As the countdown is underway for the first manned Mars mission (in a Saturn V... hmmm...), the crew is pulled from the capsule and whisked off. the countdown continues...
The crew is herded into a waiting JetRanger...
Then they're transferred at another field to a LearJet:
They arrive somewhere in the Southwest...
Where the director of NASA fills them in on the deal.
They are to fake the entire misson; it's been decided that they can't afford to have anything bad actually happen. NASA was certainly looking good in 1978, but the Watergate scandal and the war had set the stage for a very popular theme of distrust in big government in the USA....
The crew is outraged, but the gov't applies sufficient pressure to get them to play along...
The plan includes the crew being placed back into the capsule after it splashes down, so the recovery can be broadcast live. After months of taping bogus footage for the media, they are transferred yet again...
Where finally the commander remembers he still has his medallion, suitable for prying hinge-pins loose.
This movie is worth watching for the flying, but I can't recommend it much otherwise... unless you're an OJ Simpson fan...he plays one of the crew... LOL!
Next: the escape, and more flying machines!
