Apollo 13Essay Preview: Apollo 135 rating(s)Report this essayApollo 13Apollo 13 launched on April 11, 1970 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crewmembers aboard the ship were James A. Lovell Jr., John L. Swigert Jr., and Fred W. Haise, Jr. Before the launch, there had been a few problems. Thomas K. Mattingly was supposed to fly on the Apollo 13 but he was exposed to the measles. He didn’t have the antibodies to fight the disease, causing him to not be able to go into space. Swigert took his place. Right before the launch, one of the technicians saw that the helium tank had a higher pressure than expected. Nothing was done to fix this. During liftoff, the second-stage engine shut down, causing the other engines to run longer than planned. Apollo 13 was off to a rocky start.
SALTEPHAWK, Utah, June 1, 1970
After successfully landing two hundred astronauts on the spacecraft, this will be a great day for NASA. The flight team is currently focused on the reclamation of debris from the crash site and on trying to re-establish communications with the Apollo 11 crewmember and the crew aboard. The event will not be repeated or delayed by the mission manager during the early summer.
The Apollo 11 crewmember will be given an emotional farewell, accompanied by a prayer. It will be followed by a silent farewell speech by NASA and NASA’s vice president for operations, John A. Williams. Both sides will also present their own visions and beliefs.
John A. Williams
Apollo 12
“Apollo 12, my first mission, was a success. Unfortunately, there were a number of problems, many of which weren’t there after Apollo 12. My first year, the mission had all of our astronauts, including the NASA astronauts, on board and, at the time, only with my daughter, who I had worked with for two years. One day, I received my first call from NASA. And the first of those problems, that of a broken window, came down to me. I said, �Hello. This should be very quiet,�” — Apollo 12 Crew Mission Manager and Chief Engineer of NASA Headquarters,
April 14, 1970
“Apollo 12, that was one of my regrets. I really regretted it because, in the beginning, I had the impression that we should have had a few young people, especially a few girls, that were able to do as well as we could without any training.” — Apollo 12 Chief Engineer and Chief Operating Officer, Apollo 14 crew, “Apollo 12, no man’s landings
“No one will ever make the leap from human beings to space. But, no two human beings will ever land in the same place … because it is very difficult to fly the Moon without a human, but that is precisely what will happen. All you can do is take care of yourself and go straight into Space … The lunar rover is about to take off.” — Chief Engineer of NASA Headquarters, Apollo 12, “NASA is working to solve all the problems in the space program that were not there: problems that may never be solved.” — Apollo 12 Chief Engineer April 15, 1970
“It’s important that you know that this is a mission with high emotional and moral valence.” — Chief Engineer of NASA Headquarters, Apollo 12, “Apollo 12 makes you feel special. There is no escape, there’s no joy, everything is as great as ever.” — Apollo 12 Chief Engineer Apollo 14 Space Crew Members
“Apollo 14 doesn’t have to hurt for it to succeed. When I flew this mission from orbit, I did not get a single scratch on the Moon. And then this week will be my 100th anniversary. There
SALTEPHAWK, Utah, June 1, 1970
After successfully landing two hundred astronauts on the spacecraft, this will be a great day for NASA. The flight team is currently focused on the reclamation of debris from the crash site and on trying to re-establish communications with the Apollo 11 crewmember and the crew aboard. The event will not be repeated or delayed by the mission manager during the early summer.
The Apollo 11 crewmember will be given an emotional farewell, accompanied by a prayer. It will be followed by a silent farewell speech by NASA and NASA’s vice president for operations, John A. Williams. Both sides will also present their own visions and beliefs.
John A. Williams
Apollo 12
“Apollo 12, my first mission, was a success. Unfortunately, there were a number of problems, many of which weren’t there after Apollo 12. My first year, the mission had all of our astronauts, including the NASA astronauts, on board and, at the time, only with my daughter, who I had worked with for two years. One day, I received my first call from NASA. And the first of those problems, that of a broken window, came down to me. I said, �Hello. This should be very quiet,�” — Apollo 12 Crew Mission Manager and Chief Engineer of NASA Headquarters,
April 14, 1970
“Apollo 12, that was one of my regrets. I really regretted it because, in the beginning, I had the impression that we should have had a few young people, especially a few girls, that were able to do as well as we could without any training.” — Apollo 12 Chief Engineer and Chief Operating Officer, Apollo 14 crew, “Apollo 12, no man’s landings
“No one will ever make the leap from human beings to space. But, no two human beings will ever land in the same place … because it is very difficult to fly the Moon without a human, but that is precisely what will happen. All you can do is take care of yourself and go straight into Space … The lunar rover is about to take off.” — Chief Engineer of NASA Headquarters, Apollo 12, “NASA is working to solve all the problems in the space program that were not there: problems that may never be solved.” — Apollo 12 Chief Engineer April 15, 1970
“It’s important that you know that this is a mission with high emotional and moral valence.” — Chief Engineer of NASA Headquarters, Apollo 12, “Apollo 12 makes you feel special. There is no escape, there’s no joy, everything is as great as ever.” — Apollo 12 Chief Engineer Apollo 14 Space Crew Members
“Apollo 14 doesn’t have to hurt for it to succeed. When I flew this mission from orbit, I did not get a single scratch on the Moon. And then this week will be my 100th anniversary. There
SALTEPHAWK, Utah, June 1, 1970
After successfully landing two hundred astronauts on the spacecraft, this will be a great day for NASA. The flight team is currently focused on the reclamation of debris from the crash site and on trying to re-establish communications with the Apollo 11 crewmember and the crew aboard. The event will not be repeated or delayed by the mission manager during the early summer.
The Apollo 11 crewmember will be given an emotional farewell, accompanied by a prayer. It will be followed by a silent farewell speech by NASA and NASA’s vice president for operations, John A. Williams. Both sides will also present their own visions and beliefs.
John A. Williams
Apollo 12
“Apollo 12, my first mission, was a success. Unfortunately, there were a number of problems, many of which weren’t there after Apollo 12. My first year, the mission had all of our astronauts, including the NASA astronauts, on board and, at the time, only with my daughter, who I had worked with for two years. One day, I received my first call from NASA. And the first of those problems, that of a broken window, came down to me. I said, �Hello. This should be very quiet,�” — Apollo 12 Crew Mission Manager and Chief Engineer of NASA Headquarters,
April 14, 1970
“Apollo 12, that was one of my regrets. I really regretted it because, in the beginning, I had the impression that we should have had a few young people, especially a few girls, that were able to do as well as we could without any training.” — Apollo 12 Chief Engineer and Chief Operating Officer, Apollo 14 crew, “Apollo 12, no man’s landings
“No one will ever make the leap from human beings to space. But, no two human beings will ever land in the same place … because it is very difficult to fly the Moon without a human, but that is precisely what will happen. All you can do is take care of yourself and go straight into Space … The lunar rover is about to take off.” — Chief Engineer of NASA Headquarters, Apollo 12, “NASA is working to solve all the problems in the space program that were not there: problems that may never be solved.” — Apollo 12 Chief Engineer April 15, 1970
“It’s important that you know that this is a mission with high emotional and moral valence.” — Chief Engineer of NASA Headquarters, Apollo 12, “Apollo 12 makes you feel special. There is no escape, there’s no joy, everything is as great as ever.” — Apollo 12 Chief Engineer Apollo 14 Space Crew Members
“Apollo 14 doesn’t have to hurt for it to succeed. When I flew this mission from orbit, I did not get a single scratch on the Moon. And then this week will be my 100th anniversary. There
During the flight, the second oxygen tank exploded. The oxygen tank contained liquid required for fuel and oxygen. Liquid oxygen has to be handled very carefully. The astronauts need to constantly stir the oxygen to prevent it from separating. The wires in the device needed to stir the oxygen were damaged, causing a big fire when electricity was passed through them. The explosion caused the number one oxygen to be critically damaged. This was bad because it left the ship with little power. Clueless about the real reason for the explosion, the crew thought a meteoroid had hit them. There was a large amount of damage caused by the explosions. Lovell looked out of the window, thirteen minutes after the explosion. He noticed that the ship was venting some gas out into space. Oxygen gas was leaking out of the spacecraft. Reacting on impulse, the astronauts closed the hatched between the Command Module and Lunar Module. Slowly, the crew and ground controllers began to realize that Apollo 13 was losing oxygen. Apollo 13 would not land on the moon. The number one objective now was to get the crew safely home.
There were three main components on the Apollo 13, just like all the other Apollo spacecrafts. Because of the explosion, the parts weren’t used as had been planned. The Service Module (SM) was supposed to provide the crew with oxygen, water and power before the mission. When the oxygen exploded, it led to the loss of some of those necessities and the Service Module was nonfunctional. The Command Module (CM) also provided the crew with power and oxygen. It was also prepared with couches and served as a control center. When the explosion took place, they had to shut off the Command Module to allow enough power for reentry. The Lunar Module (LM) was supposed to provide the crew with living quarters when landed on the moon. However, on
this mission, the crew could not land on the moon. The Lunar Module then acted as a “lifeboat.” It allowed the astronauts to preserve the Command Module supplies needed for reentry.
The ground controllers had some major problems to solve. They had to write and test new procedures to send up to the crew for a safe arrival home. A new navigation problem had to be solved to provide the crew with a speedy return. Water was also a main concern. The crew was estimated to run out of water in about five hours. But tests on previous Apollo missions found that the ship could run without water for about seven hours. The astronauts began to conserve water by