story identification - Man is piloting small cargo ship with young woman stow-away

Several years ago, my wife and I were flipping through channels and came across the end of a movie that looked somewhat interesting, and I've always wanted to watch the rest of it. The only scene I saw was this: A man is piloting some sort of small cargo ship (I'm guessing) in space, and he has found a young woman stow-away. He is trying to land the ship (or something) and, for some reason, the woman being on the ship is throwing off the mass just enough so as to cause a catastrophic failure. Knowing that the only way for the ship to survive is for her to not be on it, she puts herself into some sort of ejection chamber and shoots herself into the oblivion of space. If I remember correctly, the ship is rather dark and somewhat "cluttered" inside.

Unfortunately, that's about all I can remember from the movie. If anyone has any ideas, I'd appreciate it.

Can anyone tell me the name of this movie?

Answer

It sounds like you're describing "The Cold Equations" by Tom Godwin.

Barton explains that her presence dooms the mission by exceeding the weight limit, and the subsequent crash would kill both of them and doom the colonists awaiting the medical supplies. After contacting her brother for the last moments of her life, Marilyn willingly walks into the airlock and is ejected into space.

The story has been adapted repeatedly but you're probably describing the 1996 made-for-TV version or the Twilight Zone version which has a more "cluttered" feel to it.

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