Houston, We’ve Got a Bandwagon . . . : ‘Apollo 13’ hits video stores on Tuesday, inspiring many titles pegged to the real-life space drama and other celestial topics.

The countdown is on for Tuesday’s video release of “Apollo 13,” and the creators and suppliers of other space-based videos have stars in their eyes.

The stratospheric popular and critical success of Ron Howard’s drama has launched a spate of documentaries that attempt to tell the real story of the ill-fated moon mission.

Even MCA/Universal Home Video, the distributor of “Apollo 13” ($22.95), is in the game. The label is releasing a companion video, the Emmy-nominated “Apollo 13: To the Edge and Back,” for the suggested retail price of $9.98. A collector’s set containing both videos retails for $29.98.

Billy Mumy (himself once “Lost in Space”) hosts “Apollo 13: The Untold Story,” which presents NASA footage as well as interviews with “Apollo 13” co-screenwriter Al Reinert and astronaut Thomas Mattingly, who was portrayed in the film by Gary Sinise. The release is available from White Star Video, a division of New Jersey-based Kultur Video, (800) 458-5887, for $19.95.

“Apollo 13: Houston We’ve Got a Problem” is NASA’s official film record of the aborted mission played out as it happened. It’s available from Finley-Holiday Films, (800) 345-6707, for $24.95.

S pace, like dinosaurs, has a timeless pull on children’s imaginations. The cross-generational appeal of “Apollo 13” represents not just a marketing opportunity but an educational one as well. Several video producers have aligned themselves with the stars of science fact and fiction to encourage the next generation for whom “Apollo 13” has fueled interest in exploring the final frontier.

Apollo 12 astronauts Richard Gordon and Charles (Pete) Conrad Jr. helped launch “Star Scouts Discover NASA,” the first in a proposed series of 13 videos targeted toward children ages 5 to 12. The $14.95 video, which will include an iron-on NASA-style shoulder patch, is scheduled for release Nov. 29 primarily to supermarkets and drug stores; it can also be ordered at (510) 847-2777.

In the first video, animated characters Cygy--voiced by Nancy (Bart Simpson) Cartwright--and Zendo come to the aid of the Kosmic Klub, a group of kids broadcasting their own public-access show about space.

“We want to motivate kids to stay in school and study and not shy away from science and math,” Gordon said. “There is a big story to tell. Twenty-six years ago we landed on the moon. Think of the percentage of the population that was born after that and did not live through those times.”

Patrick Stewart is not Capt. Jean-Luc Picard of the Starship Enterprise--he just played him on TV. But for educational programs, he said in a phone interview, he is willing to exploit his association with “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” which has continued on the big screen.

“That’s one of the very satisfying bonuses [of celebrity]--to use some of your influence in educational directions,” Stewart said. “I’ve been involved in different projects because it became clear to me that because of [my character’s popularity], using my face or invoking my name, it might attract young people to pay attention.”

Stewart hosts and narrates “From Here to Infinity,” a space odyssey rendered through NASA space probe footage and computer graphics, which is available from Paramount Home Video for $14.95. He also hosts “The Planets,” a tour of the solar system set to Gustav Holst’s classical music suite, available from BMG Video for $16.98, and the six-volume series “Space Age,” from Chicago-based Public Media Video, (800) 826-3456, for $24.95 each or $99.50 for the set.

“Someday I Wanna Be an Astronaut” follows a young boy and girl as they visit the U.S. Space Camp at the Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala., where they command a flight simulator, experience the effects of zero gravity and simulate a walk in space. It’s available for $12.98 from Bell Canyon Entertainment, (818) 992-6520.

For those who prefer to explore the heavens from the ground up, “Astronomy 101: A Beginner’s Guide to the Night Sky” is an awe-inspiring invitation for families to share the beauty and wonder of stargazing. The 25-minute production from Mazon Productions, creators of the award-winning video “I Dig Fossils,” views the night sky as seen through the telescope of a mother and her young daughter It is priced at $19.95 and recommended for children between the ages of 7 and 12; information: (800) 332-4344.

In January, the KidVision label will launch “There Goes a Spaceship” as part of its best-selling “Real Wheels” series.

Home video can transform any VCR into a telescope, providing an intimate perspective on our universe, while historic, dramatic footage chronicles the triumphs and tragedies of America’s space program. National Geographic Video’s “For All Mankind,” $19.95, tells the story of the first manned flights to the moon in the words of the astronauts.

Climbing aboard the “Apollo 13” rocket, Discovery Channel Video is promoting three space documentaries, the previously released “The Space Shuttle” and “One Giant Leap” and a new release, “Stargazers: 100 Years of the Lowell Observatory.” They retail for $19.95 each or in a boxed set for $29.95.

Turner Home Entertainment is also hoping to get some liftoff from “Apollo 13” on “Moon Shot,” its two-volume documentary featuring Alan Shepard and Donald (Deke) Slayton. Never-before-seen footage and never-before-told stories dramatically recall America’s race to the moon.

Carl Sagan offers his inimitable view of the universe in the landmark award-winning series “Cosmos,” available from Turner in 14 individual episodes or in three boxed-set configurations.

Finley-Holiday’s “Space and Science” collection includes the IMAX production “The Dream Is Alive,” narrated by Walter Cronkite, $29.95, and “History of Spaceflight: Reaching for the Stars,” hosted by astronaut Alan Shepard, “Out of This World: The Apollo Moon Landings,” “The New Solar System” and “Hubble Space Telescope: Rescue in Space,” all $24.95. Each is recommended for Grades 4 and up.

And, finally, it is only logical that Leonard Nimoy would narrate “Symphony to the Planets,” a two-volume set available on the Chicago-based Questar label, (800) 544-8422, for $29.95.