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Success of Apollo 13
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Apollo 13 was a mission that some may grow to learn was a failure; It was in fact the complete opposite. Space entry was improved immensely, with the efforts and struggles gained from previous missions. In addition, one of the victims of this mission, Jim Lovell, “believed it was a success. Everyone was tested on their ability to work together and that is how Apollo 13 succeeded” (Anastasio 90). Future space entry missions would not have been as successful as they are without previous missions bettering the space program.
Up to now, space entry has been one of America’s greatest accomplishments. As Neil Armstrong once said, it was “one small step for man, one giant step for mankind” (Anastasio 2). Space entry has made man capable of almost
One of the backup astronauts had gotten a case of measles two days before launch, exposing the rest of the crew to the disease (Anastasio). Ken Mattingly will be replaced with Jack Swigert concerning the fact that he may develop measles on the mission (Anastasio). “Ken did get another chance to fly to the moon, as the command module pilot for Apollo 16. He later became a member of the space shuttle team” (Anastasio 90). Being this was Jack Swigert’s first mission, he had trained for space entry in an extreme case he would have to replace Ken. Which indeed, he would have to, days before the mission had
They video-called the Mission Control to allow everyone on earth to see what exactly they were doing and to clarify their well-being. Moments later, the call had ended and the Odyssey began drifting into the midst of an unfamiliar environment. After being in space for only a few short hours, irregular things started occurring. Small noises, slight shakiness of the ship due to a malfunction, abrupt terror had swept over the three men. The Odyssey shook, and it did not stop. The astronauts phoned the Mission Control Center; everything seemed to be falling apart. Jim had tried to remain calm, with sweaty palms and a dry mouth, he explained the uncontrollable shakiness and loud bursts to the Control Center. “As he spoke, the ship wobbled like a knuckleball. The Command Module shimmied from side to side, as the LEM gyrated in a circular motion. White crystals and metallic debris oozed from the side of the ship like ink from an octopus. Outside, the growing cloud of icy gas quickly filled the sky” (Anastasio 37). The astronauts knew that something was wrong, but did not know what exactly was going to happen, no one
"One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," said by Neil Armstrong as he took his first steps on the moon during the NASA Apollo 11 expedition to the moon. No man has ever been to the moon before and NASA, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, was the first to get someone to land on the moon. NASA has had many great accomplishments in exploring the "new frontier" that have affected the United States ever since it was first created in July 1958. The idea for NASA first started when the Soviet Union launched the first satellite on October 4, 1957. United States started up its own space travel program and started to work on its own projects that would be better in than the Soviet Union's. This all started the great space race. It was a big race between the Soviet Union and the United States to see who could learn and discover the most. The United States and Soviet Union started building and sending satellites and space ships. Then they tried to see who could make a suit and ship that would be able to allow a living thing to go up in space. They tested out all of the equipment with monkeys and dogs, seeing what would work. Many animals did die in the process but by the results of their testing they were able to build suits and ships that allow human beings to go up in space. Even though they were able to create these machines, that doesn't mean that they didn't have their difficulties and dangers. Two space shuttles were crashed or blown up. There were many key factors that they had learned to fix that resulted in the crashing of those ships. They have made many discoveries and accomplishments like having the first astronauts walk on the moon.
The Apollo 13 Mission had a huge impact on space exploration. The Determination of the crew helped them return back to earth. People may think that Apollo 13 would have been a better success if they changed the launch date. Even though they failed at their goals the overall result was success. If they had changed the launch date NASA would have had more time to check the spacecraft and make sure that it was safe. If this event had not happened NASA wouldn't have learned how to make spaceships safer as well as space exploration and learn what to do in this type of emergency.
The Space Race began when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik into space in 1957. The United States’ answer to this was the Apollo program. While the Apollo program did have successful launches, such as the Apollo 11 launch that landed Americans on the moon, not every launch went as smoothly. Fifty years ago, a disaster occurred that shook the Apollo program to its core. On January 27, 1967, the Apollo 1 command module was consumed by a fire during one of its launch rehearsal tests. This led to the death of three astronauts, Virgil Ivan “Gus” Grissom, Edward Higgins White, and Roger Bruce Chaffee. The fire was caused by a number of factors, most of which were technical. These causes range from the abundance of oxygen in the atmosphere of the
Some of my fellow students think this was good luck because ken had not gone with them since he turned out to be very helpful in the rescue mission. I fell it was bad luck, this was not expected it could have led to a tragic situation. It was just bad luck that this fault was not noticed prior to their launch and they were still experiencing bad luck even in the midst of bad luck. Fuel tanks leaking, increasing level of co2, freezing temperature etc. Even at the point of trying to make what reduced the co2 the bag they used got torn. One important factor is that in the midst of all this happening Jim calmed his crew; he was able to manage the change in situation and also deal with the conflicts that arose between jack and
On April 13, 1970, NASA's Mission Control heard the five words that no control center ever wants to hear: "We've got a problem here." Jack Swigert, an astronaut aboard the Apollo 13 aircraft, reported the problem of broken down oxygen tanks to the Houston Control Center, less than two days after its takeoff on April 11th. Those at the Control Center in Houston were unsure what had happened to the spacecraft, but knew that some sort of explosion had occurred. This so-called explosion sent Apollo 13 spinning away from the Earth at 2,000 miles per hour, 75 percent of the way to the moon. In order to get the astronauts back to the Earth's atmosphere would be to utilize the moon's gravitational pull and send them back towards home, like a slingshot. However, this procedure would require three days, and this demanded more oxygen and electricity than the crew had available to them. Eugene "Gene" Kranz, head of this flight mission, although looking on in horror, began thinking of solutions to the problem immediately after the Controls were aware of the problem on board. Knowing that the options of refueling the spacecraft with oxygen or retrieve the astronauts himself, he needed to think of a strategy for a safe return. In this sense, if his solution fails, it could result in the biggest catastrophe in NASA history.
Jim Lovell, Ken Mattingly, and Fred Haise train for their new mission. Days before the launch, Mattingly is discovered to have been exposed to rubella, and the flight surgeon demands his replacement with Mattingly 's backup, Jack Swigert, as a safety precaution. After a few days in space Swigert performs a standard housekeeping procedure, one of two liquid oxygen tanks explodes, emptying its contents into space and sending the craft tumbling. The other tank is soon found to be leaking. Mission Control aborts the Moon landing, Lovell and Haise hurriedly power up Aquarius as a "lifeboat" for the return home, and Swigert shuts down Odyssey before its battery power runs out. In Houston, Kranz rallies his team to come up with a plan to bring the astronauts home safely, declaring "failure is not an option". Controller recruits Mattingly to help restart Odyssey for the final
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” was stated by Neil Armstrong once a national goal was accomplished. Landing successfully on the moon was a major goal for astronauts of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin were honored to be the very first of mankind to step foot on the moon, and allowed America to set future goals for outer-space journeys. With the assigned Apollo mission, America was granted much needed hope. Astronauts of NASA in the Apollo Program accomplished John F. Kennedy’s goal of placing the first man on the moon safely for the United States.
The goal of Apollo 11 was stated very simply. Perform manned lunar landing and return mission safely. Simply stated, but almost impossible to achieve, it was the mission NASA had been preparing for almost a decade, and nobody was trying to pretend this was just another launch.
On April 10th James "Jim" Lovell, John L. Swigert, and Fred W. Haise embarked on one of the most historic missions in NASA history. Three days later on April 13th, while performing a routine stir on the O2 tanks, the Apollo 13 mission suffered a terrible electrical malfunction and was forced to make an emergency return mission. The movie has forever contributed two phrases to our everyday cultural vocabulary, "Houston we have a problem", communicated by Jim Lovell, and "Failure is not an option", voiced by Gene Kranz.
...ure itself. Things began to turned back to as they were and the mariner was rescued, “But soon I heard the dash of oars, I heard the Pilot's cheer; my head was turned perforce away and I saw a boat appear” (135-137). He was very happy and fearful at the same time when they appeared, as he feared it may have been another sin coming upon him.
When talking about the current space program, Neil Degrasse Tyson once said, “I got angry with America, because advancing is not just something you do incrementally. You need innovation as well, so that your advances are revolutionary, not merely evolutionary” (Tyson 3). America used to have the top space program in the world. Being first to the moon excited the country and gave everyone a sense of pride and fulfillment. Lately, though, we have been falling behind in space exploration.
“On July 16, 1969 the world watched in anticipation as three men were hurtled skyward in a rocket bound for the moon.” (news.nationalgeographic.com). This was the Apollo 11 spacecraft, the first successful manned mission to the moon. This mission was the product of the space race (race to see who would go into outer space first, against the Soviet Union). This goal was set by President John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1961 and he promised that we would be the first to step on the moon by the end of the decade. The Apollo 11 mission is often cited as the greatest achievement in human history. (news.nationalgeographic.com)
It is within man’s blood and nature to explore, and space is our next New World. Man’s first achievement in space travel was the launch of the Sputnik on October 4, 1957. For the next decades, space travel was roaring like a rocket, fueled by man’s desire to explore, man’s desire for knowledge, and man’s desire to beat his enemies. However, these impulses have died out as the well of government funding has been diverted to wars and debts, and the interest of the American people has been diverted to wars and debts. Amidst all these issues it is debated as to whether or not space travel is worth the money and the attention of scientists, particularly since humanity faces so many issues on earth currently. However, because of the past inventions, current services, and future benefits, space travel is indeed worth the money and attention of governments and people. It is within our hands to control man’s advancement, and space travel is the next venue to do so.
NASA’s research and innovation looked promising, but it came at a cost. Money, resources, and spacecraft accidents, most famously Apollo 13 all hindered NASA’s research. In the 21st century, the debate over funding for NASA is at its peak since the birth of the organization in 1958, especially when there are numerous problems throughout the world. Is the money spent on space exploration worth the advantages and advances it contributes to society? When considering this topic, one might ask themselves, why explore space?
In the past 100 years, we have made much advancement in all areas of society. The way people live has changed drastically just in the past century. Technology in particular has advanced more in these last 100 years then all previous time combined. For example, because of the research done by many innovative and dedicated individuals such as the Wright Brothers who were the first to sustain flight in a powered airplane, we are able to fly all over the world in a matter of hours in jet propelled pressurized aircraft. One hundred years ago, the thought of man flying in a machine was insane. The Wright Brothers helped to realize the dream of manned flight. Many years later, after the idea of manned flight becoming a reality, space exploration was the next step. In 1969, many people did not believe what happened. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. They posted an American flag, explored, collected space rocks and came back home. Many Americans did not believe that the technology existed to go that far. Today, several missions a year are launched using manned space shuttles that can be flown back to earth like gliders and reused on future space missions.