Apollo in Real Time Forum

Message Boards => Apollo 13 Moments of Interest => Topic started by: MadDogBV on January 11, 2023, 11:25:20 am

Title: 056:01:53 Comedy night with RECOVERY
Post by: MadDogBV on January 11, 2023, 11:25:20 am
Rather shockingly, the RECOVERY officer (presumably Ed Bullock) is listening to a comedy routine on and off throughout his shift, presumably a terrestrial radio downlink* punched up into his headset, starting at 55:05:14 and then continuing again at 56:01:53 just as the crisis gets underway. He cuts the broadcast entirely at 56:10:55, once it becomes clear on the FLIGHT loop that there are problems with the spacecraft that demand his attention.

Link: https://apolloinrealtime.org/13/?t=055:05:14&ch=32 (https://apolloinrealtime.org/13/?t=055:05:14&ch=32)
Link: https://apolloinrealtime.org/13/?t=056:01:53&ch=32 (https://apolloinrealtime.org/13/?t=056:01:53&ch=32)

* Edit: This might actually be TV programming, since a lot of the "humor" seems to involve visual gags, and it's not the first time that controllers have had TV loops punched up on their consoles.
Title: Re: 056:01:53 Comedy night with RECOVERY
Post by: bfeist on January 11, 2023, 03:50:09 pm
OMG, that's awesome
Title: Re: 056:01:53 Comedy night with RECOVERY
Post by: MadDogBV on January 13, 2023, 09:29:57 am
It really is. And it conjures up a bizarre mental picture - looking at the tank pressures chart as they slowly slide down, watching the transcript on the left as the crew and the MOCR come to the realization that something is going really wrong, and yet all the while, an almost haunting rendition of "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" plays in the background on the RECOVERY loop.
Title: Re: 056:01:53 Comedy night with RECOVERY
Post by: ke6jjj on January 18, 2023, 11:17:23 pm
Wow! That really is a fantastic find!