Quotes

Dialogue

Marilyn Lovell: You're drunk, Lovell. Jim Lovell: Yup, I'm not used to the champagne. Marilyn Lovell: Me neither. [Picks at some random glasses and dishes on the patio table, then drops the trash bag she's holding] I can't deal with cleaning up. Let's sell the house. Jim Lovell: Alright, we'll sell the house. [Still looking at the moon] They're back inside now, looking up at us. Isn't that something? Marilyn Lovell: [Settles into a lawn chair] I'll bet Janet Armstrong doesn't get a wink of sleep tonight. When you were on the far side on 8, I didn't sleep at all. I just vacuumed over and over again.

Dialogue

Jim Lovell: The astronaut is only the most visible member of a very large team, and all of us, right down to the guys sweeping the floor are honored to be a part of it. What did the man say? "Give me a lever long enough and I'll move the world." Well that's exactly what we're doing here. This is divine inspiration, folks. It's the best part of each one of us that anything is possible. Things like a computer that can fit into a single room and hold millions of pieces of information, or the Saturn V rocket. Now, this is the actual launch vehicle that will be taking Alan Shepard and his crew on the first leg of the Apollo 13 mission. Congressman: When are you going up again, Jim? Jim Lovell: I'm slated to be the commander of Apollo 14 sometime late next year. Congressman: If there is an Apollo 14. Now, Jim, people in my state are asking why we're continuing to fund this program now that we've beaten the Russians to the moon. Jim Lovell: Well, imagine if Christopher Columbus came back from

Dialogue

Jim Lovell: Hey! Anybody home? Barbara Lovell: [wearing a hippy costume] I'm not being a cheerleader, Mom! You don't understand, I worked so hard on this! Marilyn Lovell: Barbara, maybe I don't understand, but you're not wearing that out in this neighborhood. That's the end of it! Susan Lovell: She's not even wearing a bra! You can see everything– Barbara Lovell: Shut up! Marilyn Lovell: Susan! Jim Lovell: [Shows up] Hi. Marilyn Lovell: [Surprised] Jim. Jim Lovell: Hon, trick-or-treat. Remember those Easter vacation trips we had planned for Acapulco? Marilyn Lovell: Uh oh. Jim Lovell: Well, I was thinking there might be a slight change in destination. Marilyn Lovell: Really? Jim Lovell: Maybe, say...the moon. Jim Lovell: Al Shepard's ear infection has flared up. We've all been bumped up to the prime crew of Apollo 13. Straight to the front line, to the Fra Mauro highlands. Marilyn Lovell: Six months? You're moving up six months? Barbara Lovell: [Shows Jim her costume] Dad, can I please

Dialogue

Jeffrey Lovell: Dad, did you know the astronauts in the fire? Jim Lovell: Yeah, I knew the astronauts in the fire. All of them. Jeffrey Lovell: Could that happen again? Jim Lovell: Well, I'll tell you something about that fire. A lot of things went wrong. The, uh, the door, it's called the hatch. They couldn't get it open when they needed to get out, that was one thing. And, uh... well, a lot of things went wrong in that fire. Jeffrey Lovell: Did they fix it? Jim Lovell: Oh, yes, absolutely. We fixed it. It's not a problem anymore.

Dialogue

Reporter 1: So, the number 13 doesn't bother you? Fred Haise: Only if it's a Friday, Phil. Reporter: Apollo 13, lifting of at thirteen hundred hours and thirteen minutes, and entering the moon's gravity on April 13th. Jim Lovell: Ken Mattingly's been doing some scientific research regarding that very phenomenon, haven't you, Ken? Ken Mattingly: Uh, yes, well, I had a black cat walk over a broken mirror under the lunar module ladder. It didn't seem to be a problem. Fred Haise: We're also considering a letter from a fella who said we oughta take a pig up with us for good luck. Reporter 1: Does it bother you that the public regards this flight as routine? Jim Lovell: There's nothing routine about flying to the moon. I can vouch for that. And, uh… I think that an astronaut's last mission, his final flight, that's always going to be very special. Reporter 2: Why is this your last, Jim? Jim Lovell: I'm in command of the best ship with the best crew that anybody could ask for, and I'll be wal

Dialogue

Deke Slayton: [He and Dr. Chuck find Lovell observing the rocket and launch pad being transported] Jim, we've got a problem. Dr. Chuck: I just got some blood work back from the lab. Charlie Duke has the measles. Jim Lovell: [Unconcerned] So, we need a new backup. Dr. Chuck: You've all been exposed to it. Jim Lovell: Oh, I've had the measles. Deke Slayton: Ken Mattingly hasn't. Jim Lovell: You want to break up my crew two days before the launch; when we can predict each others' moves, we can read the tone of each others' voices? Dr. Chuck: Ken Mattingly will be getting seriously ill precisely when you and Haise will be ascending from the lunar surface to rendezvous with him. Deke Slayton: Jim, that's a lousy time for a fever. Jim Lovell: All right, now look, Jack Swigert has been out of the loop for weeks. Chris Kraft: He's fully qualified to fly this mission. Jim Lovell: He's a fine pilot, but when was the last time he was in a simulator? Chris Kraft: I'm sorry, Jim, I understand how y

Dialogue

Mary Haise: Oh boy, hope I can sleep. Fred Haise, Jr.: Mom, that was loud! Mary Haise: Here, hold my hand. [to Marilyn] I can't believe you did this four times. Marilyn Lovell: The worst part's over. Mary Haise: It is? Marilyn Lovell: Listen, this doesn't stop for me until he lands on that aircraft carrier. Mary Haise: Oh, you just look so calm about it. Marilyn Lovell: Well, if the flight surgeon had to okay me for this mission, I'd be grounded. Reporter 1: Mrs. Lovell! Mrs. Haise! Reporter 2: Can we speak to you? Can we just have a word with you, please? Marilyn Lovell: Remember, you're proud, happy, and thrilled. Reporter 1: How are you feeling? Mary Haise: Well, we're very proud, very happy, and we're thrilled.

Dialogue

Henry Hurt: Hi, Marilyn. Marilyn Lovell: Where's the broadcast? Henry Hurt: All the networks dumped us. One of them said we've made going to the moon about as exciting as taking a trip to Pittsburgh.

Dialogue

Jim Lovell: Well, between Jack's back taxes and the Fred Haise Show, I'd say that was a pretty successful broadcast. CAPCOM: That was an excellent show, Odyssey. Jack Swigert: Thank you very much, Houston. CAPCOM: We've got a couple of housekeeping procedures for you. We'd like you to roll right to 0-6-0 and null your rates. Jack Swigert: Roger that. Rolling right, 0-6-0. [presses the buttons. The craft begins rolling right] CAPCOM: And if you could give your oxygen tanks a stir. Jack Swigert: Roger that. [flips the switches to activate the tank fans. Suddenly, one tank explodes and the alarm begins buzzing] Hey, we've got a problem here. Jim Lovell: What did you do? Jack Swigert: Nothing. I stirred the tanks. CAPCOM: Uh, this is Houston. Say again, please? Jim Lovell: Houston, we have a problem.

Dialogue

Seymour Liebergot: Flight? Gene Kranz: Yeah, go, EECOM. Seymour Liebergot: Um, Flight, I recommend we, uh, shut down the reactant valves of the fuel cells. Gene Kranz: What the hell good is that gonna do? Seymour: If that's where the leak is, we can isolate it. We can isolate it there and we can save what's left in the tanks and we can run on the good cell. Gene Kranz: You close them, you can't open them again. You can't land on the moon with one healthy fuel cell. Seymour Liebergot: Gene, the Odyssey is dying. From my chair here, this is the last option. Gene Kranz: Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay, Sey. CAPCOM, let's have them close the reactant valves. CAPCOM: Thirteen, this is Houston. Uh, we want you to close react valves on cells one and three. Do you copy? Jim Lovell: Are you saying you want the whole smash? Closing down the react valves for fuel cells shutdown? Shutting down the fuel cells, did I hear you right? Gene Kranz: Yeah, they heard me right. Tell them we think that's the only wa

Dialogue

Jim Lovell: Freddo, how long does it take to power up the LEM? Fred Haise: Three hours by the checklist. Jim Lovell: We don't have that much time.

Dialogue

Jeffrey Lovell: Why are there so many people here? Marilyn Lovell: Oh. Well, you know, your dad's flying his mission. Jeffrey Lovell: He said he was going to get me a moon rock. Marilyn Lovell: Right. Well...something broke on your daddy's spaceship, and he's going to turn around before he even gets to the the moon. Jeffrey Lovell: [meekly] Was it the door?

Dialogue

Gene Kranz: Okay, people! Listen up! I want you all to forget the flight plan. From this moment on, we are improvising a new mission. [Kranz turns on an overheard projector and the bulb burns out] How do we get our people home? [drawing with chalk on blackboard] They are here. We turn them around? Straight back? Direct abort? Bobby Spencer: Yes! Gene... MOCR Engineer: No, we can't do that... Jerry Bostick: No, sir. No, sir! We get them on a free–return trajectory. It's the option with the fewest question marks for safety. Gene Kranz: I agree with Jerry. We use the moon's gravity to slingshot them around. Bobby Spencer: No! The L.E.M. will not support three guys for that amount of time! Larry Strimple: It barely holds two. Bobby Spencer: I mean, we have got to do a direct abort. We do an about-face, we bring the guys right home, right now. Larry Strimple: Get them back soon, absolutely. Jerry Bostick: We don't even know if the Odyssey's engine's even working, and if there's been serious

Dialogue

NASA Director: He specifically wanted a quote from a flight director. Gene Kranz: Who wanted a quote? Glynn Lunney: The President. Gene Kranz: The President? Deke Slayton: Nixon. He wants odds. Gene Kranz: We are not losing the crew. NASA Director: Gene, I gotta give him odds. Five to one against? Three to one? Glynn Lunney: I don't think they're that good. Gene Kranz: We are not losing those men! Deke Slayton: [to Kraft] Look, tell him three to one.

Dialogue

CAPCOM: Thirteen, this is Houston. We're reading your telemetry. It's good to see you again. Fred Haise: Good to see you too, Houston. CAPCOM: We are picking you up at a velocity of 7,062 feet per second, at a distance from the moon of 56 nautical miles. Stand by for your PC+2 burn data. Fred Hasie: Got to tell you, I had an itch to take this baby down though. Do some prospecting. Damn, we were close. Jim Lovell: Gentlemen... what are your intentions? [Haise and Swigert look over at him] I'd like to go home. We've got a burn coming up. We're gonna need a contingency if we lose comm with Houston. Freddo, let's get an idea where we stand on the consumables. Jack, get up into the Odyssey and bag up all the water you can before it freezes in there. Let's go home.

Dialogue

Gene Kranz: So you're telling me you can only give our guys 45 hours? [Kranz draws a line on the blackboard halfway between the moon and the Earth] That brings them to about there. Gentlemen, that's not acceptable. John Aaron: Whoa, whoa, guys! Power is everything! Power is everything. Gene Kranz: What do you mean? John Aaron: 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. They're not gonna make it to re-entry. Gene Kranz: What do you mean everything? John Aaron: With everything on, the L.E.M. draws 60 amps. At that rate, in 16 hours the batteries are dead, not 45. And so is the crew. We gotta get them down to 12 amps. Ray Teague: Whoa! 12 amps? How many? MOCR Engineer: You can't run a vacuum cleaner on 12 amps, John! John Aaron: We have to turn off the radars, cabin heater, instrument displays, the guidance computer, the whole smash. Jerry Bostick: Whoa! Guidance computer? What... wha

Dialogue

John Young: [enters Ken Mattingly's hotel room] Ken? Ken. Ken Mattingly: What? Huh? John Young: Good, you're not dead. I've been trying to get in touch with you for 45 minutes. Ken Mattingly: Jesus, John. What're you doing here? John Young: I gotta get you in the simulators. We got a ship to land. Ken Mattingly: What? John Young: There's been an explosion. Oxygen tanks are gone, two fuel cells gone, command module's shut down. Ken Mattingly: What about the crew? John Young: Crew's fine so far, trying to keep 'em alive in the L.E.M. We're gonna have to shut that down pretty soon too. We got a lot of people working on numbers on this one, Ken, and nobody's too sure how much power we're gonna have when we hit re-entry. The command module's gonna be frozen up pretty good by then.

Dialogue

John Aaron: You see this ammeter rise over twenty at any point, power-up is no good. We see it spike, that's sayonara for the guidance computer, our guys can't re-enter, okay? Sim Tech: How much power do we have to play with? John Aaron: Barely enough to run this coffeepot for 9 hours. Sim Tech 2: [over headset] John? John Aaron: Go. Sim Tech 2: Yeah, Ken Mattingly just got here. John Aaron: Copy. He's here. John Young: They've been losing heat since the accident. They're gonna start getting a lot of water condensation on the control panels. John Aaron: Ken. Glad you're here. You know what's going on? Ken Mattingly: Uh, John's brought me up speed. What do we have left in the batteries? John Aaron: We don't really know. Ken Mattingly: We gotta get started on some short cuts for the power-up. John Aaron: Yeah. You know how short? Ken Mattingly: Well, it's all in the sequencing, John. If we can skip whatever we don't absolutely need, and turn things on in the right order, maybe... John Aa

Dialogue

Jim Lovell: Okay, Houston, the quad-heater circuit breakers are open. CAPCOM: Copy that. Fred Haise: We'll use the forward omni when the Earth's in the window, and we're switching to aft omni when we see the moon. CAPCOM: We copy that, Thirteen. Aquarius, we don't want you to make any more waste dumps. The venting may push you off course. Fred Haise: Oh, Christ. Jack Swigert: What's up? Jim Lovell: No more waste dumps. We're just gonna have to store it. Jack, we're gonna need some more urine bags. Okay, Houston, that leaves us with just the computer, which I'm shutting down now. [shuts off L.E.M. computer] And that's it. We just put Sir Isaac Newton in the driver's seat.

Dialogue

Clint Burton: Gene, we have a situation brewing with the carbon dioxide. Bill Peters: We have a CO2 filter problem in the Lunar Module. Clint Burton: Five filters on the L.E.M. Bill Peters: Which were meant for two guys for a day and a half. Clint Peters: That's what I told the Doc. Dr. Chuck: They're already up to eight on the gauges. Anything over fifteen, and you get impaired judgement, blackouts, the beginnings of brain asphyxia. Gene Kranz: What about the scrubbers on the command module? Clint Burton: They take square cartridges. Bill Peters: The ones on the L.E.M. are round. Gene Kranz: [sighs in irritation] Tell me this isn't a government operation. Clint Burton: This just isn't a contingency we've remotely looked at. Dr. Chuck: Those CO2 levels are going to be getting toxic. Gene Kranz: Well, I suggest you gentlemen invent a way to put a square peg in a round hole. Rapidly.

Dialogue

Henry Hurt: I, uh, I have a request from the news people. Marilyn: Uh-huh? Henry Hurt: They're out front here. They want to put a transmitter up on the lawn. Marilyn Lovell: Transmitter? Henry Hurt: Kind of a tower, for live broadcast. Marilyn Lovell: I thought they didn't care about this mission. They didn't even run Jim's show. Henry: Well, it's more dramatic now. Suddenly people are... Marilyn Lovell: Landing on the moon wasn't dramatic enough for them - why should not landing on it be? Henry Hurt: Look, I, um, I realize how hard this is, Marilyn, but the whole world is caught up in this, it's historic— Marilyn Lovell: No, Henry! Those people don't put one piece of equipment on my lawn. If they have a problem with that, they can take it up with my husband. He'll be home... on Friday!

Dialogue

Jack Swigert: I've been going over the numbers again. Have they called up with a re-entry plan yet? 'Cause we're coming in too shallow. Jim Lovell: We're working on something, Jack. Just hold on. Fred Haise: I can't remember the ratio temperature; we got no references on board. Jim Lovell: Well, let's see if Houston can pull up the MIL-SPECs. Jack Swigert: Listen, listen, listen! They gave us too much Delta V, had us burn too long. At this rate, we're gonna skip right off of the atmosphere, and we're never gonna get back! Fred Haise: What are you talking about? How'd you figure that? Jack Swigert: I can add. Jim Lovell: Jack, they've got half the Ph.Ds on the planet working on this. Fred Haise: Houston says we're right on the money. Jack Swigert: And what if they have made a mistake, all right, and there was no way to reverse it? You think they would tell us? There's no reason for them to tell us. Fred Haise: What do you mean they're not gonna tell us? That's bullshit! Jim Lovell: All

Dialogue

Marilyn Lovell: We came to tell you something. There's been an accident. Jimmy's okay, he's all right, but he's not gonna get to walk on the moon. Blanche Lovell: Well, they said he was. Marilyn Lovell: I know. I know. That was before. Now there's been an explosion. And they're all okay, they're all right. But now they're just going to try to figure out how to get them home. And it's a little bit dangerous. [to Susan Lovell, who has started to cry] Oh, sweetie. Blanche Lovell: [to Susan Lovell] Are you scared? [Susan Lovell nods] Well, don't you worry, honey. If they could get a washing machine to fly, my Jimmy could land it.

Dialogue

CAPCOM: Jack, you'll be happy to hear that we contacted President Nixon, and he's gonna grant you an extension on your income taxes, since you are... most decidedly out of the country. Jack Swigert: Roger that, Houston. That's wonderful news. Dr. Chuck: Tell them they have to sleep. Haise is running a fever of 104. CAPCOM: Uh, Thirteen. Listen, we've had another request from the Flight Surgeon that you fellas get some more sleep. He doesn't like his readings down here. Jim Lovell: [rips off his bio-med sensors] Let's see how he feels about this. I'm sick and tired of the entire Western world knowing how my kidneys are functioning! Dr. Chuck: [Lovell's readings flatline] Flight, I just lost Lovell. CAPCOM: Uh, Thirteen. This is Houston. Jim, we just had a drop out on your bio-med sensors. Jim Lovell: I'm not wearing my bio-med sensors, Houston. CAPCOM: ...Okay, Jim. Copy that. Dr. Chuck: Flight! Now I'm losing all three of them! Gene Kranz: It's just a little medical mutiny, Doc. I'm su

Dialogue

CAPCOM: Aquarius, this is Houston. Jim Lovell: Houston, Aquarius. CAPCOM: Uh, Jim, we've got another course correction for you. Jack Swigert: What's up? Fred Haise: Something about another course correction. Jim Lovell: Uh, We copy, uh, Houston. Be advised, it's gonna take Freddo and I awhile to power up the computer for the, uh, alignment platform if we have to fire the engine. CAPCOM: Uh, negative on that, Jim. We can't spare power for the computer. Fred Haise: We gotta do this blind? Jim Lovell: Houston, without the computer, what do we use for orientation? Gene Kranz: Come on, we gotta be able to give these guys something up there. Bill Fenner: Without power, we can't give them a reading. Gene Kranz: I'm not talking about power, I'm talking about reference. Bill Strable: No, no. There's no references. We have a bunch of debris up there... Jim Lovell: Houston, what's the story with this burn? CAPCOM: We're trying to hash something out down here, Aquarius. Stand by. Jim Lovell: Well,

Dialogue

Ken Mattingly: Here's the order of what I want to do: I want to power up guidance, ECS, communications, warm up the pyros for the parachute and the command module thrusters. John Aaron: The thrusters are gonna put you overbudget on amps, Ken. Ken Mattingly: Well, they've been sitting at 200 hundred below for four days, John. They gotta be heated. John Aaron: Fine, then trade off the parachutes. Something. Ken Mattingly: Well, if the chutes don't open, what's the point? John Aaron: Ken, you're telling me what you need; I'm telling you what we have to work with at this point. I'm not making this stuff up. Ken Mattingly: They're gonna need all these systems, John. John Aaron: We do not have the power, Ken! We just don't have it. Ken Mattingly: Okay, I'm gonna go back and reorganize the sequencing again and find more power. Let's start from scratch. Clear the board. John Aaron: [turns to John Young] I don't know where the hell we're gonna find it.

Dialogue

Jules Bergman: Apollo 13 commander, Jim Lovell, has more time in space, almost twenty-four days already, than any other man, and I asked him recently if he was ever scared. Jim Lovell: Oh, well, I've had an engine flame out a few times in an aircraft, and was kind of curious as to wether or not it was going to light up again, things of that nature, but, uh, they seem to work out. Jules Bergman: Is there a specific instance in an airplane emergency when you can recall fear? Jim Lovell: Uh, well, I'll tell ya, I remember this one time, I'm in a Banshee at night in combat conditions, so there's no running lights on the carrier. It was the Shangri-La, and we were in the Sea of Japan... and my radar had jammed, and my homing signal was gone because somebody in Japan was actually using the same frequency, and so it was – it was leading me away from where I was supposed to be. And I'm lookin' down at a big, black ocean, so I flip on my map light, and then suddenly – zap – everything shorts ou

Dialogue

Ken Mattingly: Look, I know this sequence works, John. John Aaron: The sequence looks good, we're just overbudget on the amperage. Ken Mattingly: By how much? John Aaron: Three or four amps? Ken Mattingly: Goddammit, John! Is is three or four? John Young: Four. John Aaron: Four! Ken Mattingly: Four more amps... [thinking] We know they have some power left in the L.E.M. batteries, right? John Aaron: Yeah. Ken Mattingly: We have an umbilical that provides power from the command module to the L.E.M. John Young: Right, it's back-up for the L.E.M. power supply. John Aaron: I'm listening. Ken Mattingly: So... reverse it. Reverse the flow and see if we can draw these four amps from the L.E.M. batteries before we cut it loose. Why can't we do that? John Aaron: We don't have a procedure for that, do we? John Young: You're gonna lose a lot in the transfer, Ken. Ken Mattingly: Yeah, yeah. But all we're talking about here is four amps.

Dialogue

Bobby Spencer: Flight, this is RETRO. Gene Kranz: Go, RETRO. Bobby Spencer: Flight, we're looking at a Typhoon Warning at the edge of the prime recovery area. Gene Kranz: Say again, RETRO? Bobby Spencer: Flight, we're looking at a Typhoon Warning at the edge of the prime recovery area. Now, this is just a warning, Flight. It could miss them. Gene Kranz: [More so to himself] Yeah, only if their luck changes.

Dialogue

Jerry Bostick: Flight, they're still shallowing up a little bit in the reentry corridor. Almost like they're underweight. Gene Kranz: Now, how the hell can they be underweight? Bobby Spencer: We didn't land on the moon. Gene Kranz: Rocks? Bobby Spencer: That's affirm.

Dialogue

Henry Hurt: We've got the parachute situation, the heat shield, angle of the trajectory and the typhoon. There's just so many variables, I'm at a loss– NASA Director: I know what the problems are, Henry. This could be the worst disaster NASA's ever experienced. Gene Kranz: With all due respect, sir, I believe this is gonna be our finest hour.