"Marooned" - A masterpiece SF suspense based on meticulous research (Part 2)

*This article touches on the core of the story, so we recommend reading it after watching the movie.

* Click here for the first part

Author Martin Caidin has been accurately predicting and warning about various problems that could occur in manned space programs since their early days. The film "Marooned," based on his novel, is a very hard-hitting and prophetic film, with the addition of the latest information from NASA and aerospace companies. After the success of "Apollo 11" in 1969, the number of space movies (*1) that were made like mushrooms after the rain was on the rise, and this film stood out from the rest.

Index

• Synopsis ④
• Production and Music
• Synopsis ⑤
• Emotional portrayal and ending
• The surprising foresight of this work
• Disappointing visual effects

Synopsis ④

---

Dr. Keith (Gregory Peck), the project leader of NASA, appears before the press waiting for the launch of the lifeboat "X-RV" and informs them that the Iron Man rescue plan has been canceled. Then, a reporter who was originally critical of space development takes this opportunity to attack Keith in an attempt to cancel the manned space plan itself. At first, Keith listens in silence, but finally he can no longer contain himself and begins to argue.

Then the weather forecaster interrupts and shows Keith a weather chart. Shocked, he quickly ends the press conference and runs to Mission Control. The reporters are confused as to what has happened, and the weather forecaster shows them the chart and explains, "The hurricane itself is currently at a wind speed of 45 meters per second, but it is zero in the eye. It will pass through here soon."

Returning to mission control, Keith asks the crew, "Go or no go?" The Air Force Systems Director replies, "The Titan rocket was exposed to 40m winds, but there is no problem with the vehicle." Keith orders Dougherty (David Janssen), who was waiting on board as the X-RV pilot, "There is no time to correct the program. Go ahead with all manual piloting," and decides to launch.

However, the flight surgeon (John Carter) secretly tells Keith, "Everyone will be dead by the time we arrive." Keith asks, "Even if three is impossible, what about two? Can one be saved?" The surgeon responds, "If two are..."

Keith, who had been keeping an eye on the wind gauge, gave the go-ahead when the wind speed dropped to 10 meters. The launch pad's maintenance tower then began to move, but before it could move far enough away, the countdown to launch the Titan carrying the X-RV was forced to go ahead (meaning that launch pad 41 would be out of service for the time being). At the moment of launch, there was complete calm.

(*1) Many of them are from books such as "Footprints on the Moon: The Apollo Missions" (1969) and "Year 0: Apollo 11: Landing on the Moon."(69)There were many hastily made documentaries like this, simply made by haphazardly editing archival footage.

Production and Music