April 11, 1970: APOLLO 13 LAUNCHED TO MOON

April 11, 1970: APOLLO 13 LAUNCHED TO MOON

http://www.historychannel.com/tdih/t...6&cat=10272946
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On April 11, 1970, Apollo 13, the third lunar landing mission, is
successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying astronauts
James A. Lovell, John L. Swigert, and Fred W. Haise. The spacecraft's
destination was the Fra Mauro highlands of the moon, where the
astronauts were to explore the Imbrium Basin and conduct geological
experiments. After an oxygen tank exploded on the evening of April 13,
however, the new mission objective became to get the Apollo 13 crew
home alive.

At 9:00 p.m. EST on April 13, Apollo 13 was just over 200,000 miles
from Earth. The crew had just completed a television broadcast and was
inspecting Aquarius, the Landing Module (LM). The next day, Apollo 13
was to enter the moon's orbit, and soon after, Lovell and Haise would
become the fifth and sixth men to walk on the moon. At 9:08 p.m., these
plans were shattered when an explosion rocked the spacecraft. Oxygen
tank No. 2 had blown up, disabling the normal supply of oxygen,
electricity, light, and water. Lovell reported to mission control:
"Houston, we've had a problem here," and the crew scrambled to find out
what had happened. Several minutes later, Lovell looked out of the
left-hand window and saw that the spacecraft was venting a gas, which
turned out to be the Command Module's (CM) oxygen. The landing mission
was aborted.

As the CM lost pressure, its fuel cells also died, and one hour after
the explosion mission control instructed the crew to move to the LM,
which had sufficient oxygen, and use it as a lifeboat. The CM was shut
down but would have to be brought back on-line for Earth reentry. The
LM was designed to ferry astronauts from the orbiting CM to the moon's
surface and back again; its power supply was meant to support two
people for 45 hours. If the crew of Apollo 13 were to make it back to
Earth alive, the LM would have to support three men for at least 90
hours and successfully navigate more than 200,000 miles of space. The
crew and mission control faced a formidable task.

To complete its long journey, the LM needed energy and cooling water.
Both were to be conserved at the cost of the crew, who went on
one-fifth water rations and would later endure cabin temperatures that
hovered a few degrees above freezing. Removal of carbon dioxide was
also a problem, because the square lithium hydroxide canisters from the
CM were not compatible with the round openings in the LM environmental
system. Mission control built an impromptu adapter out of materials
known to be onboard, and the crew successfully copied their model.

Navigation was also a major problem. The LM lacked a sophisticated
navigational system, and the astronauts and mission control had to work
out by hand the changes in propulsion and direction needed to take the
spacecraft home. On April 14, Apollo 13 swung around the moon. Swigert
and Haise took pictures, and Lovell talked with mission control about
the most difficult maneuver, a five-minute engine burn that would give
the LM enough speed to return home before its energy ran out. Two hours
after rounding the far side of the moon, the crew, using the sun as an
alignment point, fired the LM's small descent engine. The procedure was
a success; Apollo 13 was on its way home.

For the next three days, Lovell, Haise, and Swigert huddled in the
freezing lunar module. Haise developed a case of the flu. Mission
control spent this time frantically trying to develop a procedure that
would allow the astronauts to restart the CM for reentry. On April 17,
a last-minute navigational correction was made, this time using Earth
as an alignment guide. Then the repressurized CM was successfully
powered up after its long, cold sleep. The heavily damaged service
module was shed, and one hour before re-entry the LM was disengaged
from the CM. Just before 1 p.m., the spacecraft reentered Earth's
atmosphere. Mission control feared that the CM's heat shields were
damaged in the accident, but after four minutes of radio silence Apollo
13's parachutes were spotted, and the astronauts splashed down safely
into the Pacific Ocean.

NASA PDF files related to Apollo 13
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Simulation and analysis of panel separation from the Apollo 13 service
module

Cofer, W. R.; Leonard, H. W.; Mikulas, M. M., Jr.; Morgan, H. G.
NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-TN-D-6087; L-7426 , 19701201; Dec 1, 1970
Simulation and analysis of panel separation from Apollo 13 service
module
Accession ID: 71N13026
Document ID: 19710003551
View PDF File
Updated/Added to NTRS: 2005-08-25


http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/ca...1971003551.pdf

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Apollo 13 mission high-gain antenna acquisition problem - Anomaly
report 2

NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-TM-X-66903; MSC-08753 , 19701201; Dec 1, 1970
High gain antenna acquisition problem during Apollo 13 flight
Accession ID: 71N19407
View PDF File

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/ca...1971009932.pdf

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Voice communications observations during countdown and launch of Apollo
13

Ferrara, L. A.; Raleigh, J. T.
NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-CR-113926; B70-09083 , 19700930; Sep 30, 1970

Accession ID: 79N72700
View PDF File

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/ca...1979073192.pdf

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Guidance, navigation, and control systems performance analysis: Apollo
13 mission report

NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-TM-X-69528; TRW-11176-H586-R0-00-SUPPL-1; MSC-02680-SUPPL-1 ,
19700901; Sep 1, 1970
The conclusions of the analyses of the inflight performance of the
Apollo 13 spacecraft

guidance, navigation, and control equipment are presented. The subjects
discussed a

(1) the command module systems, (2) the lunar module inertial
measurement unit, (3) the

lunar module digital autopilot, (4) the lunar module abort guidance
system, (5) lunar

module optical alignment checks, and (6) spacecraft component
separation procedures.
Accession ID: 73N26666
View PDF File

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/ca...1973017939.pdf

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Apollo 13 mission report

NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-TM-X-66449; MSC-02680 , 19700901; Sep 1, 1970
Aborted mission of Apollo 13 due to loss of cryogenic oxygen in service
module
Accession ID: 71N13073
Document ID: 19710003598
View PDF File

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/ca...1971003598.pdf

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Apollo 13 LM battery anomaly and lunar roving vehicle battery inference

Campbell, W. O.
NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-CR-113360; B70-07059 , 19700716; Jul 16, 1970

Accession ID: 79N72797
Document ID: 19790073289
View PDF File

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/ca...1979073289.pdf

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Apollo 13 LiOH canister breakthrough test

Leblanc, J. C.
NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-TM-X-68571; MSC-01343; CSD-A-1070 , 19700715; Jul 15, 1970
The Apollo 13 lithium hydroxide canister test was conducted to evaluate
emergency

measures designed to enable the Apollo 13 crew to use command module
lithium hydroxide

canisters in the lunar module. The test verified the effectiveness of
the emergency

system and established that the canisters in the command module would
provide ample

carbon dioxide removal for the return of the Apollo 13 crew. The time
interval between

canister changes on the flight was also determined in the test. This
reduced power demand

on the lunar module by eliminating the need for telemetry in
determining canister

replacement times. Details of the canister modifications were relayed
to the flight crew

and a replica of the test system was assembled in the flight vehicle.
Graphs of the

parameters which were measured during the simulation are presented.
Accession ID: 72N29082
Document ID: 19720021432
View PDF File

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/ca...1972021432.pdf


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Apollo 13 mission - Cryogenic oxygen tank 2 anomaly report

NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-TM-X-66462; MSC-IN-02545 , 19700701; Jul 1, 1970
Investigation of cryogenic oxygen tank anomaly on Apollo 13 flight
Accession ID: 71N10614
View PDF File

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/ca...1971001140.pdf

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Summary of Apollo 13 launch vehicle propellant reserves

Klaasen, K. P.
NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-CR-112973; B70-06069 , 19700624; Jun 24, 1970

Accession ID: 79N72546
Document ID: 19790073038
View PDF File

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/ca...1979073038.pdf

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Saturn 5 launch vehicle flight evaluation report: AS-508 Apollo 13
mission

NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-TM-X-64422; MPR-SAT-FE-70-2; NAS 1.15:X-64422 , 19700620; Jun 20,
1970

Accession ID: 90N70432
Document ID: 19900066486
View PDF File

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/ca...1990066486.pdf

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MSC Apollo 13 investigation team. Panel 1 - Spacecraft incident
investigation. Volume 1 -

Anomaly investigation Final report

NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-TM-X-66922 , 19700610; Jun 10, 1970
Analysis of anomalies, cause, and results of command service module
oxygen tank failure

on Apollo 13 flight
Accession ID: 71N19954
Document ID: 19710010479

View PDF File

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/ca...1971010479.pdf

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Report of Apollo 13 Review Board. Appendix F - Special tests and
analyses. Appendix G -

Board administrative procedures. Appendix H - Board releases and press
statements

NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-TM-X-66471 , 19700601; [June 1970]

Accession ID: 70N78616
View PDF File

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/ca...1970078913.pdf

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Report of Apollo 13 review board. Baseline data - Apollo 13 flight
systems and

operations, appendix A

NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-TM-X-66473 , 19700601; [June 1970]

Accession ID: 70N78507
View PDF File

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/ca...1970078804.pdf

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Report of Apollo 13 Review Board Final report

NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-TM-X-65270 , 19700601; June 1970

Accession ID: 70N76479
Document ID: 19700076776
View PDF File

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/ca...1970076776.pdf

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MSC Apollo 13 investigation team. Panel 2 - Flight crew observations
Final report

NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-TM-X-66923 , 19700527; May 27, 1970
Summary of actions taken by Apollo 13 spacecrew following explosion in
oxygen tank
Accession ID: 71N19970
View PDF File

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/ca...1971010495.pdf

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MSC Apollo 13 Investigation team Panel 6 related systems evaluation.
Volume 1: Summary

NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-TM-79946 , 19700527; May 27, 1970

Accession ID: 79N74756
View PDF File

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/ca...1979075248.pdf

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Report of Apollo 13 Review Board. Appendix B - Report of Mission Events
Panel. Appendix C

- Report of Manufacturing and Test Panel. Appendix D - Report of Design
Panel. Appendix E

- Report of Project Management Panel

NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-TM-X-66472 , 19700501; [May 1970]

Accession ID: 70N78429
View PDF File

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/ca...1970078726.pdf

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MSC Apollo 13 Investigation Team Panel 6 related systems evaluation.
Volume 3: Command

and service module

NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-TM-80032 , 19700501; May 1, 1970

Accession ID: 79N74755
View PDF File

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/ca...1979075247.pdf

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Apollo 13 prelaunch problems - Implications for future missions
Eley, C. H., III
NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-CR-112611; B70-04070 , 19700428; Apr 28, 1970

Accession ID: 79N71644
View PDF File


http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/ca...1979072136.pdf

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An analysis of the capability to perform the Apollo 13 Fra Mauro
traverses

Bottomley, T. A.
NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-CR-112716; B70-04031 , 19700406; Apr 6, 1970

Accession ID: 79N71649
View PDF File

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/ca...1979072141.pdf

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Lurain effects on the LM trajectory and landing point designator
accuracy for Apollo 13

Cauwels, G. M.; La Piana, F.
NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-CR-109782; B70-03023 , 19700309; Mar 9, 1970
Lurain effects on LM trajectory and landing point designator accuracy
for Apollo 13
Accession ID: 79N71971
View PDF File


http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/ca...1979072463.pdf

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Apollo 13: Lunar exploration experiments and photography summary
(Original planned mission)

NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-TM-X-74607 , 19700201; Feb 1, 1970

Accession ID: 77N76870
Document ID: 19770075651
View PDF File

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/ca...1977075651.pdf

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MSC Apollo 13 Investigation Team Panel 6 related systems evaluation.
Volume 2: Lunar

module

NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-TM-79945 , 19700101; JAN 1, 1970

Accession ID: 79N74754
View PDF File

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/ca...1979075246.pdf

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Apollo/Saturn 5 postflight trajectory: AS-508

NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-CR-102792; NAS 1.26:102792; D5-15560-8 , 19700610; Jun 10, 1970
This document presents the postflight trajectory for the Apollo/Saturn
5 AS-508 flight.

Included is an analysis of the orbital and powered flight trajectories
of the launch

vehicle and the free flight trajectories of the expended S-1C and S-2
stages. Trajectory

dependent parameters are provided in earth-fixed launch site, launch
vehicle navigation,

and geographic polar coordinate systems. The time history of the
trajectory parameters

for the launch vehicle is presented from guidance reference release to
Command/Service

Module (CSM) separation. Tables of significant parameters such as
engine cutoff, stage

separation, parking orbit insertion, and translunar injection are
included. Figures of

such parameters as altitude, surface and cross ranges, and magnitudes
of total velocity

and acceleration as a function of range time for powered flight
trajectories are

presented.
Accession ID: 92N70437
Document ID: 19920075313
View PDF File


http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/ca...1992075313.pdf

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S-2 engine actuator forces during SA-508 POGO
Ferrara, L. A.; Oconnor, J. J.
NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-CR-113347 , 19700824; Aug 24, 1970

Accession ID: 79N72549
View PDF File
Document ID: 19790073041
Updated/Added to NTRS: 2005-11-11

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/ca...1979073041.pdf

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Rusty

Yeah, some great scenes.

I preferred the Apollo 11 movie the best,
or was it the popcorn.

... best part was when the rocket tilted 20 degrees on the pad
as (a calm) Neil Arse-strong was talking (obviously pre-recorded)
sounded like he was on a massage table meditating (prolly was)

great flick, some hilarious stuff

... the Ron Howard version was too realistic
I prefer b/w sci-fi films better .. more laughable
...pass me more popcorn, Orvill's stinks