AllMovie

In this documentary, part of the 20th Century With Mike Wallace series from CBS News and the History Channel, series host and CBS News correspondent Mike Wallace goes inside what really happened aboard the Apollo 13 spacecraft. This episode features interviews with NASA experts who talk about what happened on that near-disastrous flight in 1970 when the onboard oxygen tank exploded. That explosion put the lives of the astronauts in extreme jeopardy, leaving them exposed to high levels of carbon dioxide and the freezing temperatures of space. 20th Century With Mike Wallace includes talks with some of the men who were personally involved with this near-tragedy, including Apollo 13 Commander Jim Lovell and another Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise, who speaks firsthand about what it was like in that spacecraft. Gene Kranz, former NASA flight director, also talks about what his experiences were during that event and how he worked from the ground to save the crew in space.