- 0:00:43 The Moon Walk
- The reporter references the tragedy of Apollo 1 in 1967 and then comments on Neil Armstrong’s success: walking on the moon only 18 months after Apollo 1, to finally beat the Russians. The future crew of Apollo 14: Ken Mattingly, Fred Haise, and Jim Lovell watch the historic lunar landing at a gathering at the Lovell’s; all silently aware that they could have been the first. At the time though no one is worried, as they are all confident they will soon have their chance. Everybody is moved by Armstrong’s moon walk, as he historically states: "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.â€
- 0:05:19 The Moon and Marilyn
- After the party, Jim Lovell and his wife relax in the backyard. Lovell closes one eye and playfully covers the moon with his left thumb. Marilyn imagines that Armstrong’s wife wouldn’t be able to sleep that night, as she herself was unable to sleep at all when Jim was in orbit. Lovell mentions the names of three of the most significant historical explorers: Christopher Columbus, Charles Lindbergh, and Neil Armstrong, now revered in the same category. He comments on the transition to living in a world where man has walked on the moon, and reminisces about his own previous mission, Apollo 8, in which they were so close, only 60 nautical miles away to be exact. Marilyn asks Jim where her mountain is (Mount Marilyn, which he named for her while on Apollo 8) and he explains that it’s on the edge of the sea of tranquility. While Marilyn continues to look, Jim makes a drunken but romantic pass.
- 0:07:51 The Congressman tour
- Lovell shows the premises to the congressman and emphasizes the need for continuous funding. Lovell’s boss, Deke Slayton, interrupts the tour because something has come up and he needs to talk with Lovell.
- 0:09:37 A Slight Change in Destination
- Lovell comes home. The children are arguing about their Halloween costumes. Lovell coyly informs Marilyn that there will be a change in their Easter plans, and proudly announces that he will be part of the Apollo 13 crew. Marilyn fears they’re rushing things, but Lovell assures her they’ll be ready in 6 months. Marilyn, superstitiously inquires why it has to be the number 13, but Lovell calmly responds, “it comes after 12, hon.â€
- 0:11:09 The Prime Crew
- The three crewmembers practice in the simulator. Ken, a perfectionist gets it right the first time but insists on doing it again, claiming that he used too much fuel the first time.
- 0:13:16 Something Bad Would Happen
- The master alarm goes off, the windows shatter; Lovell is sucked into the vacuum of space. Marilyn wakes up and realizes this was a only nightmare. She finds Lovell talking with their youngest son, who is afraid that another accident (similar to what happened to Apollo 1) may occur again. Lovell assures him that they have already fixed all the problems had with Apollo 1.
- 0:18:30 The Last Flight
- On April 7, four days before the launching, the three crew members are photographed and interviewed. The reporter asks them if the number 13 bothers them. Apollo 13 will lift off at 1300 hours and 13 minutes, and enter the moon gravity on April 13. All three crewmembers joke about it and don’t consider 13 to be an unlucky number. Lovell announces that this will be his last flight since he’ll never be able to top being in command of the best crew and walking on the moon.
- 0:19:46 Mattingly Has the Measles
- Two days prior to launch, Mattingly’s blood work shows that he may come down with the measles because he was exposed to it from one of Freddo’s son’s. (Fred and Jim are immune, as they have both already had measles). Jack Swigert replaces Mattingly. Lovell is extremely displeased because Swigert has not practiced in a simulator for quite some time. He calls the decision “flight surgeon horseshit.â€
- 0:24:00 The New Pilot
- Swigert fails his first simulation. He has two days to improve.
- 0:26:17 Love at the Launch
- Freddo’s wife and children come to say good-bye. Marilyn, who had initially said she was not going to come to the launch, also shows up to say good-bye to Jim. He’s happy to see her.
- 0:27:45 The Big Day
- While the crew is getting ready for departure, the camera shows Marilyn taking a shower; she accidentally loses her wedding ring when it falls down the drain- another ominous sign. The crew enters the spacecraft. Freddo and Jim’s wives meet and wait for the launch. Gene Kranz, the flight director and manager, receives his traditional ‘good luck’ waistcoat from his wife. He puts it on and everyone jokes that they are now ready for launch.
- 0:32:24 Go for Launch
- They are all set for launch. Ken observes the launching from a distance.
- 0:34:18 Lift-off
- After the lift-off, Marilyn and Mary cry. Everything goes well except for the loss of the fifth engine. Ken goes back home. Freddo, Jim, and Jack start playing with their gloves and helmets which begin floating around in the zero gravity.
- 0:39:07 Proud, Happy, and Thrilled
- Mary (Fred Haise’s wife) commends Marilyn for having been at a launch four times. Marilyn confesses that she’s not calm until Jim returns. When reporters approach them, Marilyn preps the first timer, reminding her that they are “proud, happy, and thrilled.â€
- 0:39:48 The Docking
- Jack gets ready for docking. Freddo starts vomiting. Jack successfully completes the docking.
- 0:43:23 A Smooth One . . . So Far
- The crew is going to eat. The people at Mission Control are happy that they had a smooth launching, separation, and docking.
- 0:44:03 Day 3/The Constellation Urion
- The camera shows how the crew urinates and disposes of it in space.
- 0:45:11 Hello, World
- Lovell’s eldest daughter, Barbara is angry about the Beatles’ breaking up. Marilyn shows no sympathy, dragging her along with the other children to their father’s first broadcast. Lovell shows Freddo playing music on a tape recorder. Lovell’s mother is waiting for the broadcast in her nursing home, but is unable to watch as regular network TV was uninterested in carrying the broadcast. Freddo and Jack are playing with orange juice, showing off the effects of zero gravity. Swigert comically requests an extension on his income taxes, as he is decidedly out of the country. The crew is unaware that their broadcast is not airing on television. Lovell shows the tunnel between the Aquarius and the Odyssey.
- 0:49:33 Houston, We Have a Problem
- The master alarm goes off. Swigert reports the problem to Houston. Then, a second master alarm goes off. Lovell confirms that they have a problem. Mission Control reads a quadruple failure. Lovell sees the oxygen venting into space.
- 0:54:00 Working the Problem
- Gene asks everybody to calm down, to bring a support team so that they avoid guessing. The crew sees the oxygen level dropping.
- 0:55:32 We’ve Just Lost the Moon
- Mission control asks the crew to shut the react valves to stop the leak, which implies that they won’t be able to land on the moon.
- 0:57:49 The Lifeboat
- The leak did not stop when the react valves were shut, and they don’t have enough power to go home. They plan to transfer to the LEM.
- 0:59:20 Fifteen Minutes
- They only have 15 minutes of Oxygen. They power down all the computers.
- 1:01:54 The Special Report
- Ken is watching the special report on TV. The reporter refers to Swigert as the first bachelor in space. Ken (cynical because he would have been the first bachelor in space), turns off the TV, disconnects the telephone, and goes to sleep. After seeing the TV report revealing that Apollo 13 has lost all electrical power and is continuing to lose oxygen, Lovell’s wife calls NASA to find out what is happening.
- 1:03:36 Five Minutes
- They have five minutes and they don’t have control of the spaceship.
- 1:04:41 Something Broke
- Jeffrey calls Marilyn when she’s watching the report. She tells him that something broke in the spaceship and that his father will turn back before reaching the moon.
- 1:05:46 Odyssey Signing Off
- They shut down the main computer.
- 1:07:19 The New Mission
- Mission Control discusses the best strategy to bring the crew home.
- 1:09:16 Day 4
- Mission Control works frantically to find the best strategy for a return flight. President Nixon wants to know what’s going on. Gene Krantz, flight director, states that they are not going to lose those astronauts.
- 1:09:59 The Dark Side
- The crew goes around the moon. Jack and Freddo admire the sight of Mount Marilyn. They lose signal. In the TV report, Marilyn hears that they are now concerned about the amount of water that the astronauts have (vitally important for cooling operations to maintain the electrical systems).
- 1:12:17 Moonstruck
- The three astronauts appreciate the moon. Lovell imagines himself walking on the moon. They regain signal.
- 1:15:02 Failure Is Not An Option
- Gene Krantz is determined to bring the crew back. He calls a meeting and asks his team to bring every support person possible to help in the effort. They simulate re-entry scenarios, and plan to power down the LEM after the burn. Gene, with vigor, states, “we’ve never lost an American in space. We’re sure as hell not gonna lose one on my watch! Failure is not an option!â€
- 1:17:01 The Simulator Gambit
- John goes to Ken’s house and informs him of the difficult situation the crew is in. He’ll simulate the exact same conditions they have in the spaceship so that they can have enough power for re-entry.
- 1:18:45 Sir Isaac Newton in the Driver’s Seat
- They start shutting down the computers. They aren’t allowed to have any more waste dumps, so they’ll have to store it.
- 1:19:35 The CO2 Problem
- They have a problem with the CO2 build up. The crew has square tube filters and the ones in the LEM are round. Gene tells them to figure out how to fit a square peg into a round hole.
- 1:21:00 Marilyn and the Media
- The team starts working on possible solutions to the CO2 problem using only the materials the crew has. Henry asks Marilyn’s permission to put a transmitter on her lawn. Marilyn refuses; her reasoning is if the media was not excited about the crew going to the moon, they should not be any more excited about the crew not going to the moon.
- 1:22:15 Day 5
- Jim notices that Freddo doesn’t look well. Freddo talks about his wife and wonders if the baby will be a boy or a girl. He comments that he never even left home after he graduated and now he was in space. He confesses that it hurts when he urinates. Jim tells him that it’s because they’re not drinking enough water.
- 1:25:01 Argument in the LEM
- Jack tells them that he’s been going over the numbers and that the situation is not good at all. Jack and Freddo start arguing and Jim asks them to calm down since they have to figure out how to stay alive.
- 1:27:06 With Every Breath
- Houston contacts the crew about the CO2 problem. Freddo realizes he made a mistake in his calculations, and there is enough oxygen for two people only. Mission control finds a way to build the oxygen filtration system the crew needs. The astronauts listen to the unusual procedure and build the filter- a small victory. There’s a NASA press conference where they inform the public, honestly, that the level of CO2 is rising and that the astronauts are running out of breathable air. Images of the crew building the device are shown. The procedure works and both Mission Control and the crew celebrate. Ken continues testing out different procedures in the simulator to recover sufficient energy for reentry.
- 1:33:30 My Jimmy Can Land It
- Marilyn and her two daughters go to visit Blanch, Lovell’s mother, to tell her that there has been an accident and that Jim is not going to walk on the moon. The youngest daughter starts sobbing and Blanch comforts her.
- 1:35:04 A Little Medical Mutiny
- The batteries of the tape player die. The flight surgeon asks the crew to get some sleep. Jim removes the bio-med sensors; Freddo and Jack follow him. After the flight surgeon panicks, Gene tells the doctor that’s just a “little medical mutiny.â€
- 1:37:26 Day 6
- Freddo is becoming more ill. Mission control wants the crew to perform a course correction, without turning the computer on.
- 1:39:03 The Earth in the Window
- The only point of reference is the Earth, which the crew can see through one of the windows. After a difficult maneuver, they manage to correct the course. Marilyn listens to the procedure on TV.
- 1:43:41 More Power
- Ken needs to find more power for the crew to have a safe re-entry. He keeps working in the simulator.
- 1:44:54 No Stranger to Emergency
- The TV channel airs a past interview with Jim Lovell where he recounts how he was able to deal with another emergency situation. Gene tells Jim that Ken is working on the re-entry procedure.
- 1:48:13 Four More Amps
- Ken comes up with the idea of reversing the power from the LEM before cutting it loose in order to obtain the four more amps that they need. They finally figure out the procedure.
- 1:50:42 The Power-up Procedure
- Ken contacts Jim. He says he doesn’t have the measles. Marilyn asks Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to distract Blanch while they see the re-entry on TV. Ken guides Jack step by step in the power-up. Freddo and Jim move some materials to the Odyssey in order to account for the 100 pounds of moon rocks intended to be there.
- 1:54:26 Day 7
- The media covers how Marilyn and her children prepare to watch the re-entry on TV. Jim’s eldest son follows the news from school. The procedure is successful and the computer is up and running.
- 1:56:31 First Look at Damages
- There’s a typhoon warning but the crew doesn’t know about it. The crew cuts loose the Service module, gets its first look at damages and reports them to Mission Control.
- 1:57:36 The Global Drama
- People from all over the world are watching the re-entry and praying for the astronauts.
- 1:58:40 Farewell, Aquarius
- Freddo is freezing. Jim tries to warm him up and tells him to hold on a little longer. The three astronauts go into the Odyssey. Jim gives up the pilot seat to Jack. They jettison the lunar module. They say farewell to Aquarius.
- 2:02:08 Aligned for Re-Entry
- They check the procedures for re-entry. Henry mentions all the obstacles that they may face, namely parachutes not opening, the typhoon, the angle of the trajectory, and a possible crack on the heat shield. Gene reassures him that everything will be ok. Jim tells Freddo and Jack that “it’s been a privilege flying with them.â€
- 2:05:09 Falling to Earth
- They lose signal and they expect to regain it in three minutes. Images of the command module in flames falling to the Earth are shown.
- 2:06:15 The Waiting
- Everybody is waiting in front of the TV. Jim’s daughters start crying. People outside Marilyn’s house, in Mission Control, Jim’s son and his classmates are waiting for the re-entry, which depends on the heat shield holding and the parachutes opening. The three-minute blackout period has elapsed and the spaceship has not appeared.
- 2:08:57 Welcome Home
- After four long minutes, Jim contacts Mission Control. Everybody cheers and claps. Image of the module and the parachutes followed by images of the astronauts being rescued by the divers and the helicopters are shown. Jim says the module is stable and signs off.
- 2:11:52 The Successful Failure
- The three astronauts are greeted with cheers and applause. Lovell explains that their mission was labeled a successful failure since they got back safe but didn’t make it to the moon. He describes what went wrong and then briefly refers to what the future held for each of them. Jack was elected for congress in Colorado but died of cancer before taking office, Freddo never flew again. Ken was the pilot of Apollo 16, Gene retired, and Jim himself never went back. He kept working for Mission Control in Houston.
- 2:13:56 End Titles
