Northrop Grumman has been a leader in space for more than 60 years, from missions supporting human discovery all the way to critical military space programs. Fifty years ago today, April 17, , the Apollo 13 Command Module and crew safely returned home, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean as more than 40 million Americans tuned in to watch. Those engineers from Grumman and TRW, heritage Northrop Grumman companies, were instrumental in enabling the rescue operation a half century ago.
Prior to the Command Module making its final descent to earth, the Service Module would also be jettisoned and burn up in the atmosphere. The mission was going as planned until an explosion occurred onboard the CSM 56 hours into the mission. Since critical elements aboard the spacecraft were built by TRW and Grumman engineers, many were urgently called in to help solve this mission-critical problem.
Tens of thousands of miles above earth, the three Apollo 13 crew members rationed their supplies and took shelter in Aquarius. The LM, which was only intended to accommodate two astronauts for 36 hours during a lunar surface mission, now had to sustain three astronauts for more than 86 hours. The larger flag that Lovell and Haise would have planted at their Fra Mauro landing site was stowed in a compartment on the exterior of the lunar module, so it was inaccessible to return to Earth.
What was in reach and did come back, though, was a metal plaque that Lovell and Haise would have used to cover a similar marker attached to Aquarius' ladder. The revised plaque named Swigert instead of Thomas "Ken" Mattingly, who had been exposed to the German measles and replaced on the Apollo 13 crew days before the mission's launch. Lovell and Haise also took it upon themselves to collect a few more "moon rocks" for good measure — and memorabilia.
Lovell detached a mirror and the crewman optical alignment sight COAS from above the commander's window in the lunar module, while Haise collected some of the netting used to restrain items and the four armrests from below Aquarius' control stations.
The two also cut off their patches from the portable life support system PLSS backpacks they would have worn on the moon. Lovell also packed his spacesuit's helmet visor assembly LEVA , his lunar surface gloves and the checklist he would have worn on his wrist.
With everything stowed in lockers and in bags underneath the astronauts' seats, Odyssey was properly weighted for re-entry and the crew safely splashed down in the South Pacific Ocean.
After the flight, and in the 50 years since , Apollo 13's "moon rocks" made their way into museums and private collections. But the small vessel protected and carried the crew long enough to reach Earth's atmosphere. In the hours before splashdown, the exhausted crew scrambled back over to the Odyssey powered it up. The craft had essentially been in a cold water soak for days, and could have shorted out, but thanks to safeguards put in place after the Apollo 1 disaster, there were no issues.
Numerous design changes were made to the Apollo service module and command module on subsequent missions in the Apollo program. As for the astronauts, Haise was assigned to command the Apollo 19 moon mission. However, it and two other missions were canceled after NASA's budget was cut.
He later piloted the space shuttle Enterprise during its test flights. In , Swigert was elected to Congress in his home state of Colorado. However, during the campaign, he was diagnosed with bone cancer, and he died before he could be sworn in.
In , Lovell and journalist Jeffrey Kluger co-wrote a book about Lovell's spaceflight career that primarily focused on the events of the Apollo 13 mission. The agency gave the movie crew access to the s-era Mission Control in Houston to reconstruct the site as a set, and also let the actor "astronauts" fly aboard NASA's Vomit Comet airplane to simulate weightlessness. Lovell made a cameo at the end of the film as the captain of the U.
Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community space.
Elizabeth Howell is a contributing writer for Space. She is the author or co-author of several books on space exploration. Elizabeth holds a Ph. She also holds a bachelor of journalism degree from Carleton University in Canada, where she began her space-writing career in Besides writing, Elizabeth teaches communications at the university and community college level, and for government training schools.
To see her latest projects, follow Elizabeth on Twitter at howellspace. Jump to: Apollo 13 astronauts "Houston, we've had a problem" Apollo 13's cold, miserable trip home Apollo 13's enduring legacy. Elizabeth Howell.
0コメント