Day of Disaster

Brains watches TV coverage of the upcoming MSP launch in England. The mission is being launched from England rather than Cape Kennedy because Mars' position relative to Earth makes it more feasible. The broadcast foreshadows the international reach of the mission. The moment sets the stage for the frantic salvage later.

Two technicians, Bill and Frank, perform pre-flight checks aboard the MSP rocket. The rocket is transported to the launch site on the back of a transporter truck. The unusual relocation of the launch adds a sense of urgency to the routine preparations.

The Allington River Suspension Bridge collapses under the shipment's weight after a storm. The rocket sinks to the riverbed, buried under wreckage. The impact triggers the probe's automatic countdown, revealing that in 12 hours the rocket will blast off from this compromised position and be destroyed.

Brains and Penelope race to Allington in FAB 1, with Parker at the wheel. The urgency is clear as they join the effort to salvage the doomed rocket.

Penelope and Parker fire the car's machine gun at abandoned warehouses to distract the emergency services. Brains uses the moment to slip into the bridge control room and observe the plan to lift the rocket. The fire and distraction create the opportunity for a covert check of salvage efforts.

The Controller dismisses Brains' suggestion to call International Rescue and orders him to keep out of the way. Brains quietly contacts the Tracys using his wristwatch videophone, stunning the onlookers who mistake it for ordinary talk. This covert call signals International Rescue's imminent involvement.

Jeff dispatches Scott, Virgil and Gordon in Thunderbirds 1 and 2, with Gordon carrying Thunderbird 4. The team heads to Allington to support the salvage and rescue operation.

At the bridge, the crane proves too heavy for the operation and capsizes, sinking with the rocket. The salvage attempt collapses as the clock ticks toward catastrophe.

The Tracys arrive and set to work freeing the nose cone. Thunderbird 4 is launched and Gordon uses its plasma torch to break off wreckage, while Virgil lifts debris clear with Thunderbird 2's grab lines.

With time running out, Brains orders Gordon to torpedo the wreckage to disperse it, then ram the nose cone to separate it from the rocket. The bold maneuver succeeds, lifting the nose cone to the surface.

The nose cone is raised to safety and carried away by Thunderbird 2. The rocket finally lifts off from the river, streaking into the sky. Moments later, the damaged craft explodes, ending the perilous mission.

Brains is overjoyed and dances in the control room, fueling suspicions that he is an escaped mental patient. He is then referred to psychiatrist Dr. R.G. Korda, who questions his habit of talking to watches.

Penelope arrives to take Brains home, and as they leave, Dr. Korda is dismayed to see Penelope talking into her compact, which is actually a concealed transceiver calling the Tracys.