The moving screen story of Apollo 13

The Apollo 13 mission survival story is now widely known thanks to the 1995 Oscar-winning film of the same name. But surprisingly, it took a long time before Lovell, his flight partners, and ground crew could adequately tell their story on screen.

The rescue captured the world in real time

Two days after the launch of Apollo 13, an oxygen tank exploded and depleted the astronauts’ command module, called Odysseyof strength and oxygen.

“Ah, Houston, we have a problem,” Lovell remarked grimly, initiating a dramatic rescue operation more than 200,000 miles from Earth that – thanks to extensive coverage in print, radio and, above all, television – captivated observers around the world.

Millions of Americans watched the news as Lovell, Swigert and Haise battled dangerous conditions such as freezing temperatures and rising carbon dioxide levels. On April 15, even Pope Paul VI prayed for the trio's safety.

Flight Director Eugene Kranz and the crew from the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston provided valuable assistance, performing calculations and even helping the astronauts construct a makeshift CO2 filter out of duct tape, cardboard and a sock. With this help, the astronauts finally splashed down in the South Pacific on April 17. The New York Times According to reports, up to 40 million people followed their rescue about 600 miles from American Samoa.

Those involved in the operation were showered with congratulations. President Richard Nixon appeared at the MSC (now the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center) to present Kranz and the Apollo 13 Mission Operations Team with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Nixon did the same for the three astronauts at Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu, calling the mission “successful” despite the aborted moon landing. “We're glad to be here, and we're glad to be part of America,” Lovell said, according to NASA.

The dramatic story of Apollo 13 was made into a film four years later – and not without controversy.

The first Apollo 13 film was almost entirely fictional

Universal Studios was the first company to adapt the Apollo 13 rescue for the screen, but the work was more like a soap opera than a gripping survival saga. ABC aired the film on March 2, 1974. Houston, we have a problemThat the title was a misquote of Lovell was an early sign of the creative liberties the film took in adapting the story.

The film, shot with NASA support and starring Robert Culp and Sandra Dee, took the unusual approach of focusing on the staff at Mission Control rather than the Apollo 13 astronauts.

Although NASA permitted filming on the premises of its Johnson Space Center and allowed real personnel to appear as extras, the agency stayed out of the creative development of the project. “We did not and do not believe that we should be the arbiters of what is artistic or 'tasteful' and what is not,” NASA press secretary John P. Donnelly wrote in a memo, adding that he hoped the film could “humanize” the space program.

The film certainly did nothing to humanize the three astronauts, none of them are listed as characters and there are no scenes set in space. Meanwhile, over the course of the film, the members of the team in Houston struggle with personal issues that played no role in the actual rescue – including a heart condition that affects Culp's character and a custody battle involving another person.

Lovell said the film was “a disservice”

Astronaut Jim Lovell, seen here during a training session in 1970, condemned the first film about the Apollo 13 rescue.

The studio justified the changes by saying that the network would never have accepted a documentary-style project. It also emphasized the added disclaimers that were meant to point out the film's fictional elements. “We took the basic facts and added extra drama,” said Universal executive producer Herman Saunders in February 1974. “How else are you going to keep people in suspense when they all already know the outcome of the story?”

Houston, we have a problem is largely forgotten by all but Lovell, who read the script and found it distasteful and “a disservice to the flight crew and ground personnel” involved in the entire mission. “If this story is to be believed, it was obviously more traumatic to be in mission control than to be aboard the damaged spacecraft,” Lovell said. “The story of Apollo 13 is in itself a thrilling adventure story without the embellishments you find in an afternoon soap. If NASA wanted such exposure, this story should have been based on a fictional space flight.”

The film was the only notable adaptation of the mission that Swigert lived to see. He died in late December 1982 at the age of 51 from complications of bone cancer. Meanwhile, Lovell was determined to tell the true story of Apollo 13 and played a crucial role in doing so 20 years later.

Lovell was directly involved in 1995 Apollo13

In 1994, Lovell worked with journalist Jeffrey Kluger on the autobiographical book Lost Moon: The dangerous journey of Apollo 13. This novel served as inspiration for the 1995 blockbuster of the same name by director Ron Howard Apollo13 about the doomed mission.

Lovell was a consultant on the film from the beginning to make it as realistic as possible. He even requested that actor Kevin Costner, who bore a striking physical resemblance, play him on screen. The role eventually went to Tom Hanks, with Bill Paxton playing Haise, Kevin Bacon playing Swigert, and Ed Harris taking on the critical role of Kranz.

Lovell personally helped Hanks prepare for the film and welcomed Forrest Gump Star to his home in Horseshoe Bay, Texas, and flew him in his private plane. Hanks also spent more than four hours in NASA's “Vomit Comet,” the aircraft that trains astronauts for rocket flight by alternating between negative gravity and 2G force.

Unlike the slandered Houston In the film, much more attention was paid to the astronauts and the realism of their spacecraft. Haise advised the sound effects team on alarm and equipment sounds, while Space Works Inc. made replicas of Apollo 13's command and lunar modules “down to the smallest detail and the smallest Velcro.” The attention to detail proved worthwhile, as Apollo13 He received nine Oscar nominations and won in two categories.

Despite further altering Lovell's famous quote – changed to the now iconic “Houston, we have a problem” – the film ultimately received the astronaut's approval. “Ron Howard really toed the line,” Lovell said, adding that another director “might have put this thing on Mars with David Bowie or something.”

Lovell likes the new documentary

Jim Lovell speaks at a screening of Apollo13 in March 2015.

Since the premiere of the Apollo13 Although included in the original film, the actual mission continues to be the subject of much interest and analysis.

Haise, now 90, published his own memoirs, Never panic too soon: The journey of an Apollo 13 astronautin 2022, detailing his experiences and career. The Apollo in Real Time website, launched in 2020, allows visitors to view photos and listen to audio broadcasts of Apollo 13 as it occurred in 1970.

As for the new Netflix documentary, Lovell, now 96, has already given his full approval. “More than 50 years after the mission, the film put me back in the captain's seat,” he said, according to the Independent“Those were the days! Seeing the historic footage and hearing the views of family and friends on the ground really touched me emotionally. I am grateful that the world now has this excellent documentary that shows the raw emotion and triumph we felt at the time.”

All of these projects will help ensure that the true legacy of Apollo 13 will be preserved for years to come.

Regard Apollo 13: Survival on Netflix

Director Peter Middleton contacted Lovell's family before filming the new documentary to “weave our family's experiences in a way that gives people a whole new perspective,” said Jim's son Jeff Lovell.

Jeff, 58, said The Telegraph In August 2024, he gave Middleton access to hours of home videos and personal photos. “I hope that makes it a much more emotional, human story,” he said.

Experience the harrowing story of Lovell and the entire Apollo 13 crew as Apollo 13: Survival streamed on Netflix from Thursday.

Tyler Piccotti initially joined the Biography.com was hired as Associate News Editor in February 2023 and before that spent nearly eight years as a newspaper reporter and editor. He is a graduate of Syracuse University. When he's not writing and researching his next story, you can find him at the nearest amusement park, watching the latest movie, or cheering on his favorite sports teams.