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On April 17, 1970, the world held its breath as astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise launched themselves toward Earth at more than 20,000 miles per hour. They soon struggled to survive, for six days, in a spaceship damaged by an explosion in the oxygen tanks.
They had consumed most of their supplies, and now everything was reduced at the time of reentry. If they collide with Earth’s atmosphere at the wrong angle, they would either die in space or be burned by the heat of the reentry. Mission controllers in Houston, Texas, agonized during the last moments of the Apollo 13 travel.
As we celebrate the 50th anniversary From the trip to the moon that almost ended in disaster, nothing is more natural than remembering director Ron Howard’s fantastic movie Apollo 13. With Tom Hanks in a stellar performance as astronaut Jim Lovell, the film won a pair of Oscars in 1996.
But some wonders still remained in the minds of fans. Was the movie true to what really happened? Did anyone really say, “Houston, do we have a problem?” Is it true that the stress sparked heated discussions among the crew? Was the duct tape the surprise element that saved the mission?
Here we examine five familiar scenes from the film and discuss how they actually happened.
“Houston, we have a problem”
Tom Hanks delivered one of the most famous lines in film history. But did Lovell really say that?
The transcript of that exchange was not so simple. This is what was actually said for 16 seconds.
02: 07: 55: 19 Fred Haise:
“Houston, we’ve had a problem. Okay, Houston -“
02: 07: 55: 20 Jack Swigert:
“I think we have had a problem here.”
02: 07: 55: 28 Jack Lousma (CAPCOM):
“This is Houston. Say it again please. “
02: 07: 55: 35 Jim Lovell:
“Houston, we have had a problem.”
The film version of the exchange may not have been historically accurate, but the director found it more interesting and dramatic this way.
Discussions between the Apollo 13 crew
According to Jim Lovell, there were no arguments or fights, as described in the movie. The most important thing for the crew at the time was to focus on their biggest goal: to return home.
Again, the director used his artistic license to show some of the excitement that the astronauts were feeling at the time. This dramatic addition was one of the main reasons for the disagreement between the film’s director and the Apollo 13 team members.
The stressed commander
In one of the scenes, flight director. Gene Kranz he is seen losing control and yelling at members of mission control. This also never happened.
He says he can’t just lose control and stress the team. It was necessary to remain calm and act with precision to return them to safety.
Did the duct tape save the day?
At one point during the mission, the crew rushed to remove carbon dioxide from the air in the spacecraft. The lander was designed to support two people for two days, and was suddenly asked to keep three people alive for four days. Also, the square lithium hydroxide containers were not compatible with the round openings in the lander system.
In the movie, Kranz is seen asking the team to find a way to fit a square into a round opening. The device that saved the Apollo 13 crew was a triumph of ingenuity to save lives. Lives were saved by packing a plastic bag, the flight plan cobblestone cover and a hose from one of the space suits.
The crew placed the plastic bag over the container and sealed it with adhesive tape. One end of the hose was inserted into the plastic bag and the other end was connected to the circulation fan of the spacecraft, solving the CO2 problem in about an hour.
Failure is not an option
This is another very famous quote, attributed to Kranz, but in fact, he never said that. But since life imitates art, he wrote book with this phrase as title
Is the Apollo 13 movie accurate?
Actually, apart from one or two small details, the film is extremely accurate. That is one of the reasons why it was so successful, both with the public and critics, and with NASA astronauts who attended the premiere.
This was one of the principal’s biggest concerns. And I think he nailed it. You are not?
This article was originally published in The Cosmic Companion by Dr. Ana Luiza Dias. She obtained her Ph.D. in Psychobiology (Sleep Sciences) and is a specialist in biotechnology at the Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil. He is passionate about science, nature and biotechnology, and his goal is to impact people’s health and quality of life. You can read this original piece here.
Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion It is also available as a weekly podcast, broadcast by all major podcast providers. Tune in every Tuesday for updates on the latest astronomy news and interviews with astronomers and other researchers working to discover the nature of the Universe.
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