Three American astronauts are stranded in space when their retros won't fire. Can they be rescued before their oxygen runs out?
After spending several months in an orbiting lab, three astronauts prepare to return to earth only to find their rockets wont fire. After initially thinking they might have to abandon them in orbit, NASA decides to launch a daring rescue. Their plans are complicated by a hurricane headed towards the launch site and a shrinking air supply in the astronauts capsule.—KC Hunt <[email protected]>
After a crew of three astronauts spend five of a planned seven months working in an orbiting space lab, the three astronauts - Jim Pruitt, Clayton Stone and Buzz Lloyd - are ordered to return to Earth by the head of the program, Charles Keith. They soon find however that their retro-rockets will not fire and they are unable to return. With only 42 hours of oxygen remaining, Keith and many others at NASA try to find a solution to get them back alive. With few options available, Ted Dougherty proposes a rescue mission using an experimental spacecraft that has yet to be rated for manned flight. To make matters worse, a hurricane is approaching the launch site. Faced with insufficient oxygen for all three of them, the astronauts face the ultimate decision. For those who survive, help comes from an unexpected source.—garykmcd
Jim Pruett, Clayton Stone and Buzz Lloyd are the three astronauts aboard the Apollo spacecraft Ironman One, which is on a seven month mission to the space lab Saturn 4B (S4B). Due to what looks to be space fatigue, Charles Keith, chief of the space mission at NASA, protracts this mission at the five month stage. After separating Ironman One from the S4B, the astronauts find that their booster engines are not firing, literally meaning that they are stranded in space, with enough oxygen in Ironman One for the three of them for a little less than two days. Those in mission control have to decide whether to risk sending a rescue team which logistically would be a near impossibility to get everything organized to reach Ironman One within that time. Keith and Ted Dougherty, the chief astronaut, are on opposite sides of the argument, with the President ultimately falling on Dougherty's side to launch a rescue mission despite the odds. Dougherty will lead that rescue attempt. Something that reduces the odds even more is that the first hurricane of the Atlantic season has shifted course and is heading toward the Florida coast, Cape Canaveral the only location where there is even a rocket remotely ready to go. While Pruett, Stone and Lloyd's respective wives need to remain stoic both in public and in communicating to their husbands, the three aboard Ironman One have to decide which orders to follow. Most specifically, the three want to try and repair the boosters, not knowing exactly what is wrong with them, while those at mission control have ordered them to remain as inactive as possible to reserve their oxygen supply.—Huggo
Images of natural scenery. Then cut to the launch of a space rocket. Three astronauts go in that rocket: Jim Pruett (Richard Crenna), Clayton Stone (James Franciscus) and Buzz Lloyd (Gene Hackman). Back at base, Charles Keith (Gregory Peck) wonders if after eight months in space they could perform the easiest manual tasks. Once in space the astronauts take off their helmets. They lose backup for some reason. Keith decides to bring them down. A journalist (Vincent Van Lynn) explains about the retro-fire and their return. The mission Director (George Gaynes) decides that they need to use the primary thrust, because the secondary is damaged. The communications officer (Tom Stewart) tells the astronauts that. They use the retro-fire.
There's a tropical storm and the weather specialist (George Smith) says it'll complicate things. Keith wants to give the mission for lost, and gives an officer 48 hours to rescue the astronauts. They only have another aircraft which has never been tasted and an inexperienced crew. The rules say there should be no rescue mission.
Oxygen is scarce, and that's their main concern. Keith tells them not to do anything stupid... like trying to repair the engine!!! The astronauts take sleeping pills because the less movement and anxiety they have, the less oxygen they'll use. Buzz hesitates to have his.
The three wives arrive to say goodbye to the astronauts. Celia Pruett (Lee Grant) can't say that she loves him, although he says so. She talks about insurance and the house. For goodbye, they stayed silent. She caresses the screen. Teresa Stone (Nancy Novack) talks about his mission and a project she wants to do. Betty Lloyd (Mariette Hartley) tries to console Buzz, who becomes hysterical. She starts reading a letter she's written to the President (John Forsythe). He interrupts her and says everybody blames him because everything's falling apart.
The launch of the rescue mission can't be accomplished because of the bad weather. Keith speaks to the media. Journalists like Hardy (Mauritz Hugo) and Walter Brooke ask about another possible plan, and Keith says there aren't. An PR officer (Scott Brady) explains it.
Another plan is thought of. The computer technician (Bruce Rhodewalt) is already working on it. The astronauts are dizzy. The XRV has already been launched. It's insinuated that they should kill one of them so that the other two can survive. Before killing anyone, they'll try to mend the engine.
[A funny moment in MST3k 401 when the robots decide that Joel will be the one to die in a case like that on the film because they are cute robots which don't need oxygen. Joel is left feeling lonely and depressed.]
Jim's suit gets torn and he dies. Keith tells the news to Celia. A VIP (George R. Robertson) is tense. Rescue is close, so Buzz and Clayton decide to go for it and open the hatch door, although Huston disagrees. Clayton pushes Buzz towards rescue, but he seems to pass it; and Clayton falls dizzily back inside the rocket.
Ted Dougherty (David Janssen) rescues Buzz. Another astronauts gives oxygen to Clayton. He and Buzz have survived.
--written by KrystelClaire
