Apollo 13, the space mission that risked becoming a tragedy

released in 1995, Apollo 13 The movie is directed by Ron Howard Which airs tonight at 21.00 on Iris. Based on the 1994 book Lost Moon by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger, the film tells an incredible true story that led humans to push their limits, while touching upon tragedy again and again. Nominated for nine Academy Awards, Apollo 13 – As it was read soon – It is also enriched by the inscription of the truth Jim Lovell.

Apollo 13, the plot

Commander Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks), Fred Hayes (Bill Paxton) and Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon) are three astronauts whose mission is to travel to the moon on the Apollo 13 mission. The team consists of the backup crew of Apollo 11, the crew of the famous 1969 moon landing that changed the “space history” of the United States. from America. However, the mission doesn’t seem to start in the shadow of a lucky star: three days after departing from Cape Kennedy, in fact, the astronauts already have to deal with exploding oxygen tanks that are so damaging to the spacecraft that the mission to the Moon is cancelled. Trying to bring the guys home to Earth. In the offices of NASA Gene Kranz (Ed Harris) tries in every way to lead the rescue operations, but returning home is getting more difficult and dangerous.

Almost a tragedy

As said at the beginning, Apollo 13 taken from one True story which it may represent fail most successful in US history. This is because even if the mission did not reach the destination for which it was designed, the obstacles and dangers that the astronauts faced as they tried to return home and save their lives made this mission almost an entertainment show and something that kept the American public (and not only) turning their eyes to heaven and praying for the men. who tried to challenge space. It can also be read on the careful analysis and reconstruction of the task he undertook concentration, The Apollo 13 mission seemed destined to become a nightmare from the start. Immediately after take-off, which occurred on April 11, 1970, one of the bomber’s engines, A.F Saturn Vstopped working earlier than expected: fortunately, the spacecraft was able to enter orbit, thanks to the preparation of the crew that made the other four engines run, thirty-four seconds longer than expected, so as not to fall.

However, the real tragedy occurs on April 13, when the spacecraft is about halfway between Earth and the Moon, at a kind of point of no return. This is where the liquid oxygen tank explodes, damaging the drive unit – called Epic – and the crew was left without electricity. At this point, the astronauts had to transfer to the lunar module, andAquariusShe strives to figure out how to use an engine designed solely for landing and ascending to the Moon to cover a much larger area of ​​space. In fact, the lunar module engine was not even remotely designed to cover as great a distance as that of two personnel NASA from Earth. With the help of Blue Planet’s base control, the flight crew managed the inadequacy of the air filtration system with the materials they had on hand. Although everyone seemed against them, the lunar module crew somehow managed to circumnavigate the moon and return home, splashing around in the Pacific Ocean. The Apollo 13 mission failed, but the guys managed to return home unharmed, and they almost became real heroes in history.