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Apollo 13 at 50: How NASA turned near disaster at the moon into a 'successful failure' in space

  

Category:  Health, Science & Technology

Via:  jasper2529  •  4 years ago  •  8 comments

By:   By Chelsea Gohd - Space.com

Apollo 13 at 50: How NASA turned near disaster at the moon into a 'successful failure' in space
While the crew never made it to the moon's surface, their very survival serves as a testament to the human spirit.

S E E D E D   C O N T E N T



Fifty years ago today (April 11), three astronauts launched to space, poised to be the next humans to walk on the moon. But things didn't exactly go according to plan.

Famously described as a "successful failure," the   Apollo 13   mission almost ended in complete and utter disaster. However, while the astronauts never made it to the moon's surface, their very survival serves as a testament to the human spirit and incredible ingenuity. 

"Our goal 50 years ago was to save our valiant crew after sending them around the moon and return them safely to Earth," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine   said in a statement . "Our goal now is to return to the moon to stay, in a sustainable way. We are working hard to ensure that we don't need to respond to this kind of emergency in Artemis, but to be ready to respond to any problems we don't anticipate."

( Artemis   is NASA's current program of crewed lunar exploration, which aims to land the first woman and the next man on the moon in 2024.) 

At 2:13 p.m. EST (1813 GMT) on April 11, 1970, commander   James "Jim" Lovell , command module pilot   John "Jack" Swigert   and lunar module pilot   Fred Haise   took off without a hitch from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The astronauts were on their way to the moon. But about 56 hours into the mission, things went seriously awry. 

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Jasper2529
Professor Quiet
1  seeder  Jasper2529    4 years ago
The crew, who had just finished a television broadcast from aboard the command module, nicknamed Odyssey, noticed a slight drop in cabin pressure. Swigert went to see what was going on and check on the service module's oxygen tanks. The crew heard a loud bang coming from outside and Swigert uttered the famous line: "Okay Houston, we've had a problem here."
 
 
 
Jasper2529
Professor Quiet
2  seeder  Jasper2529    4 years ago
About an hour before they reentered Earth's atmosphere, the team jettisoned the lunar module, saying goodbye to the capsule that kept them alive during their unbelievable journey around the moon.  After bidding adieu to Aquarius, the crew buckled into Odyssey and prepared for an intense re-entry and descent. Ionized air around the module created a complete communication blackout for over four minutes as the craft was descending. NASA still thought that there could be an issue with the craft's parachutes or shields and was anxiously waiting to hear from the astronauts. 
 
 
 
Thrawn 31
Professor Participates
3  Thrawn 31    4 years ago

This entire episode is a testament to why we should listen to experts. 

 
 
 
Jasper2529
Professor Quiet
3.1  seeder  Jasper2529  replied to  Thrawn 31 @3    4 years ago
This entire episode is a testament to why we should listen to experts. 

This entire episode is also a testament proving that experts are also fallible and often make mistakes.  

 
 
 
squiggy
Junior Silent
3.2  squiggy  replied to  Thrawn 31 @3    4 years ago

It's testament to how to act in the face of novel.

 
 
 
FLYNAVY1
Professor Participates
4  FLYNAVY1    4 years ago

The book "Failure is not and Option" by Gene Kranz is a fantastic book to learn about the mission and one to study about leadership.

My father was part of the Gemini program in the 1960s and met Gene.  I remember him saying that Kranz and many others at the time lived on coffee and cigarettes, and had a permanent grasp on their slide rules.

 
 
 
Ed-NavDoc
Professor Quiet
5  Ed-NavDoc    4 years ago

Not a well known fact about Apollo 13. Jim Lovell, who is a retired U.S. Navy Captain had a small part in the movie Apollo 13 and played the captain of the USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2) which was the ship that retrieved the Apollo 13 crew and capsule.

 
 
 
1stwarrior
Professor Participates
5.1  1stwarrior  replied to  Ed-NavDoc @5    4 years ago

Friend of mine and one of the original founders of the American Indian Society for Engineers and Scientists (AISES), Dr. Jerry Elliott (Cherokee) was on the response team. He came up with the idea of the duct tape and insulation foam block.  Hearing the stories from him gave me the willies.

 
 

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