Re: IEEE SPECTRUM magazine: Apollo 13, We Have a Solution


Jim Oberg Wrote:
> IEEE SPECTRUM magazine: Apollo 13, We Have a Solution
>
> Rather than hurried improvisation, saving the crew of Apollo 13 took
> years
> of preparation
>
> By Stephen Cass [IEEE website has many illustrations and sidebar
> essays]
>
> http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/WEBONLY/wonews/apr05/0405napola.html
>
>
>
> 13 April 2005-"Houston, we've had a problem."
>
> Thirty-five years ago today, these words marked the start of a crisis
> that nearly killed three astronauts in outer space. In the four days
> that
> followed, the world was transfixed as the crew of Apollo 13-Jim Lovell,
> Fred
> Haise, and Jack Swigert-fought cold, fatigue, and uncertainty to bring
> their
> crippled spacecraft home.
>
> But the crew had an angel on their shoulders-in fact thousands of
> them-in the form of the flight controllers of NASA's mission control
> and
> supporting engineers scattered across the United States.
>
> To the outsider, it looked like a stream of engineering miracles was
> being pulled out of some magician's hat as mission control identified,
> diagnosed, and worked around life-threatening problem after
> life-threatening
> problem on the long road back to Earth.
>
> From the navigation of a badly damaged spacecraft to impending carbon
> dioxide poisoning, NASA's ground team worked around the clock to give
> the
> Apollo 13 astronauts a fighting chance. But what was going on behind
> the
> doors of the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston-now Lyndon B. Johnson
> Space
> Center-wasn't a trick, or even a case of engineers on an incredible
> lucky
> streak. It was the manifestation of years of training, teamwork,
> discipline,
> and foresight that to this day serves as a perfect example of how to
> do
> high-risk endeavors right.
>
> Many people are familiar with Apollo 13, thanks to the 1995 Ron Howard
> movie of the same name. But as Howard himself was quick to point out
> when
> the movie was released, it is a dramatization, not a documentary, and
> many
> of the elements that mark the difference between Hollywood and real
> life are
> omitted or altered. For this 35th anniversary of Apollo 13, IEEE
> Spectrum
> spoke to some of the key figures in mission control to get the real
> story of
> how they saved the day.
>
>
>
> etc---------------------------------------------------------------------
Jim O is a dear and respected friend and I appreciate him posting the
IEEE Spectrum story. It's one of the rare times that the LM Flight
Controllers have some of their stories told. IMHO I believe Stephen
Cass did a wonderful job squeezing this story down to the imposed 3,000
word limit.
Sy Liebergot "Apollo EECOM: Journey Of A Lifetime"
[urlwww.apolloeecom.com[/url]


--
Sy Liebergot
.

Relevant Pages

  • IEEE SPECTRUM magazine: Apollo 13, We Have a Solution
    ... IEEE SPECTRUM magazine: Apollo 13, ... followed, the world was transfixed as the crew of Apollo 13-Jim Lovell, Fred ... being pulled out of some magician's hat as mission control identified, ...
    (sci.space.history)
  • Re: Why do we have LOS, when we have all these TDRSes?
    ... This reminds me of an Apollo simulation training case an old flight ... They got the signal back and the crew is all ... I understand the crew died a lot in simulations during Apollo. ... They didn't get the LEM powered up in time. ...
    (sci.space.shuttle)
  • Re: Space Shuttle criticizing will start once it has been retired
    ... Gemini flights, many things went wrong. ... The only reason the crew survived ... Apollo: 14 flights ...
    (sci.space.policy)
  • Re: DO we really need a new manned launcher?
    ... > All accidents in a free-flying spacecraft are likely to kill all crew, ... > other CSM systems which would only have a certain fixed lifespan? ... Essentially the issues partly addressed during Apollo 13 - batteries, ... I expect events like the EVA to retrieve SIM bay resources would be ...
    (sci.space.history)
  • Re: Q: For Sy Liebergot (Yeah, its new safe CT-free topic fodder!)
    ... point many of the mistakes made by Mission Control: ... In Apollo 13, we had an oxygen tank explode, and this team was ready. ... achieved literally perfection in this art of crisis management. ... literally perfection" stands in stark contrast to the understanding ...
    (sci.space.history)
Loading