More than a chronicle of different phases in the astronauts' learning process, Before Lift-Off tells the story of the bonding of these men and women.

On April 13, 1970 an explosion rocked the moon-bound Apollo 13 craft, 205,000 miles from Earth, damaging engines and life-support systems. This minute-by-minute account of the only manned NASA mission to have malfunctioned outside Earth's orbit describes the entire episode.