Space is one of the most mystical, attractive, but at the same time, frightening things. For many years, scientists and researchers have been making attempts to study it. The book “Apollo 13” tells about the attempt of astronauts to land on the Moon, which was crowned with failure and severe problems with the space module, because of which everyone had to return to Earth. The authors of this work are the direct participant of the astronaut mission Jim Lovell and journalist Jeffrey Kluger. Thus, this work will explore the narrative presented in the book “Apollo 13” and examine the reasons why everything went wrong during the fight.
“Apollo 13,” originally published as “Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13,” is a non-fiction work that is based on actual events. The narrative is based on the 1970 Apollo 13 lunar landing mission, whose participants were Jim Lovell, Jacko Swigert, and Fred Hayes (Lovell and Kluger 5). The astronauts were tasked with going into outer space and landing on the Moon. Lovell was the commander of the team and was very passionate about exploring a planet unknown to mankind.
However, this mission seemed to have begun to fail even before the departure of the space module into space. Initially, the team faced the problem that not all assigned astronauts could make this flight. Henceforth, Ken Mattingly was supposed to fly instead of Swigert, but he had a suspicion of rubella, which caused him to abandon the mission. If you adhere to a superstitious opinion regarding the team’s flight to the Moon, it is also worth noting that the wife of the leader of the astronauts has a dream about the death of her husband (Lovell and Kluger 8). These circumstances are like a warning that can predict the possible outcome of the Apollo-13 flight.
Despite everything, the team conducted active preparations for the flight, and the date was set for April 11, 1970. Almost immediately after takeoff, the team faces problems. So, the engine of the second stage begins to fail, but this does not prevent the module from leaving the orbit of the planet Earth. Then, the crew was tasked with connecting two spacecrafts, Odyssey and Aquarius (Lovell and Kluger 215). After a few days in space, one of the liquid oxygen tanks explodes. This is a vital issue, as it significantly limits the time of arrival of astronauts in outer space and causes damage to the module. Moreover, this means refusing to land on the Moon since the main task of the crew is to evacuate to Aquarius. The stressful situation on the ship is increasing; Hayes blamed Swigert’s inexperience for the problems that have arisen. To ensure a safe return to Earth, the team has to manually change the course of the module they are in to take the necessary energy for the Odyssey from Aquarius. Despite the danger to life, the cosmonaut team manages to land in the Pacific Ocean, but the mission to reach the Moon is a failure.
The second part of the book is devoted to the investigation of the reasons why there was a problem with the space module. Hence, as it was noted in the book, the oxygen tank exploded almost immediately after the broadcast of the astronauts’ takeoff. It is worth noting that at first, the team did not pay attention to this incident; they reported the problem but continued on their way. As time passed, they fully realized the weight of the circumstances that had arisen, seeing that the service module was venting gas into outer space.
Thus, the explosion of the service module became the main reason for the completion of the operation to land American astronauts on the Moon. As a result, there was a critical loss of oxygen and electricity. Additional sources say that “it was removed from Apollo 10 for modification and during the extraction was dropped 2 inches, slightly jarring an internal fill line” (The Apollo 13 Accident para. 3). Moreover, it was noted that during the passage, some anomalies were detected in the operation of the service tank, which it was decided to transform into use for boiling off the excess oxygen. However, this was one of the reasons why the damage was done to the Teflon insulation on the electrical wires.
In conclusion, the book “Apollo 13” presents an original and unique idea of what caused the failure of the mission of landing a space module on the Moon. This is mainly due to the fact that the authors are direct participants in the events of Jim Lovell and journalist Jeffrey Kluger. The problem that occurred during the flight was a consequence of multiple factors. So, it is believed that the explosion of a tank with liquid oxygen. This caused the loss of significant reserves of electricity and vital oxygen for the life of the team. In addition, some minor issues during spacecraft testing had a significant impact on tank failure. Eventually, the team of astronauts had to manually change the course of the module and make a landing in the Pacific Ocean.
Works Cited
Lovell, James and Jeffrey Kluger. Apollo 13. Mariner Books, 2006.
“The Apollo 13 Accident.” NSSDC, no date, Web.