Apollo 13

Apollo 13 was the third manned lunar landing mission in the Apollo program (Project Apollo). Two days after launch, an explosion in the service module's oxygen tank severely damaged the spacecraft, causing it to lose a lot of oxygen and power; the three astronauts used the spacecraft's lunar module as a lifeboat in space. The command module systems were not damaged, but were shut down to save power before re-entering the Earth's atmosphere. The three astronauts experienced a lack of power, normal temperatures and drinking water in space, but still managed to return to Earth.

April 17, 2005 is the 35th anniversary of the safe return of the US "Apollo 13" to Earth. On the 19th, GlobalSpec of the United States presented a collective honor award, a crystal ball, at the Houston Space Center to the engineers who successfully saved Apollo 13 and helped three astronauts escape death in recognition of their outstanding contributions. Mission name Apollo 13

Command/service module call sign Odyssey

Lunar module call sign Aquarius

Launch vehicle Saturn V SA-508

Number of members 3

Launch time 19:13:00 UTC on April 11, 1970

Launch location LC 39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida

Landing location 21°38' south latitude 165°21' west longitude

Mission time 5 days 22 Hours, 54 minutes and 41 seconds

Earth orbit apogee 185.6 kilometers

Earth orbit perigee 181.5 kilometers

Earth orbit period 88.07 minutes

The Earth's orbital inclination is 33.5°

The mass of the command module is 28,945 kilograms

The mass of the lunar module is 15,235 kilograms

Edit this mission member

Jim · James A. Lovell (James A. Lovell, who flew the Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8, and Apollo 13 missions), Commander Jack L. Swigert (who flew the Apollo 13 mission), command/service module pilot Fred W. Haise (Fred W. Haise, who flew on the Apollo 13 mission), lunar module pilot

Replacement member

Substitute members also receive mission training and take over when the main members are unable to perform the mission for various reasons. John Young (John Young (Gemini 3, Gemini 10, Apollo 10, Apollo 16, STS-1, and STS-9 missions) Command/Service Module Pilot Jack Swigert (Jack Swigert, who flew on the Apollo 13 mission), commander Charles Duke (who flew on the Apollo 16 mission), lunar module pilot

Backup crew

The backup crew does not receive mission training, but is required to replace an astronaut during meetings and participate in finalizing the details of the mission plan. They also often serve in ground communications roles while missions are being carried out. Vance Brand (Apollo-Soyuz Test Program, STS-5, STS-41-B, and STS-51 missions) Jack Lousma (Skylab 3 and STS-3 mission) William Pogue (who flew on Skylab 4 mission) Joseph Kerwin (who flew on Skylab 2 and STS-85 mission)

Changes

Ken Mattingly was the original command/service module pilot, but he was replaced by Jack Swigert three days before launch due to exposure to rubella. He later served as the command/service module pilot for the Apollo 16 mission.

When the spacecraft flew for 46 hours, 40 minutes and 02 seconds, astronaut Jack Swigert shook the oxygen pipe as instructed. Due to the aging of the rubber at the joint, a fire broke out (it was not discovered in time), and then No. 2 was discovered. The storage capacity of the oxygen storage tank is out of tolerance. At 55 hours and 53 minutes, the pressure in the No. 1 oxygen storage tank was low, and the command module alarm sounded. At 55 hours, 54 minutes and 53.3 seconds, the spacecraft telemetry data was lost for 1.8 seconds, the main bus voltage dropped, and the alarm system alarmed. At about this moment, there was a "bang" sound, and the No. 2 oxygen storage tank in the service module exploded. The spacecraft's warning light came on, the alarm sounded, and the main voltage continued to drop. Swingart immediately reported to the Houston Flight Control Center: "Hey! We have an accident here.

"Hayes climbed from the passage of the lunar module to the command module. He saw that the voltage of some systems had dropped to zero, and immediately made a report. These situations were broadcast live on television to the entire United States and the world, which affected thousands of people. Thousands of people were stunned. Countless Americans prayed for them. The Houston Flight Control Center promptly analyzed that the liquid oxygen tank exploded and caught fire, causing a problem with the hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell on the spacecraft, making the moon landing impossible. It is possible, and the astronauts are also in extreme danger.

After painstaking and meticulous analysis by the flight control center scientists and engineers, the Houston Flight Control Center made a decisive decision: to abort the lunar landing flight and use the intact lunar landing. The spacecraft was already 380,000 kilometers away from the earth and had passed the Earth's gravity interface. If it wanted to return to the moon, it must have enough rocket thrust to overcome the attraction of the moon. The scientists at the Houston Flight Control Center made careful calculations and asked astronauts on the ground to enter the lunar module to simulate it, and finally came up with the most fuel-efficient return trajectory: the spacecraft continued to fly, circled the moon, and then launched the moon landing. The cabin engine is used to enter the return orbit. Since the oxygen storage tank of the hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell is also responsible for the supply of oxygen and water to the spacecraft's life support system, the astronauts are faced with insufficient power, difficulty in water supply and oxygen supply, and a drop in ambient temperature. Under the command of the ground flight control center, the three astronauts overcame difficulties such as fear, cold, darkness, and fatigue with their tenacious will, perseverance, and strong desire to survive. They worked closely with the ground flight control center personnel to actively and steadily implement the mission. Following the rescue plan formulated on the ground, the spacecraft continued to fly toward the moon in the vast space. When the spacecraft was 27.6 kilometers away from the moon, the astronauts started the lunar module descent engine and worked for 30.7 seconds. At 9:41 a.m. on the 15th, after the spacecraft passed the moon, the lunar module engine was started for 4.5 minutes. The spacecraft entered the orbit of returning to the earth. The oxygen, water, and electricity of the lunar module were getting less and less. The astronauts were tired. The commander of the flight control center kept in touch with them, encouraged them, and reminded them to take sedatives. The United States promptly informed the world of the failure of Apollo 13 to land on the moon. 13 countries, including the former Soviet Union, provided rescue ships and aircraft and waited in the sea areas that the US warships could not reach. On April 17, the spacecraft entered and returned to Earth. Atmospheric orbit. Before entering the atmosphere, the astronauts started four attitude control rockets to push the lunar module forward to accelerate, then ignited the separation explosion bolt, and then started the reverse thrust rocket. , making the lunar module a certain distance away from the service module. Then, the two astronauts in the lunar module returned to the command module, closed the passage between the two modules, ignited the separation explosion bolt, and threw away the three astronauts in the command module. Returned to Earth and landed safely on the Pacific Ocean. The President of the United States went with the warship USS Iwo Jima to welcome the return of the three astronauts. Although the Apollo 13 spacecraft failed to land on the moon, it relied on human wisdom and perseverance to miraculously rescue the astronauts. Therefore, the aerospace community called the flight "a successful failure." Afterwards, the US government established an accident investigation team to find out the cause of the accident. The two thermostat switches installed in the heating system of the liquid oxygen tank in the service cabin were connected into a path due to arc discharge due to overload, causing the temperature of the heating pipeline to reach as high as 500 degrees, scorching the nearby wires, and finally causing the oxygen explode.

Edit this quotation

"Houston, we have a problem." (Houston, we have a problem.) was actually not what the actual situation said at the time. The real story is: "Okay, Houston, we've had a problem here." Swigert said. Lowell later responded with something similar: "Houston, we've got a problem.

”（Houston, we've had a problem.）