The aliens have put a gadget to hide next to all that orbiting junk left by space flights as far back as the Gemini program. It latches onto SHADO's moon shuttle and pulls it into a steep entry angle.

This ep is terrific. The scenes featuring and angry Straker confronting General Henderson are tense. Both are at odds with each other, probably because they both share the same temperment. The ending rang true, Henderson admitted he was wrong, but he also warned Straker not to always assume he's right. Eps such as this are even more entertaining when viewed as an adult. Of the several older scifi shows I've been watching recently, UFO is probably the most entertaining. It really is a show written for adults. What a refreshing change. It's also not hard to suspend disbelief and get into the mood to watch this "retro-future". The show is terrific fun, and what other show features such fabulous miniature work!

If the aliens could place a craft in Earth orbit, why didn't it go after the most obvious target:SID?

Not only that, but why didn't the aliens destroy Moonbase, once the interceptors were out of range? It was wide-open, but they flew for SHADO headquarters (which somehow, Straker knew was the target, but I don't see how).

Also, the alien satellite was NOT destroyed by the end of the show. I guess later episodes would indicate that it was blown away eventually, as it never interfered with other Moon flights.

They had to re-use stock footage of the lunar module docking with the mothertship in the air, since when Paul's ship docks its nose isn't burned white from the re-entry. The lunar module is also unusual, in that there appears to be a cockpit dome on top with windows, but the interior we see has no windows, just controls in front and on the sides.

Its interesting to see a TV script from 1969 that presents the idea that space junk might be a threat to spaceflight. Very precient, as the amount of junk in orbit is increasingly a concern.

However the method of getting rid of space junk used in the episode is a bad one. Blowing something up merely turns one piece of space junk into many smaller ones. The proper way of getting rid of it is to somehow make it enter the Earth's atmosphere so it burns up.

For an organisation so obsessed with security SHADO makes a couple of big mistakes in this episode. First of all is Straker driving in his own car to the Astrophysical Commission building and entering it in plain site. What explaination would there be for a film studio executive doing that? Then there's Sky 1's overflight of the studio "at zero altitude." Not exactly the best way to keep what is presumably a top secret aircraft secret.

The name Steve Maddox was recycled for the lead character in early proposals for what eventually became Space: 1999.

Its interesting to see a TV script from 1969 that presents the idea that space junk might be a threat to spaceflight. Very precient, as the amount of junk in orbit is increasingly a concern.

However the method of getting rid of space junk used in the episode is a bad one. Blowing something up merely turns one piece of space junk into many smaller ones. The proper way of getting rid of it is to somehow make it enter the Earth's atmosphere so it burns up.

They weren't concerned as much with it being in the way, as with it being a hiding place for UFOs. By blowing it up, they made it (by UFO TV logic) harder for UFOs to hide there.

There's a lack of zero gravity inside the spaceship that blows up space junk. The astronauts hair (and every astronaut in the Lunar Module's subsequent episodes) isn't all poofed up like it does in real life, but also the clip board one astronaut uses settles back against the shelf or control panel it's resting on.

The alien satellite appears rightside up and upside down in this episode. We first see it with the flat magnetic pad on the bottom, but when it attacks the first lunar module, the flat pad is on top.

The huge 'PRESIDENT OF THE I.A.C.' label on Henderson's desk, instead of a small nameplate, is kind of Thunderbirdish in design. Quite the ego, Henderson!

When Straker returns to the studio near the end of the episode, he drives right through the open gates. The lever was down, and then it was raised so that he just drove in, without checking in with security. And you can't say it's because ther guard recognizes Straker's car, because previous episodes have shown Foster, Freeman, and Roper driving the exact same car.

Straker's hair in the scene with him driving with Foster is clearly a wig. It's so glittery and fake. Unless he;s using some kind of new-wave shampoo that 1980's studio execs use!

I'm re-watching these episodes from start to finish, as I did more than a decade ago, and I'm noticing something I forgot.
Namely that Paul Foster is one angry dude! Half the time the guy has a scowl on his face! The old saying 'If looks could kill...' applies to him!

Did Gerry Anderson really believe that we could have built such a moon base in a mere 11 years? Still, the man did have high hopes for us in regards to space.

In Real Life, no human has set foot on the Moon since 1972.

December 19, 1972.
FIFTY years! If you told me back in the '70's that we wouldn't go back to at least make some landings, let alone a real base, I would have had my hopes dashed and wouldn't believe it.
The promise of an exciting future in space travel and human expansion is still the product of TV shows and movies.
Ridiculous.

The Anderson's, Rod Serling, Gene Roddenberry, and even Irwin Allen, had better hopes in humanity than the politicians did.