Apollo 13’s launch day was April 11, 1970, with the intention to explore the Fra Mauro formation. It is a hilly area that is thought to be made of ejecta from the impact that formed Mare Imbrium. It got its name from the 80-kilometer Fra Mauro crater which is found in it. The discovery was held to a minimal, due to having to abort the mission. Discovery/exploration of Fra Mauro was postponed until the next Apollo mission, Apollo 14. Any type of Discoveries were from onboard the spacecraft since they were not able to leave. Only the photographs of earth were really useful, and that wasn’t a big “discovery”. The mission's main goal was not a success after an oxygen tank exploded. This messed up the service module which the command module had
depended on. The crew had to return six days after launch on April 17, 1970, then got on board the USS Iwo Jima. The crew consisted of Fred Haise, James Lovell, and John Swigert.The mission lasted exactly 5 days, 22 hours, 54 minutes, 41 seconds. However the landing was a full bust, the mission still had some success to it. Eleven photographs of Earth were taken to study the use of “geosynchronous satellites” to study cloud height on the earth. Apollo 13's “S-IVB third stage” was purposely crashed into the lunar surface, and lastly there was multiple prior experiments to study “electrical phenomena”. This was used to better understand hazards of launching in bad weather conditions.
The mission command philosophy helps commanders counter the uncertainty of operations by reducing the amount of certainty needed to act. Commanders can build teams and achieve their final goals through adapting the six principles of mission command to warfighting situation. I analyzed and compared the performance of General Sherman and General Hampton in four of six mission command principles.
Mission Command as defined by the United States Army consists six distinct and critical principles. During World War II there were many examples of exemplary mission command that led to stunning victories for the Allies but also many examples of failure. The Battle for Arnhem or Operation Market-Garden was such a failure. Major General Robert Elliot Urquhart, the Commander of the 1st Airborne Division failed in not only in tactics but the ability to lead his division to victory. He did not completely misunderstand the principles of mission command, but four main areas in which he made critical mistakes were; Build a Cohesive Team Through Mutual Trust, Create a Shared Understanding, Accept Prudent Risk, and Exercise Disciplined Initiative.
Mission command is the commander's use of authority and direction to empower adaptive leaders in the conduct of unified land operations. It helps subordinates exercise disciplined initiative when operating within their commander’s intent. To facilitate effective mission command, commanders must accomplish four consecutive stages of the operations process. They must thoroughly understand the problem, visualize a solution that achieves a desired end state, and then accurately describe this visualization in order to direct the organization. Commanders continually lead and assess their organizations and provide input and influence to their subordinates and staff.
...ause it was the mission that NASA was able to put the first man up onto the moon. Neil Armstrong was the pilot of the Apollo 11 flight. There was a special shuttle that was attached to the spaceship; it was called the Eagle. The Eagle was designed to transport some crew members down to the moon. Armstrong was responsible for driving and landing the shuttle safely down to the moon. While on his way down to the moon, Armstrong realized that he was starting to run out of fuel. Thankfully, Armstrong did have enough to land on the moon and make it back up to the spaceship. When the Eagle was leaving the spaceship for the first time up in space, it wasn't completely depressurized so there was something like a gas bubble come from the shuttle as it was on its way to the moon. The gas bubble moved the shuttle off course and the Eagle actually landed four miles off course.
Commanders must be able to describe their operation visualization to staffs and subordinates. It fosters a working relationship and a shared understanding of the situation, mission and intent. Without description of mission command from the commander, a unit may not be able to accomplish their task or mission.
The amazing performances by the crew and ground support was what kept the crew alive. The crew and ground Apollo 13 had a huge impact on space exploration. Many people disagree with this because if they had stopped or changed the schedule of Apollo 13 they may not have failed their mission. Even though they failed at their goals the overall result was success. Apollo 13 was an amazing achievement for NASA even though they did not achieve their goals of landing on the Fra Mauro area of the moon. They landed in the pacific ocean on April 17th 1970. The name of their recovery ship was the USS Iwo Jima. The Fra Mauro site was reassigned for Apollo
On July 16, 1969 the space ship Apollo 11 left from Kennedy Space Center en route to the moon. The crew consisted of Neil A. Armstrong, the commander; Edwin E. Aldrin, the jr. lunar module pilot; and Michael Collins, the commander module pilot...
Eugene Kranz Returns Apollo 13 to Earth Case Study #1 Eugene Kranz Returns Apollo 13 to Earth 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 oxygen tanks to the Houston Control Center, less than two days after its takeoff on April 11. 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, it would be to utilize the moon's gravitational pull and send them back towards home, like a slingshot.
Apollo 13 is a 1995 American space adventure film directed by Ron Howard. The film depicts astronauts Jim Lovell,
According to Army Doctrine Publication (ADP) 6-0, mission command philosophy is, “the exercise of authority and direction by the commander using mission orders to enable discipline initiative within the commander’s intent to empower agile and adaptive leaders in the conduct of unified land operations.” Commanders execute mission command throughout all phases of the operations process. ADP 5-0 states that, “Commanders drive the operations process.” The six steps that allow Commanders to drive the operations process are: understand, visualize, describe, direct, lead, and assess. I will discuss four of these steps used by COL Freeman’s analyze his ability to properly execute mission command in this Battle.
The commander’s intent is a critical part of mission command. The commander, through the commander’s intent, must blend the art of command and the science of control that integrates all joint warfighting functions. ADM Wesley McDonald, Commander US Atlantic Command (LANTCOM), failed to convey the commander’s intent to the joint force for Operation Urgent Fury. This failure promoted misunderstanding and mutual trust issues among the joint force that affected the integration of joint functions such as intelligence and sustainment.
Exactly 75 hours and 50 minutes after blasting off from Earth, the crew of Apollo 11 entered lunar orbit, something only two crews before them had done. Every orbit brought the crew closer to their ultimate destination, the Sea of Tranquility, a flat surface near the Moon’s equator that would be lit by the Sun when the final approach began. On the 13th orbit of the Moon, Aldrin, Armstrong and Collins began their voyage into uncharted territory.
Before the splashdown of Apollo 11, Aldrin said, "We feel this stands as a symbol of the insatiable curiosity of all mankind to explore the unknown." (space.about.com) The mission was accomplished and Kennedy’s dream was fulfilled. America was the first to send men to the moon and return them safely to the earth. (space.about.com)
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” It was July 20 1969, the day that reshaped our nation and gave us unparalleled dreams for the future. The impact of the day goes far beyond our pride and nationalism; that day would change space exploration and technology forever. Just like a shooting star, that day would give us a glimpse of hope. A chance to see an event so breathtaking and defying, it would be man’s greatest accomplishment in the 20th century. As millions of people watched from their TV sets, a rush of euphoria came over the nation as Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the surface of the moon. It was the first time in the history of mankind that we would step on the surface of another celestial body. John F. Kennedy dared us to dream, he inspired the nation to reach for the moon, to set ourselves apart from the rest of the world. The Space Race was symbolic of many things. Our future as the technically dominate nation was secured in place; just as secure as Old Glory would be, when she was driven down into the soil of the moon. We not only reached the moon, we conquered it as a nation; united.