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collar life. NASA Administrator Dan Truman (Billy Bob Thornton) informs Harry of the dire situation. Harry recognizes that he and his crew must accompany the astronauts to ensure the job is done properly. After Harry's crew (Jayotis "Bear" Kurleenbear, Max Lennert, Rockhound, Oscar Choice, Charles "Chick" Chapple, and some others) is collected and assembled and NASA acquiesces to an esoteric list of demands from the crew—ranging from Bear sleeping at the White House' Lincoln Room, to the return of 8-track tapes , to every single member of Harry's crew never having to pay income taxes again, ever—the men are put through a 12-day training program and outfit a mobile drilling machine with the proper equipment.
After a meteorite strikes Shanghai, China, destroying the city and causing a tsunami, the incoming asteroid and pending mission are revealed to the world. Two military shuttles, Freedom and Independence, are launched and dock at a Russian space station (crewed by Lev Andropov) to refuel with liquid oxygen propellant. AJ encounters a problem stopping the pumps after the ships' tanks are full, and the station explodes. The crews and Lev Andropov escape. Later, the two shuttles perform a high G-force powered slingshot procedure around the Moon, traveling at 22,500 miles per hour to intercept the asteroid just as it passes the moon.
As they enter the asteroid's wake, the shuttles are struck by debris and Independence crash-lands on the asteroid, killing most of its crew, including Oscar Choice, Freddie Noonan, and the
Independence pilots. AJ, Lev, and Bear survive. The Freedom lands on the surface but misses the target landing zone by 26 miles, arriving on an area of hard iron which will be difficult to drill through. The Freedom team tries to drill but suffers several setbacks and losses due to unexpected conditions.
After losing communication with Earth, the mission is put on hold, then the bomb's timer is remotely activated from Earth by orders from the United States President to ensure the mission succeeds. However, a surface explosion would not be sufficient to divert the asteroid. Harry convinces Colonel Sharp to de-activate the bomb and to help them attempt finish the job. With just 250 feet left to drill, their drilling machine is blasted off the asteroid by a gas vent, killing Max in the process. When the crew radio report to NASA that the