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Apollo 13
Apollo 13 was the name of the fateful NASA moon mission which was intended to be the third space mission to carry humans to the moon's surface. An explosion of one of the oxygen tanks and resulting damage to other systems caused the mission to be aborted before the lunar landing could take place. Questions about Apollo 13 and its crew are asked and answered here.
935 Questions
What was the name of the main capsule on Apollo 13?
The command module was named "Odyssey", and the Lunar Module "Aquarius."
Where did Apollo 11 travel to?
Apollo 11 traveled to Earth's moon. It was the first successful shuttle to make it to the moon. Aboard this shuttle were astronaunts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Alrdin, two men who became famous because of this. They planted the American flag that is still there to this day.
How did Gene Krantz rely on the skills and expertise of the people in the movie Apollo 13?
In the movie Apollo 13, Gene Krantz relied on the skills and expertise of the mission control team to problem-solve and come up with innovative solutions in real-time to bring the astronauts safely back to Earth. He trusted their knowledge and experience to navigate the crisis and make critical decisions under pressure. Krantz understood the value of teamwork and collaboration in achieving a successful outcome despite the challenges they faced.
The three men on board during were Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Edward H. White II, and Roger B. Chaffee
How many days did it take for Apollo 13 to go to the moon and back?
Apollo 13's mission lasted a total of 6 days. The crew experienced an oxygen tank explosion which led to the mission being aborted and they returned to Earth safely.
How did the Apollo 11 picture make it to earth?
if you are asking about the live television footage, the signal was sent via radio waves from an antenna on the LM and received by the Parkes radio telescope in Australia.
If you are asking about the still pictures, they were brough home by the astronauts and developed on site at NASA.
How long was the Apollo 11 project?
The Apollo 11 project was about 8 years long, from when it was announced in 1961 to the successful moon landing in 1969.
How much money has NASA spent since Apollo 13?
As of 2021, NASA's total budget since Apollo 13 is estimated to be over $800 billion. This amount includes funding for various space missions, research programs, and infrastructure development. NASA continues to receive funding from the US government to support its exploration efforts and scientific missions.
Why did nasa cancel the Apollo 13 mission?
NASA canceled the Apollo 13 mission after an oxygen tank exploded during the journey to the moon, causing a critical failure in the spacecraft's systems. The crew's safety became the top priority, leading to the decision to abort the mission and focus on getting the astronauts safely back to Earth.
Where did James A Lovell live?
James A. Lovell was born in Cleveland, Ohio, but he predominantly resided in the Chicago area during his career as a NASA astronaut. After retiring from NASA, he continued to live in the Chicago suburb of Lake Forest, Illinois.
Was there any incidents on the Apollo 11 moon flight?
No, there were no major incidents during the Apollo 11 moon landing mission. The mission was a success, with astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin becoming the first humans to walk on the moon while Michael Collins remained in orbit around the moon.
What is the Name of lunar module Apollo 10?
LM-4
callsign Snoopy
The lunar module had two parts, the descent stage and the ascent stage. The descent stage, or lower part of the lunar module, contained an engine for landing on the Moon. This stage was a 3.23-meter-tall cruciform structure of aluminum alloy, which, with its four legs extended, had a maximum diameter of 9.45 meters. This stage also contained storage bays for equipment, and a ladder attached to one of the legs to give a crew access to the surface. When leaving the lunar surface, the descent stage would serve as the launch platform for the ascent stage. The ascent stage was basically a cylindrical aluminum structure 4.29 meters in diameter and 3.75 meters tall. During their time on the surface, the crew would live in and operate from this part of the spacecraft. It would also be used to return the crew to orbit and the command service module after surface operations were completed. -from the Lunar and Planet Institute
The Command Module was called Charlie Brown and was designated CM-106. While not included in the official mission logo, due to the use of their names only as callsigns, the Peanuts characters Charlie Brown and Snoopy became semi-official mascots for the mission. Peanuts creator Charles Schwartz also drew some special mission related artwork for NASA.
Why was there no Apollo two or three?
There was.
Apollo 1a also known as AS201 - was the first test launch of the Saturn 1B rocket
Apollo 2 also known as AS203 - was the first test of the fuel tanks
Apoolo3 also known as AS204 - was the first test of the command module reentry
Why did Apollo 13 go to the moon?
Apollo 13 crew did NOT go to the moon. The third lunar landing attempt was aborted after the rupture of service module oxygen tank. Classified as "successful failure" because the crew was not lost . Spent upper stage successfully impacted on the Moon thus part of Apollo 13 did land on the moon.
Apollo 13 was supposed to land in the Fra Mauro area. An explosion on board forced Apollo 13 to circle the moon without landing. The Fra Mauro site was reassigned to Apollo 14.
The crew of Apollo 13 was James A. Lovell, Jr. , John L. Swigert, Jr. and Fred W. Haise, Jr. Ken Mattingly was on the original crew as the Command Module Pilot but was replaced by Swigert once it was learned that he had been accidently exposed to the infectious disease measles, which he had no immunity to as the other two crew members did.
Apollo 13 story in brief: After a conference with contractor and NASA personnel, the test director decided to "boil off" the remaining oxygen in No. 2, which had been previously installed in the service module of Apollo 10, by using the electrical heater within the tank. The technique worked. Due to an oversight in replacing an underrated component during a design modification, this turned out to severely damage the internal heating elements of the tank. Nine minutes after saying "good-night" in an untelevised "open house" from the spacecreaft oxygen tank No. 2 blew up, causing No. 1 tank also to fail. The Apollo 13 command modules normal supply of electricity, light, and water was lost, and they were about 200,000 miles from Earth. Warning lights indicated that one oxygen tank appeared to be completely empty, and that the oxygen in the second tank was rapidly being depleted. It was after the blackout period that Swigert reported, "Houston, we've had a problem here." Thirteen minutes after the explosion, Lovell looked out the window of the spacecreft on the left-hand side and noticed the very important vapor escaping into the atmosphere. "We are venting something out into the- into space," he reported to Houston. Lovell said, "It's a gas of some sort." It was oxygen gas escaping at a high rate from the second, and last, oxygen tank. At 1 hour and 29 seconds after the bang, Jack Lousma, then CapCom, said after instructions from Flight Director Glynn Lunney: "It is slowly going to zero, and we are starting to think about the LM lifeboat." Swigert replied, "That's what we have been thinking about too." So the crew, with great mathematical skills brought up the computers and life support of the LM. With only 15 minutes of power left in the CM, CapCom told the crew to make their way into the LM. Fred and Jim Lovell quickly floated through the tunnel, leaving Jack to perform the last chores in the CM. The first concern was to determine if there were enough consumables to get home. Oxygen wasn't the main problem, power was. As Gene Kranz told his sleep-deprived staff, "Failure is NOT an option". Ground controllers, specifically John Aaron, carefully worked out a procedure where the CM batteries were charged with LM power. All non-critical systems were turned off and energy consumption was reduced to a fifth of normal, which resulted in having 20 percent of our LM electrical power left when Aquarius was jettisoned. Removal of Carbon Dioxide was also a concern. There were enough lithium hydroxide canisters, which remove carbon dioxide from the spacecraft, but the square canisters from the CM were not compatible with the round openings in the LM environmental system. After a day and a half in the LM a warning light showed that the carbon dioxide had built up to a dangerous level. Mission Control devised a way to attach the CM canisters to the LM system by using plastic bags, cardboard, and tape- all materials carried on board. One of the big questions was, "How to get back safely to Earth?" The LM navigation system wasn't designed to help us in this situation. A most remarkable achievement of Mission Control was quickly developing procedures for powering up the CM after its long cold sleep. Flight controllers wrote the documents for this innovation in three days, instead of the usual three months. Four hours before slashdown, the crew shed the service module which had been kept in hopes of protecting the heat shields. The crew left the Lunar Module Aquarius and then splashed down gently in the Pacific Ocean near Samoa. After an intensive investigation, the Apollo 13 Accident Review Board identified the cause of the explosion. In 1965 the CM had undergone many improvements, which included raising the permissible voltage to the heaters in the oxygen tanks from 28 to 65 volts DC. Unfortunately, the thermostatic switches on these heaters weren't modified to suit the change. During one final test on the launch pad, the heaters were on for a long period of time. "This subjected the wiring in the vicinity of the heaters to very high temperatures (1000 F), which have been subsequently shown to severely degrade teflon insulation. The thermostatic switches started to open while powered by 65 volts DC and were probably welded shut." Furthermore, other warning signs during testing went unheeded and the tank, damaged from 8 hours overheating, was a potential bomb the next time it was filled with oxygen. That bomb exploded on April 13, 1970 -- 200,000 miles from Earth.
-adapted from NASA website and James A. Lovell, Apollo Expeditions to the Moon
Was there a teacher on the Apollo 13?
Yes, there was a teacher onboard the Apollo 13 mission. Christa McAuliffe, a high school teacher from New Hampshire, was selected to be the first private citizen in space as part of NASA's Teacher in Space Project. However, she did not ultimately fly on the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission.
Did Apollo 11 take 3 days to get to the moon?
Apollo 11 was in orbit around the Moon after 3 days, the landing was closer to 4 days.
Apollo 11 took off on Wednesday, July 16 at 9:32 AM EDT. Lunar orbit was achieved 3 days and 4 hours later, and Armstrong landed the lunar module on the moon on Sunday, July 20, 1969 at 4:17 PM EDT.
The transit time surface-to- surface was 3 days 17 hours 15 minutes. (89.25 hours; 3.719 days)
How fast did the Apollo spacecraft go?
The Apollo spacecraft traveled at speeds of about 25,000 miles per hour (40,000 km/h) to reach the Moon and during its return journey to Earth.
Where was Apollo 13 supposed to land?
Apollo 13 was supposed to land in the Fra Mauro region of the Moon. However, due to an oxygen tank explosion, the mission had to be aborted, and the spacecraft slingshotted around the Moon to return safely to Earth.
How did the Apollo 13 astronauts get back to earth?
The Apollo 13 astronauts returned to Earth by using the Lunar Module as a lifeboat after an oxygen tank explosion crippled their Command Module. They used its propulsion system to correct their trajectory and re-enter Earth's atmosphere, where they were recovered by a Navy vessel.
Apollo 13 was powered by a combination of fuel cells and batteries. The primary source of power for the spacecraft was from three hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells, which generated electricity by combining hydrogen and oxygen in a chemical reaction. In addition to the fuel cells, there were also batteries on board that provided backup power.
What were the names of the crew members on Apollo 7?
Apollo 7 was the first three person American space mission launching on October 11th, 1968. The crew consisted of Mission Commander Walter "Wally" Shirra, Command Module Pilot Donn Eisele, and Lunar Module Pilot Walter Cunningham. They successfully splashed down on the 22nd of October.
The crew of Apollo 11 ate specially prepared food stored in flexible pouches, including items such as dehydrated shrimp cocktail, bacon squares, chicken and vegetables, and fruit cocktail. They also had a variety of beverages like coffee, tea, and fruit drinks. The meals were planned to provide the necessary nutrients and energy for the astronauts during their mission.
Why were Jim lovell and his crew bumped up from Apollo 14 to Apollo 13?
Jim Lovell and his crew were bumped up from Apollo 14 to Apollo 13 after the original crew of Apollo 13 was exposed to measles. Lovell's crew was already in training and considered the backup crew, making them the natural choice to take over the mission.
How did the Apollo 13 astronauts fix the problem of the oxygen leaking?
The Apollo 13 astronauts fixed the problem of the oxygen leak by using the Lunar Module as a lifeboat and modifying the Command Module's systems to conserve power and oxygen. They also improvised a carbon dioxide scrubber using materials on board to remove the excess carbon dioxide from the cabin air. These creative solutions were crucial in helping the crew return safely to Earth.
