The Cold Equations (The Twilight Zone)

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The Cold Equations is an episode of the television series The Twilight Zone. Terrence Knox plays an astronaut who must deliver a vital cargo of vaccine to a plague-stricken colony world. Simple enough, except for one catch; a young girl has stowed away on his vessel with hopes of reuniting with her brother once the vessel reaches the colony world. Now the entire mission is in jeopardy, as her presence on board was not calculated into the flight plan and there will be no way for the pilot to compensate for her added weight. They attempt to compensate by jettisoning all possible extra weight, but this is ineffective; the pilot briefly considers killing himself so the girl can survive, but she will not be able to pilot the ship herself.

The pilot now faces an ethical dilemma. If the girl remains on board, the ship will crash and be destroyed. The only option is for her to sacrifice herself by being forced out the airlock, but can the pilot bring himself to order her death?

Based on the original short story by Tom Godwin, this was made into a longer feature for the SciFi channel starring Bill Campbell and Poppy Montgomery. It was also made into an episode of the X Minus One radio program in 1955.