It Is Good To See You, Again!

The Movie Apollo 13

 

I watched the news the other day. An airplane landed in Sydney, Australia. The passengers were getting off the plane. Many people were holding their head. Nobody was seriously injured. However, they had a terrible headache!

 

In the movie, Apollo 131 we can see three astronauts floating inside the spacecraft. It looks very real! It is quite amazing! The astronauts are not using wires2 to hold them. The actors are in a Zero Gravity airplane. The movie producer borrowed a special3 plane from NASA. NASA uses this Zero Gravity plane for training astronauts before they fly into space. The airplane flies up to 11,0004 meters. Then, the airplane quickly goes down. For 25 seconds, people inside the plane are floating in the air! To make the movie Apollo 13, the actors and film crew had to fly up and down over 6005 times! Needless to say, it was a very strange and frightening experience. And, many people felt sick! Nonetheless, the director, Ron Howard, wanted to make a very realistic movie.

 

In 1970, Apollo 13 was the third mission to fly to the moon. Halfway to the moon, there was an explosion. It created a lot of damage. The spacecraft could not use two6 oxygen tanks and three6 fuel cells! They could not land on the moon. Actually, there was only a 10 percent7 chance to get home! To save energy, the spacecraft went around the moon. The moon’s gravity acted like a slingshot. This action forced the spacecraft towards the earth8. In freezing temperatures, the spaceship made it to the earth’s atmosphere. For two9 minutes the spacecraft was burning through the edge of earth. NASA was continually asking, “Odyssey, do you read me?” Finally, Odyssey cheerfully replied, “Hello Houston, It’s good to see you, again!” With great relief, the spacecraft splashed down into the ocean.

 

Today, many people regard the Apollo13 mission as America’s most successful failure. It is definitely a story of courage, determination and human spirit. When you get home today, maybe we can watch a movie10 together! It truly is good to see you, again!

 

Expression              It’s good to see you again!