Minute 036: The Clock is Running

  The flames at the base of the LUT begin to flow back inside, toward the flame trench. The crew seats shudder as the rocket lifts off the pad. “The clock is running!” announces Lovell.  The Mission Elapsed Time displays 00001, then 00002. Fuel lines separate between the LUT and the spacecraft. The massive hold-down clamps lift away from the base of the ship. “We have liftoff!” says the Launch Director. The Saturn V lifts into the air on a pillar of flame. Marilyn Lovell and Mary Haise watch the liftoff. Mary Haise is weeping. “Houston,” says Lovell, “We have cleared the tower at 13:13.” “Okay, guys – – we got it,” says Kranz to his MCC crew. The Saturn V rises majestically away from Pad 39A. Marilyn Lovell watches from the stands. The Saturn V rides into a cloud bank. From his position on the edge of the Atlantic shoreline, Mattingly watches Apollo 13 rise into the sky. “Come on, baby,” says Mattingly. “Come on.” The Saturn V rises above the clouds. “Altitude,” reports Swigert,” is on the line.” The Command Module’s DSKY reports the ship is Verb 16, Noun 62, reporting lines +00062, +00152, and +—32. IN THIS MINUTE: Jim Lovell: Tom Hanks Jack Swigert: Kevin Bacon Fred Haise: Bill Paxton Gene Kranz: Ed Harris Launch Director: Andrew Lipschultz CAPCOM: Brett Cullen Guenter Wendt: Endre Hules