 1: "Red Moon" (@ 45:35)
5. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 1, Episode 3: "Nixon's Women"
6. ↑ Apple iOS app Time Capsule, chapter 6, wedding photo → Screenshot
7. ↑ Apple iOS app Time Capsule, chapter 6
8. ↑ Apple iOS app Time Capsule, chapter 6 → Screenshot
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 3, Episode 1: "Polaris" (press review)