Netflix dropped the trailer Tuesday for “Apollo 13: Survival,” and it couldn’t have come at a worse time for NASA.
Can you imagine anything worse than being blasted into space, only to learn you might not ever be able to come back to Earth? This is exactly what happened after the April 11, 1970, launch of the Apollo 13 spaceflight. On route to the moon, an oxygen tank exploded, meaning that astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert, were in a potentially catastrophic situation where a lunar landing was out of the question. The only thing that mattered was getting our boys home.
The gripping story is now coming to life in documentary format from Netflix, using original footage and interviews from the time, according to the trailer description. But it couldn’t come at a worse time for NASA.
Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are currently stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) because of ongoing failures in Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. The duo were only supposed to be in space for about eight days, having launched June 5. (RELATED: Boeing Space Flight Delayed Over Technology Failure)
NASA decided to postpone their return until at least February 2025, meaning those eight days have now turned into six to possibly more than nine months, Wilmore’s wife said in August. While the families can stay in touch with their stranded loved ones via FaceTime, it sounds like a devastating situation for all those involved.
Aboard the Iwo Jima. After splashdown, Apollo 13 astronauts arrive by helicopter on deck of the carrier USS Iwo Jima. Left to right: Fred Haise, lunar module pilot; James Lovell, commander; and John Swigert, command module pilot. (Bettmann/Contributor)
US President Richard Nixon meets the Apollo 13 astronauts in Honolulu, Hawaii, after their safe return to Earth, 23rd April 1970. From left to right (front row) Fred Haise, Jim Lovell, Richard Nixon (1913 – 1994) and Jack Swigert (1931 – 1982). (Photo by Harry Benson/Daily Express/Getty Images)
American NASA astronaut Fred Haise, wearing a jumpsuit with the mission insignia of Apollo 13, in the cockpit of the Orbiter Aeroflight Simulator (OAS) ahead of the Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests (ALT), in Building 5 during Shuttle ALT simulation activity at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, 30th March 1977. The OAS is designed to support crew and flight controller training for the early Shuttle Orbiter development program and the aerodynamic portion of the Shuttle Orbiter missions. (Photo by Space Frontiers/Archive Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
American NASA astronaut Fred Haise, wearing a jumpsuit with the mission insignia of Apollo 13, in the cockpit of the Orbiter Aeroflight Simulator (OAS) ahead of the Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests (ALT), in Building 5 during Shuttle ALT simulation activity at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, 30th March 1977. (Photo by Space Frontiers/Archive Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Let us pray that NASA figures out how to fix this technological failure and bring our astronauts home. (RELATED: ‘Slingshot’ Will Give All Your Favorite Space Movies A Run For Their Money)
In the meantime, you can check out “Apollo 13: Survival” Sept. 5 on Netflix.
