Tuesday, April 13, 2010 marks the 40th anniversary of the in-flight emergency onboard Apollo 13. With the call to Mission Control, "Houston, we've had a problem," the goal for the astronauts and flight controllers went from landing men on the Moon to bringing them safely back to Earth.
To mark the flight's four decades, author Andrew Chaikin shares the crew's insights into their "successful failure."
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43677 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 04-14-2010 09:14 AM
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission, for 13 days, Universe Today is featuring "13 Things That Saved Apollo 13," discussing different turning points of the mission with NASA engineer Jerry Woodfill.
astroborg Member
Posts: 203 From: Woodbridge, VA, USA Registered: Nov 2000
posted 04-14-2010 02:20 PM
Great feature. I learned a number of things I hadn't heard of previously.
micropooz Member
Posts: 1532 From: Washington, DC, USA Registered: Apr 2003
posted 04-18-2010 04:13 PM
Congrats to Jerry Woodfill for publicizing the unsung role of the MER. From a Shuttle MER guy (from 1988-1998) - this was one of the many times when we made the MCC guys look like heroes...
328KF Member
Posts: 1252 From: Registered: Apr 2008
posted 05-10-2010 01:21 PM
I found these newly released Apollo 13 recovery photos among a series of articles concerning the 40th anniversary of Apollo 13. A unique account of the recovery activities onboard the carrier.
Editor's note: Threads merged.
gliderpilotuk Member
Posts: 3400 From: London, UK Registered: Feb 2002
posted 04-13-2011 02:57 PM
On this day 41 years ago...
Swigert: "Okay, Houston, we've had a problem here."
RocketmanRob Member
Posts: 269 From: New York City USA Registered: Mar 2005
posted 04-14-2011 10:12 PM
I had the opportunity to take Space Center Houston's Level 9 tour and actually stand in the Apollo MOCR on April 13th. It was a strange feeling to be standing in that room 41 years later thinking about those words on the anniversary. A strange and fantastic feeling.
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3339 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 04-21-2012 11:24 AM
How long did the Apollo 13 spacecraft fly in the CM/LM configuration - in other words, what was the duration between SM separation and LM jettison?
canyon42 Member
Posts: 238 From: Ohio Registered: Mar 2006
posted 04-21-2012 12:01 PM
Around three hours or so, I believe. Or at least I think it was that long after they jettisoned the SM before reentry--not sure at what exact point they also released Aquarius.
Sy Liebergot Member
Posts: 501 From: Pearland, Texas USA Registered: May 2003
posted 04-21-2012 01:47 PM
Pretty close. My records show SM Sep at 138:02 GET. LM Sep at 141:30 GET.
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3339 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 04-21-2012 01:57 PM
So that would be about 3 hours and 28 minutes in the CM/LM configuration — a configuration the crew probably never even trained for before launch. I believe that re-entry was about an hour after LM jettison.
Posts: 3339 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 04-22-2012 07:16 PM
Thanks. The larger versions of the control panel are impressive. It is interesting to see where the switches and gauges mentioned are actually located.
Posts: 43677 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 04-10-2015 07:04 PM
quote:Originally posted by Robert Pearlman: To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission, for 13 days, Universe Today is featuring "13 Things That Saved Apollo 13"...
Over the next few weeks, we’ll look at 13 additional things that helped bring the crew home safely.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43677 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 04-10-2015 07:07 PM
NPR's All Things Considered marked the 45th anniversary of Apollo 13 with a segment on today's (April 10) show featuring commentary from Jim Lovell, Sy Liebergot and Francis French, among others.
Space travel is never routine or easy and the Apollo 13 mission to the moon proved that point. An explosion aboard the spacecraft 55 hours after liftoff forever changed NASA. The surviving astronauts and flight team recently met to remember and talk about NASA's most famous "successful failure."
posted 04-11-2015 01:33 PM
Today is the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 13 launch. The days coincide exactly with the dates.
I listened to the coverage on a hand size transistor radio as it was a Saturday and that meant field work. My birthday was April 1, so I was 13 for Apollo 13.
Headshot Member
Posts: 900 From: Vancouver, WA, USA Registered: Feb 2012
posted 04-13-2015 03:44 PM
Gene Kranz describes an Apollo 13 debriefing party on page 338 of his book "Failure Is Not An Option." He mentions a taped parody of the mission, prepared by the backup crew and CapComs, as "not for the thin-skinned." Has anyone heard this parody? Is it available on the internet?
onesmallstep Member
Posts: 1313 From: Staten Island, New York USA Registered: Nov 2007
posted 04-17-2015 03:22 PM
Nice article and photos from Ars Technica ("45 years after Apollo 13: Ars looks at what went wrong and why") I had not seen before.
That cake looks tasty — and a nice piece of Aquarius on display at the old MCC.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43677 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 04-07-2020 01:20 PM
NASA video
NASA will premiere the documentary "Apollo 13: Home Safe" on Friday, April 10, 2020, 8 p.m. EDT, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission.
Apollo 13 has become known as "a successful failure" that saw a safe return of the crew in spite of a catastrophic explosion. The 30-minute program features an interview with Lovell, a conversation with Haise and Flight Directors Gene Kranz and Glynn Lunney, and engineer Hank Rotter, in the restored Apollo mission control room mixed with archival footage from the mission.
The documentary will air on NASA TV and all of the agency's streaming and social media platforms.
drifting to the right Member
Posts: 117 From: SW La. Registered: Aug 2006
posted 04-07-2020 04:19 PM
In our currently shared discomforts and concerns, the 50th anniversary of Apollo 13 can be a disguised godsend to steel our resolve and generate national optimism. My hope is that it will be celebrated in media far and wide, reminding us of this sterling example American greatness in adversity.
Space Cadet Carl Member
Posts: 230 From: Lake Orion, Michigan Registered: Feb 2006
posted 04-08-2020 12:48 PM
The launch was on a Saturday afternoon, so a school kid like me could watch it live. I was disappointed how people were already losing attention with Apollo. But wow, did everyone's attention ever pick up again two nights later!
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43677 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
The flight plans had been filed, the logistics confirmed and the countdown was on to celebrate the 50th anniversary of NASA's Apollo 13 mission.
Then, the world had a problem.
The emergence of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the precautions taken in response left museums and event organizers with no other choice than to postpone or otherwise alter their plans to commemorate the ill-fated mission's half-century milestone.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43677 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 04-10-2020 10:26 AM
From Space Center Houston:
Experience the mission that was to be the third moon landing, but instead became a successful failure that charted the course for valuable lessons learned in history. The exhibit is told through a timeline of events as the mission unfolded.
For further exploration, this exhibit will be updated regularly, so check back for a series of new Apollo videos.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43677 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
Astronauts on the International Space Station reflected on the 50th anniversary of the historic Apollo 13 mission while considering the challenges facing their own safe return to Earth.
NASA flight engineers Andrew Morgan and Jessica Meir, along with soon-to-be Expedition 63 commander Chris Cassidy, spoke to reporters from on board the orbiting laboratory on Friday (April 10), a day before the anniversary of the Apollo 13 launch in 1970.
Headshot Member
Posts: 900 From: Vancouver, WA, USA Registered: Feb 2012
posted 04-10-2020 04:12 PM
On a side note to Apollo 13's 50th anniversary, was the cause for the S-II stage center engine's premature shutdown discovered? In light of the "other" problem Apollo 13 experienced, I have not seen it discussed or explained. As I recall, that J-2 engine shut down 132 seconds early.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43677 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
Low frequency oscillations (14 to 16 hertz) experienced on the S-II Stage resulted in a 132-second premature center engine cutoff. Preliminary analysis indicates that a "Trust OK" pressure switch cutoff occurred due to large pressure oscillations in the LOX system. No apparent engine or structural damage was incurred. Oscillations in the stage and outboard engines decayed to a normal level following center engine cutoff. Preliminary data does not indicate any off-nominal performance of the four outboard engines.
apollo16uvc Member
Posts: 149 From: Next to LEM, Descartes Highlands, Moon Registered: Jan 2017
posted 04-11-2020 02:52 AM
The complete Apollo 13 16mm collection synchronized with audio and TV when possible. in 24fps.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43677 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
As the astronauts set to be the fifth and sixth people to walk on the moon, Jim Lovell and Fred Haise had undergone months of extensive preparation to carry out every aspect of NASA's Apollo 13 mission — including what to do if something went wrong.
But two days after their successful launch on April 11, 1970, mission commander Lovell, lunar module pilot Haise and command module pilot Jack Swigert were thrown into an emergency for which there was no plan. Fifty years ago today (April 13), the Apollo 13 crew "had a problem."
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43677 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
Had everything gone to plan, NASA's third mission to land astronauts on the moon would have deployed a pallet of science instruments and brought back samples from humanity's first visit to the lunar uplands. Instead, 50 years ago this month, Apollo 13 "had a problem."
"I think if we had landed, and if we never had the problem in the first place, I think the science work we had trained for would have been achieved," Lovell says.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43677 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 04-13-2020 04:20 PM
From Tom Hanks via Twitter:
50 years ago. 1. Send men to the moon. 2. Return them safely to the Earth. Not easy. Apollo 13. Hanx
SpaceAholic Member
Posts: 4512 From: Sierra Vista, Arizona Registered: Nov 1999
These images were processed and shared with Ars by Andy Saunders, a property developer and semi-professional photographer in northern England who is an Apollo enthusiast.
(Editor's note: For more discussion about Saunder's work, including the Apollo 13 service module imagery, see this thread.)
posted 04-14-2020 02:06 PM
If you are home today (April 14), C-SPAN 3 has a number of good programs this afternoon and early evening on Apollo 13. Times in EDT.
2:00pm: Reel America Houston, We've Got a Problem
2:30pm: Reel America Apollo 13 Post Flight Press Conference - 1970
3:32pm: Oral Histories NASA - James Lovell Interview
5:04pm: Oral Histories Gene Kranz, Part 1
5:51pm: Astronaut Fred Haise and Apollo 13
BA002 Member
Posts: 181 From: Utrecht,NL Registered: Feb 2007
posted 04-15-2020 10:30 AM
As part of my own 50th anniversary celebration of Apollo 13 I have uploaded videos of lectures by all three original crew members.
It is interesting to note that even Ken Mattingly, who has made spectacular flights himself, chose to talk mainly about Apollo 13 and the team effort it required to get the crew back alive.
James Lovell's lecture is below. If you then look at my playlist "Astronaut meetings and lectures" you will find the other lectures as well. Also included is the Q&A with Brian Cox that followed James Lovell's lecture.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43677 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 04-18-2020 08:50 AM
Johnson Space Center video
"What an honor it is to be flying in space on the 50th anniversary of the safe landing of Apollo 13. Thanks to all of the engineers and flight controllers around the world who make all of this possible!" — NASA Astronaut Chris Cassidy
LM-12 Member
Posts: 3339 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
posted 04-28-2020 09:25 PM
Some low-res Apollo 13 recovery photos you may not have seen before from the Helicopter 66 co-pilot. Photos 048 and 067 are interesting.
posted 04-14-2010 12:08 AM
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