Nov 08

Space Rocket History #277 – Apollo 13 – Approaching the Moon

Posted on November 8, 2018 by spac9750

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“They’re all coming out,” Swigert said, straining for a glimpse through Lovell’s window.

“You said it,” Lovell said. “There’s Nunki, there’s Antares. We may have enough here for that confidence check.”

Gimbal Lock

Oblique view of lunar far side, photographed from Apollo 13

View of the lunar far side showing crater Tsiolkovsky taken from Apollo 13

Oct 31

Space Rocket History #276 – Apollo 13 – Minimizing Power – Part 3

Posted on October 31, 2018 by spac9750

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According to the profiles Bill Peters and his electrical specialists calculated, it was possible to power the LEM with just 12 amps. Under normal conditions it needed about 55 amps of current to run.

View of the moon from Apollo 13

Alan Shepard commander of Apollo 14 monitors Apollo 13 MCC comm

Lovell & Swigert on Apollo 13

Oct 24

Space Rocket History #275 – Apollo 13 – Minimizing Power – Part 2

Posted on October 24, 2018 by spac9750

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“The first burn, Griffin explained, would be a long one. Pushing the descent throttle all the way to the full position, Lovell would leave it there for more than six minutes before shutting the engine down.

This maneuver, which for simplicity’s sake Griffin called the superfast burn, would put the crew down in the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday morning, just thirty-six hours from the scheduled PC+2 time later that night.”