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Young World
WORLD OF SCIENCE
Frightening flight
DR. T. V. PADMA
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Apollo 13 developed problems and the crew realised that they would not land on the moon.
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Initially Apollo 13 seemed like the smoothest flight. But soon there was high drama. The crew consisted of James Lovell, Fred Haise Jr., and John Swiggert Jr. Apollo13 was launched on April 11, 1970. James Lovell had told his wife Marilyn that this would be his last mission. Marilyn had a premonition.
Lovell watched in horror as the gauge showing liquid oxygen slowly dropped to zero. There had been an electrical short when the fans in the tanks were switched on and number two oxygen tank exploded. The crew realised that they were not going to land on the Moon.
More problems
People on earth were aware of the problem. In mission control there was fear. Calculations, which would normally take weeks, had to be done in hours.
It was difficult to navigate because debris from the accident orbited the spacecraft reflecting sunlight. Accurate fixes on navigational stars were impossible. The crew were told to move into the lunar module, but even after they did this, their problems were not over.
Temperature inside the craft dropped and it was only 6° above freezing. The crew could not put on their space suits because of limited space. They were weary and eating cold food.
A final problem arose because of escaping gas from the wreckage of the service module. This meant that instead of splashing in the Pacific the Apollo could be left in perpetual orbit if the other engine did not burn on an exact alignment.
Although the spacecraft was severely damaged it brought the crew back home safely.
Apollo13 made the most perfect re-entry of all Apollo missions till then. The Presidential Medal of Freedom was presented personally by Richard Nixon to Gene Kranz, Glynn Lunney and the other flight directors.
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