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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
Apollo 13 blasted off on April 11, 1970 at 2:13 PM local time from Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
What was the Apollo command and service module size?
The Apollo command module was approximately 10 feet in diameter and 12.8 feet tall. The service module was about 24.6 feet long and 12.8 feet wide. Together, they formed the Apollo spacecraft that carried astronauts to the moon and back.
What was the destination of the Apollo flight?
The Apollo program aimed to land astronauts on the Moon and return them safely to Earth. Apollo 11 achieved this goal on July 20, 1969, when astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the lunar surface.
When was Jim Lovell suppose to go back to the moon?
Jim Lovell was designated to command the Apollo 13 mission in 1970. This mission aimed to land on the Moon but had to be aborted due to an oxygen tank explosion on the spacecraft. Lovell did not get the opportunity to set foot on the Moon.
Apollo 1 was never launched. The mission ended tragically when a cabin fire during a pre-launch test on January 27, 1967, resulted in the deaths of astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee.
What is the Difference of the movie Apollo 13 and real event?
There are dozens of differences, but most are very minor. Essentially all the major events in the film actually happened - but were often condensed or simplified for the sake of telling the story. Ken Mattingly did get bumped because they thought he'd get measles (and he really never did). Marilyn Lovell really did have her ring slip off down the drain (though they did manage to retrieve it). They really did lose an engine during the launch. The explosion caused them to lose oxygen and power. The Aquarius became a life boat. Fred Haise got a urinary infection. The guys at mission control cobbled together an effective CO2 scrubber with plastic bags and tape. etc. etc. However: - One of the more famous minor changes is "Houston, we have a problem", which in reality was "Houston, we've had a problem". Other quotes in the film such as "I wonder where Gunter went?" was originally said by one of the Apollo 7 guys and "The constellation 'urion'" was coined by Wally Shirra. - There was no animosity towards Swigert, and he wasn't really considered a rookie as shown in the film as he'd written malfunction manuals for the command module. And if he couldn't dock the Odyssey and Aquarius, then Lovell or Haise could've done it. - Ken Mattingly became an amalgam of a number of different people in the second half of the film while testing the power up for the command module - otherwise there would've been too many other characters to keep track of. Also, he wasn't CAPCOM during re-entry. - According to Lovell the Grumman guy in the film (rep for the company who produced the lunar module) was given a bum rap, and wasn't as antagonistic as shown. - There were a couple of engine burns not shown in the film. - There were four rotating mission control shifts. They are represented on screen and in the credits with names like TELMU Gold, EECOM Gold etc., but the focus in the film is on Gene Krantz' White Team who were on duty when the explosion occurred. This only really scratches the surface of minor differences. For the full picture one needs to read Lost Moon by James Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger (re-titled Apollo 13 when the movie came out) and listen to Jim and Marilyn Lovell's commentary for the film. Marilyn is almost in tears during the scene where Jim (Tom Hanks) dreams about walking on the moon.
What was the accident to Apollo 13?
On the spacecraft oxygen has to be heated to make it into a gas (something like boiling water to make steam). The wires that went to the heater in one of the oxygen tanks shorted causing the tank to explode. This explosion also damaged the other oxygen tank causing all of the oxygen to leak out. The fuel cells that generate electricity use oxygen. The loss of this oxygen left only the command module's batteries to supply electrical power. These batteries would only last for a few hours and were needed for re-entry. The spacecraft was days from reentry.
What role did the lunar module play in the Apollo 13 mission?
An explosion caused the Apollo Spacecraft (the Command Module) to lose electrical power generation. It could operate for a while on batteries but they were needed for reentry and would not last that long. So, the crew powered down the Command Module and moved into the Lunar Module. Since they were on the way to the moon when the explosion occurred they had to continue to the moon, swing around it and eturn to Earth. The crew stayed in the Lunar Module until nearing time to reenter. Had the not had the Lunar Module as a place of safety they would not have survived.
