Minute 080: Sir Isaac Newton

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