Page 71 - The Appollo Story

The Apollo Story

Apollo 13 (AS-508) We've Had A Problem
Pitching up and down, out of control, Lovell reported that the oxygen pressure for Tank 2 was reading
zero and the pressure in Tank 1 was falling before his eyes. Had they been hit be a meteorite?
Without power and oxygen in the CM, the only option was to use Aquarius as a lifeboat. Mission Control
instructed the crew to shut down Odyssey, to conserve its meagre battery reserves for the vital re-entry
manoeuvre, and to move into Aquarius' cramped cabin.
Unfortunately this was designed to maintain two people on the Moon for up to fifty hours, not to sustain
three men for almost four days - the time it would take to get them back to Earth. A turnaround and direct
flight home was impossible with the extent of the damage to the SM unknown, so instead the main engine
of the Aquarius ' ascent stage was fired up to put Apollo 13 on the correct course for a slingshot around
the Moon and a free-trajectory home.

APOLLO 8
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EGLIN AFB., FLORIDA
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