LOS ANGELES, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- "Thirteen Days," the critically acclaimed dramatization of the Cuban Missile Crisis staring Kevin Costner, was launched into space last night aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis. The film will be delivered, along with other New Line Cinema titles to crew members of Expedition One, the International Space Station.

The five-member flight crew of Atlantis (STS-98) will dock with the space station on Friday on a mission to deliver and install a laboratory module that is a crucial component in the construction of the International Space Station. The lab will become the scientific research centerpiece of the space station. But their precious cargo was augmented by a special shipment of DVD's meant to help entertain the International Space Station crew that has been in space since last October.

New Line was able to arrange for the galactic care package through an unlikely homegrown effort. Studio employee Marc Jacobs designed the official patch for STS-98 and paved the way for the DVD version of the film to be shown 220 miles above the Earth.

In the coming days, when the film is viewed during recreational time aboard the International Space Station, it will be screened by two Russian cosmonauts -- Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev -- and one American astronaut -- Commander William Shepherd.

Together the three who have been orbiting the Earth for four months will watch a movie about a moment in history when our two nations were not building the most complex man-made structure in history, but were on the verge of destroying the possibility for any future.

Jacobs, a graphic designer and space-enthusiast, got the unlikely job of designing the shuttle patch through his friendship with Atlantis crew member Marsha Ivins. His association with Ivins helped place "Thirteen Days" in a prestigious screening orbit all its own.

During the past week, President and Mrs. George W. Bush hosted a special White House screening for members of the Kennedy family, and on Tuesday members of Congress viewed the film. Later this month, "Thirteen Days" will screen at the United Nations at an event hosted by the United Nations Department for Disarmament Affairs, in conjunction with Lawyers Alliance for World Security. Ted Sorensen, who was Special Counsel and a close aide to President John F. Kennedy, will address the audience after the screening. The film will also have its European premiere at the Berlin Film Festival on February 13, and will be shown at a screening and seminar at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government on February 21.

"From the White House and Congress to the United Nations and the distant reaches of space, 'Thirteen Days' has become a must-see film," said Michael Lynne, President and Chief Operating Officer of New Line Cinema. "We are tremendously proud to be associated with a film that focuses on protecting our future by examining a chilling chapter in World history."

"At a moment when nuclear proliferation, the renewed debates over nuclear weapons policy, and the development of a missile shield pepper the front pages, 'Thirteen Days' is both a timeless and timely cautionary tale," said Producer and Beacon Pictures CEO Armyan Bernstein.

Added producer Peter Almond, "We are extremely gratified that our film is being discussed in settings where policy and public opinion are actively shaped. What is amazing is how this film has crossed-over and merged popular entertainment with serious public debate on the issues of the day. Nuclear proliferation and the world-wide nuclear threat are as real today as they were in 1962."

The film has already been screened at the prestigious Council of Foreign Relations in New York City, and in Washington, DC under the auspices of Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center.

Beacon and New Line Cinema have also joined with Cuban Missile Crisis scholar and Harvard University professor Graham Allison in shaping a web-site devoted to the Cuban Missile Crisis and to the ongoing issues raised by the film (http://www.thirteen-days.com/).

"Thirteen Days," produced by Beacon Pictures and released by New Line Cinema, opened nationwide on January 12. The film is produced by Armyan Bernstein, Peter O. Almond and Kevin Costner, and is written by David Self. The screenplay draws on "The Kennedy Tapes: Inside the White House During the Cuban Missile Crisis," edited by Ernest May and Philip Zelikow. The film features a memorable ensemble that includes Kevin Costner as presidential aide Kenny O'Donnell, Bruce Greenwood as John F. Kennedy and Steven Culp as Robert F. Kennedy.