We've had to learn how to fly all over
again, but we are doing better now.

- Uh, roger that, Aquarius.
- Have him close it out.

Jack, we can close out
your procedure now.

Do we know for sure that we can
power this thing back up?

It's gonna get
awfully cold in here.

Copy that, Jack.
We'll just have to deal with that later.

- Computer off.
- We're clear.

We're going to the LEM.

We confirm shutdown, Jack.
Lunar module now in control.

Roger that, Houston.
This is Odyssey signing off.

Freddo, we're gonna have
to execute some sort of burn.

It's just a matter of when.

- Did they shut us all down in there?
- Yeah.

Didn't think we'd
be back in here so soon.

Houston, how far off course
do you project we are?

Over.

Okay, people, listen up!

Gentlemen, I want you all
to forget the flight plan.

From this moment on, we are
improvising a new mission.

Sorry about that.

- We'll get somebody to look at that.
- Find a bulb around here.

How do we get our people home?

They are here.

- Do we turn 'em around,
straight back, direct abort? - Yes!

- Gene--
- I can't guarantee the burn yet.

No, sir, no, sir, no, sir!

We get them on
a free-return trajectory.

It's the option with the fewest
question marks for safety.

I agree with Jerry. We use the moon's
gravity to slingshot them around.

- The LEM will not support three guys
for that amount of time. - It barely holds two.

We've got to do a direct abort. We do an
about-face, bring the guys right home.

Get 'em back soon.
Absolutely.

We don't even know if
the Odyssey's engine's working.

If there's been serious damage
to this spacecraft--

They blow up and they die!

- That is not the argument!
We are talking about time! - Jesus! Come on!

I'm not gonna sugarcoat this for you!

Okay, hold it.
Let's hold it down.

Let's hold it down. The only engine
with enough power for a direct abort...

is the S.P.S.
on the service module.

From what Lovell has told us, it could
have been damaged in an explosion,

so let's consider
that engine dead.

We light that thing up,
could blow the whole works.

It's just too risky.
We're not gonna take that chance.

About the only thing the command
module is good for is reentry.

That leaves us with the LEM,
which means free-return trajectory.

Once we get
the guys around the moon,

we'll fire up the LEM engine,
make a long burn,

pick up some speed
and get 'em home as quick as we can.

Gene, I'm wondering what
the Grumman guys think about this.

We can't make any guarantees.
We designed the LEM to land on the moon,

not fire the engine out there
for course corrections.

Well, unfortunately, we're not
landing on the moon, are we?

I don't care what anything was designed
to do. I care about what it can do.

Let's get to work.
Let's lay it out, okay?

CAPCOM. Flight, he says
it will be ready in time.

After this burn, we've got to build
some time in the flight plan for sleep.

- Run it by the F.A.O.
- I've run it by the F.A.O.

Do we know how long
we're gonna fire that burn?

- He specifically wanted a quote from a flight director.
- Who wanted a quote?

- The President.
- The President?

Nixon. He wants odds.

We are not losing the crew.

I gotta give him odds.
Five to one against?

- Three to one?
- I don't think they're that good.

We are not
losing those men!

How long are they
gonna have to burn the engine?

Look, tell him...
three to one.

Expect loss of signal
in less than one minute.

When we pick you back up we will
have your P.C. plus two burn data.

Roger that, Houston. We'll hear
from you again at acquisition of signal.

You wanna look?

Oh, look at that.

Wow.

Aquarius, that's 30 seconds
until loss of signal.

Mare Tranquillitatis.

Neil and Buzz's old neighborhood.

Comin' up on Mount Marilyn.

Jim, you gotta
take a look at this.

I've seen it.

Aquarius, this is Houston.

We expect loss of signal
in approximately ten seconds.

So long, Earth.
Catch you on the flip side.

When you go
into the shadow of the moon...

and the moon is
between you and the sun,

you see stars that are more brilliant
than anything you've ever seen...

on the clearest nights
here on Earth.

And then you pass into the lunar sunrise
over the lunar surface.

It must be an awe-inspiring sight.

I-I-I can't wait to see it myself.

The problem now is not so much
a question of an adequate oxygen supply,

but it is the rate
of consumption of water,

which is vitally needed
for the cooling operations...

to maintain the electronic systems
and so forth.

Look, it's Fra Mauro.

I can see our landing site.

Wow.

Look at the Tsiolkovskii crater.

I can't believe how bright
the ejecta blanket is.

It's like snow. It's beautiful.

That's Mare lmbrium to the north.

Thirteen, this is Houston.

We're reading your telemetry.
It's good to see you again.

Good to see you too, Houston.

We are picking you up at a velocity
of 7,062 feet per second...

at a distance from the moon
of 56 nautical miles.

Stand by for your
P.C. plus two burn data.

I had an itch to take this baby down,
do some prospectin?

Damn, we were close.

Gentlemen,
what are your intentions?

I'd like to go home.

We got a burn coming up.

We're gonna need a contingency
if we lose comm with Houston.

Freddo, let's get an idea where
we stand on the consumables.

Jack, get into the Odyssey...

and bag up all the water you can
before it freezes in there.

Let's go home.

Aquarius, we got some P.C.
plus two burn data for you fellas.

So you're telling me you can
only give our guys 45 hours?

That brings them to about there.

Gentlemen, that's not acceptable.

Gene, Gene, we've got
to talk about power.

Whoa, whoa, guys!
Power is everything!

- Power is everything.
- What do you mean?

Without it, they don't talk to us,
they don't correct their trajectory,

they don't turn
the heat shield around.

We gotta turn everything off, now.
They're not gonna make it to reentry.

- What do you mean, everything?
- With everything on, the LEM draws 60 amps.

At that rate, in 16 hours
the batteries are dead, not 45.

And so is the crew.
We gotta get them down to 12 amps.

- Twelve amps?
- How many?

You can't run a vacuum cleaner
on 12 amps, John.

We gotta turn off-- We have to
turn off the radars, cabin heater,

instrument displays,
the guidance computer, the whole smash.

Whoa! Guidance computer.
What if they need to do another burn?

They won't even know
which way they're pointed.

The more time we talk,
the more juice they waste.

- That's the deal?
- That's the deal.

Okay, John. The minute we finish
the burn, we'll power down the LEM.

All right.

Now in the meantime, we're gonna have
a frozen command module up there.

We're gonna have to power it up using
nothing but the reentry batteries.

- That's never been tried.
- We've never even simulated it before.

Well, we're gonna
have to figure it out.

I want people in our simulators
working reentry scenarios.

I want you to find every engineer who
designed every switch, every circuit,

and every light bulb
that's up there.

Then talk to the guy in the assembly
line who actually built the thing.

Find out how to squeeze every amp
out of both of these goddamn machines.

I want this mark all the way
back to Earth with time to spare.

We never lost
an American in space.

We're sure as hell not
gonna lose one on my watch.

Failure is not an option.

Ken?

Ken?

- What? Huh?
- Good, you're not dead.

I've been trying to get in touch
with you for 45 minutes.

Jesus, John,
what are you doing here?

I gotta get you in the simulators.
We got a ship to land.

- What?
- There's been an explosion.

Oxygen tanks are gone. Two fuel cells
gone. Command module shut down.

- What about the crew?
- Crew's fine so far.

Trying to keep them
alive in the LEM.

We're gonna have to shut
that down pretty soon too.

We got a lot of people working
the numbers on this one, Ken.

Nobody's too sure how much power
we're gonna have when we hit reentry.

The command module's gonna be
frozen up pretty good by then.

You see this ammeter rise over 20
at any point, power-up is no good.

We see it spike, that's sayonara
for the guidance computer.

Our guys can't reenter. Okay?

How much power do we have
to play with?

Barely enough to run this
coffee pot for nine hours.

- Go.
- Yeah, Ken Mattingly just got here.

Copy. He's here.

They've been losing heat
since the accident.

They're gonna start getting water
condensation on the control panels.

- Ken, glad you're here. You know what's going on?
- John's brought me up to speed.

- What do we have left in the batteries?
- We don't really know.

We gotta get started on
some shortcuts for power-up.

You know how short?

It's all in the sequencing. If we can
skip whatever we don't absolutely need,

- turn things on in the right order--
- I agree.

- You started on a procedure?
- The engineers have tried, but it's your ship.

- We gotta get you in there.
- Okay.

Frank, I need the sim
cold and dark.

Give me the exact same conditions
they've got in there now.

- I need present status of every instrument.
- You got it.

I need a flashlight.
That's not what they have up there.

Don't give me anything
they don't have on board.

Let's get this show on the road.
Put him in space, fellas.

Okay, Houston, the quad heater
circuit breakers are open.

Copy that.

We're using the forward omni
when the earth's in the window,

and we're switching to aft omni
when we see the moon.

We copy that, Thirteen.

Aquarius, we don't want you
to make any more waste dumps.

The venting may
push you off course.

- Oh, Christ.
- What's up?

No more waste dumps.
We're just gonna have to store it.

Jack, we're gonna need
some more urine bags.

Okay, Houston, that leaves us
with just the computer,

which I'm shutting down now.

And that's it.

We just put Sir lsaac Newton
in the driver's seat.

Is it A.M. or P.M.?

A.M. Very, very A.M.

Haise is running a temperature,
and none of them has slept.

I can't order these guys to go to sleep.
Could you sleep up there?

It's gonna get awful cold
in there for those guys.

Gene, we have a situation
brewing with the carbon dioxide.

We got a CO2 filter problem
on the lunar module.

- Five filters on the LEM.
- Meant for 2 guys for a day and a half.

- I told the doc--
- They're already up to 8 on the gauges.

Anything over 15 and you get
impaired judgment, blackouts,

- beginnings of brain asphyxia.
- What about the scrubbers on the command module?

- They take square cartridges.
- The ones on the LEM are round.

Tell me this isn't
a government operation.

This just isn't a contingency
we've remotely looked at.

Those CO2 levels
are gonna be getting toxic.

I suggest you invent a way to put
a square peg in a round hole rapidly.

Okay, people, listen up.

The people upstairs have handed us
this one, and we gotta come through.

We gotta find a way
to make this...

fit into the hole for this...

using nothing but that.

- Let's get it organized.
- Okay, let's build a filter.

Better get some coffee
going too, someone.

The Haise family
lives in El Lago, Texas.

His wife, Mary,
is from Biloxi, Mississippi.

When Fred Haise
was growing up in Biloxi,

he may have looked
ahead to a fine family,

but he never dreamt of flying.

I'd never flown really
before I went into the service,

and I only went into the flying business
as a means to getting a commission.

- Good morning.
- Henry. Don't you ever sleep?

- I have a request from the news people.
- Uh-huh.

They want to put
a transmitter up on the lawn.

Transmitter?

It's kind of a tower
for a live broadcast.

They didn't care about this mission.
They didn't even run Jim's show.

Well... it's more dramatic now.
Suddenly people are--

Landing on the moon wasn't dramatic
enough for them. Why should not landing be?

Look, l, um, realize
how hard this is, Marilyn,

but the whole world
is caught up in it.

- It's the biggest story since--
- No, Henry.

Those people don't put one piece
of equipment on my lawn.

If they have a problem with that,
they can take it up with my husband.

He'll be home on Friday.

When you are sad and lonely

And have no place to go

Come to see me, baby
and bring along some dough

And we'll go honky tonkin'
Honky tonkin?

Honky tonkin' honey baby

We'll go honky tonkin'
round this town

Hey, Freddo.

It's too cold in there.

Yeah.

That's a nice one of Mary.

- You don't look too good, Freddo.
- I'll survive.

- There's aspirin in the medical kit.
- I took some.

Jim, I'm all right.

It was an accident,
Mary gettin' pregnant.

You should have seen the look
on my face when she told me.

Well, that has
a tendency to happen.

Yeah.

I wonder if it's
a boy or a girl.

You're gonna find out
soon enough.

Sure.

I never dreamed I'll ever get
to do something like this:

come up here on a real mission.

Most of the guys
I graduated high school with...

never even left home,
and here I am.

Oh, yeah... here you are.

It hurts when I urinate.

Well, you're not
gettin' enough water.

I'm drinking my ration
the same as you.

I think old Swigert
gave me the clap.

He's been pissin' in my relief tube.

Well... that will be a hot one at
the debriefing for the flight surgeon.

That's another first
for America's space program.

Listen, um... I've been
going... over some stuff,

and I'm a little worried about this cold
affecting our battery efficiency.

We quit heatin' the glycol to save
water and power, so that's not helping.

It could cost us
amp hours on the back end?

- That's a possibility.
- I've been goin?over the numbers again.

Have they called up
with a reentry plan yet?

- We're comin' in too shallow and fast.
- We're workin' on something. Hold on.

I can't remember
the ratio to temperature.

We got no references on board.

Let's see if Houston
can pull up the mill specs.

Listen, listen! They gave us too much
Delta V. They had us burn too long.

At this rate we're gonna skip right out of
the atmosphere, and we're never gonna get back.

What are you talkin' about?
How'd you figure that?

I can add.

- They've got half the Ph.D.s on the planet
working on this. - Houston says we're on the money.

What if they made a mistake and
there was no way to reverse it?

Do you think they would tell us?

- There's no reason to tell us.
- What do you mean? That's bullshit!

There's a thousand things
that have to happen in order.

We are on number eight.
You're talking about number 692.

In the meantime, I'm trying to
tell you we're coming in too fast.

I think they know it, and that's why
we don't have a goddamn reentry plan.

That's duly noted.
Thank you, Jack.

Ow!

- Goddamn this piece of shit!
- Hey!

- This piece of shit's gonna get you home.
- All right.

That's because that's
the only thing we got left, Jack!

- What are you saying, Fred?
- I think you know what I'm saying.

Now wait a minute.
All I did was stir those tanks.

What was that gauge reading
before you hit the switch?

- Don't tell me how to fly the damn C.M.!
- You don't know, do you?

They brought me in to do a job!

They asked me to stir the tanks,
and I stirred the tanks!

- Stop kicking yourself in the ass.
- This is not my fault!

No one is saying it is.

If I'm in the left-hand seat when
the call comes up, I stir the tanks.

Yeah, well, tell him that.

I just asked you what the gauge
was readin? and you don't know!

Look, we're not doing this.
We are not gonna do this.

We're not gonna go bouncing
off the walls for ten minutes...

because we're just gonna end up right
back here with the same problems!

Try to figure out
how to stay alive!

Aquarius, this is Houston.

- Are we on VOX?
- No, we're not on VOX.

Yeah, Houston, this is Aquarius.
Go ahead.

Yeah, Jim, could you check
your CO2 gauge for us?

Yeah, Houston,
we were just looking at that.

Our CO2 measurement has jumped
four notches in the last hour.

That can't be right.
I went over those numbers three times.

Jim, that sounds about right.
We were expecting that.

That's very comforting, Houston.
What do we do about it?

We're working on a procedure
down here for you.

- Do you copy?
- Oh, Christ.

All right, Houston, we're
standing by for those procedures.

Christ, I know why
my numbers are wrong.

I only figured it
for two people.

Maybe I should just
hold my breath.

The deadly CO2 gas is poisoning the
astronauts with every breath in and out.

Heads up. Heads up.

- Oh! Go, go, go, go!
- Someone get that. Damn.

Heads up, people.
Look out now.

- What's this?
- That's what they gotta make.

- I hope you got the procedures for me.
- Right here.

That's it?

All right, Aquarius, this is Houston.

Do you have a flight plan?

Affirmative, Andy.
Jack's got one right here.

Okay, we have an unusual
procedure for you here.

We need you
to rip the cover off.

He wants you to rip the cover
off the flight plan.

With pleasure.

The other materials
you're gonna need here are...

- a lithium hydroxide canister--
- Two, two.

Two lithium hydroxide canisters.
I'm sorry.

- A roll of gray tape.
- Duct tape.

Duct tape. You need an L.C.G. bag--
Two L.C.G. bags.

The red suit hoses,
and you've got the flight plan cover.

- Can you give me a timetable?
- Henry! Henry!

What about their level
of carbon dioxide?

It's, uh, climbing.

You're saying that they're
almost out of breathable air?

Wait a second. That's not what he said.
He said we're working on it.

You want to cut
the duct tape three feet long.

- Tell him to use his arm.
- Just use your arm.

- It's a good arm length.
- I see what you're getting at. Hold on.

Jack, tear that piece of tape
down the middle lengthwise.

- All right?
- Hold on, Houston.

While the astronauts appear to have
enough oxygen to keep them alive,

one thing they have too much of
is carbon dioxide.

With each breath,
the three men expel...

more of the poisonous gas
into the lunar module cockpit,

and the scrubbers intended to
keep the atmosphere breathable...

are quickly becoming saturated.

Oh, shit. I tore it.

Shit!

Houston, what do we do if we
ripped the bag? Can we tape it?

- They just tore the bag.
- Oh, no.

Uh, stand by.
What should I tell 'em to do?

They should have one more.

But they've still got
a long way to come.

They are now working on their backup
facilities, their emergency facilities.

The problem is, if anything more
goes wrong, they're in real trouble.

As most of you are aware, there is
no rescue possible in space flight.

A-Any rescue system the space agency
has long since calculated--

Hold this a minute.

Since any rescue system
the space agency calculated--

- One sock.
- Once you have the sock in place,

- we're gonna want you to bungee...
- Work it in.

the entire filter assembly
to the bulkhead,

- right above the LEM canister.
- We're getting close to 15.

So how does this flight compare to other
emergency situations you've faced?

I'd have to say that this is
the most serious situation...

we've ever encountered
in manned space flight.

- Houston, filter's in place.
- Cabin gas return to egress.

Suit circuit relief to close.

- CO2 canister select to secondary.
- All right.

Here goes.

I can hear air moving.

Just breathe normal, fellas.

Aquarius, please advise on CO2 status.

Yeah, Houston, we're taking
a look at those numbers now.

We're still holding
close to 15, Houston.

Roger that. Standing by.

Houston, the CO2 level
has dropped to nine...

and it is still falling.

- Yes!
- Great. Good job, you guys.

That is good to hear, Aquarius.

And you, sir,
are a steely-eyed missile man.

Okay, spacecraft control to computer.

Damn!

Damn.

We overloaded.

We used way too much power.

There must be a sneak circuit
between step seven and ten.

- Which one has the leak?
- Don't know that yet, John.

The sequence was wrong. We just have to
go back and try 'em one at a time.

You need a break, Ken?

If they don't get one,
I don't get one.

Well, if it won't work,
get me another one.

- My son's supposed to be on.
- I know, Mrs. Lovell.

- Hi, Blanch.
- They can't fix a thing in this place.

Blanch, it's Marilyn.

Hi, Grandma.

- I was gonna see Jimmy.
- I know. I know.

We came to tell you something.

There's been an accident.
Jimmy's okay. He's all right.

But he's not gonna get
to walk on the moon.

Well, they said he was.

I know. I know.

Um... that was before.

Now there's been an explosion,
and they're all okay.

They're all right.
But now they're just going to...

try to figure out
a way to get them home.

And--

And it's a little bit dangerous.

Oh, sweetie.

Are you scared?

Well, don't you worry, honey.

If they could get
a washing machine to fly,

my Jimmy could land it.

You saw me standing alone

Without a dream in my heart

Without a love of my own

Jack, you'll be happy to hear
we contacted President Nixon,

and he's gonna grant you
an extension on your income taxes...

since you are most decidedly
out of the country.

Roger that, Houston.

That's wonderful news.

Tell them they have to sleep.

Haise is running a fever of 104.

Thirteen, we've had another
request from the flight surgeon...

that you fellas get more sleep.

He doesn't like
his readings down here.

Let's see how
he feels about this.

I am sick and tired
of the entire western world...

knowing how my kidneys
are functioning!

Flight, I just lost Lovell!

Uh, Thirteen, this is Houston.

Jim, we just had a dropout
on your bio-med sensors.

I'm not wearing
my bio-med sensors, Houston.

Okay, Jim. Copy that.

Now I'm losing all three of 'em!

It's just a little
medical mutiny, Doc.

I'm sure the guys
are still with us.

Let's cut 'em
some slack, okay?

It's not the velocity,
it's the angle.

Maybe they're still venting something
that's throwing off the trajectory,

but we are definitely
shallowing again.

- We are up to a 5.9.
- Damn it.

At this rate, they nick the earth's
atmosphere and bounce off into space.

- We need another burn to get them back
in the corridor. - Definitely another burn.

- Another burn. Copy that.
- Fire the engines and get 'em on course.

Aquarius, this is Houston.

Houston, Aquarius.

Jim, we've got another
course correction for you.

What's up?

Something about another
course correction.

Uh, we copy, Houston.

Be advised it's gonna take Freddo and I
a while to power up the computer...

for the alignment platform
if we have to fire the engine.

Negative on that, Jim.

We can't spare power
for the computer.

We gotta do this blind?

Without the computer,
what do we use for orientation?

We've got to be able
to give these guys something.

Without the power,
we can't give them a reading.

I'm not talking about power,
I'm talking about reference.

No, there's no references.
We have debris up there.

Houston, what's the story
with this burn?

We're trying to hash something out
down here, Aquarius.

Stand by.

Look, Houston. All we need to hold
attitude is one fixed point in space.

- Is that not correct?
- Yeah. Roger that, Jim.

Well, Houston, we've got one.

If we can keep the Earth
in the window, flying manually,

the co-ax cross hairs
right on its terminator,

all I have to know is: how long
do we need to burn the engine?

- The shorter, the better.
- Roger that, Jim.

Can they fly it manually
and still shut it down...

on time without the computer?

I guess that's the best we can do.

We're out of time.

In order to enter
the atmosphere safely,

the crew must aim for a corridor
just two and a half degrees wide.

If they're too steep, they'll incinerate
in the steadily thickening air.

If they're too shallow,
they'll ricochet...

off the atmosphere like
a rock skipping off a pond.

The reentry corridor is,
in fact, so narrow...

that if this basketball
were the Earth...

and this softball
were the moon,

and the two were placed
14 feet apart,

the crew would have to hit a target
no thicker than this piece of paper.

Okay, people, on your toes.
We're doing this one blind.

Gene, I want you to understand
we've never tried this before:

burn, cold soak, burn,
cold soak, burn, manual control.

Look, it will ignite, will it not?

I just want you to know the engine's
never been tried like this.

That's all I'm trying to tell you.

I know what you're trying to do.

I guarantee you, I won't hold you
personally responsible.

If it lights, it lights.
Let Lovell do the rest.

Okay.

They're gonna burn the engines
and steer it manually,

attempting to keep
the Earth in the window.

Okay, this is gonna take
all three of us.

Freddo...

you handle the pitch.

Put on the translation
controllers, all backwards.

So if the Earth starts drifting down,

you need to thrust aft,
not forward.

I'll do the same on mine
with everything else.

We're going to burn at ten percent
thrust for 39 seconds.

- Jack, you time us.
- Got it.

Give us a count of
the last ten seconds up to 39.

Let's not miss this.

You up to this, Freddo?

I'm with you.

Standing by
for corridor control burn.

Okay, Jim,
you can fire when ready.

You are go
for the manual burn.

Okay, X plus button
at ten seconds. Mark.

- Come on, baby. One more burn.
- Nine, eight,

seven, six, five,

- four, three,
- Ullage is go.

two, one, ignition!

- She's burnin?
- Oh, yeah.

- Master arm off.
- Okay, here we go.

- Helium regulator on.
- R.C.S. is go, 10% thrust.

- Bring her around, Freddo.
- I'm tryin? but it's draggin?

- Ten seconds.
- Drop it down, Freddo.

- We're driftin?
- No, hold what you got.

- I'll roll it. Back off.
- I can't get it stable.

She's dancin?all over the place!

- Come to the right a little bit.
- Fifteen seconds.

She's driftin'
I'm losin' attitude.

Hold it right there.
That's it. No, Freddo, back!

- Shit! I'm losin' it!
- Bring the Earth up.

Forward, Fred.
Come on. Forward.

Shit, I lost it!
Where is it? Where is it?

7:00. Helium regulator's closed.

Bring it down, Freddo.
Just nose it down.

- Okay, uh, okay, I got it!
- Thirty seconds.

Little farther.
Ease your touch!

Damn it! Damn it, that's mine.
That's me. Around.

- A little more. Come on, baby.
- Come on, that's it. Hold it. Damn it!

- Back! That's it! Hold it! Steady.
- ...seven, eight, nine!

Shutdown!

Houston, we have shutdown.

That's close enough, Jim. Good work.

I knew it! I knew it!
How about that LEM, huh?

How about it?

- Guess you can keep your job.
- You betcha.

Thirteen, stand by. We're evaluating
our power usage on that burn.

Well, let's hope we don't
have to do that again.

Gentlemen, you've given our guys
enough to survive till reentry.

Well done.

Now we gotta get 'em in, so tell me
about the power-up procedures.

Here's the order
of what I want to do.

I want to power up Guidance,
E.C.S., Communications,

warm up the pyros for the parachutes
and the command module thrusters.

The thrusters are gonna
put you over budget on amps.

They've been sitting at 200 below for
four days, John. They gotta be heated.

Fine. Then trade off
the parachutes, something.

Well, if the chutes
don't open, what's the point?

You're telling me what you need.
I'm telling you what we have to work with at this point.

I'm not making this stuff up.

They're going to need
all these systems, John.

We do not have the power, Ken.
We just don't have it.

Okay, I'm gonna go back
and reorganize the sequencing again...

and find more power.

Let's start from scratch.
Clear the board.

I don't know where the hell
we're gonna find it.

Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell
has more time in space,

almost 24 days already,
than any other man,

and I asked him recently
if he ever was scared.

I've had an engine flame out
a few times in an aircraft...

and was curious as to whether it
was going to light up again,

but, uh, they seem to work out.

Is there an instance
in an airplane emergency...

when you can recall fear?

Uh, well, I remember this one time,

I'm in a Banshee at night in combat conditions,
so there's no running lights on the carrier.

It was the Shangri-la,
and we were in the Sea of Japan.

My radar had jammed,
and my homing signal was gone...

because somebody in Japan
was actually using the same frequency,

and so it was leading me away
from where I was supposed to be.

I'm looking down at a big, black ocean,
so I flip on my map light.

Then, suddenly, zap, everything
shorts out right there in my cockpit.

All my instruments are gone. My lights are gone
and I can't even tell what my altitude is.

I know I'm running out of fuel, so I'm
thinking about ditching into the ocean.

I look down there
and then, in the darkness,

there's this, uh,
there's this green trail.

It's like a long carpet that's just laid
out right beneath me. It was the algae.

It was that phosphorescent stuff...

that gets churned up
in the wake of a big ship.

It was, it was, it was
just leading me home.

If my cockpit lights
hadn't shorted out,

there's no way I'll have ever
been able to see that.

So, uh, you, uh,
you never know...

what, what events are going
to transpire to get you home.

Spacecraft commander Jim Lovell,
no stranger to emergencies.

- How's it going, Fred?
- I'm okay.

What the hell was that?

Let's hope it was
just the burst disk.

- Can you confirm a burst helium disk?
- We confirm that.

Houston, is that going to
affect our, uh, entry angle at all?

Uh, negative. Your entry angle
is holding at 6.24, Aquarius.

Houston, uh...

we, we sure could use...

the reentry procedure up here.

When can we expect that?

Uh, that's coming
real soon, Aquarius.

Uh, Houston, we, we--

We just can't throw this
together at the last minute.

So, here's what you're gonna do.

You're gonna get the procedure
up to us, whatever it is,

and we're gonna go over it
step by step, so there's no foul-ups.

I don't have to tell you
we're all a little tired up here.

The world's getting awfully big
in the window.

- Jim, this is Deke.
- It's Deke.

They don't know how to do it.

- Maybe Jack's right.
- Hello there, Deke. What's the story?

We're gonna get that
power-up procedure to you.

We're gonna get it
as soon as we possibly can.

Ken Mattingly's
in the simulator right now.

Ken's working on it?

Look...

I know this sequence works, John.

The sequence looks good.
We're just over budget on the amperage.

- By how much?
- Three or four amps.

Goddamn it, John!
Is it three or four?

- Four.
- Four!

Four more amps.

We know they have some power left
in the LEM batteries, right?

Yeah.

We have an umbilical that provides power
from the command module to the LEM.

- It's backup for the LEM power supply.
- I'm listening.

So... reverse it.

Reverse the flow and see if
we can draw these four amps...

from the LEM batteries
before we cut it lose.

- Why can't we do that?
- We don't have a procedure for that?

You're gonna lose a lot
in the transfer, Ken.

Yeah, yeah, but all we're
talking about here is four amps.

I want whatever you guys got
on these power procedures.

- Gene, they're already--
- I don't want the whole bible, just a couple of chapters.

- We've got to get something up to these guys.
- They're working on it.

- I'll call the simulator and get an estimate.
- Goddamn it!

I don't want another estimate!
I want the procedures... now!

I.M.U. is up.

- How am I reading?
- Fine, so far.

- Say again.
- You're under the limit. Keep going.

Okay. Floodlights to fixed.

Okay, I'm bringing up the guidance.

Here we go.

C.M.C. attitude I.M.U.

C.M.C. source.

C.M.C. mode, auto,
and we're on the computer.

Ken?

- Go ahead.
- Is your computer on now?

Up and running.
How do we look?

John?

I think we got it, buddy.

Arthur, my notes are clear
on that last sequence, right?

Yeah.

- Excuse me, gentlemen.
- I was getting a little blurry there.

Here's Ken. Here's John.

It's good to see you, Ken.

This is the sequence.

- Was it tried on the hardware yet?
- We didn't have time.

Aquarius, Houston.
Do you read?

Yeah, we read you, Ken.

Are the flowers blooming in Houston?

Uh, that's a negative, Jim.
I don't have the measles.

Jim, is Jack in there with you?

Uh, yeah, stand by one.
We gotta get him on comm.

- Put those on the table.
- Oh, damn it. Thanks, Jackie.

I think it would
really help if you could...

just distract her when
the heavy predictions come in.

- Yeah, yeah. We'll give it a shot.
- Thanks.

Blanch.

Blanch, these nice, young men
are gonna watch the television with you.

This is Neil Armstrong,
and this is Buzz Aldrin.

Nice to meet you.

- Hi.
- Are you boys in the space program too?

Okay, Jack, give me a read-back
on that last procedure.

Uh, stand by, Ken.

Ken, I'm having trouble
reading my own writing.

I guess I was a little
more tired than I thought.

Uh, don't worry, Jack.
I'll talk you through it.

Okay, find the main
bus breakers on panel 11.

Yeah, main bus breakers.

- Got it.
- Close main bus B.

Ken, there's an awful lot
of condensation on these panels.

What's the word on these
things shorting out?

Uh, we'll just take that
one at a time, Jack.

It's like tryin' to drive
a toaster through a car wash.

Main bus B is closed.

Okay, Thirteen, we're coming up
on entry interface.

Flight, we're still shallowing up
a bit in the reentry corridor.

It's almost like
they're underweight.

- Now how could they be underweight?
- We didn't land on the moon.

- Rocks?
- That's affirm.

Uh, one more thing, Jim.

While Jack's working on the power-up,
we'd like you and Freddo...

to transfer some ballast
over to the command module.

Uh, say again, Houston.
Ballast?

Um, that's affirm.
We got to get the weight right.

We were expecting you to be toting
a couple hundred pounds of moon rocks.

Right, Houston.

- Now, Jack.
- Yeah, go ahead, Ken.

Okay, now, uh, panel five.

Circuit breaker caution
and warning main B closed.

Main B closed.

Master alarm off.

Okay, Jack, uh, on panel seven,
B-MAG number two, power to warm-up.

B-MAG number two,
power to warm-up done.

Sequential logic one and two on.

Sequential logic... two on.

C.M.R.C.S. pressure on.

C.M.R.C.S. pressurization.

As her husband prepares to jettison
his lunar module lifeboat,

Marilyn Lovell waits with her
children, her neighbors...

and, we are told, Apollo 11 astronauts
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

Only the Lovell's eldest son,
Jay, is absent...

as he holds vigil
with his classmates...

at the St. Johns Military Academy
in Wisconsin.

ABC News science editor
Jules Bergman.

With a crippled command module, and
surviving by using the LEM's systems,

there can be no easy maneuver.

Their LEM lifeboat is doing things
and working longer...

than it was ever intended to.

It's a race against time
until splashdown.

Okay, Jack, we're ready to see
if the computer will accept...

- uplink of the reentry data now.
- Okay, the I.M.U. is up.

- We got our eight-balls back.
- Copy that.

Okay, Ken, uh, uplink telemetry,
command module to accept, right?

That's affirm.
Go ahead and try it.

Come on.

Uplink completed.

- Yeah. That's more like it.
- We're back in business.

- Yeah.
- Okay, let's go.

Look at your amps. How we doing?

We got her back up, Ken.

Boy, I wish
you were here to see it.

I'll bet you do.

Way to go, Jack.

- Flight, this is RETRO.
- Go, RETRO.

Flight, we are looking
at a typhoon warning...

- on the edge of the prime recovery zone.
- Say again, RETRO.

We are looking at a typhoon warning
on the edge of the prime recovery area.

This is just a warning.
It could miss them.

Only if their luck changes.

Jim, we're ready
for S.M. jettison!

All right, Jack, on three!

One... two...

- upward thrust.
- We're loose!

Reverse thrust!

We have service module jettison.

Okay, Houston,
service module is free.

We're gonna take a look
at what we have here.

Copy that.

There it is. I see it!

Oh.

Houston, we're getting our first look
at the service module now.

One whole side
of the spacecraft is missing.

Right by the high gain antennae
a whole panel is blown out,

right up, right up
to our heat shield.

Uh, copy that, Aquarius.

It looked like it got
the engine bell too. Can you see that?

Oh, man, that's incredible.

The heat shield.

The heat will build up to as much
as 3,000 or 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

On a lunar reentry flight,
the heat approaches 4,000 degrees.

So, uh, Blanch?

Blanch? Did Jim make
Eagle Scout or not?

- Yes, he did.
- He did.

If the heat shield
is even slightly cracked,

the extreme cold
could have split it wide open.

Worst of all, if the pyrotechnics
that control the parachutes...

have been damaged,
the chutes may not open at all,

causing the spacecraft to hit the water
not at a gentle 20 miles per hour,

but at a suicidal 300.

Perhaps never in human history...

has the entire world been united
by such a global drama.

In New York City, thousands
of people have gathered...

to watch updates of the mission
in Times Square.

Many countries offered help,
and the State Department said...

it would ask for it
if it were needed.

The House and Senate passed resolutions
calling on the American people...

to pray tonight
for the astronauts.

In Rome, Pope Paul
led 50,000 people...

in prayers for the safe
return of the astronauts.

In Jerusalem,
prayers at the Wailing Wall.

Uh, it's about time to bail
out of this ship, Freddo.

Freddo?

You okay?

I'm, uh-- I'm freezing.

Can you hold out
just a little longer?

- Long as I have to.
- Aw, come on.

It won't be long.
Just a little while longer, Freddo.

Just a little while longer. We're gonna
hit that water in the South Pacific.

Open up that hatch.

- It's 80 degrees out there.
- Eighty degrees.

- You are a mess.
- Y-Yeah.

Odyssey, Houston.
Uh, how we doin' guys?

We're closing in
on lunar module jettison.

As you know,
that is time critical.

We should be making our move
into the command module.

Let's get that hatch
buttoned up,

and, when you get a chance,
let us know how you're doing.

Roger that.

Let me give you a hand there, Freddo.

We're coming up on LEM jettison.

Is everyone strapped in, Ken?
We're getting real close.

Uh, copy that, Flight. Uh, 13, Houston.
Uh, we're coming up on LEM jettison.

Stand by.

Have you got everybody
in the Odyssey?

Yeah, Ken, I'm gonna check those
pyro batteries one more time here.

Okay, the pyro batts look good.

I don't think we're gonna
have to tie the other batteries.

Sorry, Jack,
this is an old habit.

I'm kind of used to the pilot's seat.
She's yours to fly.

Okay, Odyssey, I want to double check
some reentry procedures...

right after we jettison the LEM,
which is coming up in 30 seconds.

What is that?

Oh, I was getting
a little punchy,

and I didn't want to cut the LEM loose
with you guys still in it.

That's good thinking.

Stand by, Houston.

We have lunar module jettison.

She sure was a good ship.

Farewell, Aquarius, and we thank you.

Mary?

It's almost time, honey.

Flight 9-6-6-4-0-6.

Let me put it this way.

The trajectory may be off.
Their thrusters may be frozen.

Their guidance system
might be malfunctioning.

Their heat shield could be cracked.

And their parachutes
might be three blocks of ice.

Clearly, we have
some obstacles to overcome.

Yeah, okay, but now I'm asking you,
when will we know?

Well, blackout lasts
for three minutes.

If they're not back
in four, we'll know.

Velocity now reading
34,802 feet per second.

- Range to go 2,625 nautical miles.
- Copy that.

Okay, Ken,
we are aligned for reentry.

Jim, we're going to need
that computer reentry program.

- Fred, how are the batteries looking?
- Okay. Batt A looks good.

Reentry interface in one minute...

- Batt B, no volts, the amps are okay.
- and 30 seconds.

Batt C...

shit, no volts, only two amps.

It may die before
the main chutes open.

Roger. Let's tie all the batteries
onto main A and main B.

Flight, they're still shallowing a bit
up there. Do you want to tell 'em?

- Is there anything we can do about it?
- Not now, Flight.

- Then they don't need to know, do they?
- Copy that.

RETRO says the typhoon is still
a presence in the splashdown area?

- Yeah.
- We got the parachute situation,

the heat shield, the angle
of trajectory and the typhoon.

There's so many variables,
I'm a little at a loss--

I know what the problems are.

This could be the worst disaster
NASA's ever experienced.

With all due respect, sir, I believe
this is going to be our finest hour.

Okay.

Expect entry interface
in 45 seconds.

And on my mark, your velocity...

will be 35,245 feet per second.

Mark 35 seconds
to entry interface.

Gentlemen...

it's been a privilege
flying with you.

Flight, we have loss
of radio contact.

Roger that.

Expect to regain signal
in three minutes.

It all depends
on the heat shield.

Back to the lwo Jima
and our live cameras there.

The Navy recovery and rescue
helicopters already airborne,

circling, waiting
for first radar contact.

Coming up now on three minutes
until time of drogue deployment.

Bill, what time you got?

Standing by for any reports
of acquisition.

One minute and 30 seconds
to end of blackout.

No reentering ship
has ever taken longer...

than three minutes
to emerge from blackout.

This is the critical moment.
Will the heat shield hold?

Will the command module survive
the intense heat of reentry?

If it doesn't,
there'll only be silence.

- Mommy, you're squishing me.
- Oops, sorry, sweetie.

It's okay.

Okay, Flight,
that's three minutes.

- We are standing by for acquisition.
- Copy that.

Odyssey, Houston. Do you read me?

Odyssey, this is Houston.
Do you read?

Expected time of reacquisition,

the time when the astronauts were
expected to come out of blackout,

has come and gone.

About all any of us can do now
is just listen and hope.

We're about to learn whether
or not that heat shield,

which was damaged
by the explosion three days ago,

has withstood
the inferno of reentry.

Odyssey, this is Houston.
Do you read me?

Odyssey, Houston.
Do you read?

Three minutes, 30 seconds. Standing by.

Odyssey, Houston. Do you read?

Odyssey, this is Houston.
Do you read me?

That's four minutes.
Standing by.

Odyssey, uh, Houston. Do you read?

Hello, Houston, this is Odyssey.

It's good to see you again.

Odyssey, Houston.
Welcome home.

We're glad to see you.

- Good job, Ken. Good job.
- Thank you.

They made it. They made it.

- Yeah!
- Lunney.

Houston, we're at stable one.
The ship is secure.

This is Apollo 13 signing off.

Good job.

Our mission was called
a successful failure,

in that we returned safely,
but never made it to the moon.

In the following months,
it was determined...

that a damaged coil built
inside the oxygen tank...

sparked during our cryo stir and caused
the explosion that crippled the Odyssey.

It was a minor defect
that occurred two years...

before I was named
the flight's commander.

Fred Haise was going back
to the moon on Apollo 18,

but his mission was canceled
because of budget cuts.

He never flew in space again.

Nor did Jack Swigert,
who left the astronaut corps...

and was elected to Congress
from the state of Colorado.

But he died of cancer before
he was able to take office.

Ken Mattingly orbited the moon
as command module pilot of Apollo 16...

and flew the space shuttle,
having never gotten the measles.

Gene Kranz retired as Director
of Flight Operations just not long ago.

And many other members of Mission
Control have gone on to other things,

but some are still there.

And as for me...

the seven extraordinary days
of Apollo 13 were my last in space.

I watched other men walk on the moon
and return safely,

all from the confines of Mission Control
and our house in Houston.

I sometimes catch myself
looking up at the moon,

remembering the changes
of fortune in our long voyage,

thinking of the thousands of people who
worked to bring the three of us home.

I look up at the moon
and wonder...

when will we be going back...

and who will that be?