April 13, 1970: Apollo 13 Tells Houston, 'We've Got a Problem'

[bekisman]

April 13, 1970: Apollo 13 Tells Houston, 'We've Got a Problem'

I remember this well, I was in Kota Kinabalu, West Malaysia to climb Mt kinabalu and even there, tones were hushed when news gradually came in..

'Apollo 13 with astronauts James Lovell Jr, John Swigert Jr. and Fred Haise Jr. aboard, was on its way to the moon to perform the third lunar landing in a planned series of seven when, about 56 hours into the mission, an oxygen tank blew up, knocking out the command module’s electricity, light and water supply. “Hey, Houston, we’ve had a problem here,” Lovell told mission control, adding that some kind of gas was escaping outside the spacecraft. It was oxygen, and the mission quickly shifted from landing on the moon to getting the astronauts back alive. At the time, Apollo 13 was roughly 200,000 miles from Earth.
The crew moved into the lunar module to escape the decreasing air pressure in the service module, then prepared to make the necessary swing around the moon in order to boomerang back to Earth. Debris from the explosion had knocked out the navigation system, so the crew used the sun to guide the crippled craft home. It took nearly four agonizing days after the explosion before they splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean.'

Amazing, 'bout time we went back to the moon!

[Tubthumper]

Days when the world held its breath!
And Houston herself is having continuing problems; now she's had to cancel tour dates due to 'Ear Nose & Throat' problems.
What goes around, eh chums?

[ducati]

I was 10 at the time. I remember we basically suspended lessons at school to follow the drama unfolding. We had a school wide project going for the mission, we even had postcards signed by the crew.

I can still remember the relief in the whole school when we watched the spashdown. I can't remember whether it was shown live or not.

I'll bet these days children would be "protected" from such stress.

[bekisman]

It was an amazing series, yet still today some people really believe it never happened (landing on the moon that is) :confused

[John Little]

True - they think it a big conspiracy and it was shot in a back lot in Hollywood.
Some may even be on this org....

[ducati]

It was an amazing series, yet still today some people really believe it never happened (landing on the moon that is) :confused

Yes, they will be along momentarily :lol:

[John Little]

Aye - they may be playing fast and loose with History elsewhere at the moment.

[Mik.M.]

True - they think it a big conspiracy and it was shot in a back lot in Hollywood.
Some may even be on this org....
Some say that the Org is one big conspiracy.;) Mik.

[Tubthumper]

The way some of the bizarre ORGuments on here have been going recently, I'm not sure I exist. I may be a figment of my own imagination. Or I could indeed be a conspiracy.
Or am I?

[bekisman]

The way some of the bizarre ORGuments on here have been going recently, I'm not sure I exist. I may be a figment of my own imagination. Or I could indeed be a conspiracy.
Or am I?

You're not a figment, you're in the Nevada Desert (honest) I read it somewhere ;)

[Phill]

I keep checking the back o' me head t' make sure I'm not plumbed into the matrix.

Wasn't it a soundstage at Elstree Studios they used fer moon landings?!

Anyone knows yer cannea land on the moon, it's made of cheese. Yer rocket boosters would melt it when you try and take off again, simple bliddy science!

[Tubthumper]

...Yer rocket boosters would melt it when you try and take off again, simple bliddy science!
Phil, I keep telling you, it was all part of the plan to turn the moon into a great big welsh rarebit (that's cheese on toast to us sweaty socks). The Saturn V rocket was actually a giant bottle of worcestersterster sauce.
The Pope was involved, along with Stalin, Blair, Bush and Robert Green.
Why won't you listen?

[George Brims]

Yes, they will be along momentarily :lol:
I didn't know you were American Mr Ducati. Over here people insist on mis-using the word "momentarily" to mean "soon", when in fact it means "briefly". I was once waiting for a local flight at Honolulu Airport, when the young employee of Aloha announced over the PA system that our plane would be arriving at the gate "momentarily". The little old lady in front of me asked me to keep her place in the queue. She spoke to him, and he repeated the announcement, except he said "soon" instead of "momentarily". She gave him a wee pat on the cheek and toddles back. "I used to be that boy's English teacher" she said, "and there are other people here who know that."

I am that grammarian about whom your mother warned you. Now awaiting correction of the subtle Americanisms in what I just wrote.

[Tubthumper]

Good one George, I love to tell people who come to me with annoying questions 'I'll deal with it momentarily.'
Do I mean I'll deal with it shortly? Or that I'll spend only a moment dealing with their insufferably trite problems?
They all hate me. I'm the woman of their nightmares!!

[ducati]

I didn't know you were American Mr Ducati. Over here people insist on mis-using the word "momentarily" to mean "soon", when in fact it means "briefly". I was once waiting for a local flight at Honolulu Airport, when the young employee of Aloha announced over the PA system that our plane would be arriving at the gate "momentarily". The little old lady in front of me asked me to keep her place in the queue. She spoke to him, and he repeated the announcement, except he said "soon" instead of "momentarily". She gave him a wee pat on the cheek and toddles back. "I used to be that boy's English teacher" she said, "and there are other people here who know that."

I am that grammarian about whom your mother warned you. Now awaiting correction of the subtle Americanisms in what I just wrote.

I'm Italian :eek:

[Tubthumper]

I am that grammarian about whom your mother warned you. .
I've never been to Grammaria, but I understand it's nice in spring.

[George Brims]

I'm Italian :eek:

I assumed it was your bike that was Italian. :D

[ducati]

I assumed it was your bike that was Italian. :D

Oh, you're right it is, I get so easily confused these days. Sorry about the grammer then, I have no excuse :(