22 quotes
A humorous plea for assistance in space
Lt. Matt Kowalski
I know, you never realized how devastatingly good-looking I am, but I need you to stop staring and help me with the tether. Okay?
[holding on Dr. Stone]
NASA Careers and Perspectives on Training
Kowalski
So, doc, now that you work for NASA, how do like us?
Shariff
Kind of like winning the lottery, isn't it?
Ryan
I was just happy that they didn't cut the funding to my research.
Kowalski
How long was your training?
Ryan
Six months.
Shariff
Including holidays?
Ryan
Mm-hm.
Kowalski
So, what is this scanning system?
Shariff
Oh, nothing, Matt, it's just a new set of eyes to scan the edge of the universe.
Ryan
It's designed for hospital use, but this one's a prototype.
Kowalski
Listen, they don't bankroll prototypes, even for your pretty blue eyes.
Ryan
Well, my eyes are brown.
Kowalski
Right now your eyes are bloodshot.
Shariff
Kowalski! Is this great or what?
Kowalski
And to think he went to Harvard. Gotta admit one thing. Can't beat the view. So, what do you like about being up here?
Ryan
The silence. I could get used to it.
Kowalski
Terrific.
Finding Purpose in the Face of Loss
Lt. Matt Kowalski
I get it. It's nice up here. You can just shut down all the systems, turn out all the lights, and just close your eyes and tune out everyone. There's nobody up here that can hurt you. It's safe. I mean, what's the point of going on? What's the point of living? Your kid died. Doesn't get any rougher than that. But still, it's a matter of what you do now. If you decide to go, then you gotta just get on with it. Sit back, enjoy the ride. You gotta plant both your feet on the ground and start livin life. Hey, Ryan? It's time to go home.
Clear Skies with Satellite Debris Risk
Dr. Ryan Stone
Clear skies but with a chance of satellite debris.
A Mother's Grief and Daily Routine
Dr. Ryan Stone
I had a daughter. She was four. She was at school, playing tag. Slipped, hit her head, and that was it. Stupidest thing. I was driving when I got the call, so ever since then that's what I do. I wake up. I go to work. And I just drive.
A Mother's Message to Her Daughter
Dr. Ryan Stone
Hey, Matt, since I had to listen to endless hours of your storytelling this week, I need you to do me a favor. You are going to see a little girl with brown hair, very messy, lots of knots. She doesn't like to brush it. That's okay. Her name is Sarah. Can you please tell her that mama found her red shoe? She was so worried about that shoe, Matt. But it was right under the bed. Give her a big hug and a big kiss for me and tell her that mama misses her. You tell her that she is my angel. And she makes me so proud. So, so proud. And you tell her that I'm not quitting. You tell her that I love her, Matt. You tell her that I love her so much. Can you do that for me? Roger that. Here we go.
Life in Space: Conditions and Challenges
Title card
At 600KM above planet Earth the temperature fluctuates between +258 and -148 degrees Fahrenheit. There is nothing to carry sound. No air pressure. No oxygen. Life in space is impossible.
A Conversation in Space Exploration
Kowalski
Check your watch - 13 hours and 11 minutes; call Anatoly and tell him he's been bumped. It's a little gloomy in here, isn't it?
Ryan
How did you...?
Kowalski
Trust me, it's a hell of a story.
Ryan
But I...
Kowalski
That's better. Found a little extra... little extra battery power; it helps I didn't have you around to distract me. I have to say, I'm glad to see you, I didn't think you were gonna make it. You find the vodka?
Ryan
You never told me where it was, so...
Kowalski
Well... To Anatoly. Na zdorovje. No? All right, let's get outta here. The Chinese station's about 100 miles; just a little Sunday drive.
[Kowalski pulls out a small flask from under his seat; He takes a sip and offers the flask to Ryan, who shakes her head]
Ryan
We can't.
Kowalski
Sure we can.
Ryan
There's no fuel, I tried everything.
Kowalski
Well, there's always something we can do.
Ryan
I tried everything.
Kowalski
Did you try the soft landing jets?
Ryan
They're for landing, so...
Kowalski
Well, landing is launching, it's the same thing, didn't you learn about that in training?
Ryan
I never got to land the simulator, I told you that...
Kowalski
But you know about it.
Ryan
And I crashed it every time, I just-
Kowalski
Listen, do you wanna go back, or do you wanna stay here? I get it, it's nice up here. You can just... shut down all the systems... Turn out all the lights... Just close your eyes and tune out everybody. There's nobody up here that can hurt you. It's safe. I mean what's the point of going on, what's the point of living? Your kid died. Doesn't get any rougher than that. But still, it's a matter of what you do now. If you decide to go, then you gotta just get on with it. Sit back, enjoy the ride. You gotta plant both your feet on the ground and start living life.
[Ryan says nothing; turns off the lights]
Ryan
How did you get here?
Kowalski
I'm telling you, it's a hell of a story. Hey, Ryan?
Ryan
What?
Kowalski
It's time to go home.
Facing the Unknown in Space
Dr. Ryan Stone
Houston, Houston in the blind, this is Mission Specialist Ryan Stone reporting from the Shenzhou. I'm about to undock from Tiangong... and I have a bad feeling about this mission. Reminds me of a story... Ahh! Never mind, Houston, never mind the story! Ahh! It's starting to get hot in here. All right, the way I see it, there are only two possible outcomes: Either I make it down there in one piece and I have one hell of a story to tell, or I burn up in the next ten minutes. Ahh! Either way, whichever way... no harm, no foul! Because either way, it'll be one hell of a ride! I'm ready.
[laughs; the capsule shudders violently]
Request for Rescue from Space Mission
Lt. Matt Kowalski
Houston, in the blind, this is Kowalski. Dr. Stone and I have determined to proceed to {{w|International Space Station|ISS}} and use one of their {{w|Soyuz (spacecraft)|Soyuz}} for reentry. ISS, if you hear us... we could sure use a rescue mission.
Understanding Simple Instructions in Space Operations
Lt. Matt Kowalski
You point the damned thing at Earth. It's not rocket science.
[On how to use a reentry module to get back to Earth]
Social Media Impact in Space Disaster
Lt. Matt Kowalski
Half of North America just lost their {{w|Facebook}}.
Survival and Accountability in Space Mission
Kowalski
Houston, in the blind, to confirm: Mission Specialist Dr. Stone and Mission Commander Matthew Kowalski, are the sole survivors of STS-157.
Ryan
I apologize for not complying. I should've stopped working as soon as you instructed me to.
Kowalski
We were going to get hit no matter what. There was nothing you could do to change that. Hey.
Ryan
Yes?
Kowalski
All right. We need to make our way to the Space Station. Over there. It's a bit of a hike, but we need to use their escape pod, the Soyuz, to get back to Earth. Agreed? Dr. Stone, agreed?
[Kowalski points to a bright dot in the distance]
Ryan
Agreed.
Kowalski
All right. After you. Houston in the blind, this is Kowalski. Dr. Stone and I have determined to proceed to ISS and use one of their Soyuz for re-entry. ISS, if you hear us, we could sure use a rescue mission.
[Kowalski ignites his thrusters and he and Ryan push forward, leaving behind the remains of ''Explorer'']
Unforeseen Concerns in Space Mission
Kowalski
Houston, I have a bad feeling about this mission.
Mission Control
Please elaborate.
Kowalski
It's the same feeling I had about Mardi Gras in 1987.
Mission Control
That is affirmative. Surprisingly, Control hasn't heard the Mardi Gras story. Please proceed.
Kowalski
Well, it's day one and I'm bumping my way down Bourbon Street looking for a sister of a friend of mine. The streets are full of people, I'm thinking there's no way I'm gonna find this girl...
Ryan
Proceeding to override.
Kowalski
Then all of a sudden, I look up, and there she is, and I'm about to yell out and I see she's holding hands with a short hairy guy in board shorts and a Margaritaville shirt. And then I realize that this guy is not a guy, that my girl is holding hands with a—
Mission Control
ISS, this is Houston. Explorer, this is Houston.
Explorer Captain
Go ahead, Houston.
Mission Control
Mission abort. Repeat, mission abort. Initiate emergency disconnect from Hubble. Begin re-entry procedure. ISS, initiate emergency evacuation.
Explorer Captain
Copy all, Houston, and in work. Matt, immediate return to Explorer. Repeat, immediate return to Explorer.
Kowalski
Copy, Explorer, prep airlock.
Explorer Captain
Airlock engaged. Ready to receive.
Kowalski
Houston, elaborate.
Mission Control
Debris from the missile strike has caused a chain reaction, hitting other satellites and creating new debris. Travelling faster than a high-speed bullet up towards your altitude. How copy?
Kowalski
Copy all. Put a bow on it, Dr. Stone.
[to Ryan]
Ryan
I can't. The board is still initializing.
Kowalski
I'm not gonna ask you again.
Ryan
One second.
Kowalski
Not one second, now. Shut it down. That's an order!
Ryan
Okay, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm done, I'm done.
Explorer Captain
Kowalski, initiate emergency disconnect from the Hubble.
Kowalski
All right, Shariff, let's do this.
[thrusts himself to the base of the Hubble]
Shariff
Roger, Matt.
Kowalski
Houston, update.
Mission Control
Well, we have a full-on chain reaction. It's been confirmed that it's the unintentional side effect of the Russians striking one of their own satellites.
Shariff
They shot down their own satellite?
Kowalski
Right of disposal. Most likely a spy sat gone bad. Now it's shrapnel. Explorer, ready to disengage H.S.T.
Explorer Captain
Locks releasing in three, two, one.
Mission Control
Explorer, new data coming through.
Kowalski
What's the blowback, Houston?
Mission Control
It's not good. Most of our systems are gone. Debris chain reaction is out of control and rapidly expanding. Multiple satellites are down and they keep on falling.
Kowalski
Define multiple satellites.
Mission Control
Most of them are gone. Telecommunication systems are dead. Expect a communications blackout at any moment.
Ryan
Kowalski, visual of debris at nine o'clock.
Kowalski
Half of North America just lost their Facebook.
Mission Control
Explorer, repeat, expect a communications blackout at any moment.
Explorer Captain
Copy that, Houston.
Kowalski
Explorer, this is Kowalski, confirming visual contact with debris, debris is from a BSE sat.
Shariff
Heads up!
Kowalski
To repeat, I have—
Ryan
Dr. Stone requesting faster transport.
Kowalski
We have to go, we have to go, go, go!
Mission Control
Kennedy reports meteorological conditions no-go for re-entry—
[transmission cuts off]
Explorer Captain
Houston, Explorer. Copy.
Ryan
Explorer, Dr. Stone requesting faster transport to bay area. Explorer, do you copy?
Kowalski
Explorer, permission to retrieve Dr. Stone.
Explorer Captain
You are a go, Kowalski. Houston, this is Explorer, copy? We've lost Houston. We've lost Houston.
Kowalski
Unstrap. Look, we need to get the hell out of here.
Shariff
Need some help there, Matt?
Kowalski
No, don't wait for us.
Ryan
It's stuck!
Kowalski
Man down! Man down!
Explorer Captain
Houston, this is Explorer, copy? Houston, this is Explorer, copy? Kowalski, report—
Kowalski
Explorer has been hit! Explorer, do you read? Explorer, over? Explorer!
Kowalski
Astronaut is off structure, Dr. Stone is off structure! Dr. Stone, detach!
Dr. Stone
No!
Kowalski
You must detach. If you don't detach, that arm's gonna carry you too far. Listen to my voice! You need to focus!
Ryan
I can't!
Kowalski
I'm losing visual of you. In a few seconds I won't be able to track you. You need to detach. I can't see you anymore! Do it now!
Ryan
I'm trying, I'm trying...
Kowalski
Houston, I've lost visual of Dr. Stone. Houston, I've lost visual of Dr. Stone.
Communication in Crisis
Kowalski
Dr. Stone, do you copy? Repeat, do you copy?
Ryan
Yes! Yes! I copy, I'm here.
Kowalski
Flash your light so I can see you.
Ryan
Here. Here.
[waving her flashlight]
Kowalski
There you are. Hang tight. Report your status.
Ryan
I'm fine.
Kowalski
Your status. Give me your readings
Ryan
3.5 psi, I think.
Kowalski
Give me your O2.
Ryan
It's going down fast, 9... no, 8%.
Kowalski
All right, you're breathing too fast. You're burning oxygen, and we don't want to do that. We want to relax. Copy?
Ryan
Sorry, yes. Copy.
Kowalski
I'm nearly there.
Ryan
Please hurry.
Kowalski
You can holster that torch, Dr. Stone.
Ryan
Right, sorry.
Kowalski
Gotcha. All right, now I'm going to tether you to me. I know you never realized how devastatingly good looking I am. But I need you to stop staring and help me with the tether. Okay?
Ryan
Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay, I got it.
Kowalski
All right, here we go. Now to clear you from the jets, I'm gonna give you a little push.
[clips his tether to Ryan]
Ryan
No, no, no, no--!
Kowalski
A nudge.
Ryan
No, no, no, no, no, damn it, no!
Kowalski
See? Where you go, I go. Better. Let's get out of here.
Ryan
Ahh! Damn it!
Kowalski
I know what you mean.
Ryan
Damn it!
Kowalski
You're burning oxygen. We're going back to the shuttle, how's that for a plan, copy?
Ryan
Fuck!
Kowalski
Right, copy that.
Contemplating Home and Beauty in Space
Kowalski
Beautiful, don't you think?
Ryan
What?
Kowalski
The sunrise. That's what I'm gonna miss most. So, where's home, Dr. Stone? Ryan, where's home?
Ryan
Home?
Kowalski
Mm-hm. Down there. Mother Earth. Where do you pitch your tent?
Ryan
Lake Zurich.
Kowalski
Where the hell is that?
Ryan
Illinois.
Kowalski
Illinois. Central Time Zone. That would make it roughly... 8PM. What are the good people of Lake Zurich doing at 8:00?
Ryan
I don't know. I'm not going to make it, I'm slowing you down.
Kowalski
What would you be doing? Come on, Ryan. It's 8:00. You've just left the hospital after a 18-hour shift.
Ryan
The radio. I listen to the radio.
Kowalski
There we go. Let me guess. NPR? Classical? Top forty?
Ryan
Anything. I don't care, as long as they don't talk, I just drive.
Kowalski
And where are you driving to?
Ryan
I just drive.
Kowalski
What do you miss down there? Is there a Mr. Stone?
Ryan
No.
Kowalski
Nobody special? Somebody down there looking up? Thinking about you? Ryan?
Ryan
I had a daughter.
Ryan
She was four. She was at school, playing tag. Slipped, hit her head, and that was it. Stupidest thing. I was driving when I got the call, so ever since then that's what I do. I wake up. I go to work. And I just drive.
Disdain for the Vastness of Space
Dr. Ryan Stone
I hate space.
[after narrowly escaping the destruction of the ISS]
Kowalski Reflects on Personal Loss in Space
Kowalski
Houston, I have a bad feeling about this mission.
Mission Control
Please expand.
Kowalski
Okay, let me tell you a story. It was 96, I'd been up here 42 days. Every time I passed over Texas, I'd look down, knowing that Mrs. Kowalski, was looking up, thinking of me. Six weeks I'm blowing kisses to that woman. Then we land at Edwards and I find out she's run off with some lawyer, so I packed my car and I headed to...
Mission Control
Tijuana. You've told this story, Kowalski. As Houston recalls, she took off in your 74 GTO. Engineering requests a fuel status on the jetpack prototype.
Kowalski
Five hours off the reservation, and I show 30% drain. My compliments to Engineering. Except for a slight malfunction in the nulling of the roll axis, this jetpack is one prime piece of thrust.
Mission Control
Engineering says thank you.
Kowalski
Tell them I still prefer my 67 Corvette, though. Speaking of which, did I ever tell you...
Mission Control
We know the Corvette story, Matt.
Kowalski
Even Engineering?
Mission Control
Especially Engineering. We're going to miss you, Matt.
Communication Challenges in Space Missions
Mission Control
Shariff, what's your status?
Shariff
Nearly there. Replacing battery module A1 and C.
Mission Control
Could you be a little more specific? Indeterminate estimates make Houston anxious.
Shariff
No, no, no, Houston, don't be anxious. Anxiety's not good for the heart. System is ready to reactivate.
Mission Control
Hubble Telescope engaged, upgrade fully functional. That applause you hear is for you, Shariff. Congratulations. Kick back, take the rest of the day off.
Mission Control
Matt, do you have visual on just what Mission Specialist Shariff is doing up there?
Kowalski
He appears to be doing some form of the ], but that would be just a best guess scenario on my part.
[[w:Macarena|Macarena]
Communication in Space Emergency
Kowalski
Ryan, do you hear me? Do you copy?
Ryan
My CO2 alarm went off. My CO2 alarm went off.
Kowalski
Look, you need to board the station. Do you see the airlock? Hey, Ryan. You copy? Look for the airlock. It's above you, next to the Zvezda module. You see it?
Ryan
Yes, I see it. I see it.
Kowalski
All right, good. That's where you want to go. Now, you're getting lightheaded, right?
Ryan
Yeah. Yes.
Kowalski
That's because you're breathing CO2. You're losing consciousness. You need to board the station.
Ryan
Okay.
Kowalski
Now, that second Soyuz is too damaged for re-entry but it's perfectly fine for a little Sunday drive. Look to the West. You see that dot in the distance? That's the Chinese station. You're gonna take the Soyuz and you're gonna cruise over there. The Chinese lifeboat is a Shenzhou.
Ryan
I've never flown a Shenzhou.
Kowalski
It doesn't matter. It's reentry protocol is identical to the Soyuz.
Ryan
Okay.
Kowalski
You never flown the Soyuz either?
Ryan
Only a simulator.
Kowalski
Well, then you know.
Ryan
But I crashed it.
Kowalski
It's a simulator. That's what it's designed for.
Ryan
Every time. I crashed it every time.
Kowalski
You point the damned thing at Earth. It's not rocket science. And by this time tomorrow, you're gonna back in Lake Zurich with a hell of a story to tell. You copy? Ryan, you copy?
Ryan
I'm gonna take the Soyuz and come get you.
Kowalski
No, you're not.
Ryan
I'm coming to get you.
Kowalski
I've got to much of a head start on you.
Ryan
I'm coming to get you.
Kowalski
I'm afraid that ship already sailed. Ryan, you're gonna have to learn to let go.
Ryan
But I--
Kowalski
I want to hear you say you're gonna make it. Come on, Ryan. Say it.
Ryan
I'm gonna make it.
Kowalski
All right. Keep going. What kind of name is Ryan for a girl?
Ryan
Dad wanted a boy.
Kowalski
Are you close to the airlock?
Ryan
Not yet.
Kowalski
Keep going. So now that we have some distance between us, you're attracted to me, right?
Ryan
What?
Kowalski
Well, people say I have beautiful blue eyes.
Ryan
You have beautiful blue eyes.
Kowalski
I have brown eyes. Hey, you want to know the good news?
Ryan
What?
Kowalski
I'm gonna break Anatoly's record, and I think mine's gonna stand for a long, long time.
Ryan
Oh, no. I'm coming to get you.
Kowalski
Oh, my God...
Ryan
What?
Kowalski
Wow. Hey, Ryan?
Ryan
Yeah?
Kowalski
You should see the sun on the Ganges. It's amazing.
Doubtful Sentiments Regarding the Mission
Lt. Matt Kowalski
Houston, I have a bad feeling about this mission.
A Desperate Plea for Survival in Space
Dr. Ryan Stone
You're losing altitude, Tiangong. You keep dropping and you're going to kiss the atmosphere. But not without me, because you're my last ride. Wait. Five... four.. three... No more just driving. Let's go home.
[disarms hatch; grabs fire extinguisher]