history book wrong on largest tank battle

Haise and Lovell frantically worked to boot Aquarius up in less time than designed. The system wasn't very successful given several of the jets were slammed shut by the explosion.įortunately for Apollo 13, the damaged Odyssey had a healthy backup: Aquarius, which wasn't supposed to be turned on until the crew was close to landing on the moon. The spacecraft's attitude control thrusters, sensing the venting oxygen, tried to stabilize the spacecraft by firing small jets. Since oxygen fed Odyssey's fuel cells, power was reduced as well. Apollo 13 at 50: How NASA turned near-disaster at the moon into a 'successful failure' in space Apollo 13 timeline: The hectic days of NASA's 'successful failure' to the moon Failure was not an option: NASA's Apollo 13 mission of survival in pictures Related: This stunning 4K video re-creates Apollo 13's perilous trip around the moon That procedure was called a 'cryo stir', and was supposed to stop the supercold gas from settling into layers. The signal could have shown a problem, or could have indicated the hydrogen just needed to be resettled by heating and fanning the gas inside the tank. On the evening of April 13, when the crew was nearly 322,000 kilometers (200,000 miles) from Earth and closing in on the moon, mission controller Sy Liebergot saw a low-pressure warning signal on a hydrogen tank in Odyssey. The crew lived in Odyssey on the journey to the moon. The Apollo spacecraft was made up of two independent spacecraft joined by a tunnel: orbiter Odyssey, and lander Aquarius. (Image credit: NASA/JSC) Apollo 13: 'Houston, we've had a problem'Īpollo 13 launched on April 11, 1970. Swigert had just replaced Ken Mattingly as command module pilot after Mattingly was exposed to German measles.

Jim Lovell (left), Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise pose for their official portrait.

History book wrong on largest tank battle