Apollo XIII (When America Shines the Greatest)

N/A | 082903 | N/A

[Archangelsk]

On the History Channel now.

[Clint Williams]

Don't have cable/satellite/whatever. The point is...?

[gg188]

One of the great movies of all time. Brilliant. Amazing how riveting it is even after several viewings.

I always thought the incredible part was that it's a movie where you KNOW the outcome yet it keeps you on the edge of your seat.

(If only those men were around and in charge now!)

[Brett66]

Are they replaying "Failure is not an option" tonight?

[mrbillxx]

"Failure is not an Option" was excellent. Gene Kranz and Chris Kraft were two very important cogs in us getting to the moon. These guys never gave up.

[dr_lew]

One of the great movies of all time. Brilliant. Amazing how riveting it is even after several viewings.

See Apollo 11 video library for the real deal.

I recommend the powered descent clips. That's riveting! This film was shot on the way down to the moon! For the first time! It's not some damn Hollywood movie!

See also Apollo Lunar Surface Journal Apollo 16, at Plum Crater :

124:03:01 Duke: John, you are just beautiful. That is the most beautiful sight.

124:03:07 Young: What's that?

124:03:08 Duke: You standing there on the rim of that crater.

... I love that.

[July 4th]

I saw that the other night. If "Failure Is Not An Option" shows up again on your TV schedule, make sure to watch. It was great, especially since I wasn't around for the first time. But I did have to think, when the Apollo 8 astronauts were reading from the Book of Genesis on Christmas Eve, if this happened today the ACLU would get an injunction on them mid-sentence.

[quietolong]

Unlike now!
Now it's S**T happens!

[RJL]

Failure is not an Option" was excellent.

This Apollo XIII scene has long been a favorite of mine. Now when I see it, all I see is the President Bush hating slimeball, Ed Harris, and it spoils it for me.

[Archangelsk]

The point is...?

Good question. The point is back then, in a crisis, we solved the problem. Now, we finger point and COA.

[Atlas Sneezed]

If you like "Failure is Not an Option" for the behind the scenes Mission Control stories and program technology, then you will love what I consider to be the best book wriitten about Apollo (and I think I have read them all:

Apollo: The Race to the Moon
by Charles Murray, Catherine S. Cox

It is a crying shame that this wonderful book appears to be VERY out of print. It answers all the questions any technologically curious person would have about the design of the systems, the testing, how mission control worked, what all those acronyms really mean, the geeky geniuses and tough managers that made the program succeed. it covers the surprising numbers of "glitches" that made every mission more dramatic than news reports led viewers to believe.

Could it be that author Murray followed up this gem with the controversial The Bell Curve, and the publishing establishment is reluctant to see him prosper? Or is there a less nefarious explanation?

[Final Authority]

I did not read the book although I will look for it. Did the book talk about the influence of the former German, WWII scientists that controlled and managed the technology of the manned space program? After VonBraun died of cancer and after the Saturn V engineering manager was chased from the USA due to acusations of being a war criminal the manned space program has never been the same and what I think is really a shame, the most powerfull and dependable launch vehicle, the Saturn V, was relegated to the scrap heap.

I graduated from college a few years after the end of Apollo, at the start of the MX program, (and B1 bomber) and the culture was different according to collegues. It became a job now since as Apollo was winding down thousands of scientists nationwide were fired and careers were never the same. The movie "Falling Down, I think, was a good representation, although dramatic, of the end of an era.

A friend of mine who grew up in Huntsville AL, said the culture changed there as well as the Germans were of retirement age, went back to Germany, and their offspring did not automatically go into science.

I think there has been a discontinuity in the know-how of space travel and what it takes to do greatness. Nearly a generation of engineers and scientists efforts were diverted to other programs. There is something to be said for the value of mentors, and the tradition lost often can only be regained at greater cost.

[Archangelsk]

I think there has been a discontinuity in the know-how of space travel and what it takes to do greatness. Nearly a generation of engineers and scientists efforts were diverted to other programs. There is something to be said for the value of mentors, and the tradition lost often can only be regained at greater cost.

So long as the vast majority of Americans are concerned with Madonna kissing Brittney Spears or the trials and tribulations of the latest wannabee actress or actor on the reality show du jour then this discontinuity will continue to grow.

As cynical as this sounds I think Ayn Rand will be proven right in the near future.

[Atlas Sneezed]

I did not read the book although I will look for it. Did the book talk about the influence of the former German, WWII scientists that controlled and managed the technology of the manned space program?

---

The book is not just the best source on Apollo as an engineering program, but also goes into the leaders and managers, and all the details as a management project.

Since the book is very out of print ($60 used at best) your best bet is the public library.

[Young Werther]

How can you say that. The whole Lunar program was filmed in the desert outside of White Sands. And not only that but Babwa's husband was involved!!! /sarcasm. Hehe

Actually saw The History Channel's presentation last week?

I was stationed on the DEW Line and listened to the Apollo !! mission over the Armed Forces Radio Service. Two weeks later I was in Cambridge Bay Canada and the DEW Line site recreation fund had purchased one of those new fangled video recording machines. We watched some Canadian football games, soaps and "one small step!" Ain't technology sumthin"

[Young Werther]

How can you say that. The whole Lunar program was filmed in the desert outside of White Sands. And not only that but Babwa's husband was involved!!! /sarcasm. Hehe

Actually saw The History Channel's presentation last week?

I was stationed on the DEW Line and listened to the Apollo !! mission over the Armed Forces Radio Service. Two weeks later I was in Cambridge Bay Canada and the DEW Line site recreation fund had purchased one of those new fangled video recording machines. We watched some Canadian football games, soaps and "one small step!" Ain't technology sumthin"