dmbaer
I did enjoy that movie. And Sandra Bullock is a most attractive astronaut, no doubt about it. However ... come on now! The reality of space suits involves wearing something akin to diapers - something totally overlooked by the costuming department.
Ha! Yup and that was one the major tech flaws that apparently irked the real space people. After I posted this I actually went looking for info on what stuff they messed up and right on the wiki entry there's a list...
[link=javascript:void(0)]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity_(2013_film)#Scientific_accuracy[/link]
Cuarón has stated that
Gravity is not always scientifically accurate and that some liberties were needed to sustain the story.[link=javascript:void(0)][126][/link] "This is not a documentary," Cuarón said. "It is a piece of fiction."[link=javascript:void(0)][127][/link] The film has been praised for the realism of its premises and its overall adherence to physical principles, despite several inaccuracies and exaggerations.[link=javascript:void(0)][128][/link][link=javascript:void(0)][129][/link][link=javascript:void(0)][130][/link] According to NASA Astronaut
Michael J. Massimino, who took part in Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Missions
STS-109 and
STS-125, "nothing was out of place, nothing was missing. There was a one-of-a-kind wirecutter we used on one of my spacewalks and sure enough they had that wirecutter in the movie."[link=javascript:void(0)][131][/link]
Astronaut
Buzz Aldrin called the visual effects "remarkable", and said, "I was so extravagantly impressed by the portrayal of the reality of zero gravity. Going through the space station was done just the way that I've seen people do it in reality. The spinning is going to happen—maybe not quite that vigorous—but certainly we've been fortunate that people haven't been in those situations yet. I think it reminds us that there really are hazards in the space business, especially in activities outside the spacecraft."[link=javascript:void(0)][132][/link] Former NASA astronaut
Garrett Reisman said, "The pace and story was definitely engaging and I think it was the best use of the 3-D IMAX medium to date. Rather than using the medium as a gimmick,
Gravity uses it to depict a real environment that is completely alien to most people. But the question that most people want me to answer is, how realistic was it? The very fact that the question is being asked so earnestly is a testament to the verisimilitude of the movie. When a bad science fiction movie comes out, no one bothers to ask me if it reminded me of the real thing."[link=javascript:void(0)][133][/link]
Astrophysicist
Neil deGrasse Tyson, astronomer and skeptic
Phil Plait, and veteran NASA astronaut and spacewalker
Scott E. Parazynski have offered comments about some of the most "glaring" inaccuracies.[link=javascript:void(0)][130][/link][link=javascript:void(0)][134][/link][link=javascript:void(0)][135][/link]
The Dissolve characterized these complaints as "absurd", problems "only an astrophysicist would find".[link=javascript:void(0)][136][/link]
Examples of differences from reality include:
- Several observers (including Plait and Tyson) said that in the scene in which Kowalski unclips his tether and floats away to his death to save Stone from being pulled away from the ISS, Stone would simply need to tug the tether gently to pull Kowalski toward her. According to the film's science adviser Kevin Grazier and NASA engineer Robert Frost, however, the pair are still decelerating with Stone's leg caught in the parachute cords from the Soyuz. The cords stretch as they absorb her kinetic energy. Kowalski thinks that the cords are not strong enough to absorb his kinetic energy as well as hers, and that he must release the tether to give Stone a chance of stopping before the cords fail and doom both of them.[link=javascript:void(0)][137][/link]
- By the time the first module of Tiangong-1, the Chinese space station, was launched in 2011, the US Space Shuttles had been retired from service.[link=javascript:void(0)][138][/link]
- Stone is shown not wearing liquid-cooled ventilation garments or even socks, which are always worn under the EVA suit to protect against extreme temperatures in space. Neither was she shown wearing space diapers.[link=javascript:void(0)][130][/link]
- Stone's tears first roll down her face in micro-gravity, and are later seen floating off her face. After being pushed from her eye by her eyelid, the surface tension is not sufficient for the tears to continue adhering to her jawline.[link=javascript:void(0)][139][/link] However, the movie correctly portrays the spherical nature of drops of liquid in a micro-gravity environment.[link=javascript:void(0)][129][/link]
- The Hubble Space Telescope, which is being repaired at the beginning of the movie, previously had an altitude of about 559 kilometres (347 mi) and an orbital inclination of 28.5 degrees. As of the release of the movie, the ISS had an altitude of around 420 kilometres (260 mi) and an orbital inclination of 51.65 degrees. The significant differences between orbital parameters would have made it impossible to travel between the two spacecraft without precise preparation, planning, calculation, the appropriate technology, and a large quantity of fuel at the time.[link=javascript:void(0)][129][/link][link=javascript:void(0)][130][/link][link=javascript:void(0)][135][/link]
- Clooney's use of the MMU as his personal jet pack zipping around the spacewalking scene was criticized by [link=javascript:void(0)]Time[/link]'s Jeffery Kluger as being unrealistic. NASA's spacewalks are strictly choreographed in advance.[link=javascript:void(0)][140][/link]
Despite the inaccuracies in
Gravity, Tyson, Plait and Parazynski said they enjoyed watching the film.[link=javascript:void(0)][130][/link][link=javascript:void(0)][134][/link][link=javascript:void(0)][135][/link] Aldrin said he hoped that the film would stimulate the public to find an interest in space again, after decades of diminishing investments into advancements in the field.[link=javascript:void(0)][132][/link]