- [Kennedy] We choose to go to the moon. - [applause]
We choose to go to the moon.
[crowd cheering]
We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things,
not because they are easy, but because they are hard.
[Gene Cernan] Look at that.
That's beautiful.
It's got to be one of the most proud moments of my life. I guarantee you.
[Tom Hanks] During their flight to the moon,
the crew of Apollo 13 made a live color television broadcast back to Earth
that was largely ignored.
Moments after the end of the TV show,
an explosion occurred which put the lives of the crew in danger
and made it impossible for any further pictures to be seen back home.
The remaining dramatic days of the flight
played themselves out by way of only the faint radio voices of the crew,
the sketchy telemetry data from the crippled spacecraft,
and the reports from a media that suddenly found itself
as blind to the events as the rest of the world,
a world which had become bored with TV shows from outer space.
One of the biggest stories of the year became one with no TV pictures,
only talking heads,
all waiting to see whether or not three human beings would survive
a voyage from the Earth to the moon.
[radio static, slow beeping]
[radio static continues]
[Jack Swigert] Out the right window now, you can see our objective, the moon.
I'll zoom in and see if this brings it in better.
[Houston] We see it, 13.
[Jack] It's beginning to look a little bigger to us now.
I can see distinctly some features with the naked eye.
So far, though, the moon looks pretty gray with some white spots.
[Houston] Roger.
[Jim Lovell] Okay, Houston, for the benefit of our television viewers,
we've just about completed our inspection of Aquarius,
and now we're proceeding back into Odyssey.
[Houston] Okay, Jim, we think you ought to conclude it from there now.
[Jim] Anytime you want to terminate TV, we're all set to go.
[Houston] It's been a great show.
[Jim] Roger.
This is the crew of Apollo 13 wishing everyone there a nice evening.
Good night.
[slow beeping]
Okay, 1 3, we've got a few housekeeping details for you to take care of.
[Jack] Go ahead, Houston.
[telephone rings]
Press center.
No, I can talk.
No. Nothing.
[Houston] We'd like you to roll right to 0-6-0 and null your rates.
[Jack] Copy that, 0-6-0.
So, what are you doing for dinner?
[Houston] And we'd like you to check your C-4 thruster isolation valve.
[Swigert] Okay, Jack.
Well, how about lunch?
We've got one more item for you, 1 3, when you get a chance.
We'd like you to stir your cryo tanks.
[Jack] Okay, Houston, stand by.
Um, yeah, we got space.
As a matter of fact, we got a whole lot of space.
Yeah. That's why we call it the Space Center.
Dave, who delivers good takeout?
[Jim] Okay, Houston, I believe we have a problem here.
Uh, this is Houston. Say again, please.
[Jim] Houston, we've had a problem.
We've had a main B bus undervolt.
[Houston] Okay, 1 3, main B undervolt.
[Fred Haise] All right, Houston. We had a large bang
with the caution and warnings.
- What's that mean, a bang? - I don't know. Some kind of a jolt.
- A jolt? - They've had a main B bus undervolt.
- They're losing power? - I don't know.
- Instrumentation problem? - It's more serious than that.
They're venting something into space.
[Emmett] What could they be venting?
[man] They could be running out of oxygen and electricity.
It could've been a meteorite.
[Emmett] It could have been a reindeer.
- You have to improvise. - What makes you think that?
We got Freeman at the Cape. I got McAfee out of bed.
Emmett, you're on in 90.
I need handbooks for the command service lunar modules.
They're not having problems with the LM.
They'll have to go somewhere if Odyssey keeps losing oxygen.
- But... - Mr. Seaborn. Hi, Larry.
You know Warren Moburg, the new vice president at the news division.
I've been a great fan of yours ever since radio.
They're powering down Odyssey and moving to the LM.
- Get me mission rules. - On it.
Somebody... Julie, check the wires.
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then.
Let me introduce you to Brett Hutchins from the Chicago bureau.
It's an honor. I'm in town doing a piece on the Astros, the baseball team.
- Yeah. - He's not just a sports reporter.
- You give this boy any kind of a story... - Excuse me.
Glad to see you're working upper management.
A mole at CBS says they've got something about trajectory and spin.
- What about? - I don't know.
- Transcripts? - One minute.
- Somebody better have notes. - [man] I do. I need a minute.
We don't have it.
CBS is leading with the possibility of a meteorite hit.
- It wasn't a meteorite. - How do you know?
There are 48,700 electrical connections in the command module alone.
- Forty. - The chances of one fritzing
are a hell of a lot better than being hit by a meteorite.
Here it is. it was totally routine.
They asked them to roll right at 0-6-0 and null...
- Null their rates? - That's it.
- What else? - Something here about C-4 thrusters.
- Check the C-4 thruster valve? - Yeah.
- Bingo! - [cameraman] Coming to us in 30.
- Who are you calling? - Little birdie in the ops center.
They've had trouble with those thrusters before.
Ten cents says something inside that ship blew up.
- There is no time. - Larry, don't stand there.
Go find out what kind of crap they're feeding Cronkite.
It is not known yet just what happened.
Perhaps it was hit by a meteoroid, perhaps an explosion.
- Anything I can do? - Get the score of the Astros-Cubs game.
- What do you think? - I hope it wasn't a meteorite.
Doesn't matter. Those poor guys are screwed.
No one can predict these things precisely,
but there appears to be no better than a 10% chance
that the crew of Apollo 13 will make it home alive.
Rosen's predicting they're not going to make it back.
I just need a yes or a no.
Can you look me in the eye and tell me this came from outside the ship?
[man] We're on in 15. What's he doing?
I don't know what the hell he's doing.
Sorry to intrude, but we're on in ten.
Thank you.
- You owe me a dime. - I never took the bet.
- From our bureau in Houston... - Is he always like this?
Emmett Seaborn is following that story. Emmett?
Apollo 13 is America's 23rd manned spaceflight,
and tonight it appears no previous mission
has ever posed a greater risk to the lives of its crew.
- NASA's flight controllers, -[ringing continues]
Having successfully guided four missions to the moon
- and back, find themselves... - [clears throat]
Hi. It's Brett Hutchins. Are you watching your TV?
[Emmett continues on TV]
Yeah.
I'd love to be out there with you guys. Who loves baseball more than me?
But I got to stick around here.
I'm gonna try to pitch a piece on the astronauts' families.
I know they're on the razz. Blah, blah, blah.
Screw NASA. It's worth a shot, right?
Okay. Great. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
the astronauts will likely use the lunar module's engine
- to send them on a slingshot course... - Great. Thanks.
- Around the moon and back to Earth. - Thank you. Good-bye.
But is the relatively tiny Aquarius up to the task?
That, unfortunately, is a question that no one can answer.
[slow beeping]
1 3, Houston. We're water-critical in the LM.
We'd like to use as little as possible.
We'd like to make a free-return maneuver of a 16-foot-per-second burn
in about 37 minutes.
[Jim] Okay. Could you give us a little bit more time?
[Houston] We're working up a pad for it.
What do you think about doing it at that time?
[radio static]
[Jack] We'll give it a try, Houston, if that's all we've got.
- Press center, please hold. - [telephones ringing]
[people chattering]
[man] You're not telling us anything.
[woman] I can't make 15 minutes.
Copy.
We've tentatively scheduled the briefing for 11:30.
- Is that Houston time? - Yes.
That's 15 minutes after the final.
I'm sorry. We're doing the best we can.
- How do I get a desk? - Good luck.
Press center, please hold. Press center, please hold.
- Sam... - Not now, Shirley.
- New York Times wants an exclusive. - I'll call them later.
- Call their office. - I'll do it.
Hal, we're hearing that the astronauts are out of oxygen.
If they were, they wouldn't be breathing.
- They are breathing? - Yeah.
- Are they wearing space suits? - They're in shirtsleeves. Excuse me.
I've gotten calls from Reuters and the AP.
If we don't handle this, it's going to spread like kudzu.
"Crew equipped with suicide pills"?
- Are suicide pills in the crew rations? - The same pills the CIA uses?
Guys, there are no suicide pills, period.
I'm gonna cover this in detail at the press conference.
- If you'll excuse me. - The nets want to patch into the loop.
Cronkite wants to remote from ops, failing that, a pool.
I'll deal with Cronkite.
Protocol's gonna fly Jack Swigert's folks into town.
We're supposed to make sure there's no press...
Hal! Hal!
- And that. - How did he get here?
- Probably through a sewer. - They're finally putting you to work.
- What are you doing here? - I don't know if you've heard,
but I'm now the vice president's press representative
for the National Aeronautics and Space Council.
I heard. What are you doing here?
Surely you haven't forgotten Vice President Agnew's visit tomorrow?
Yeah, I guess it did kind of slip my mind.
[chattering]
[camera shutters clicking]
People,
I want to move this along as quickly as possible because, obviously,
we have matters to attend to in Mission Control.
I assume Deke Slayton, Chris Kraft,
and Colonel James McDivitt need no introduction.
Emmett?
The command module has never been powered down in flight before.
Are you certain you can power her back up?
While it's true that we've never done it before,
every time we've pushed the hardware, it's done more than we thought it would.
And we're confident that this is going to work.
- Are the astronauts' families... - Raise your hands, please. Max.
Deke, any more information on what may have caused the damage
to the service module?
No.
Frankly, that is still a mystery.
We probably won't know anything until we jettison the service module
and get a good look at the thing.
[clamoring]
With three astronauts crowded into the LM,
isn't there a chance the CO2 levels could get dangerously high?
That is something we are looking at.
We are studying ways to fit Odyssey's lithium hydroxide filters into Aquarius.
We don't have an answer yet.
- Will the astronauts' families... - What about reports that
the crew will run out of water and oxygen before reaching Earth?
Let me try to answer that.
Right now, Apollo 13 is on the non-free-return trajectory
it needed to reach its target at Fra Mauro.
Our first priority is to get it on a slingshot route
that will use the moon's gravity to whip it around the backside
and bring them back home.
We're overdue for the happy line.
Let's give them 20.
will put us on the slingshot course, but to answer Jerry's question,
it'll take four days for the crew to get home,
and we are concerned about consumables.
That's why we'll have a second speed-up burn,
a PC plus two,
at two hours after the craft has reached pericynthion, the far side of the moon.
It'll be about 8:00 this evening.
- If the situation remains stable... - Ignition.
we'll have the thing under control,
we'll return the crew safely to Earth within two and a half to three days.
Liftoff.
[Brett] Yeah, sir!
[Jim] Forty percent.
[Houston] Okay, Aquarius, you're looking good.
[Jim] Auto shutdown.
You're looking at 1685 now.
[Houston] You're go in the residuals. No trim required.
[Fred] No trim. Is that right?
[Houston] That's affirmative. No trim required.
[bottle opens]
Hey, Emmett.
I know we scheduled that interview with Gene tomorrow,
but we're going to have to postpone.
- I totally understand. - [ringing]
I'll make it up to you. When this is over,
I'll make sure you get the first exclusive.
- That's great. I appreciate that. - Sure.
- Can we talk about the press pool? - Come on. Don't start that.
We understand that you need to bring these men home.
- We don't want to compromise that. - I know.
But we're in the dark.
You want pool reports from the control center?
Come on, Hal.
Mission Control's across a courtyard 100 yards from here,
where we aren't allowed to be.
Unless we know what you know when you know it,
we start getting paranoid.
We'll have a press pool of two, one print, one broadcast,
rotated every two hours, in the visitors' gallery,
where they monitor the flight director's loop.
We hear everything he hears, but no taping or broadcast
of the flight controller's communications.
Damn it, Hal. You know it's the right thing to do.
- What about the families? - I'm sorry?
The families. Will NASA make them available for interviews or comments
as the situation unfolds?
- Well... - Brett Hutchins.
Well, Brett, these individuals are private citizens.
Oh, please. "Private citizens"? For the last ten years,
these private citizens have availed themselves of free clothes, free cars,
and every junket under the sun.
NASA paraded them around like prize poodles.
Now when the going gets tough, the tough issue a quarantine?
- Uh-huh. - [ringing continues]
The time to interview families is when the loved ones are safely back home.
- We all understand that, Hal. - Actually, I think it's very important...
Like I said, it's just not going to be a problem.
Appreciate that.
Thanks, Hal.
[Emmett] I think we're good. We just have to fine-tune it.
Yeah.
[Brett clears throat]
- Mr. Hutchings. - Hutchins. Uh, but call me Brett.
Ah...
- What are you doing? - Just trying to get a story.
Look, son, these are ordinary people, these family members, regular folks.
Who signed up to be historic figures, courtesy of the US taxpayer.
Nobody put a gun to their head and made them to do this.
Don't the shareholders have a right to know the real cost of the space program?
There are better ways to build a relationship with NASA.
I don't want a relationship with NASA.
Oh.
Okay.
Okay, well, you do your job however you do it,
but keep it out of my corner.
I'm trying to get something accomplished here.
Me too.
I'm standing in front of the house of Commander Jim Lovell,
- the astronaut who's trapped in orbit. - gathered with their priest,
who brings fervent prayers of a hopeful nature.
[man] Hey!
[excited chatters]
Hey, kid!
What's your name?
How do you spell it?
- Should we get this? - The paperboy?
Why don't we just get an interview with their dog?
[camera shutters click]
Let's get out of here. This is ridiculous.
It's the paperboy.
Good work, morons.
Give me a couple minutes.
Hi. I'm Brett Hutchins.
Are you one of the reporters?
Yeah. I'm...
My mom told me not to talk to reporters.
That's fine. You know what it is? I'm in a bind.
I wanted to know if I could use your telephone.
My mom told me to keep reporters off our property.
Of course. No, that's good. That's good.
I wouldn't want you to disobey your mom.
But, uh, I'll be real fast. I'll be on and off, you know.
Like a... Like a jackrabbit.
What's your name?
Um...
Doris.
Doris?
That's my mother's name.
[Brett] At the Lovell household, the vigil continues,
each passing moment bringing new hope and new terrors.
A mother comforting a young son,
pointing the path of his father's desperately prayed-for return.
- Stop. You shoot this out of a tree? - How did you know?
How do we know they're not pointing at the clouds saying,
"Look, I see a horsey. I see a ducky."
It's obvious what they're talking about.
- If you read lips. - This is brilliant reporting.
- This is reporting? - Yes.
[lighter flaring]
[Jim] Houston, we're burning 40%.
Houston, copy.
[slow beeping]
- [radio static] - [Jim] One hundred percent.
Roger, Aquarius. You're looking good.
Aquarius, you were looking good at two minutes, and still looking good.
[Jim] Roger.
[Houston] Don't forget descent rate, one off. Ten seconds to go.
This is Apollo Control at 79 hours, 28 minutes.
[Jim] Shutdown.
- The crew of Apollo 13 is currently... - [Houston] Roger. Shutdown.
[report continues]
[Jim] Are you reading our 1640, Houston?
[Houston] We're reading it. Good burn, Aquarius.
What's happening here?
History.
[Jim] Roger. Now we want to power down as soon as possible.
[Houston] Roger. Understand.
[Jim] Suggest maybe you read off the circuit breakers
you want us to power down, as you did yesterday for us.
[Houston] We have a procedure ready to send up to you in about two minutes.
Let us know when you're all ready to take it.
[Jim] Okay.
Oh, uh, Mr. Seaborn?
- Just going to the head, son. - Well, I'm sorry, sir.
[stutters] You can't leave the area without an escort.
If you can, wait till the next shift.
Son, are you telling me I got to wait an hour to take a piss?
Uh...
Uh, [stammers] no, of course not.
Well, thanks.
- Emmett. - Deke.
- You look as bad as I feel. - [laughs]
Let's not do this again sometime soon, huh?
[laughs]
Paul.
[sighs] Don't ask.
[Paul] People keep forgetting how cold it is up there.
It's hard to think straight when it's that cold.
[Emmett] Let's, uh, talk about the nuke problem.
How'd you know about the...
First of all, I would not characterize it a nuke problem.
All I know is the LM's got a nuclear reactor on board.
Well, technically, but it's got less than eight pounds of plutonium.
It's a battery. It's the battery for the lunar surface experiments.
- But instead of leaving it on the moon... - It's flying home to mama.
The boys at the Atomic Energy Commission are about to go apeshit.
Is that what you're gonna tell me?
Apparently, the AEC doesn't think it makes for good public relations
- to bring home radioactive material. - [toilet flushes]
Look, this battery is encased to survive a collision
or explosion without contaminating anything.
As long as it doesn't bonk somebody on the head.
You're not going to quote me, are you?
For Christ's sake, give me a little credit.
What's the plan?
The plan is to throw a wrinkle into a mission
that's already got 11,000 too many wrinkles in it.
It's like, "Forget about the astronauts, we got politics to worry about."
What I'm asking is, what do they want you to do about it?
We're floating an idea to adjust the trajectory
so we can dump the sucker in the deepest trench in the Pacific.
If we don't have enough to worry about already.
Emmett says he's got a major break.
Nuclear radiation, a trench, and the LM.
He thinks it's important enough to ask New York to cut in.
Your call.
Emmett. Yeah.
I know.
Look, maybe we should save this for the six.
I'll talk to you later.
Aquarius, is the [reception breaks] noise any better now?
[slow beeping]
[Jim] Negative.
[Houston] How do you read us now?
[Jim, reception breaking] We still have noise.
I'll tell you what we need.
See if you can't... [reception breaks] the right procedures here
before we get all balled up.
[Houston] Okay, Jim, we'll look at it some more.
[radio static]
[Jim] Freddo, I'm afraid this is going to be
the last moon mission for a long time.
Emmett.
Do you agree with Commander Lovell's assessment
that this will be our last flight to the moon?
[chatter]
We've all been in situations where we've found ourselves under pressure
and we make a comment we might have phrased differently
under other circumstances.
Having said that, there are a lot of questions
we have to have answers to...
- Didn't Agnew cancel his visit? - Yeah.
So what's he doing here?
[clamoring]
Emmett's story about...
- New York Times. - Your exclusive.
- Deep background, of course. - Okay, shoot.
This administration is urging NASA to develop an unmanned probe to Neptune.
[interview continues]
A probe to Neptune?
You might want to find room in today's story for that one.
We got three guys who may wind up orbiting Neptune themselves,
so column inches are a little tight, but I'll keep you in mind.
[reporters clamoring]
Your loss.
[reporter] Would you say the risks of manned spaceflight outweigh the rewards?
- Mr. Craig? - Yes.
Hi. Brett Hutchins.
Yes, I enjoyed your piece on the Lovell family.
Oh, good to hear it, 'cause I understand you're looking
to plant a story about a probe to Neptune.
[interview continues]
As a matter of fact, I am.
I know a way I can make it worth your while.
[aircraft passing]
- Mrs. Swigert. - Yes.
- Dr. Swigert. - And you're?
Uh, Jeff Jordy, sir. I'm with the NASA Office of Protocol. Welcome to Houston.
I'm sorry it had to be under such circumstances.
I hope you had a pleasant flight.
- I hope we didn't miss them. - I know.
- Oh, come on. Come on. - [honking]
[flight attendant] Hey!
- Just go! - I can't.
- Excuse us! - Okay.
There are the Swigerts right now. Come on. Go, go, go!
Thank you, Stanley Craig.
Hi, Dr. and Mrs. Swigert. Brett Hutchins, NTC.
How do you do? Get in okay?
- [Brett] Administration officials say -[ringing, chatter]
They remain committed to the exploration of space.
[man] This aired after the press conference this morning.
to endorse an unmanned mission to Neptune sometime in the near future.
Why is Brett Hutchins shilling for Stanley Craig?
- [reporting continues] - Sam, Jeff Jordy for you on line two.
Thanks, Shirl.
Langfitt.
Oh, no. Hold on.
Guess who just ambushed Jack Swigert's folks at the airport.
At Mission Control, I'm Brett Hutchins.
I know Jack's doing what he loves the most,
and I know he's in the best of hands.
God's hands.
Don't you think these people have been through enough?
- We got to get him out of there. - He gives it drama.
Lose it, please. Come on.
Brett, they want you on remote in 23 minutes.
- Oh. Yes. Okay. - We're leaving. Now.
- I can finish this. Trust me. Go ahead. - [telephone rings]
Edit 3.
Hold on. It's Emmett Seaborn for you.
He's not here. Right.
[Brett] There's a story that remains untold,
the story of the excruciating toll on the families
of these [clears throat] three brave men.
The... Thank you.
The untold story of the excruciating toll on the families. [repeats]
This afternoon I had an exclusive interview
with the parents of command module pilot Jack Swigert.
They're coming to us in 90.
[engine rumbles]
[Brett] There's a story that remains untold.
This afternoon I had an exclusive interview
with the parents of command module pilot Jack Swigert.
- Sarah. - How's my level?
- I need you to do me a favor, son. - Excuse me, we're on in 60.
Yeah. I need you to pull this story.
Excuse me?
Look, the fact is, you and I, we're both in this for the long haul.
- What's going on? - Hell if I know.
What are you talking about?
You don't want to run around here burning bridges.
Thank you for the advice, but...
No, I mean, to ambush a defenseless old couple like that,
it's beneath the dignity of our profession.
I'd love to debate ethics in journalism, but I have a job to do.
- There's a camera over your shoulder... - [phone rings]
- Yeah. We're on top of it. - [arguing continues]
- Get him out of there. - [Sarah arguing]
Tell Larry we're pulling the Swigerts footage.
- What? - What?
- We're going to rewrite your lead. - Damn it! Why...
[shouting] Now look. I'm trying to help you, son.
- Nobody wants to see a mother in pain. - They do if it's news.
That's not news! It's invasion of privacy!
You think America wants to know about PC burns and passive thermal rolls?
That's not news! That is Sominex!
Now, please, Emmett, leave me alone and just let me do my job, okay? Please.
[chatter]
Ten.
Five, four, three, two...
Thank you. A few hundred yards from where I'm standing,
over 1,000 journalists from 83 countries
are monitoring every beat and tick of this star-crossed mission.
But the untold story remains
of the excruciating toll the last few days have had
on the families of these three very brave men.
I believe in the space program. I believe it's worthy.
- I believe this country needs heroes. - [ringing]
I think it's not just the astronauts, it's all the men at NASA.
They're all heroes.
And I know that Jack would...
[exhales shakily]
[sobs]
That's a great piece of film.
[Brett] It's been said that Apollo represents
the greatest engineering achievement in the history of mankind.
This, we're told, is the pride of our civilization,
the triumph of technology over nature.
Hit us while we're down, huh?
But Apollo 13 teaches us that the price of technology
is measured not in dollars, but in a mother's love for her son.
- At Mission Control, I'm Brett Hutchins. - [wind blows]
Kid can't even write in English.
Listen to this:
"The price of technology is measured not in dollars,
but in a mother's love for her son."
You know, if he keeps this up, they're going to shut us out.
- In ten. - I gotta go.
And from our bureau in Houston where Emmett Seaborn is following that story.
The astronauts of Apollo 13 face new uncertainties
as they prepare for tomorrow's fiery descent through the Earth's atmosphere.
The first big test will come early tomorrow
when the crew brings Odyssey's electrical systems...
- What do you want me to say to him? - Tell him it's the assignment.
- I don't think it's gonna wash. - Don't worry about it.
have survived their power-saving slumber of the past three days.
- When do you think we'll know that? - We should know in a few hours.
Thanks, Emmett.
- And we're clear. - [man] And we're out.
Okay.
[chatter]
Emmett, uh, New York would like you to stay in the studio tomorrow.
- Here? - Yeah, uh...
They think it would be better if you were holding down the fort here,
and if Brett or somebody fed the descent reports in to you from Mission Control.
Feeds them to me? Who's on air?
- Well, you both are, but... - Then he feeds them to New York.
That's where the show originates, Larry.
What am I doing?
Providing perspective.
You could take it up with New York.
I shouldn't have to beg.
- [slow beeping] - Aquarius, Houston.
[Jim, radio static] Go ahead.
[Houston] Okay, here's the big story.
Your attitude looks good except in rolls,
so we'd like you to do the following:
in minimal impulse pings, we'd like you to trim to zero pitch,
which is about where you are now, to 008 degrees in roll...
Okay.
which is about 16 degrees from your present roll attitude...
Here you are. Pages one and two. Page three is on its way.
Okay, thank you.
[Houston continues instructions]
Hi, excuse me. Uh, it's Brett.
Could you help me? I'm not sure...
How does that sound? Over.
[radio static]
[Jim] I'm rolled the wrong way, is that what you're saying?
[Houston] That's right, Jim. I'm sorry.
[man] No comment.
[Emmett] Apollo 13 is 45,000 miles from Earth
and moving at 7, 000 miles an hour,
its course now adjusted,
so we should see it land in the Pacific some five hours from now.
The helicopter carrier Iwo Jima is on station there,
and the weather, which has been on again, off again, is now on again.
Some of the spacecraft's most critical moments are approaching.
In about 20 minutes, at 7:23 Houston time,
the astronauts will jettison their crippled service module.
And at 10:53, they will cast off the lunar lander
- that has been their lifeboat -[ringing]
Ever since the power failed on the main ship some 82 hours ago.
What we don't know in the final hours of this extraordinary mission
is how the damaged spacecraft will stand up to the trauma
of re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.
How do we tell whether the heat shield's been damaged?
Uh, we drop it through the atmosphere and see if they survive.
Were Odyssey's heat shields damaged by the explosion?
Will the pyrotechnics that deploy the parachutes
needed to slow the capsule
from a fatal 300 miles an hour
to a gentle 20 for splashdown function properly?
Emmett, we're getting word from Brett Hutchins
that the astronauts are about to jettison the service module.
Uh, yes. Howard, that procedure...
[Howard] Why don't we go directly to Brett and get it from the source?
Thank you, Howard.
In a few minutes, the astronauts aboard the crippled Apollo 13
will jettison their service module,
which was mysteriously damaged only two days into the mission,
forcing them to abandon all hopes of a lunar landing.
With any luck, the crew will get a view of the damaged service module
to determine what may have caused the cataclysmic malfunction.
[exhales]
- Are we icing Brett Hutchins? - You bet.
Don't.
We have rules, Hal. We can't reward someone for breaking them.
Sam, we can't afford to alienate a network.
This is Apollo Control Houston
at 140 hours, 15 minutes into the mission.
Apollo 13 presently 34,350 nautical miles out from the Earth,
traveling at a speed of 12,846 miles per hour.
Meanwhile, in the Mission Control viewing room,
the crowd is beginning to increase.
Already here are Senator Phil Hart of Michigan,
Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Science and Technology,
Representative George Miller of California,
Chairman of the House Space Committee...
For the press conference, the senator will make the opening statement.
I think the congressman's been more closely identified with the program.
- You have absolutely no shame, Fred. - Uh, gentlemen.
Sorry, boys, but Administrator Paine should make the opening...
Gentlemen.
If they don't make it through re-entry, who wants to go first?
[Jack] Okay, Houston. Do we have a go for pyro arm?
[Houston] Stand by for a go on pyro arm and LM jettison.
The astronauts are about to jettison the lifeboat that's served them so well.
Are there any dangers in this maneuver?
[Brett] This is a moment
of high suspense for the astronauts, their families,
and everyone on the ground at Mission Control.
Oh, just answer the goddamn question.
reverse thrusters to back them away from the LM.
They've wanted to hold on to their LM lifeboat for as long as possible.
[Jim] Okay, the SCC's logic is on.
[Houston] Okay, just copied that.
You are go for pyro arm, go for LM jettison.
[Jack] Real fine. Ten seconds.
Five.
LM jettisoned.
Okay, that was the LM
- at 1:41:30 ground elapsed time. - Copy that. Farewell, Aquarius.
10:43 a.m. Yeah.
That's nice. "Farewell, Aquarius, and we thank you."
Yeah.
This is Apollo Control at 142 hours, 30 minutes.
Apollo 13 is presently 6,000 miles from Earth,
traveling at a speed of 25,000 miles per hour.
Re-entry expected to begin in ten minutes.
[Emmett] In four minutes, the leading edge of the command module
will bite into the atmosphere.
As the accelerating ship encounters the thickening air,
friction will begin to build,
generating temperatures of 4, 000 degrees across the face of the heat shield.
If this energy generated by the infernal descent
were converted to electricity,
- it would equal 86,000 kilowatt hours... - Brett. Come on.
enough to light up the city of Los Angeles for a minute and a half.
- If it were converted to kinetic energy, -[ringing]
It could lift every man, woman, and child ten inches off the ground.
For the craft, however, it will have but one effect.
As temperatures rise, a dense cloud of ionized gas will surround the ship,
reducing communication to a hash of static for about three minutes.
If radio contact is restored at the end of this time,
controllers will know that the heat shield is intact
and the spacecraft did survive.
If not, they will know that the crew was consumed in flames.
Odyssey, Houston.
We had one last time around the room. Everybody says you're looking great.
[Jim] I know all of us want to thank all you guys down there
for the very fine job you did.
[Houston] That's the nicest thing anybody's ever said.
LOS in about a minute or a minute and a half.
In entry attitude, we'd like Omni Charlie.
And welcome home.
[Jim] Thank you.
[radio static]
Apollo 13 is re-entering the atmosphere.
We are awaiting reacquisition of signal in approximately three minutes.
Odyssey, Houston. Standing by. Over.
Odyssey, Houston. Standing by.
[Jack] Okay, Joe.
- [Houston] Okay, we read you, Jack. - [cheering]
- We're looking at the weather on TV, -[applause]
And it looks just as advertised, real good.
A remarkable end to a four-day ordeal as the astronauts streak homeward...
Howard, we still have to wait for the drogue chutes
and then the main parachutes.
They could have been damaged by exposure to low temperatures
when the heating elements were powered down.
[Howard] I guess it's not over till it's over.
[Emmett] The Soviets learned that almost three years ago
when the parachute of their Soyuz 1 capsule failed to open,
and cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov was killed on impact.
[scoffs] Jesus. Anything make him happy?
He's just filling air.
[Jack] We've got a couple of good drogues.
There go the mains.
- [sighs] - [cheers]
[cheering continues]
[Howard] Emmett, it looks good from here. What do you think?
[exhales audibly]
I, uh, I think it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.
[sniffs, cries]
[laughs]
[Fred] Houston, this is Odyssey.
We're in stable one, the ship is secure, and our buoyancy's holding.
[Emmett] What did we learn?
Perhaps the limits of technology,
at least when it comes to protecting us from our own hubris.
But those are issues for another day.
What matters now is that three great men are safely aboard the USS Iwo Jima,
and steaming for home.
In Houston, this is Emmett Seaborn.
- [Howard] Thank you, Emmett. - [cameraman] We're clear.
Ah.
- I'm getting too old for this. - Good job, Emmett.
Ah, thanks.
Oh.
[crew chatter]
Emmett, that was a hell of a job. Could we talk...
Warren, I've been promised the first post-mission interview with Gene Kranz.
If I was at Mission Control instead of here,
I'd be doing it right now instead of half an hour from now.
You get it?
[sighs]
I get it, all right.
[chatter, telephone ringing]
- Where the hell were you? - At our downtown spa.
- Oh, Mr. Seaborn. - Where is he?
- Who? - Gene to me, Mr. Kranz to you.
Oh, well, we're setting up in a VIP room.
Okay. Let's go.
Uh. Um, Mr. Seaborn.
[sighs]
[door closes]
Sorry. [chuckles, pants]
Hey, Emmett.
- You getting too big for me now? - [chuckles]
- Congratulations, Gene. Hell of a job. - Thank you, sir.
Emmett, what are you doing here?
Huh?
They told me you were staying downtown.
Who told you that, Hal?
Heck, you're here. Why not let the "A" team take over? Huh?
Mr. Kranz.
Excuse me, gentlemen.
[door opens]
Yes.
Look, Emmett, if it's a problem, you can do the interview.
I don't mind.
No.
No, it's okay.
I, uh...
I got work to do.