Apollo 13

[00:00:00] This is the Big Sci-Fi Podcast, the biggest sci-fi podcast in the galaxy, a proud part of the Trek Geeks Podcast Network.

[00:00:08] Season 6 was a blast, but Season 7 is going to be even more fun as we continue to go where no podcast has gone before, deep into the sci-fi universe.

[00:00:19] Join Idina, Brian, Chris, and Steve as they explore television, film, and literature for the best sci-fi has to offer.

[00:00:26] Even if you're not a sci-fi fan, you'll love the banter and the epic tangents as these four friends talk about what they love.

[00:00:34] We invite you to sit back and relax because the journey is just beginning on this season of The BIG Sci-Fi Podcast.

[00:00:46] Have you ever had a dream of doing something so amazing that obstacles happen that prevents it from happening?

[00:00:55] And sometimes those obstacles might be life-threatening?

[00:01:01] That is the story of Jim Level and the crew of Apollo 13.

[00:01:06] Now, a little backstory to the film.

[00:01:09] I lived through it.

[00:01:10] When Apollo 13 launched in April 1970, I was all but 13 years old in middle school and had watched so many NASA missions, including Apollo 11's mission to the moon.

[00:01:25] Apollo 13 was just, well, it was just another mission, the third to go to the moon.

[00:01:30] So sadly, the amazement had begun to wear off.

[00:01:34] But when we learned of the accident aboard the flight on its way to the moon, this became all we wanted to know about.

[00:01:42] However, all the stories, all the events, and all the situations that the crew had to deal with was not always revealed to us, the public.

[00:01:53] Yet we still followed the events as best we could.

[00:01:56] And we all breathed a sigh of relief when we watched the command module splash down and the crew was home, safe and sound once again.

[00:02:05] And this is why the film we're going to discuss, Apollo 13, is such a treat.

[00:02:11] So much of what happened inside the capsule at mission control with the families of the crew members, this was not known to us at the time.

[00:02:20] But this film, part drama, part documentary, it allows us to know what the crew and everyone involved did to ensure the safe recovery and return home of the crew.

[00:02:31] An example, I never knew about the issues with the CO2 canisters.

[00:02:37] I never knew about it.

[00:02:39] Trying to fit a square peg in a round hole?

[00:02:42] I never knew that was a problem until the film showed it to us, how the engineers were able to solve the problem with a Rube Goldberg contraption using what was available on the spacecraft.

[00:02:58] Thank you once again, duct tape.

[00:03:00] But I'm getting ahead of myself.

[00:03:03] We, the Big Sci-Fi Podcast, are here to discuss not science fiction today, but science fact.

[00:03:08] And to do so, here are the members of the Big Sci-Fi Podcast.

[00:03:12] Adina.

[00:03:13] Hello.

[00:03:16] Brian.

[00:03:17] You're quiet.

[00:03:19] Brian is quiet today.

[00:03:21] Hey, everybody.

[00:03:22] That darn mute button gets me once again.

[00:03:25] Hey, it's Brian from Ohio.

[00:03:27] That's good.

[00:03:28] I'm glad you didn't hit the abort mission button, okay?

[00:03:30] That would have been worse.

[00:03:32] Or the ejection seat in outer space.

[00:03:34] That's like worse.

[00:03:36] That's like the worst eject button.

[00:03:38] Outer space, you're dead.

[00:03:40] But no one can hear you scream.

[00:03:42] Chris.

[00:03:43] Chris.

[00:03:43] I can't keep myself together, but hello.

[00:03:47] I'm sorry, Chris.

[00:03:49] And me, I'm Steve.

[00:03:52] Hey, there you go.

[00:03:53] So since this is fact, we are not issuing any spoiler alerts, as you should be common knowledge amongst the smart listeners of the podcast of what happened with Apollo 13.

[00:04:07] But if not, you're going to get a history lesson today.

[00:04:11] So, T-3, 2, 1, and liftoff of the discussion of Apollo 13.

[00:04:20] First question.

[00:04:22] When did everyone learn about the events of Apollo 13 before seeing this movie?

[00:04:30] I did not.

[00:04:31] I don't know.

[00:04:32] I didn't either.

[00:04:33] I saw the movie and learned about it.

[00:04:36] Really?

[00:04:37] I honestly can say I don't.

[00:04:38] I'm not sure.

[00:04:41] Because as a space fan, I was very knowledgeable and I paid attention to all the shuttle flights when I was a kid.

[00:04:51] And so then this movie came out in 1995 when I was in college.

[00:04:55] And so my knowledge of pre-shuttle was spotty.

[00:05:01] Okay.

[00:05:02] So I can't honestly say, like, I feel like I was aware to some degree.

[00:05:07] And I remember being excited when the movie came out.

[00:05:09] But I don't know how much I knew.

[00:05:12] I remember after watching the film wanting to know how much of it was truly technically accurate.

[00:05:18] Yeah.

[00:05:19] Because I definitely did not know all the details.

[00:05:23] I remember.

[00:05:25] But I can't say.

[00:05:25] Yeah.

[00:05:25] I remember learning about it when the film came out on VHS.

[00:05:30] My grandmother, God rest her soul, had just bought our family, our little family, what we considered a big screen television.

[00:05:39] It was probably no bigger than like 40 inches.

[00:05:43] But it was the old box.

[00:05:44] You know, it was really deep, you know, heavier than the whole house itself.

[00:05:49] And we sat down.

[00:05:51] They came for a trip to visit us.

[00:05:54] And we got the TV.

[00:05:55] And that was the first thing we watched on the TV.

[00:05:58] And I remember laying on the floor watching this with pillows and blankets as we did often as kiddos.

[00:06:07] And just being absolutely captivated by this real life story.

[00:06:12] And my grandmother and, of course, my parents as well reminiscing and talking about where they were, what they felt like during it and all that stuff and what they remembered.

[00:06:24] So I have very warm feelings for this movie.

[00:06:26] But the first time I learned about it was watching it with my blanket and pillow on the floor of my living room.

[00:06:34] Yeah, that was similar for me.

[00:06:36] Like I would have been even trying to think of when I watched it.

[00:06:39] But I was really, really young.

[00:06:42] And it was just a movie that stuck out to me.

[00:06:45] It was like the nightmare sequence.

[00:06:46] And then just that whole, hey, we have to fit this thing into this thing, even though it can't be done with only these parts.

[00:06:54] And so I just loved it.

[00:06:55] And just watching it again, I was like, oh, yeah, this is why I like the movie so much.

[00:06:59] So the first time, Brian, you saw it was on VHS with your grandmother.

[00:07:06] Adina, you first saw the movie back in college.

[00:07:08] I saw it in the theater.

[00:07:09] Yeah, in the theater.

[00:07:10] I mean, I remember anticipating this coming out, being excited.

[00:07:14] I remember going to see it.

[00:07:15] And then I bought the VHS.

[00:07:17] And so I rewatched this movie a lot over the years.

[00:07:20] And enough so that like when we were preparing for this episode, I almost didn't rewatch it.

[00:07:26] Because I'm like, I know this movie very, very, very well.

[00:07:28] I'm glad I did rewatch it.

[00:07:30] At least I had it on the background while I was doing things.

[00:07:33] I'm glad I did.

[00:07:34] But I do know the movie pretty well.

[00:07:36] And Chris, when did you first see it?

[00:07:39] If I missed that?

[00:07:43] Probably 98 or 99.

[00:07:45] I would tell.

[00:07:46] Because like, just trying to do the math in my head.

[00:07:48] 95, yeah, I would have been four years old.

[00:07:51] So I saw it a little bit later than that.

[00:07:54] And it just like always, I always remember the, we got to fit this thing into that thing thing.

[00:07:59] I love that.

[00:08:01] But yeah, watching it again for the first time in a long time was just, it was good to be like, oh, yeah, I remember this.

[00:08:07] I remember this.

[00:08:08] And then just picking up on different things, which I guess we'll get into.

[00:08:13] Yeah.

[00:08:14] Again, and I saw it like you, Adina, when it first came out in the theater with the friends.

[00:08:19] And it was just, again, learning things that I didn't know about.

[00:08:24] Learning about what the crew had gone through.

[00:08:27] How the difficulties of the mission.

[00:08:29] And now, did you know about the crew members of the Apollo 13 mission, especially Jim Lovell?

[00:08:39] I know we learned about how Gary Anderson had lunch with him one day and didn't know it was him, which was a great story from his son.

[00:08:50] And that was kind of a cute story.

[00:08:52] But yeah.

[00:08:53] I knew nothing about this story or the astronauts involved until the movie.

[00:08:59] And I would probably credit this movie for igniting a greater fascination with NASA, with the Apollo missions and with paying more attention.

[00:09:11] Not like geeking out totally, knowing everything about it.

[00:09:16] Because this was still, if I recall, pre-social media era, at least pre a lot of internet stuff too.

[00:09:24] Oh yeah.

[00:09:24] Yep.

[00:09:25] So, but this was when I was, honestly, this movie, I've probably seen this movie 20 times.

[00:09:34] It's a really big movie for me.

[00:09:37] And I think it spurred, actually, a deeper love for science fiction, even though it's not fiction.

[00:09:45] I just, I feel like this movie really ignited a lot of my imagination for space.

[00:09:52] So, I'm trying to remember, was this one of the first movies about NASA that came out?

[00:09:58] Because I just feel like watching it now, I'm like, I feel like there's so many tropes, like in a good way, that I would imagine come from this movie.

[00:10:06] Like, I'm thinking of small things like people clicking their pens while looking at a, like a monitor.

[00:10:12] I just feel like that's so this movie.

[00:10:14] I've seen other ones.

[00:10:15] But I can't think of anything before this.

[00:10:18] The one before this was The Right Stuff.

[00:10:20] Thank you, Dina.

[00:10:21] It was The Right Stuff.

[00:10:22] Yes.

[00:10:22] The Right Stuff.

[00:10:23] Oh, The Right Stuff.

[00:10:24] Yeah.

[00:10:25] As a kid, I had, like kid, maybe teenager, I definitely had seen it, but I wasn't as captivated by it.

[00:10:31] I felt it was, you know, I think for a kid, it was like kind of a dry, it wasn't, yeah, I wasn't as super excited about that.

[00:10:40] And that might be why I was, so all the names, like, you know, so you're asking, was there a familiarity with like Jim Lovell and all the people?

[00:10:49] Well, I knew the name, again, just because I had picked up pieces, I knew the names of most of the Apollo.

[00:10:56] So like, I recognized, oh yeah, that was, you know, but did I know all the details or as much as I came to eventually know?

[00:11:03] No, I recognized the names probably from all the other things.

[00:11:08] Also, some of the, you know, Apollo astronauts became shuttle astronauts.

[00:11:11] So like I said, I had a familiarity with it.

[00:11:17] Yeah.

[00:11:18] But not deep knowledge.

[00:11:20] Yeah.

[00:11:20] Well, Jim Lovell was on Apollo 8, the first Apollo mission to circumnavigate the moon, if you want to say that.

[00:11:29] And I remember Christmas Eve, watching it on the TV at my mom's cousin's house.

[00:11:35] And just as terrified as everybody else that once they went into radio silence, you know, were they going to come out from the other side?

[00:11:45] Was everything going to be okay?

[00:11:47] And it's very interesting also.

[00:11:49] And again, you know, wondering about films about the Apollo missions.

[00:11:54] There's nothing better than From the Earth to the Moon, the HBO series that came out later.

[00:12:01] That was produced by Tom Hanks and starred a multitude of different actors and told the whole story of the Apollo missions.

[00:12:10] And it was very interesting.

[00:12:12] One of the things they mentioned in the movie that was a very fleeting word was when Lovell got the knowledge that he was going to be moved up from Apollo 14 to Apollo 13, replacing Alan Shepard.

[00:12:26] He says the line, I got the mission because Alan's ear infection.

[00:12:31] And it wasn't an ear infection at all.

[00:12:34] And I learned about this from watching From the Earth to the Moon when they talked about Shepard.

[00:12:39] He actually suffered a defect of his inner ear.

[00:12:43] And it caused him to have vertigo and imbalance issues and things like that.

[00:12:50] And he was cured by a doctor house that's out here in Los Angeles.

[00:12:55] And so I have suffered vertigo and balance issues for many years and didn't know what it was until I saw that episode of From the Earth to the Moon.

[00:13:05] And I immediately called the house clinic and made an appointment with them to find out what was going on.

[00:13:09] And when they asked me who recommended me to their facility, I said Alan Shepard, which made them laugh.

[00:13:16] But it was true.

[00:13:17] And because of that problem, Lovell was moved up a mission and Shepard was pushed back one more to make sure that he was flight ready.

[00:13:29] Turns out when, again, it is depicted in the From the Earth to the Moon, when Shepard went to the moon, Dr.

[00:13:36] House was there in the facility at Houston to make sure that everything was OK with him.

[00:13:44] And then my daughter, when she was in Milwaukee this year, she went to the airport.

[00:13:48] There's a whole museum there about Jim Lovell, which is really interesting.

[00:13:52] He's a very amazing, very, very unique and I guess heroic character, you know?

[00:13:59] One of the reasons I think that they kind of, I think for the movie's sake, they just simplified, you know, Alan Shepard's condition.

[00:14:08] Just because it's easy to just say ear infection and then just move on because that's not important.

[00:14:13] Because to describe anything else or say what it actually was, it would just ruin the pacing of the movie.

[00:14:19] It was probably like close enough.

[00:14:21] But then in the series from the Earth to the Moon, they have a little bit more bandwidth for a little bit different pacing of how they're handling it.

[00:14:30] So then they can, you know, in a little bit more detail, more correct detail.

[00:14:33] Which is the beauty of that particular series.

[00:14:36] It goes into deep detail about every one of the missions and everything leading up to it from the moment that Kennedy spoke and made his famous speech.

[00:14:48] So, yeah.

[00:14:49] I'm going to say just right now for listeners, if you haven't seen the movie Apollo 13, you really have.

[00:14:56] Like this is absolutely like a you have to watch this.

[00:14:59] You really do.

[00:15:00] Yeah.

[00:15:00] Unless you completely and utterly hate everything space travel.

[00:15:04] If you have any interest at all.

[00:15:06] Not listening to our podcast, I imagine.

[00:15:09] But, well, you could really love science fiction and not be into anything real world space.

[00:15:13] It's possible.

[00:15:15] Oh, yeah.

[00:15:16] Yeah.

[00:15:16] I guess that's true.

[00:15:17] It's possible.

[00:15:17] But then also that series from the Earth to the Moon also is absolutely, if you have any interest in the space program or human space flight.

[00:15:26] Yeah.

[00:15:26] It's also a must watch.

[00:15:27] Also, there is a TV series from 1920 that starred Patrick J. Adams.

[00:15:35] You just said a TV series from 1920.

[00:15:38] I meant from 2020.

[00:15:40] A little better.

[00:15:42] Nitpicky over there.

[00:15:44] I'm just kidding.

[00:15:46] Hey, you're off by a century.

[00:15:47] Did I really say 1920?

[00:15:49] Yes, you really did.

[00:15:50] Okay.

[00:15:51] So from 2020 starring Patrick J. Adams, The Right Stuff.

[00:15:57] And I'm trying to, I think it was on Prime Video.

[00:16:00] On Prime.

[00:16:01] My wife and I watched it.

[00:16:03] It is a really good series too.

[00:16:06] So if you want more to sink your teeth into, this is about the beginning though of that stuff.

[00:16:14] But worth watching as well.

[00:16:16] And on Netflix, there is a new documentary called Apollo 13 Survive.

[00:16:25] Which is, I just took a quick look to the trailer for it.

[00:16:28] And I was like, wow, this looks really good.

[00:16:30] And it's not the first time they've done a documentary on it.

[00:16:32] There was a prior one that I saw a number of years ago.

[00:16:37] And Gene Krantz, who was there.

[00:16:41] He was interviewed.

[00:16:42] And they said, you know, what do you think about the Apollo 13 mission?

[00:16:46] Do you think there was, you know, was there anything to worry about?

[00:16:49] And he started to cry.

[00:16:51] He broke down again because he was still amazed that they were able to pull it off.

[00:16:56] That they got them home.

[00:16:57] Which really says a lot about the determination.

[00:17:02] It's like, it's a successful failure.

[00:17:06] It's how you look at it.

[00:17:07] It's a successful failure.

[00:17:09] It's an absolutely, we kind of hit on it.

[00:17:11] It's an absolutely must watch film.

[00:17:14] Yeah.

[00:17:15] And it's just so well acted, so well produced, directed.

[00:17:19] The music score is fantastic.

[00:17:21] Oh, yeah.

[00:17:22] The soundtrack's awesome.

[00:17:24] Yeah.

[00:17:24] And it's just so well done.

[00:17:26] This is a movie you have to watch.

[00:17:29] Because it's, especially if you love any type of history.

[00:17:33] Let alone, I mean, take this space stuff out of it.

[00:17:36] This is a historic event that turned into something the world put their eyes to at the time.

[00:17:43] To see if these astronauts would get home.

[00:17:46] So, really, really cool fun to watch.

[00:17:48] And they poke, I want to say poke fun, but they poke at the whole idea of, this was only going to be the third landing on the moon.

[00:17:56] There were only two landings.

[00:17:57] And at this point, people are treating it as, oh, no big deal.

[00:18:01] Been there, done that.

[00:18:02] Which is like, which, that hurts my head so much.

[00:18:06] Yes.

[00:18:06] Because just because we set foot once and twice, uh-uh.

[00:18:09] Every single one of these, you know, was slightly different, unique.

[00:18:14] And just because you did something once doesn't mean it's easy and blah, you know, like, blah, blah.

[00:18:19] So, they were poking at how it took the disaster to get people interested.

[00:18:24] Which is, like, sad.

[00:18:26] The only part.

[00:18:27] It's sad.

[00:18:28] Yeah.

[00:18:28] The only part of this film that I'm disappointed in is that they didn't really show all the weird flashing lights in the existence of ancient civilizations on the dark side of the moon.

[00:18:38] You're funny.

[00:18:40] That is where they found the Transformers, you know.

[00:18:42] Yeah.

[00:18:43] See, you're right.

[00:18:44] Exactly, Chris.

[00:18:44] Yeah.

[00:18:45] That's why Apollo 11 went there, you know.

[00:18:47] I'm going to point out that with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter that's been orbiting the moon for like 15 or plus years, there is amazing detailed maps and things that are freely available online.

[00:19:00] Yeah.

[00:19:01] Oh, my goodness.

[00:19:03] The whole moon.

[00:19:04] The backside.

[00:19:04] The whole moon.

[00:19:05] You can see all the do-jets.

[00:19:06] Can you send me that somehow?

[00:19:08] Mm-hmm.

[00:19:08] If you find kids.

[00:19:09] Yeah.

[00:19:09] My kids would love.

[00:19:11] Yeah.

[00:19:11] Okay.

[00:19:12] Dad would love.

[00:19:13] We'll put some links.

[00:19:14] I'll do it with my kids.

[00:19:17] Yes, that should be.

[00:19:19] Okay, that's great.

[00:19:19] Yeah.

[00:19:20] Oh, cool.

[00:19:21] That's wonderful.

[00:19:22] Again, and so we all know that they survive.

[00:19:25] This is past tense.

[00:19:26] But again, watching the movie, were you sucked into it?

[00:19:31] Oh, yeah.

[00:19:31] The story was such that the way that was done, that you still were worried that something was going to go wrong.

[00:19:37] I mean, right down to the point where they're coming through the atmosphere, the flames are coming from it as they're going through the heat shield, and you're going, are they going to make it?

[00:19:48] Of course they do.

[00:19:49] But it still was so well depicted, it seemed like it was in real time.

[00:19:55] Yeah.

[00:19:55] I also just love the conversations.

[00:20:01] What was it called?

[00:20:02] Not ground control.

[00:20:03] What's it actually called?

[00:20:05] Capcom.

[00:20:06] Well, Capcom is the specific, that's the specific one person.

[00:20:10] That's one role.

[00:20:11] Oh, right.

[00:20:11] The whole center is the mission control center.

[00:20:14] Yeah, like mission control.

[00:20:15] Gene Kranz is the ops lead, and each position has a different name.

[00:20:20] Capcom is the one who's communicating to the astronauts.

[00:20:22] Oh, okay.

[00:20:23] I was going to say, yeah, all those conversations where they're like, hey, we can't do this, or no, no, we're wrong.

[00:20:28] There's no way they can possibly do this.

[00:20:30] I just love that they're like doing the science, but they're just upping the stakes in every scene, even though that's all real.

[00:20:36] So it really helps you get into it, even though you know, oh, yeah, they're going to be fine.

[00:20:41] Yeah.

[00:20:43] And I say that the effects of them in Zero-G by the actors was just absolutely superb.

[00:20:50] I mean, it seemed like you were actually on a mission to the moon.

[00:20:56] Yes.

[00:20:56] And the whole sequence where they're doing their filming to be on TV, and nobody's watching it because they're showing reruns of Brady Bunch or something like that.

[00:21:11] But I remember that, you know, for us kids growing up, we wanted to watch and see and everything to get to see what was happening inside the mission.

[00:21:19] So not being able to see it in real time back in 1970, we didn't know because they just kind of lost interest, which is terrible.

[00:21:29] And you're right, Adina.

[00:21:30] It is really sad that the American public, after just two missions, was jaded about going to the moon.

[00:21:38] Mm-hmm.

[00:21:40] Incredible.

[00:21:40] But then there was – go ahead.

[00:21:42] Yeah, well, I was just – you had touched on something just a minute ago, Steve.

[00:21:46] Mm-hmm.

[00:21:47] I remember watching this originally the first time, but even now, it feels like you're in that capsule with those astronauts.

[00:21:58] Mm-hmm.

[00:21:59] Like Ron Howard did such a masterful job directing this.

[00:22:02] You feel like you're in there with them and experiencing what they're going through almost.

[00:22:10] Like, even – I'm telling you, even today watching this going, I'm getting cold.

[00:22:16] Like they were, you know, and just like – like it was just so well done.

[00:22:21] Mm-hmm.

[00:22:22] Mm-hmm.

[00:22:22] You're really pulling for them.

[00:22:24] You're like – you're in that capsule with them, and you want to see them survive.

[00:22:29] And if you – you know, the first time as a – I must have been a teenager probably.

[00:22:34] Mm-hmm.

[00:22:35] Um, just didn't – didn't know the story at all.

[00:22:38] Yeah, I was so captivated.

[00:22:40] Like, I remember this – I had watched – you know, I'd been captivated by Star Trek and all the films made up until that point.

[00:22:47] But this was one of the first movies where I remember just being so engrossed in the characters and what was going on and what was happening.

[00:22:57] And then when those parachutes finally open up, you know, at the end, jumping up for joy.

[00:23:04] And it's just – this is – yeah.

[00:23:08] Yeah.

[00:23:09] It's good all the way around.

[00:23:10] Yeah.

[00:23:11] It – you can get the feel of what – how we all felt in 1970s.

[00:23:16] Yes.

[00:23:16] They did a great job portraying that.

[00:23:18] Yep.

[00:23:19] When knowing that they were okay.

[00:23:27] From the family's point of view, from Lovell's wife, from his kids, and so on.

[00:23:32] And interesting enough, that was – I think it said – I read somewhere where it was – the woman who played the mom of Jim Lovell was – I remember reading somewhere like she's – hang on a second.

[00:23:50] Yeah, she was – she looked familiar to me.

[00:23:52] She was – who was – do, do, do, do, do.

[00:23:56] Yes.

[00:23:56] Sorry.

[00:23:56] The woman who played Jim Lovell's mom was Ron Howard's mom.

[00:24:01] Oh, okay.

[00:24:02] That's cool.

[00:24:03] Now that you say that.

[00:24:04] And then the person who played the minister, the priest that was at their home, that's Ron Howard's father.

[00:24:11] So he put them in the film.

[00:24:13] And also his brother was in the movie as well.

[00:24:16] So it was a family affair in making a movie.

[00:24:19] But, I mean, I know the tension in Mission Control there and getting everything figured out.

[00:24:26] But, again, the family story, was it helpful to understand what they were going through?

[00:24:32] Did that add to the story?

[00:24:34] Or were you just really more engrossed by the action of the mission and solving the issues?

[00:24:40] I think it's always helpful.

[00:24:42] Like, I like the fact that you get to see, well, how is the family coping with this?

[00:24:46] Like, what are the real problems that, you know, family members of people who are of astronauts dealing with?

[00:24:52] And I also just like the little touch of when she went to the launch and there were the other wives who was their first time.

[00:25:00] And she was kind of, like, walking them through, like, hey, this is how it is.

[00:25:03] But the worst part is we can't really do anything until they get back.

[00:25:07] So I think that was important to show that struggle.

[00:25:10] Yeah, I think they did a good job.

[00:25:14] The kids, I don't remember being impacted as much by their roles in it.

[00:25:19] But his wife, Jim Lovell's wife, like, I think they did a good job of portraying how dangerous these missions actually were and the risks involved.

[00:25:31] And she literally didn't know if he was actually going to be able to come back to start before the electrical glitch and the spark and all that stuff.

[00:25:42] You know, like, with everything going perfectly, it was still super risky.

[00:25:48] And she wasn't sure, you know, there was no promise he would come back alive.

[00:25:53] So I think they did a good job as far as that concerned.

[00:25:56] And that certainly helped with the drama.

[00:25:58] Yeah, for sure.

[00:25:59] I agree.

[00:26:00] I struggle with it.

[00:26:01] I mean, like, from a movie standpoint, it was good.

[00:26:05] And I did watch some of that Netflix documentary, the Apollo 13 Survival, and they actually had a lot of recording of her voice, too.

[00:26:14] Oh, really?

[00:26:15] And my struggle with this is just my general struggle with, you know, women in society back in the day.

[00:26:22] Mm-hmm.

[00:26:22] She wasn't Marilyn Lovell.

[00:26:24] She was Jim Lovell's wife.

[00:26:26] She was the astronaut's wife.

[00:26:28] And I struggle with that.

[00:26:29] Sure, sure.

[00:26:30] They are not them.

[00:26:32] They're there just to take care of the kids in the household.

[00:26:35] So they're, you know.

[00:26:36] And what she was saying in the documentary was kind of like she didn't sign up for this.

[00:26:41] Like, you know, they were high school sweethearts.

[00:26:43] She knew he wanted to be a pilot.

[00:26:45] But then all of a sudden, he's, like, doing the really dangerous stuff.

[00:26:49] Like, she didn't sign up for that.

[00:26:51] Mm-hmm.

[00:26:52] You know?

[00:26:53] And so she talks about how she struggled with that.

[00:26:56] And then after Apollo 8 came this kind of celebrity status.

[00:27:01] And it was interesting.

[00:27:03] And, like, you know, it was kind of nice because I got to do some interesting things.

[00:27:07] But also, she didn't sign up for that.

[00:27:08] She was like, I all said I'm living in a fishbowl.

[00:27:10] Oh, wow.

[00:27:11] You know?

[00:27:12] Wow.

[00:27:13] And that's, like, she has no say or choice in any of this.

[00:27:18] And it's just so.

[00:27:19] Yeah, that's a different spin on it.

[00:27:21] Unfair.

[00:27:21] In so many ways, it's, like, unfair.

[00:27:24] It is what it was.

[00:27:24] I mean, it was what it was.

[00:27:26] But it frustrates me to watch that and be like, this is just so unfair.

[00:27:32] And they actually touch on that same subject in The Right Stuff.

[00:27:37] When you learn about the Mercury Seven wives and how they were paraded around as being, you know,

[00:27:45] they had to be ready for Life Magazine interviews and photo ops.

[00:27:49] And they had to be depicting themselves as the perfect American wife while they were also struggling with the knowledge that their husbands were going up in very new and untested rocketry.

[00:28:02] And would they come home alive?

[00:28:23] And would they come home alive?

[00:28:32] And it's like, now your job.

[00:28:33] You're literally, you could die at any moment.

[00:28:35] So, yeah, that's tough.

[00:28:37] And so, do you think they depicted that well?

[00:28:40] Or do you think they kind of glossed over it because of the time?

[00:28:43] Or how did you feel about that?

[00:28:43] I think they depicted it enough for Apollo 13, the movie that it was.

[00:28:48] I think it was, like, depicted enough.

[00:28:53] You basically, you're watching them be helpful.

[00:28:55] You're watching her be helpless, you know, and everything.

[00:28:57] I mean, you don't get all the full backstory of their marriage and, like, what led up to this.

[00:29:02] But it's, you know, it's depicted enough.

[00:29:06] What I really enjoy, though, and this is to me, I think, one of the things that made For All Mankind,

[00:29:11] the alternate history so amazing is starting in season one of that show,

[00:29:19] basically the wives became, like, they were empowered to do stuff.

[00:29:26] To become pilots themselves, become astronauts themselves, become, you know, business owners.

[00:29:33] And all these amazing things.

[00:29:35] And that started, like, at the very beginning.

[00:29:37] And I love that alternate depiction of the whole thing.

[00:29:44] I think you're right.

[00:29:45] Yes.

[00:29:45] Yes, I agree with you on that.

[00:29:49] Special effects.

[00:29:50] I remember reading once that they use no NASA archival.

[00:29:59] Is that the right word?

[00:30:00] Am I saying that right?

[00:30:01] Archival footage for this film.

[00:30:03] That everything was recreated from the Saturn V rockets to the interior of the spacecraft,

[00:30:13] to the exterior shots.

[00:30:14] Everything was created from the ground up.

[00:30:17] And how did that, I mean, did that feel like, did it feel real to you?

[00:30:22] Did they did a good job of making it feel like this is really happening?

[00:30:27] Yeah.

[00:30:27] Yeah, it felt real.

[00:30:28] It's not something I even noticed, really.

[00:30:30] It was like, if there was a bad effect, I would have noticed, but it just felt like, no, it worked.

[00:30:34] And it was good.

[00:30:35] It was captivating.

[00:30:37] And there really weren't any, like, nothing really took me out of the movie.

[00:30:40] So I think they did an amazing job for the 90s.

[00:30:42] Because even, I don't know if I want to throw a shade at Armageddon, but there's stuff in Armageddon.

[00:30:47] We're like, okay, that wasn't the best, you know, visual effect ever.

[00:30:52] But yeah, not for this movie.

[00:30:54] I remember my folks and my grandparents talking about that, that that was something that was touted highly for this movie.

[00:31:03] That it was all original special effects.

[00:31:05] And that they were sitting there going, that is exactly how I remember that looking.

[00:31:13] Especially the launch.

[00:31:16] Which, I think in particular, is an iconic scene anyways.

[00:31:19] And so I just remember them all just going, wow, that was that.

[00:31:25] And being odd at the special effects.

[00:31:27] But I think they still hold up today.

[00:31:30] I think they still look pretty fantastic.

[00:31:33] I mean, that whole shot where when the motors ignite on the Saturn V, the flames go out.

[00:31:42] And then they're sucked back in again.

[00:31:45] That was a truly amazing shot.

[00:31:49] And we have seen, there have been archival footage of cameras in the base when it ignites.

[00:31:56] And you can see just how powerful it is and all that.

[00:31:59] But to recreate it so perfectly, I mean, right down to the frozen ice breaking off the side of the rocket as it's taking off the vibrations and everything.

[00:32:11] Really well, well done.

[00:32:13] It just felt right.

[00:32:15] It really did.

[00:32:16] And sometimes when you see it years later, it's like, oh, you know, if they could only have done it CGI or something like that, it would have been so much better.

[00:32:25] But they did a great job.

[00:32:27] Yeah.

[00:32:28] Yeah.

[00:32:29] It was awesome.

[00:32:30] Yeah.

[00:32:31] It's funny to me, like, for the most part, this movie really doesn't feel that dated.

[00:32:35] I think the biggest giveaway is just how young the actors are.

[00:32:38] That's the only thing I could see really take you out of the film.

[00:32:41] But yeah, I think it holds up really well.

[00:32:43] Well, I think it doesn't feel dated because even in 1995, it was depicting something from 20, a little more than 20 years prior to that.

[00:32:51] I still find.

[00:32:52] Yeah.

[00:32:53] See, I sort of disagree because I've seen movies that are like that take place that depict a different time than when they're filmed.

[00:32:59] But even though it's like 1969 being done in the 90s movie, there are times where you can still tell that still feels 90s.

[00:33:06] So I think.

[00:33:07] I think for fiction.

[00:33:09] I would agree for fiction.

[00:33:14] Mm-hmm.

[00:33:15] But for, because this is based on nonfiction and they're trying to recreate so much accurately.

[00:33:20] I think that's why it's.

[00:33:22] True.

[00:33:23] Yeah, that could be it.

[00:33:24] Yeah.

[00:33:24] And I'll mention this in my closing, but really a great film that Ron Howard made was Rush.

[00:33:35] Came out a number of years ago about the 1976 Formula One season.

[00:33:40] And he depicted it so.

[00:33:42] Oh, that sounds familiar.

[00:33:43] So like you were there.

[00:33:45] Like it was 1976 all over again.

[00:33:48] Mm-hmm.

[00:33:48] It was a truly, truly amazing film.

[00:33:50] But again, I'm preceding myself for my closing, closing arguments as they say in court.

[00:33:56] But that's just.

[00:33:57] Don't get ahead of yourself.

[00:33:57] I know.

[00:33:58] But it's just that Ron Howard is such an amazing director.

[00:34:03] And he, this film, I guess encapsulates all his skills as a, as a director, as putting this together.

[00:34:12] And having the right actors playing the right roles and having the right effects and everything being.

[00:34:18] The right budget.

[00:34:19] Yeah.

[00:34:20] Yeah.

[00:34:21] The right budget.

[00:34:21] I think they said this was like a $50 million budget when it, when it came out and made like $350 million at the box office.

[00:34:28] Which is not a bad return on your investment, I guess.

[00:34:31] Not at all.

[00:34:33] Yeah.

[00:34:33] But that's the idea.

[00:34:34] If you're going to, if you're going to recreate and stuff, you need to, to obviously spend money on people and equipment and everything.

[00:34:40] So you can't cut corners, you know, if you really want it to be.

[00:34:44] And so it's obvious that they did, you know, it's obvious.

[00:34:49] All the care and effort and money and everything that went into this.

[00:34:53] Yeah.

[00:34:54] Yeah.

[00:34:55] I, I, I, I've never gotten enough of it.

[00:34:58] I, every time I watch it, I still feel like.

[00:35:02] I still feel the tension.

[00:35:04] Mm-hmm.

[00:35:04] That the movie created that made us feel like.

[00:35:08] They're not going to make it.

[00:35:10] You know.

[00:35:10] And right down to what happened to the whole, the explosion.

[00:35:15] How they depict that.

[00:35:16] And all the, the cacophony of noises and words being spoken and messages back and forth between Houston and the mission.

[00:35:27] And trying to rectify what's going on.

[00:35:39] Mm-hmm.

[00:35:45] Yeah.

[00:35:56] Yeah.

[00:35:58] Yeah.

[00:35:58] Is taken to make sure things are interoperable.

[00:36:03] You know.

[00:36:04] Yes.

[00:36:04] They never want to wind up with those kinds of situations.

[00:36:06] Again, whether it's manned space flight or, or unmanned missions.

[00:36:10] Uh, you know, the amount of time and effort and care put into this is, is pretty significant.

[00:36:19] And, and so as I was watching, you know, uh, re-watching it recently, you know, thinking through all the things that I know we do in, in my career that go back to that era.

[00:36:30] Like, so in addition to like the interoperability thing, another one was when, uh, Ken Manningly, he's like, he's going to go into the simulator and try to, uh, make a procedure.

[00:36:42] And he's very insistent on, Hey, I need it to be set up the way they have it set up and everything.

[00:36:46] So we call that, um, well, so there's, there's certain guidelines that we use.

[00:36:52] They're called tests like you fly.

[00:36:54] And that's kind of like a ingrained in the aerospace culture is that's exactly what you do is you do all these tests the way you would actually fly the mission.

[00:37:04] And this, it doesn't matter if it's manned or unmanned.

[00:37:05] So this works for like set, you know, unmanned satellites too, as much as you possibly can, you want to test it exactly the way it would be operated.

[00:37:15] Right.

[00:37:16] And that's a big deal.

[00:37:16] It's like a humongous, humongous deal.

[00:37:18] So I liked that they pulled at those threads.

[00:37:21] Yeah.

[00:37:21] He was like, even he was like, Hey, if they don't have it, like, I can't take that thing because I don't have it there.

[00:37:26] Only the things that they have.

[00:37:28] I'm like, perfect.

[00:37:30] Yeah.

[00:37:30] That's, that's, that's a good question.

[00:37:31] Did so between Apollo 13 and 14, when they realized, okay, they found out what happened inside.

[00:37:39] They found out what happened inside the oxygen tank that caused the explosion to occur.

[00:37:44] Did they also go back and say, you know, we should really should take a moment and remodify either the LEM or the command module to use the same CO2 scrubbing canisters so that if there was an error or a problem, they could exchange one for the other.

[00:38:02] I don't think for the rest of the Apollo, they did that.

[00:38:06] But when you get to shuttle, because now before Apollo ended, they were starting to design the shuttle.

[00:38:12] So, but now these concepts would absolutely go into, and all these lessons learned would go into shuttle design.

[00:38:18] But no, I don't think that they, you know, the timing of all the Apollo missions and how quick they were.

[00:38:24] I don't, I could be wrong.

[00:38:26] I'd have to go research it a little bit, but I don't think they made any kind of major changes like that.

[00:38:32] Interesting.

[00:38:33] Interesting.

[00:38:33] Because again, you know, you look back and you think about, you know, the Challenger mishap and the O-rings and that they did, they did not have any more shuttle missions until that modification was created to prevent the O-rings from failing once again.

[00:38:54] Different time.

[00:38:55] And, you know, very different time.

[00:38:56] And now, you know, look at also the difference between those missions.

[00:38:59] The Challenger problem caused a loss of life.

[00:39:03] That's true.

[00:39:04] Apollo 13 didn't.

[00:39:06] You're right.

[00:39:07] That is, that is a significant difference.

[00:39:10] So there's a big difference there in how you're going to respond to that.

[00:39:13] You know, so like the last, the prior loss of life had been Apollo 1.

[00:39:18] Right.

[00:39:19] And that did.

[00:39:20] And I believe that there were changes following that.

[00:39:23] Right.

[00:39:23] Apollo 13, no loss of life.

[00:39:26] Mm-hmm.

[00:39:27] Still very interesting about how, you know, where, you know, safety first.

[00:39:35] Survivability, number one.

[00:39:37] Don't let failure happen.

[00:39:38] Don't, you know, failure is not an option.

[00:39:40] That great line that comes out that was stated and as repeated in the film is truly, you know, what, what they live by.

[00:39:47] Is that, you know, I mean, yourself in the industry, Adina, and you've worked with enough astronauts to know that, you know, they're risking their lives.

[00:39:56] But they also want to have a reasonable level of risk in doing these things.

[00:40:03] Yes.

[00:40:04] There's, so there's absolute risk every time we launch a rocket today.

[00:40:07] Even though we're launching so many more, you know, so much more frequently, which, you know, which the more that you do, the more you learn, the more routine it gets.

[00:40:17] But there is, like, a world of difference, though, between what we're doing today versus what they did in the Apollo era.

[00:40:23] Because they had kind of a different mandate.

[00:40:25] They were essentially fighting a political war, you know, and so they definitely took probably more risks than we do today.

[00:40:34] And it's not to say that they were more risky.

[00:40:36] It's more that today we are so much more risk adverse today.

[00:40:41] Yeah.

[00:40:42] In the sense of back then, yeah, you have these test pilots and they know that any day that, you know, something really bad can happen.

[00:40:49] They know that they're doing something crazy new.

[00:40:52] Yeah.

[00:40:52] Well, today we don't, like, have that attitude with the people we send up.

[00:40:57] And it's not to say that they were cavalier.

[00:40:58] It's just now we are so risk adverse because, you know, we don't want to cause any, you know, disasters, any harm to people, you know, any kind of catastrophe.

[00:41:10] So it's very different in how there are a lot of differences.

[00:41:15] So there are similarities, I guess.

[00:41:17] And there are a lot of things from those missions that have carried forward.

[00:41:21] But they're really true are a lot of differences between how things are developing today versus then.

[00:41:26] And when I just, again, put my head around what they accomplished in a decade.

[00:41:33] Yes.

[00:41:34] So I just posted on one of my social medias.

[00:41:36] I post a lot on LinkedIn about the space program, about space stuff.

[00:41:39] So the other day I posted an article that I had buried in my files that was published in 1992 by Mike Griffin, who I think around the time or sort of at some point he was head of NASA.

[00:41:55] And in 1992, he was talking about, you know, hopefully we'll get back to the moon like soon.

[00:42:02] Hopefully this will not continue to be in the future.

[00:42:06] That was 32 years ago.

[00:42:08] And here we are still kind of not much further ahead than we were back then.

[00:42:14] Mm-hmm.

[00:42:15] You know, and so 30 years have passed and not great, amazing amount of progress compared to what they did in less than a decade in the 60s.

[00:42:25] And it's just wrapping my head around that is hard.

[00:42:30] Yeah.

[00:42:30] Where we've come to this point now.

[00:42:33] But again, there's been these great images they post online where they show this is the dashboard of the Apollo 11.

[00:42:41] This is the dashboard of the shuttle.

[00:42:45] Wow.

[00:42:46] You go from this to looks like a 747 cockpit.

[00:42:50] And now you go to what's in the Dragon capsules.

[00:42:54] And it looks like, well, those are the big screens you have in your TV for your laptop computer or something to work from.

[00:43:01] Yeah.

[00:43:02] It is where that's where we've seen this evolution of technology in the space program that's taken us to the point.

[00:43:08] But we're still, again, you're right.

[00:43:11] Risk is not allowed.

[00:43:12] And we're still several years away, you know, from humans sitting foot on the moon again.

[00:43:19] Yeah.

[00:43:20] And being the fact that it will be 50 years probably or more.

[00:43:26] And from when we last stepped on the moon until the next time we step on the moon, will there be a level of excitement about it?

[00:43:36] It's already been more than 50 years.

[00:43:38] That's true.

[00:43:39] You're right.

[00:43:40] You're right.

[00:43:41] My gosh.

[00:43:42] We crossed that milestone already.

[00:43:44] Yes, exactly.

[00:43:45] Okay.

[00:43:46] So when we get close to 60 years from one point to the next, will there be still an amazement about it?

[00:43:56] Or will it be like, oh, that's so cool.

[00:43:58] I've seen that movie already, you know?

[00:44:00] I think there will be.

[00:44:01] So I felt like there was a lot of excitement when Artemis 1 launched at the moon a little year ago.

[00:44:09] There was excitement about that, which is cool.

[00:44:11] And that was an unmanned, but that was the first human rated, you know, human capable spacecraft to go around the moon since.

[00:44:18] So the fact that there was a lot of excitement about that, I think there will be a lot of excitement about Artemis 2, which will be, it will take humans around the moon.

[00:44:27] So similar to how Apollo 8 just went around and land.

[00:44:30] I think there will be excitement.

[00:44:32] I think there will be excitement when we land eventually.

[00:44:37] After that, I don't know.

[00:44:39] Because not only did, you know, excitement die down for Apollo, excitement also tapered out really, you know, after the shuttle too.

[00:44:48] Early shuttle was really exciting and then it became boring routine until people died.

[00:44:53] Then people were excited for a minute.

[00:44:55] Then it became boring routine.

[00:44:56] Then another crew died.

[00:44:57] Then, you know, like, that's just unfortunate.

[00:45:00] It's really sad that that's how this happens.

[00:45:02] But this is how this happens.

[00:45:05] So I expect humans to be humans and the same kind of stuff happen.

[00:45:11] Be excited for the premiere of the episode of the news called Mission to the Moon.

[00:45:19] And then see the episode two is like, oh, they went to the moon.

[00:45:22] How nice.

[00:45:23] Okay, that's good.

[00:45:24] You know, la, la, la.

[00:45:25] Yeah, exactly.

[00:45:27] Yeah, we'll have to see how that develops.

[00:45:30] And we mentioned earlier, I think Chris, you mentioned about, or Brian, you mentioned about the music.

[00:45:35] What did you thought about that?

[00:45:36] Is it one of those musical themes where it stands out, it's not memorable,

[00:45:43] or it's just in the background and helps to advance the story?

[00:45:49] For me, it stood out.

[00:45:50] It just feels like one of those themes that's perfect for the movie.

[00:45:54] And it's like exact, it invokes the emotion, the exact feelings that you want.

[00:45:59] Yeah.

[00:46:00] So it was just like every time I was like, okay, good.

[00:46:02] I was watching and listening to him.

[00:46:03] I'm like, man, this is really good.

[00:46:04] I can't wait to hear Brian's thoughts on this.

[00:46:06] And I think it was James Horner.

[00:46:09] Yeah.

[00:46:09] Yes, it was.

[00:46:11] So that's always great, too.

[00:46:14] James Horner, masterful score here.

[00:46:19] It captures everything it needs to in emotion, in scope, adventure, mystery, drama.

[00:46:28] It's just really well done.

[00:46:30] And then the music of the time that they brought in, too, for the soundtrack.

[00:46:35] Yeah, that was fun.

[00:46:36] The songs they chose were really great.

[00:46:39] And just the tone of this, musically, just gives the film a lot of really wonderful scope.

[00:46:48] It's tender when it needs to be tender.

[00:46:51] It's heroic when it needs to be heroic.

[00:46:54] But Horner does a great job, period, of having reoccurring themes throughout his films that you hear in different ways.

[00:47:04] And this is true here for Apollo 13.

[00:47:10] I think this is a case where the soundtrack makes the movie even better than it already is.

[00:47:17] Definitely.

[00:47:17] Because if you put a terrible soundtrack in here, or musical score, rather, and it can really make or break a film.

[00:47:26] And Horner enhanced this film so much with the music.

[00:47:29] It's tremendous.

[00:47:31] That's great.

[00:47:32] That's great.

[00:47:33] I appreciate that.

[00:47:34] Because from your point of view, Brian, you have a great ear for music.

[00:47:38] And that's something you look forward to when you watch a film.

[00:47:42] Yes, every time.

[00:47:44] Yeah.

[00:47:46] Any other observations, considerations?

[00:47:51] Just, I love Ed Harris' character.

[00:47:54] I couldn't pull up his name.

[00:47:55] But just, I love that type of character.

[00:47:59] That was Gene Kramp.

[00:48:00] Yeah.

[00:48:01] Pardon?

[00:48:01] That was Gene Kramp.

[00:48:02] Yeah, so just watching him, like, take command of the situation.

[00:48:05] Obviously, he's in command.

[00:48:06] But, like, to be like, all right, here's the situation, guys.

[00:48:09] Here's what we need to accomplish.

[00:48:11] And just all those scenes.

[00:48:13] Yeah, I love, like, I love all the space stuff.

[00:48:15] But for whatever reason, I always love mission control in movies.

[00:48:20] And so this did not disappoint in that.

[00:48:22] And then, of course, everybody's shutting off their different options.

[00:48:26] One thing I love, too, is that's such a simple thing.

[00:48:29] But when they were, I don't know what you would call it, not doing the checklist, but they're like, hey, Capcom.

[00:48:35] And Capcom's like, all right, go.

[00:48:37] And they're going through all the things.

[00:48:38] That's always fun to watch.

[00:48:41] It's fun to say and do in real life, too.

[00:48:43] Oh, yeah.

[00:48:43] I did a very small amount of that when I was in Florida last year, where I was, I did what I, some space simulator.

[00:48:55] And so I was just repeating all the instructions.

[00:48:57] I don't mean simulator.

[00:48:58] I mean, like, so some of my, you know.

[00:49:00] Oh, yeah.

[00:49:00] No, for sure.

[00:49:01] I'm just saying because I haven't done this in real life.

[00:49:02] I'm not an astronaut, but I'm just saying.

[00:49:04] It's fun.

[00:49:06] And you're saying go.

[00:49:07] And they're like, you sure?

[00:49:11] No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

[00:49:13] Similar to what you see.

[00:49:15] That's all real.

[00:49:15] There's a script.

[00:49:16] So if I'm working console, whatever my thing is, and I'm polled for go, no, go.

[00:49:21] There are reasons I would say go, reasons I would say no, go.

[00:49:25] And I say one or the other.

[00:49:26] No, that's a situation where it's clear as much.

[00:49:29] Have you ever had to say no, go?

[00:49:33] I have not had to say it.

[00:49:36] But I had, I had been in conversations where we were wondering if as a team, we might have had to.

[00:49:46] But no, the times that I was sitting there and polled, I was go.

[00:49:51] Wow.

[00:49:52] Yeah.

[00:49:53] But I mean, and the thing is, is, you know, so one of the things that you see there.

[00:49:56] Okay.

[00:49:56] So you saw them go around in, in mission control.

[00:50:00] That's Apollo mission control versus you also saw the launch control.

[00:50:04] So, especially for, for launch.

[00:50:08] So during launch until it's launched, you know, launch control is actually in control.

[00:50:14] What they need is, is so launch folks are polling.

[00:50:19] They call over to mission control or, you know, the operate, the satellite operation center in my case, and they ask them to pull.

[00:50:26] So we do in the satellite operation center, like kind of a pull around for unmanned, just normal spacecraft.

[00:50:33] The chance that something in the satellite control center is going to prevent launch.

[00:50:38] There's, there's a whole bunch of things that could, but at least from my experience, it's so unlikely.

[00:50:45] Most things that will prevent your launch or something goes wrong with the rocket or something's not quite right with the rocket or weather.

[00:50:51] And there's a poll for weather.

[00:50:53] In one case, we did have a, an issue where we almost had a say no go from the control center because weather at the control center, we were worried about power failures and stuff.

[00:51:05] And, you know, we had a generator in case there was, but.

[00:51:08] Yeah.

[00:51:08] So there's, it's a whole sequence and you rehearse this sequence.

[00:51:12] There were rehearsals for this.

[00:51:14] Now, as the industry like changes where there's a lot more spacecraft, it's becoming harder.

[00:51:22] You can't have like this whole big team of people for like every spacecraft.

[00:51:26] So things are getting streamlined a little bit more, I think.

[00:51:30] But, but yeah, what you see there, that's, that's how it is.

[00:51:33] And there are scripts, there are procedures.

[00:51:34] You follow the procedure.

[00:51:36] We are lucky folks, listeners of the big sci-fi podcast to have someone who was there when it happened.

[00:51:44] And that is our Adina.

[00:51:46] No, I would not, not their Apollo there, but just in the satellite control center.

[00:51:51] Several satellite control centers.

[00:51:52] Yeah.

[00:51:52] It could be Apollo 13 launch.

[00:51:55] It could be a shuttle launch.

[00:51:57] It could be a dragon launch.

[00:51:59] It's still a launch.

[00:52:00] There's still a procedure.

[00:52:02] Cygnus.

[00:52:02] Cygnus.

[00:52:03] That is our capsule that resupplies the space station.

[00:52:06] Perfect.

[00:52:07] Because if there's a problem, they don't get fresh food.

[00:52:11] They don't get supplies.

[00:52:13] They don't get equipment.

[00:52:14] And experiments that had been developed and created and were put on that payload to get up to the ISS.

[00:52:22] And it's lost.

[00:52:23] It's lost forever.

[00:52:26] It's like saying, yeah, put insurance on this package going to Aunt Martha.

[00:52:31] But if it's a rare or special thing that she's supposed to get and it's lost in the mail, doesn't matter what the money's worth.

[00:52:41] It's gone.

[00:52:43] And that's the big thing.

[00:52:44] And so that's why it's, you know, the fact that you are part of making these missions happen and successful.

[00:52:52] That's pretty darn cool, Adina.

[00:52:55] I like it.

[00:52:55] Pretty darn cool.

[00:52:56] I like it.

[00:52:57] I do have to say, because I was talking, I didn't think there were any changes between Apollo 13 and after.

[00:53:03] It looks like they did.

[00:53:04] So I was kind of Googling in the background to look at that.

[00:53:07] It does look like they did change the oxygen tank.

[00:53:11] So the thing that really caused a problem.

[00:53:12] So they didn't do anything with like the scrubbers or, you know, the CO2 or whatever, because that was a side like thing.

[00:53:18] But it looks like they did do some redesign on the oxygen tank.

[00:53:22] Okay.

[00:53:22] Very interesting.

[00:53:25] Ryan, any final thoughts about it?

[00:53:29] This is a great film.

[00:53:31] Go see it if you haven't ever seen it.

[00:53:33] If you haven't seen it in years, watch it.

[00:53:35] Make it your next movie night.

[00:53:38] Gather the kids around.

[00:53:40] Gather the children around with blankets and pillows on the floor like me as a kid.

[00:53:46] And enjoy this film.

[00:53:48] It's a piece of history.

[00:53:50] It's an entertaining movie.

[00:53:53] It's just wonderful all the way around.

[00:53:56] Ron Howard did such a phenomenal job directing this.

[00:54:00] And it's so well acted.

[00:54:01] Everything about it is this is a must-see film.

[00:54:06] Mm-hmm.

[00:54:07] Yeah, that's the interesting thing is that if you have someone watching who has no knowledge of the Apollo 13 mission, they don't know what happens.

[00:54:17] And you can tell them, you know, do they make it or not?

[00:54:19] You got to watch the movie.

[00:54:20] I'm not going to tell you if what actually happened since you don't know.

[00:54:24] And it's compelling enough that if you don't know about what happened, it will unfold in such a way that you will be worried.

[00:54:32] Did they make it or not?

[00:54:34] Right.

[00:54:35] Mm-hmm.

[00:54:35] Mm-hmm.

[00:54:37] Chris, anything else?

[00:54:39] No, just that, like, it does the thing where you solo the documentary about the solo climber, rock climber, who you know he's fine.

[00:54:50] But when you watch the documentary, like, is he going to make it?

[00:54:52] Is he going to be able to actually do it?

[00:54:54] But this has the same feeling of are they going to do it, even though you know they're going to be fine.

[00:54:59] Mm-hmm.

[00:54:59] So it's perfect.

[00:55:00] Really great movie again.

[00:55:02] Take Brian's advice.

[00:55:02] Get your kids together.

[00:55:04] And just have a good old-fashioned movie night.

[00:55:07] Yeah, definitely.

[00:55:09] And, Adina, I think you shared your thoughts.

[00:55:11] I've said a lot.

[00:55:13] I've said too much.

[00:55:14] Just watch the movie, like Brian and Chris said.

[00:55:17] Yep.

[00:55:17] I agree.

[00:55:19] I agree.

[00:55:21] So then I guess we've come to the conclusion that Ron Howard is an amazing film director.

[00:55:27] Mm-hmm.

[00:55:28] Yeah.

[00:55:29] Definitely.

[00:55:30] And if you look back at the body of his work, he has done some great films that depict real events in history.

[00:55:36] As aforementioned, the film Rush about the 1976 Formula One season.

[00:55:41] I know it happened.

[00:55:43] I lived through that Formula One season, but still watching the way it was portrayed in the film, right down the mind.

[00:55:50] A Beautiful Mind.

[00:55:51] Or even 13 Lives, a story about the soccer team that was caught in a cave-in and they were trapped.

[00:56:01] We know that they survive, but how they went about it is depicted in this film, and it's done just fantastic.

[00:56:09] And for people who really want to go back to history, Frost Nixon about the great discussions between the two of them.

[00:56:17] I didn't realize he did that.

[00:56:18] That was awesome.

[00:56:19] I liked that movie.

[00:56:20] So in each of these films, he wants to inform and educate the audience.

[00:56:25] And besides this, he's done some wonderful fiction films, especially science fiction.

[00:56:31] And we could go over all those, and that would be an entirely different podcast.

[00:56:35] But I do want to shout out to one of my favorite Star Wars films, Solo, A Star Wars Story, which so accurately depicted the life of Han Solo.

[00:56:46] And yeah, right.

[00:56:47] Okay, okay, okay.

[00:56:49] Well, we hope you've enjoyed our discussion.

[00:56:52] That was the weirdest tangent ever.

[00:56:56] I had to throw it in, kids.

[00:56:58] But actually, there was another director that started making the film, and they yanked him.

[00:57:04] And they put Ron Howard in, and he said the most nervous day he had in production was the day that George Lucas came on the set.

[00:57:13] Oh, that's right.

[00:57:14] I don't doubt it.

[00:57:15] And by the way, Ron Howard did a fine job with Solo.

[00:57:20] That is a fine movie.

[00:57:22] Nothing wrong with that movie.

[00:57:24] Lighten up.

[00:57:25] That's questionable.

[00:57:25] I mean, it's not...

[00:57:26] No, no, no.

[00:57:26] I agree with you.

[00:57:27] I love it.

[00:57:28] Okay, we have to have, I guess, a podcast on just that movie.

[00:57:32] Oh, yeah.

[00:57:32] For sure.

[00:57:33] I would be very happy to talk about Solo.

[00:57:35] I really love it.

[00:57:36] Hey, we get to learn how he meets the Wookiee, which is wonderful.

[00:57:40] So, again, we hope you've enjoyed our discussion of Apollo 13.

[00:57:44] We hope it has ignited your main engines to learn more about this mission.

[00:57:49] Heck, learn about all the Apollo missions.

[00:57:51] They were all important.

[00:57:52] Happily, in all the manned missions to the moon, all the crews returned home safely thanks to the engineers that made the Apollo missions happen.

[00:58:02] And a big shout out to the folks at Grumman Aircraft Corporation for building the LEM.

[00:58:10] That little craft saved the lives of the Apollo 13 crew.

[00:58:14] And our own Adina is part of that firm, helping us to explore the unknown reaches of space.

[00:58:23] Again, thank you for listening to our podcast.

[00:58:25] And as I said in the film Up, adventure is out there.

[00:58:31] Be part of our adventure.

[00:58:33] And as always, I leave you with these parting words.

[00:58:36] Look to the skies.

[00:58:38] Live long and prosper.

[00:58:41] Thanks for listening to this week's episode of the Big Sci-Fi Podcast.

[00:58:45] If you're having fun and enjoying the podcast, we ask that you would share the love by liking, following, subscribing, rating, and writing a review for us.

[00:58:54] That helps get our podcast in front of more potential listeners.

[00:58:58] Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.

[00:59:01] Once again, we're a part of the Trek Geeks Podcast Network.

[00:59:05] And you can find our podcast, along with other fantastic podcasts, by visiting trekgeeks.com.