Apollo 13 Minute Podcast

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TV & Film
**Apollo 13 Minute Podcast**

A minute-by-minute analysis of director Ron Howard’s 1995 feature film, Apollo 13

Latest Episodes:

Minute 085: Swigert Gave Me the Clap Apr 17, 2020

Show notes

Jim Lovell and Fred Haise are discussing Mary Haise’s pregnancy while floating in the Lunar Module.

“Wonder if it’s a boy or a girl?” says Haise.

“You’re gonna find out soon enough,” says Lovell.

“Sure,” says Haise, looking out the window at the Moon. “I never dreamed I’d 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.”

“Yeah,” says Lovell. “Here y’are.”

“It hurts when I urinate,” says Haise.

“Well, you’re not getting enough water,” replies Lovell.

“No, I’m drinkin’ my rations, same as you,” says Haise. “I think old Swigert gave me the clap. He’s been pissing in my relief tube.”

“Well, that’ll be a hot one at the debriefing,” replies Lovell.

IN THIS MINUTE:

Tom Hanks as Jim Lovell

Bill Paxton as Fred Haise

Minute 084: Touch the Moon for Us Apr 16, 2020

Show notes

Jim Lovell floats down the docking port from the Command Module.

“Hey Freddo,” says Lovell, pointing back through the docking port. “It’s too cold back there.”

Haise turns off the cassette player that was playing a slowed-down version of Hank Williams, Jr’s “Honky – Tonkin'”

“Yeah,” agrees Haise. Freddo looks at a card that was stored by his family. The card says:

TOUCH THE MOON FOR US

I LOVE YOU – Mary

Love, Mary

Love, Fred

0h7wwf- (Steven)

“That’s a nice one of Mary,” says Lovell, holding up a snapshot. “You don’t look too good, Freddo,” he adds.

“I’ll survive,” says Haise.

“There’s some aspirin in the medical kit-” says Lovell.

“I took some,” says Haise. “Jim, I’m alright.”

There’s a pause. “It was an accident,” says Freddo. “Mary getting pregnant. You should have seen the look on my face when she told me.”

“Well,” says Lovell, “That has a tendency to happen.”

“Yeah,” replies Haise, smiling.

IN THIS MINUTE:

Tom Hanks as Jim Lovell

Bill Paxton as Fred Haise

Kevin Bacon as Jack Swigert

Minute 083: He’ll Be Home on Friday Apr 15, 2020

Show notes

Marilyn Lovell is discussing the media request for putting a transmitter on the Lovell front lawn.

“Look,” says Henry, the Public Affairs Officer for NASA, “I , um, I realize how hard this is, Marilyn, but the whole world is caught up in it – it’s the biggest story since – ”

“No, Henry!” replies Marilyn. “Those people don’t put one piece of equipment on my lawn. If they have a problem with it, they can take it up with my husband. He’ll be home – – on Friday.”

Back in the Lunar Module, Lovell, Haise, and Swigert try to conserve their energy in the frozen cabin.

=DAY 5= says a caption.

“Honky-Tonkin'” by Hank Williams, is playing at a slow speed on the cassette player. Haise pops a couple of pills in zero gravity. Lovell sees his breath frost. Lovell floats back from the Command Module.

IN THIS MINUTE:

Xander Berkeley as Henry

Kathleen Quinlan as Marilyn Lovell

Tom Hanks as Jim Lovell

Bill Paxton as Fred Haise

Kevin Bacon as Jack Swigert

Minute 082: Landing on the Moon Wasn’t Dramatic Enough Apr 14, 2020

Show notes

The engineers look at the equipment on the table.

“Okay, let’s get it organized,” says an engineer.

“Let’s build a filter,” says another engineer.

“Better get some coffee going, too,” says another engineer.

Back at the Lovell household, Marilyn Lovell is watching television. ABC Science reporter Jules Bergman is narrating stock footage of Lovell and Haise.

“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 – ”
The stock footage fades to a Haise interview.

“I’d never flown, really, until I went into the service,” says Haise. “and I only went into the flying business as a means to get a commission.”

Marilyn is seated on a sofa, watching television.

“Good morning,” says the Public Affairs Officer, entering from the front door.

“Henry,” says Marilyn, “Don’t you ever sleep?”

“I, uh, I have a request from the news people,” says Henry.

“Uh-huh,” says Marilyn.

“They’re out front here, and they want to put a transmitter on the lawn?” Henry points out the window.

“Transmitter?” asks Marilyn, getting up from the couch and walking to the window.

“Kind of a tower for live broadcasts,” replies Henry.

Marilyn looks out the window. A dozen or more media people are walking over the Lovell front lawn, while a Sheriff’s deputy looks on.

“I thought they didn’t care about this mission,” says Marilyn. “They didn’t even run Jim’s show.”

“Well,” says Henry, “It’s more dramatic now. Suddenly, people are -”

“Landing on the Moon wasn’t dramatic enough for them, why should not landing be?” asks Marilyn.

IN THIS MINUTE:

Xander Berkeley as Henry

Kathleen Quinlan as Marilyn Lovell

Minute 081: A Government Operation Apr 13, 2020

Show notes

In the Mission Control Center, two controllers and the Flight Surgeon approach Gene Kranz’s station.

“Gene,” says one of the controllers, “we’ve got another situation brewing with the carbon dioxide.”

“We’ve got a CO2 problem on the Lunar Module,” says the second controller. “Five filters on the LM -”

“Which were meant for two guys for a day and a half – ” says the first controller, “So I told the doc – ”

“They’re already up to eight on the gauges,” says the flight surgeon. “Anything over fifteen, and you get impaired judgement, blackouts, the beginnings of brain asphxia – ”

“What about the scrubbers on the Command Module?” asks Gene.

“They take square cartridges,” says the second controller.

“The ones on the LM are round,” explains the first controller.

Gene rubs his nose. “Tell me this isn’t a government operation,” says Gene.

“This just isn’t a contingency we’ve remotely looked at,” says the first controller.

“Those CO2 levels are going to be getting toxic,” says the flight surgeon.

“Well, I suggest you gentlemen invent a way to put a square peg in a round hole,” says Gene. “Rapidly.”

In an engineering lab, engineers and controllers dump boxes of equipment on a work table.

“Okay people, listen up,” says an engineer. “The people upstairs handed us this one, and we gotta come through. We gotta find a way to make this,” he says, holding up a square cartridge, “fit into the hole for this,” holding up a round cartridge, “using nothing but that,” he continues, pointing at the work table equipment.

IN THIS MINUTE:

Andy Milder as GUIDO White

Christian Clemenson as Flight Surgeon

Ed Harris as Gene Kranz

Minute 080: Sir Isaac Newton Apr 10, 2020

Show notes

In the Lunar Module, Lovell and Haise are listening to Mission Control. Swigert floats in the Command Module tunnel, eating dinner out of a plastic bag.

“Forward Omni when Earth’s in the window, and we’re switching to Aft Omni when we see the Moon,” says Haise.

“We copy that, Thirteen,” says Capcom. “Aquarius, we don’t want you to make any more waste dumps. The venting may push you off course.”

“Good Christ,” says Haise.

“What’s up?” asks Swigert.

“No more waste dumps,” replies Lovell. “We’re just gonna have to store it. Jack, we’re gonna need some more urine bags.”

Swigert taps his spoon against his bag of dinner.

“Okay, Houston, that leaves us with just the computer – – which I’m shutting down now, ” says Lovell. Swigert tags his spoon to a piece of velcro on the wall.

Lovell presses a few buttons and the computer goes dark.

“And that’s it,” says Lovell. “We just put Sir Isaac Newton in the driver’s seat.”

Back on Earth, in a computer tape library, engineer sleep on the floor.

“Is it AM or PM?” asks an engineer.

“AM,” replies another GUIDO White. “Very, very AM.”

In the same room, the flight surgeon talks to Deke Slayton.

“Haise is running a temperature,” says the flight surgeon, “and none of them has slept since the explosion…”

“I can’t order these guys to go to sleep!” replies Deke Slayton. “Would you sleep up there?”

IN THIS MINUTE:

Tom Hanks as Jim Lovell

Bill Paxton as Fred Haise

Kevin Bacon as Jack Swigert

Andy Milder as GUIDO White

Christian Clemenson as Flight Surgeon

Chris Ellis as Deke Slayton

Minute 079: All about the Sequencing Apr 09, 2020

Show notes

“How many amps do we have to play with?” asks an engineer.

“Barely enough to run this coffee pot for nine hours, ” replies John Aaron. “Go,” says Aaron to his microphone.

“Yeah, Ken Mattingly just got here,” says the voice on the other end of the headset.

“Copy,” says Aaron, turning to the engineer. “He’s here.”

“They’ve been losing heat since the accident,” says John Young, “They’re going to start getting a lot of water condensation on the control panels.”

“Ken,” says John Aaron, as they walk toward the Command Module simulator, “Glad you’re here. Know what’s going on?”

“John’s brought me up to speed,” says Ken. “What do we have left in the batteries?”

“We don’t really know,” says Aaron.

“Well, we’ve got to get started on some shortcuts for power-up,” says Ken.

“You know how short?” asks Aaron.

“Well, it’s all in the sequencing, John, “says Ken. “Let’s skip whatever we don’t absolutely need and turn things on in the right order. Maybe –”

“I agree,” says Aaron.

“Have you started on a procedure?” asks Ken.

“Well, the engineers have tried, ” replies Aaron, “but , I mean, – – it’s your ship. We’ve gotta get you in there.”

“Okay, ” says Ken. He sees Frank, the other engineer. “Frank,” he says, “I need the sim cold and dark, give me the exact same conditions they’ve got in there now. And I need the present status of every instrument.”

“You’ve got it,” says Frank.

“I need a flashlight,” says Ken. Someone hands him a large yellow flashlight. “That’s not what they have up there. Don’t give me anything they don’t have onboard.”

“Let’s get this show on the road,” says John Young to the other engineers. “Put him in space, fellas!”

Back on the real LM, Lovell looks at a circuit breaker panel. “Okay Houston, ” says Lovell “The quad heater circuit breakers are open.” He throws more switches.

“Copy that,” replies Capcom.

IN THIS MINUTE:

Tom Hanks as Jim Lovell

Bill Paxton as Fred Haise

Loren Dean as John Aaron

Gary Sinese as Ken Mattingly

Ben Marley as John Young

Minute 078: Failure is Not an Option Apr 08, 2020

Show notes

Gene Kranz wants the ship back “with time to spare.”

“We’ve never lost an American in space,” says Kranz, “We’re sure not gonna lose one on my watch! Failure is not an option!”

In Mattingly’s apartment, his phone is off the hook. John Young has the apartment manager open the door to Apartment Five.

“Ken? Ken?” called Young, as he walks through the apartment looking for Mattingly. “Good, you’re not dead. I’ve been trying to get in touch with you for forty-five minutes.” He turns on the bedroom light.

“Jesus, John – what are you doing here?” says Mattingly, still waking up. Young turns on another light.

“We’ve got to get you in the simulators. We’ve got a ship to land,” replies John Young.

“What?” says Ken, as Young turns on the bathroom light.

“There’s been an explosion,” says John Young. “Oxygen tanks are gone, two fuel cells gone, the Command Module’s shut down.”

“What about the crew?” asks Mattingly.

“The crew’s fine so far,” replies Young. “Trying to keep them alive in the LM. We’re gonna have to shut that down again pretty soon, too. We’ve got a lotta people working the numbers on this one, Ken, and nobody’s too sure about how much power we’re gonna have when we hit reentry. The Command Module’s going to be frozen up pretty good by then. ”

Later, in the simulator room, John Aaron turns on an ammeter.

“If you see this ammeter rise up over twenty, the power-up is no good,” says Aaron. “If you see it spike, that’s sayonara for the guidance computer. Our guys can’t reenter, okay?”

“How much power do we- ” begins another engineer.

IN THIS MINUTE:

Ed Harris as Gene Kranz

Loren Dean as John Aaron

Gary Sinese as Ken Mattingly

Ben Marley as John Young

Minute 077: Squeeze Every Amp Apr 07, 2020

Show notes

John Aaron is explaining all the systems that need to be turned off.

“– heater, instrument displays, the guidance computer, the whole smack,” says Aaron.

“Whoa, guidance computer?” asks EECOM Gold. “What if they need to do another burn, Gene? They won’t even know which way they’re pointed!”

“The more time we talk down here, the more juice they waste up there – – I’ve been looking at the data for the past hour,” says Aaron.

“That’s the deal?” asks Kranz.

“That’s the deal,” replies John Aaron.

“Okay, John, “says Gene, “The minute we finish the burn, we’ll power down the LM.”

“Alright,” says John Aaron, and leaves.

“Now, in the meantime,” says Kranz, “we’re gonna have a frozen Command Module up there. In a couple of days, we’re going to have to power it up using nothing but the reentry batteries.”

“Never been tried before, “says one engineer.

“Hell,” says another engineer, “we’ve never even simulated it before, Gene.”

“Well, we’re going to have to figure it out,” says Gene, “I want people in our simulators, working reentry scenarios.” John Young leaves for the simulator room.

“I want you guys to find every engineer who designed every switch, every circuit, every transistor, and every light bulb that’s up there, then I want you to talk to the guy on the assembly line who actually built the thing. Find out how to squeeze every amp out of both of these goddamn machines!” says Kranz, picking up a piece of chalk and walking back to the mission map. “I want this mark all the way back to Earth –”

IN THIS MINUTE:

Ed Harris as Gene Kranz

Loren Dean as John Aaron

Ray McKinnon as EECOM Gold

Ben Marley as John Young

Minute 076: Power is Everything Apr 06, 2020

Show notes

Swigert and Haise look at Lovell.

“Let’s go home,” says Lovell.

“Aquarius we’ve got some PC+2 burn data for you fellas…” says Capcom.

Back in the conference room, Gene Kranz is writing numbers on a blackboard.

“So you guys are telling me you can only give our guys forty-five hours? That brings them to about there,” says Kranz, marking a spot about halfway back to Earth. “Gentlemen, that’s not acceptable.”

There’s a bunch of voices in the room, arguing about the numbers.

“Gene, Gene, we’ve got to talk about power here! Whoa, whoa guys – power is everything,” says John Aaron. “Power is everything.”

“What do you mean?” asks Kranz.

“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,” says Aaron. “They’re not going to make it to reentry.”

“What do you mean everything?” asks Gene Kranz

“With everything on, the LM draws sixty amps. At that rate, in sixteen hours, the batteries are dead, not forty five,” says John Aaron. “And so’s the crew. We’ve got to get them down to twelve amps.”

“Twelve amps?” asks another engineer.

“You can’t run a vacuum cleaner on twelve amps, John!” says another engineer.

“We have to turn off the radars, the cabin – ” says John Aaron.

IN THIS MINUTE:

Tom Hanks as Jim Lovell

Kevin Bacon as Jack Swigert

Bill Paxton as Fred Haise

Ed Harris as Gene Kranz

Loren Dean as John Aaron