Date: 4-18-01
ANNCR:
EXPLORATIONS --- A PROGRAM IN SPECIAL ENGLISH BY THE VOICE OF AMERICA.
(THEME)
ANNCR:
AMERICAN ASTRONAUTS IN APOLLO ELEVEN LANDED ON THE MOON JULY
TWENTIETH, NINETEEN-SIXTY-NINE.
A SECOND LANDING WAS MADE FOUR
MONTHS LATER.
BOTH FLIGHTS WERE ALMOST PERFECT.
EVERYTHING
WORKED AS PLANNED.
EVERYONE EXPECTED THE THIRD MOON-LANDING
FLIGHT, APOLLO THIRTEEN, WOULD GO AS WELL AS THE FIRST TWO.
BUT
IT DID NOT.
TODAY,SHIRLEY GRIFFITH AND SARAH LONG TELL YOU THE STORY OF
APOLLO THIRTEEN --- THE FLIGHT THAT ALMOST DID NOT COME HOME.
(THEME)
VOICE ONE:
APOLLO THIRTEEN ROARED INTO SPACE ON THURSDAY, APRIL ELEVENTH,
NINETEEN-SEVENTY.
THE TIME WAS THIRTEEN-THIRTEEN, ONE-THIRTEEN
P.
M LOCAL TIME.
NAVY CAPTAIN JAMES LOVELL WAS COMMANDER OF APOLLO THIRTEEN.
HE
HAD FLOWN ON APOLLO EIGHT, THE FIRST FLIGHT TO ORBIT THE MOON.
THE TWO OTHER CREW MEMBERS WERE CIVILIANS -- JOHN SWIGERT AND
FRED HAISE.
APOLLO THIRTEEN WAS THEIR FIRST SPACE FLIGHT.
VOICE TWO:
THE APOLLO THIRTEEN SPACECRAFT WAS LIKE THE EARLIER APOLLOS.
IT
HAD THREE MAJOR PARTS.
ONE WAS THE COMMAND MODULE.
THE
ASTRONAUTS WOULD RIDE TO THE MOON IN THE COMMAND MODULE AND THEN RIDE BACK TO EARTH IN IT.
IT WAS THE ONLY PART OF THE SPACECRAFT
THAT COULD SURVIVE THE FIERY RETURN THROUGH THE EARTH'S
ATMOSPHERE.
THE LUNAR MODULE WAS THE SECOND PART.
IT WOULD CARRY TWO OF THE
ASTRONAUTS TO THE MOON'S SURFACE.
IT WOULD LATER LAUNCH THEM
FROM THE MOON TO REJOIN THE COMMAND MODULE.
THE THIRD PART OF THE APOLLO SPACECRAFT WAS THE SERVICE MODULE.
IT HAD A ROCKET ENGINE THAT THE ASTRONAUTS FIRED TO BEGIN
CIRCLING THE MOON.
THEY FIRED IT AGAIN TO BREAK OUT OF MOON
ORBIT FOR THE RETURN FLIGHT TO EARTH.
THE SERVICE MODULE CARRIED
TANKS OF OXYGEN FOR THE FLIGHT, AND THE FUEL CELLS THAT PRODUCED
ELECTRICITY AND WATER THE ASTRONAUTS NEEDED TO SURVIVE.
VOICE ONE :
THERE WAS WHAT SEEMED TO BE A MINOR PROBLEM DURING THE GROUND
TESTS BEFORE LAUNCH.
TWO LARGE TANKS IN THE SERVICE MODULE HELD
LIQUID OXYGEN.
THE OXYGEN WAS THE FUEL THAT PROVIDED WATER AND
ELECTRICITY FOR THE COMMAND MODULE.
ONE OF THE OXYGEN TANKS
FAILED TO EMPTY NORMALLY DURING THE GROUND TEST.
ENGINEERS HAD
TO BOIL OFF THE REMAINING OXYGEN BY TURNING ON A HEATER IN THE
TANK.
COMMANDER LOVELL SAID LATER HE SHOULD HAVE DEMANDED THE OXYGEN
TANK BE REPLACED.
BUT IT SEEMED TO BE FIXED.
SO NO CHANGE WAS
MADE.
VOICE TWO:
AFTER LAUNCH, APOLLO THIRTEEN SAILED SMOOTHLY THROUGH SPACE FOR
TWO DAYS.
CONTROLLERS ON THE GROUND JOKED THAT THE FLIGHT HAD
GONE SO WELL THEY DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH TO DO.
THAT CHANGED A FEW HOURS LATER.
THE FIRST SIGN OF TROUBLE WAS A
TINY BURST OF LIGHT IN THE WESTERN SKY OVER THE UNITED STATES.
IT LOOKED LIKE A FAR-AWAY STAR HAD EXPLODED.
VOICE ONE:
NEAR THE SPACE CENTER IN HOUSTON, TEXAS, SOME AMATEUR
STAR-WATCHERS WERE TRYING TO SEE THE APOLLO SPACECRAFT THROUGH
TELESCOPES.
ONE OF THE GROUP HAD FIXED A TELESCOPE TO A
TELEVISION SET SO THAT OBJECTS SEEN BY THE TELESCOPE APPEARED ON
THE TELEVISION SCREEN.
THE SPACECRAFT WAS TOO FAR AWAY TO BE SEEN.
BUT SUDDENLY, A
BRIGHT SPOT APPEARED ON THE TELEVISION SCREEN.
OVER THE NEXT TEN
MINUTES IT GREW INTO A WHITE CIRCLE.
THE OBSERVERS ON THE GROUND HAD NO REASON TO BELIEVE THE WHITE
SPOT THEY SAW WAS MADE BY THE SPACECRAFT.
THEY THOUGHT IT WAS A
PROBLEM WITH THE TELEVISION.
SO THEY WENT HOME TO BED.
VOICE TWO:
IT WAS NOT A PROBLEM WITH THEIR TELEVISION.
IT WAS A SERIOUS
PROBLEM WITH APOLLO THIRTEEN.
IT HAPPENED A FEW MINUTES AFTER THE THREE ASTRONAUTS COMPLETED A
TELEVISION BROADCAST TO EARTH.
THE ASTRONAUTS HEARD A LOUD
NOISE.
THE SPACECRAFT SHOOK.
WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON.
SWIGERT
CALLED TO MISSION CONTROL, "HOUSTON, WE'VE HAD A PROBLEM HERE."
THE NUMBER TWO OXYGEN TANK IN THE SERVICE MODULE HAD EXPLODED.
THE LIQUID OXYGEN ESCAPED INTO SPACE.
IT FORMED A HUGE GAS BALL
THAT EXPANDED RAPIDLY.
SUNLIGHT MADE IT GLOW.
WITHIN TEN
MINUTES, IT WAS ALMOST EIGHTY KILOMETERS ACROSS.
THEN IT SLOWLY
DISAPPEARED.
THE CLOUD WAS THE WHITE SPOT THE OBSERVERS IN
HOUSTON HAD SEEN ON THEIR TELEVISION.
VOICE ONE:
THE LOSS OF ONE OXYGEN TANK SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN A MAJOR PROBLEM.
APOLLO HAD TWO OXYGEN TANKS.
SO, IF ONE FAILED, THE OTHER COULD
BE USED.
BUT THE ASTRONAUTS SOON LEARNED THAT THE EXPLOSION HAD
CAUSED THE OTHER OXYGEN TANK TO LEAK.
THE ASTRONAUTS WERE THREE-HUNDRED-TWENTY-THOUSAND KILOMETERS FROM EARTH WITH LITTLE OXYGEN, ELECTRICITY AND WATER.
THEIR SITUATION WAS EXTREMELY SERIOUS.
NO ONE KNEW IF THEY COULD GET THE
SPACECRAFT BACK TO EARTH, OR IF THEY COULD SURVIVE LONG ENOUGH TO
RETURN.
VOICE TWO:
THE ASTRONAUTS AND THE FLIGHT CONTROL CENTER QUICKLY DECIDED THAT
THE LUNAR MODULE COULD BE THEIR LIFEBOAT.
IT CARRIED OXYGEN,
WATER, ELECTRICITY AND FOOD FOR TWO MEN FOR TWO DAYS ON THE
MOON'S SURFACE.
BUT THERE WERE THREE ASTRONAUTS.
AND THE TRIP BACK TO EARTH
WOULD TAKE FOUR DAYS.
THE MEN GREATLY REDUCED THEIR USE OF
WATER, FOOD AND HEAT.
AND THEY TURNED OFF ALL THE ELECTRICAL
DEVICES THEY COULD.
BACK ON EARTH, SPACE SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS WORKED AROUND THE
CLOCK TO DESIGN AND TEST NEW IDEAS TO HELP THE ASTRONAUTS
SURVIVE.
VOICE ONE:
GETTING ENOUGH GOOD AIR TO BREATHE BECAME THE MOST SERIOUS
PROBLEM.
THE CARBON DIOXIDE THE ASTRONAUTS BREATHED OUT WAS
POISONING THE AIR.
THE LUNAR MODULE HAD A FEW DEVICES FOR
REMOVING CARBON DIOXIDE.
BUT THERE WERE NOT ENOUGH TO REMOVE ALL
THE CARBON DIOXIDE THEY CREATED.
ENGINEERS ON THE GROUND DESIGNED A WAY THE ASTRONAUTS COULD
CONNECT AIR-CLEANING DEVICES FROM THE COMMAND MODULE TO THE AIR
SYSTEM IN THE LUNAR MODULE.
THE ASTRONAUTS MADE THE CONNECTOR
FROM A PLASTIC BAG, CARDBOARD AND TAPE.
IT WORKED.
CARBON
DIOXIDE WAS NO LONGER A PROBLEM.
VOICE TWO:
NOW THE PROBLEM WAS HOW TO GET THE ASTRONAUTS BACK TO EARTH AS
QUICKLY AND SAFELY AS POSSIBLE.
THEY WERE MORE THAN TWO-THIRDS OF THE WAY TO THE MOON ON A FLIGHT
PATH THAT WOULD TAKE THEM TO A MOON LANDING.
THEY NEEDED TO
CHANGE THEIR FLIGHT PATH TO TAKE THEM AROUND THE MOON AND BACK
TOWARD EARTH.
THEY HAD TO DO THIS BY FIRING THE LUNAR MODULE
ROCKET ENGINE FOR JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF TIME.
AND THEY HAD TO
MAKE THIS MOVE WITHOUT THE EQUIPMENT IN THE COMMAND MODULE THAT
KEPT THE SPACECRAFT ON ITS FLIGHT PATH.
FIVE HOURS AFTER THE EXPLOSION, FLIGHT CONTROLLERS ADVISED FIRING
THE ROCKET FOR THIRTY-FIVE SECONDS.
THIS SENT THE SPACECRAFT
AROUND THE MOON INSTEAD OF DOWN TO IT.
TWO HOURS AFTER APOLLO
THIRTEEN WENT AROUND THE MOON, THE ASTRONAUTS FIRED THE ROCKET
FOR FIVE MINUTES.
THIS SPEEDED UP THE SPACECRAFT TO REACH EARTH
NINE HOURS SOONER.
VOICE ONE:
THE LUNAR MODULE WAS EXTREMELY UNCOMFORTABLE.
THE ASTRONAUTS HAD VERY LITTLE TO DRINK AND EAT.
BUT THE COLD WAS THE WORST PART OF THE RETURN TRIP.
THE TEMPERATURE INSIDE THE LUNAR MODULE WAS
ONLY A FEW DEGREES ABOVE FREEZING.
IT WAS TOO COLD FOR THEM TO
SLEEP MUCH.
THEY USED THE ELECTRICAL POWER IN THE LUNAR MODULE TO ADD
ELECTRICITY TO THE BATTERIES OF THE COMMAND MODULE.
THEY WOULD
NEED THE ELECTRICAL POWER FOR THEIR LANDING.
VOICE TWO:
THE CREW MOVED BACK TO THE COMMAND MODULE A FEW HOURS BEFORE
LANDING.
THEY TURNED ON THE NECESSARY EQUIPMENT AND BROKE AWAY
FROM THE DAMAGED SERVICE MODULE.
AS THE SERVICE MODULE MOVED
AWAY, THEY SAW FOR THE FIRST TIME THE DAMAGE DONE BY THE
EXPLODING OXYGEN TANK.
EQUIPMENT WAS HANGING FROM A HUGE HOLE IN
THE SIDE OF THE MODULE.
ONE HOUR BEFORE LANDING, LOVELL, SWIGERT AND HAISE SAID THANKS
AND GOODBYE TO THEIR LIFEBOAT, THE LUNAR MODULE.
THEY SEPARATED
FROM IT AND SENT IT FLYING AWAY FROM THEM.
VOICE ONE:
NOW, THE COMMAND MODULE OF APOLLO THIRTEEN HEADED ALONE TOWARD
EARTH.
IT FELL THROUGH THE ATMOSPHERE.
ITS PARACHUTES OPENED,
SLOWING ITS FALL TOWARD THE PACIFIC OCEAN, NEAR SAMOA.
SHIPS AND PLANES WERE WAITING IN THE LANDING AREA.
AND THOUSANDS
OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD WERE WATCHING THE LIVE
TELEVISION BROADCAST OF THE LANDING.
PEOPLE EVERYWHERE CHEERED
AS THE CAMERAS FOUND THE SPACECRAFT FLOATING DOWNWARD BENEATH ITS THREE PARACHUTES.
THEY WATCHED AS IT DROPPED SOFTLY INTO THE
WATER.
THE APOLLO THIRTEEN ASTRONAUTS WERE SAFELY HOME.
(THEME)
ANNCR:
THIS SPECIAL ENGLISH PROGRAM WAS WRITTEN BY MARILYN RICE
CHRISTIANO AND DIRECTED BY PAUL THOMPSON.
YOUR NARRATORS WERE
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH AND SARAH LONG.
JOIN US AGAIN NEXT WEEK FOR ANOTHER EXPLORATIONS PROGRAM ON THE VOICE OF AMERICA WHEN WE FINISHTHE STORY OF THE APOLLO MOON LANDING PROGRAM.