Key Takeaways: Apollo 13
- The Apollo 13 explosion was a result of faulty electrical wiring, which lowered the crew's supply of oxygen.
- The crew devised a workaround for their oxygen supply based on instructions from mission controllers, who had an inventory of materials onboard the ship that could be used for the fix.
What went wrong on Apollo 13?
What went wrong Apollo 13? The Apollo 13 malfunction was caused by an explosion and rupture of oxygen tank no. 2 in the service module. The explosion ruptured a line or damaged a valve in the no. 1 oxygen tank, causing it to lose oxygen rapidly.
Did all the crew of Apollo 13 survive?
Survive they did, touching down in the south Pacific Ocean on April 17, 1970, with all three men safe and sound. Myths and misconceptions about the mission have continued in popular culture in the...
What happened to the Apollo 13 Lem?
Where is the Apollo 13 lunar module now? The LM was jettisoned shortly before reaching Earth, the astronauts returning to the Command Module for the reentry. The LM re-entered and burned in the Earth’s atmosphere over the southwest Pacific, any surviving pieces impacted in the deep ocean off the coast of New Zealand.
Did Apollo 13 survive?
The damaged service module of the Apollo 13 mission, floating away after the astronauts jettisoned it before re-entry back to Earth. Credit... Apollo 13’s Astronauts Survived Disaster 50 Years Ago. Could It Happen Again? A trip to the moon later this decade should be safer, but it won’t be safe.
Why did the fans on the second oxygen tank explode?
What happened to the oxygen tank on Apollo 13?
How long did it take for the Apollo 13 to land?
What module did the Apollo mission take place in?
Why did the astronauts turn off the water on the spacecraft?
Why was the Apollo 13 mission classified as a failure?
What went wrong with Apollo 13?
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What Caused the Apollo 13 Accident? | Space
All you had to do was hear Jim Lovell's voice and you knew it was something bad. Apollo 13 was in trouble.
What is the Apollo 13 mission?
The Apollo 13 mission was to be the third lunar landing in the program before an on board explosion forced the mission to circle the Moon without landing. This is the insignia of the Apollo 13 lunar landing mission. Represented in the Apollo 13 emblem is Apollo, the sun god of Greek mythology.
What was the immediate response plan for the Aquarius?
The immediate response plan was to enter what was known as “lifeboat mode.”. Here, the lunar module, Aquarius became central to efforts to save the beleaguered space craft and crew. Aquarius’ full oxygen tank and descent engine both proved critical in keeping the crew alive and returning them to Earth.
Who was the commanding officer of Task Force 130?
Credits: NASA. Rear Admiral Donald C. Davis, Commanding Officer of Task Force 130, the Pacific Recovery Forces for the Apollo Missions, welcomes the Apollo 13 crewmembers aboard the U.S.S. Iwo Jima, prime recovery ship for the Apollo 13 mission.
Did the mission to explore the Fra Mauro region of the Moon go as planned?
Unfortunately, the mission to explore the Fra Mauro region of the Moon did not go as planned. What many viewed as a now “routine” mission soon had millions around the globe glued to television sets watching and hoping for a positive outcome for one of the most intense episodes in the history of space exploration.
What happened to Lovell and Haise?
Lovell and Haise were set to become the fifth and sixth men to walk on the moon. It was not to be. At 9:08 p.m.—about 56 hours into the flight—an explosion rocked the spacecraft. Oxygen tank No. 2 had blown up, disabling the regular supply of oxygen, electricity, light and water.
What was the Apollo 13 mission?
Apollo 13 was the seventh manned mission in the Apollo Space program (1961-1975) and was supposed to be the third lunar landing mission, but the three astronauts aboard never reached the moon. Instead the crew and ground control team scrambled through a hair-raising rescue mission.
How did the Apollo 13 crew survive?
How the Crew of Apollo 13 Survived. 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 LM was only designed to transport 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.
How far was Apollo 13 from Earth?
At 9:00 p.m. EST on April 13, Apollo 13 was 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.
How long would Apollo 13 take to get back to Earth?
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. Recommended for you. 6 Times the Olympics Were Boycotted. 8 Facts About Ancient Egypt's Hieroglyphic Writing.
What conditions were on board the LM?
Conditions on board the LM were challenging. The crew went on one-fifth water rations and endured cabin temperatures a few degrees above freezing to conserve energy. The square lithium hydroxide canisters from the CM were not compatible with the round openings in the LM environmental system, meaning the removal of carbon dioxide became a problem. Mission control built an impromptu adapter out of materials known to be onboard, and the crew successfully copied their model.
Where was Apollo 13 launched?
On April 11, 1970, Apollo 13 launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. On board were astronauts James Lovell, John “Jack” Swigert and Fred Haise. Their mission was to reach the Fra Mauro highlands of the moon and explore the Imbrium Basin, conducting geological experiments along the way.
What module did Lovell and Haise pass through?
Early on the evening of April 13, the astronauts pressurized the lunar module Aquarius, and Lovell and Haise passed from the command module Odyssey through the connecting tunnel while checking all systems for the forthcoming landing.
Why did the S IVB 3rd stage crash?
Meanwhile, the long-since-discarded S IVB third stage crashed onto the Moon—it had followed an independent trajectory—as part of a planned experiment to cause an artificial moonquake to aid scientists in understanding the nature of the lunar interior.
What happened to the service module on Apollo 13?
An entire panel on the SM was blown away by the explosion of an oxygen tank.
How far was Apollo 13 from the moon?
When the astronauts first transferred into and activated Aquarius, Apollo 13 was about 20 hours from the Moon. Plans were made for transferring out of the hybrid trajectory and onto the free-return trajectory, a maneuver that was executed in the early morning hours of April 14.
How long did it take for the lunar module to ignite?
About two hours later the descent stage propulsion system of the lunar module was ignited for 5 seconds at 10 percent throttle, 21 seconds at 40 percent throttle, and almost 4 minutes at full throttle.
How high was Apollo 13?
Radio contact with Apollo 13 was lost during the evening of April 14 as the craft swung behind the Moon, passing at an altitude of 264 km (164 miles) at the closest approach.
When did Apollo 13 launch?
See all videos for this article. Apollo 13, U.S. spaceflight, launched on April 11, 1970, that suffered an oxygen tank explosion en route to the Moon, threatening the lives of three astronauts —commander Jim Lovell, lunar module pilot Fred Haise, and command module pilot Jack Swigert. Apollo 13.
What happened to Apollo 13?
Apollo 13 (April 11 – 17, 1970) was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo space program and the third meant to land on the Moon. The craft was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, but the lunar landing was aborted after an oxygen tank in the service module (SM) failed two days into the mission. The crew instead looped around the Moon and returned safely to Earth on April 17. The mission was commanded by Jim Lovell, with Jack Swigert as command module (CM) pilot and Fred Haise as Lunar Module (LM) pilot. Swigert was a late replacement for Ken Mattingly, who was grounded after exposure to rubella .
Why did Apollo 13 change to Apollo 13?
The change was part of an effort to increase the amount of hover time available to the astronauts as the missions headed into rougher terrain.
How long did Apollo 13 training take?
The Apollo 13 prime crew undertook over 1,000 hours of mission-specific training, more than five hours for every hour of the mission's ten-day planned duration. Each member of the prime crew spent over 400 hours in simulators of the CM and (for Lovell and Haise) of the LM at KSC and at Houston, some of which involved the flight controllers at Mission Control. Flight controllers participated in many simulations of problems with the spacecraft in flight, which taught them how to react in an emergency. Specialized simulators at other locations were also used by the crew members.
What is the meaning of the Apollo 13 medallion?
This is meant to symbolize the Apollo flights bringing the light of knowledge to all people.
What is Apollo 13?
The Apollo 13 spacecraft consisted of Command Module 109 and Service Module 109 (together CSM-109), called Odyssey, and Lunar Module 7 (LM-7), called Aquarius. Also considered part of the spacecraft was the launch escape system, which would propel the command module (CM) to safety in the event of a problem during liftoff, and the Spacecraft–LM Adapter, numbered as SLA-16, which housed the lunar module (LM) during the first hours of the mission.
Why did Slayton create the support crews?
Slayton created the support crews because James McDivitt, who would command Apollo 9, believed that , with preparation going on in facilities across the US, meetings that needed a member of the flight crew would be missed. Support crew members were to assist as directed by the mission commander.
How many Saturn V rockets did NASA use?
NASA had contracted for fifteen Saturn V rockets to achieve the goal; at the time no one knew how many missions this would require. Since success was obtained in 1969 with the sixth Saturn V on Apollo 11, nine rockets remained available for a hoped-for total of ten landings. After the excitement of Apollo 11, the general public grew apathetic towards the space program and Congress continued to cut NASA's budget; Apollo 20 was canceled. Despite the successful lunar landing, the missions were considered so risky that astronauts could not afford life insurance to provide for their families if they died in space.
Why did the fans on the second oxygen tank explode?
While in flight, the astronauts had to turn on the fuel tanks’ internal fans periodically in order to stir the super cold oxygen, which tended to stratify, or settle into layers. But when Swigert turned on the fans on the second oxygen tank for a routine “cryo stir” on the night of April 13, the damaged wiring caused a spark, starting a fire. At 9:08 pm, with its internal pressure mounting, the tank exploded.
What happened to the oxygen tank on Apollo 13?
NASA’s subsequent investigation revealed that the No. 2 oxygen tank onboard Apollo 13 had been accidentally dropped during maintenance before the Apollo 10 mission in 1969, causing slight internal damage that didn’t show up in later inspections. READ MORE: See Photos of How Astronauts Trained for the Apollo Moon Missions.
How long did it take for the Apollo 13 to land?
For nearly 56 hours after the Apollo 13 mission launched on April 11, 1970, it looked to be the smoothest flight of NASA’s Apollo program so far. The spacecraft ferrying astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise to their planned lunar landing had traveled just over 200,000 miles from Earth, and was approaching the moon’s orbit.
What module did the Apollo mission take place in?
They ordered the crew to make their way from the spacecraft’s command module, Odyssey, into the separate landing module, Aquarius . If things had gone as planned, Aquarius wouldn’t have been turned on until the astronauts were ready to touch down on the moon.
Why did the astronauts turn off the water on the spacecraft?
The crew turned off all non-critical systems aboard the spacecraft to reduce energy consumption, and cut way back on their consumption of water, in order to have enough to cool the landing module’s overtaxed hardware . At one point, when too much carbon dioxide was building up in Aquarius, Mission Control devised a way for the astronauts to clear the gas out, instructing them to build a “mail box” out of plastic bags, cardboard and tape in order to purge the gas using canisters from the command module.
Why was the Apollo 13 mission classified as a failure?
Because so much valuable experience was gained in the process of rescuing Lovell, Swiger, and Haise, NASA classified the Apollo 13 mission as a “ successful failure .”.
What went wrong with Apollo 13?
What Went Wrong on Apollo 13? It was supposed to be the third-ever moon landing. It turned into a rescue mission . It was supposed to be the third-ever moon landing.
