Live! from the Johnson Space Center, the

Top Ten TECHNICAL ERRORS/ANACHRONISMS in the Movie "Apollo 13"

compiled by a bunch of genuine NASA dweebs who actually noticed these things.

10. The NASA "worm" logo appears on a glass door. The logo was not
    developed until 1976.

9.  One engineer checks an astronaut's addition using a slide rule. Slide
    rules are not used for addition.

8.  Jim Lovell's license plate is new.

7.  The astronauts point out the Sea of Tranquillity while on the dark side
    of the moon. It is on the other side.

6.  A technician at the cape is wearing a Rockwell International logo on
    his coveralls. The Apollo capsule was built by North American, which
    did not become Rockwell International until after the Apollo program.

5.  The gantry arms for the Saturn V are released in unison, not one at a
    time.

4.  During entry, the spacecraft is shown hurling directly at the earth. At
    that angle, it would punch a brief but fiery hole through the atmosphere. 
    It should be aiming towards the horizon.

3.  The paint pattern on the Saturn V is for the test configuration, not
    the launch configuration.

2.  The astronauts look at their intended landing site while on the dark
    side of the moon. It is a good thing they didn't land - no communications
    with Earth, it's dark and very cold.

AND THE NUMBER ONE TECHNICAL ERROR/ANACHRONISM in APOLLO 13 is:

1.  In space, from outside the capsule, propulsion jets do not make any
    noise.

You can see a similar list of goofs here, from our good friends at the Internet Movie Database.

I like this list better, in part because it's numbered, allowing you to watch the videodisc in a group at home, calling out the goofs' numbers as you see them, while drinking tequila shooters and smoking cigars. (OK, I made up this whole paragraph; you can't really do that).

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Last Updated: 04/25/04