Apollo 13

[Trekker4747]

In the wake of the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission, and "successful failure" I watched the 1995 movie directed by Ron Howard.

I have to get this on Blu-Ray.

It's one of my more favorite movies and the directing by Howard in it was just spectacular, it has a awesome score and all of the actors turn in great performances. Overall it's a movie that I cannot find a single flaw with. (And yes, I know about certain aspects of the events and physics that Howard changed for the sake of audiences connecting/understanding better.)

Five-Star, A+ movie all around.

(I do have one question maybe someone can answer. In the movie the talk about and deal with the aspect of the "cold." It has always been my understanding that space, being vaccum, is an awesome insulator to the point that cooling ships in space is a bigger issue than warming them. So I'm a bit confused on why it got so cold in the LEM/SM when the heaters were turned off. Seems to me that cooling should've been more an issue than heat.

 

[firehawk12]

Funny enough, it just came out on Blu-Ray last week. I was tempted to pick it up but then I remembered I already owned two DVD copies of it.

 

[RandyS]

I loved this movie too. But, I was quite annoyed with Tom Hanks' recap of the events of the day at the end. He talked of unimportant matters, and completely left out the announcement of my momentous birth.

No, I wasn't just annoyed. I was insulted.

Maybe I should sue.

The funny part was, when I pointed this out to my mom when we saw it in the theater back in 1995, she didn't remember it. She claimed she "had more important things on her mind that day".

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I'm a bit confused on why it got so cold in the LEM/SM when the heaters were turned off. Seems to me that cooling should've been more an issue than heat.

It's probably just because the ship was so small that any heat left in it would quickly leech away into space (plus there was no equipment functioning which could have generated MORE heat - most of the systems were turned off).

 

[Trekker4747]

I'm a bit confused on why it got so cold in the LEM/SM when the heaters were turned off. Seems to me that cooling should've been more an issue than heat.

It's probably just because the ship was so small that any heat left in it would quickly leech away into space (plus there was no equipment functioning which could have generated MORE heat - most of the systems were turned off).

That's just it though, heat can't "leech away" into space there's nothing for it conduct or convect into (space is empty.) The only thing it can do is radiate away which is inefficent and slow. And the equipment wasn't functioning but the 98-degree humans inside were. As I said on the shuttle and space-walks there's equipment around to cool the ship or the space-walker more than there's equipment around to warm.

 

[diankra]

I'm a bit confused on why it got so cold in the LEM/SM when the heaters were turned off. Seems to me that cooling should've been more an issue than heat.

It's probably just because the ship was so small that any heat left in it would quickly leech away into space (plus there was no equipment functioning which could have generated MORE heat - most of the systems were turned off).

That's just it though, heat can't "leech away" into space there's nothing for it conduct or convect into (space is empty.) The only thing it can do is radiate away which is inefficent and slow. And the equipment wasn't functioning but the 98-degree humans inside were. As I said on the shuttle and space-walks there's equipment around to cool the ship or the space-walker more than there's equipment around to warm.

The temperature difference between deep space and a human-habitable environment is still about 250 degrees celsius, so the radiated heat is still enough to chill the craft unless it's generating heat inside.

More generally, the problem with a spacecraft is distributing the heat loads - the side pointing at the sun overheats, the side away from it freezes. The solution to that (on Apollo during the 'Moon cruise' phase, at least) is to rotate the ship (barbeque mode, as it was nicknamed) so it al gets hot and cold regularly.
The problem for the crew, with the internal heaters turned off, is that if you leave the windows 'open' the sunlight comes on and off very rapidly, making it very difficult to sleep. But it you close the shutters on the windows, the interior of the capsule gets very cold...

 

[Cicero]

In the wake of the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission, and "successful failure" I watched the 1995 movie directed by Ron Howard.

I have to get this on Blu-Ray.

It's one of my more favorite movies and the directing by Howard in it was just spectacular, it has a awesome score and all of the actors turn in great performances. Overall it's a movie that I cannot find a single flaw with. (And yes, I know about certain aspects of the events and physics that Howard changed for the sake of audiences connecting/understanding better.)

Five-Star, A+ movie all around.

(I do have one question maybe someone can answer. In the movie the talk about and deal with the aspect of the "cold." It has always been my understanding that space, being vaccum, is an awesome insulator to the point that cooling ships in space is a bigger issue than warming them. So I'm a bit confused on why it got so cold in the LEM/SM when the heaters were turned off. Seems to me that cooling should've been more an issue than heat.

The ship was designed to maintain a certain temperature, accounting for the normal heat produced by the astronauts and those electronics which were always on (a separate cooling system radiated excess heat into space when more heat-intensive systems were active). With most electronics shut down, the passive heat-balancing design still removed the heat it was intended to - more heat than the remaining thermal sources aboard Aquarius produced.

 

[ParticleMan]

I agree...it is a great, great film. It is one of the very few movies that I will always watch when it is on TV, no matter what point during it I come across it. There was a show on Dateline NBC (I think) a couple of weeks ago about the Apollo 13 accident...I've seen bunches of specials on what happened but it is still fascinating, especially to hear it from Krantz and Lovell and all the rest first hand...

 

[Piper]

Apollo 13 is a great film, easily the finest Ron Howard has made, and manages a near miracle in telling a story to which we all know the ending, and one that gets pretty technical in its details, and making it so enthralling.

 

[hamudm]

Picked up my bluray upgrade yesterday along with Minority Report. Can't wait to watch both! Howard's Apollo 13 has a special place in my heart from my childhood and it's one of my favs.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Anyone who likes this film should check out the equally excellent HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon.

(It has an interesting take on the 13 tragedy: The episode in question covers the mission entirely from the media's perspective.)

 

[RandyS]

Anyone who likes this film should check out the equally excellent HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon.

(It has an interesting take on the 13 tragedy: The episode in question covers the mission entirely from the media's perspective.)

I remember that one. Great episode.

But then you're right, the whole thing was good.

 

[diankra]

Anyone who likes this film should check out the equally excellent HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon.

(It has an interesting take on the 13 tragedy: The episode in question covers the mission entirely from the media's perspective.)

I remember that one. Great episode.

But then you're right, the whole thing was good.

Yep, that was a great way of covering the same story from adifferent angle, the one that the people on Earth experienced. Typical of how good that series was.
The only possible grumbles about From the Earth to the Moon are 1) that 16 and 17 get short shrift as the last two episodes go off into other approaches, and 2) That they couldn't get the same cast as in Apollo 13 (and, in the case of Pete Conrad, they actually had to recast him in mid-season!).

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ That last part is fortunate though, 'cuz Paul McCrane absolutely OWNED the role of Pete Conrad in episode 7.

Sadly, one of the actors from that series (Lane Smith - he played the veteran reporter in several eps) died a few years ago from ALS.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Anyone who likes this film should check out the equally excellent HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon.

After wanting it for years, but having never bought it because HBO charges body parts for their DVD sets, I found it at Wal-Mart for surprisingly under fifteen dollars a few months ago.

I keep meaning to watch it. I just haven't gotten around to it.

 

[Showdown]

Loved the movie too. One of Tom Hank's best performance.

I saw a great documentary on Apollo 13 before the movie came out. The movie left some things out, but I didn't mind. There was no way to put everything in.

 

[Pingfah]

Anyone who likes this film should check out the equally excellent HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon.

After wanting it for years, but having never bought it because HBO charges body parts for their DVD sets, I found it at Wal-Mart for surprisingly under fifteen dollars a few months ago.

I keep meaning to watch it. I just haven't gotten around to it.

You're in for a treat, it really is very good indeed

 

[zakkrusz]

It's one my top ten favorite films.