2007-09-02T11:18:00.000-07:00

Who has never heard : '' Houston, we have a problem. '' Jim Lovel, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert are the 3 astronauts who were chosen by N.A.S.A for the Apollo 13 mission.

With 3500 pounds of power, the rocket leaves the tower on cape Kennedy launch center in Florida. Space flights are never routine but on the third flight moon landing, one of the million pieces on the spacecraft had a defact and could destroy the ship and kill the crew.

This movie is the story of the real-life space flight that gripped a nation and change the world.

This movie is for me a source of courage, self control and leadership and it inspires me to have a career in aeronautics.

The flight of Apollo 13 began at 13h13 military time, four days from the scheduled rendez-vous with the moon. On the flight, they had two rookie astronauts. Fred Haise and Jack Swegert. Ironically, the Hollywood version was seen by millions more viewers those who saw the real event. At the time, only mission control was watching, but soon, the entire world was held in suspense over the flight Apollo 13.

They spent nearly 56 hours over the flight. They were 300 000 km from earth and the date was April 13. Suddenly, the mission control heard : Houston, we have a problem. In the ship, the crew was in confusion. The 3 astronauts needed a solution and fast. In the cockpit, many warning lights and in the control mission, they didn't beleve what they saw. They had lost oxygen tank 1 and lost 2 of 3 power plant on the spacecraft.

The problem was huge. One electrical wire sparked inside one of the 2 oxygen tanks causing a massive explosion that destroyed life support and power system. They had hope. The crew had a life boat, the L.E.M.

Two hours after the explosion, the astronauts tried to shut down
the mother ship to save the power and going inside the L.E.M to stay alive.
During the two and half days, the astronauts endured the miserable conditions.

Finally, with just a few hours of battery power available, the astronauts separated the L.E.M with the damage service model and could see the disaster.
N.A.S.A never lost an astronauts. Mission control stayed calm and used their experience, courage and ability to bring the boys back home.

I learned several things with the Apollo 13 movie. Many errors and deaths make aeronautic what it is today. All the students should view this historical film. E.N.A would be a good place to view Apollo 13 because there is a bond with our future career in aeronautics. They are pioneers like the Wright brothers and Louis Blériot. They were men of courage had sang froid, and I admire them for that.