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KF5JRV > TODAY 13.04.19 13:20l 28 Lines 1375 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 34401_KF5JRV
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Apr 13
Path: IW8PGT<IZ3LSV<IK6ZDE<VE2PKT<N3HYM<KF5JRV
Sent: 190413/1119Z 34401@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQ6.0.18
On April 13, 1970, disaster strikes 200,000 miles from Earth when oxygen
tank No. 2 blows up on Apollo 13, the third manned lunar landing
mission. Astronauts James A. Lovell, John L. Swigert, and Fred W. Haise
had left Earth two days before for the Fra Mauro highlands of the moon
but were forced to turn their attention to simply making it home alive.
Mission commander Lovell reported to mission control on Earth: “Houston,
we’ve had a problem here,ö and it was discovered that the normal supply
of oxygen, electricity, light, and water had been disrupted. The landing
mission was aborted, and the astronauts and controllers on Earth
scrambled to come up with emergency procedures. The crippled spacecraft
continued to the moon, circled it, and began a long, cold journey back
to Earth.
The astronauts and mission control were faced with enormous logistical
problems in stabilizing the spacecraft and its air supply, and providing
enough energy to the damaged fuel cells to allow successful reentry into
Earth’s atmosphere. Navigation was another problem, and Apollo 13‘s
course was repeatedly corrected with dramatic and untested maneuvers. On
April 17, with the world anxiously watching, tragedy turned to triumph
as the Apollo 13 astronauts touched down safely in the Pacific Ocean.
73 de Scott KF5JRV
Pmail: KF5JRV@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
email: KF5JRV@GMAIL.COM
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