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31

Apollo 13 Moments of Interest / -02:06:51 BOOSTER bungles abort command test, Skip gets testy

« on: September 08, 2023, 01:28:46 pm »

Well, this is a little unfair on BOOSTER. Based on subsequent dialogue, the abort commands weren't being transmitted due to a console selection issue - FIDO and FLIGHT's consoles were linked up to the spacecraft but not BOOSTER's. Although the commands are sent successfully shortly thereafter and FLIGHT Milt Windler attempts to pass it off as just a minor glitch, STC Skip Chauvin is clearly not satisfied and he continues to pursue the cause of the issue, specifically trying to rule out a spacecraft problem.

Based on subsequent dialogue on the FLIGHT loop, it sounds as if there may have been a phone call between Skip and Milt after the glitch to clear up the issue. It's unknown what the content of the call was, but one could guess that it likely wasn't a flattering assessment of RTC or BOOSTER's role in a usually routine command check.

FLIGHT loop: https://apolloinrealtime.org/13/?t=-02:07:00&ch=7
BOOSTER loop: https://apolloinrealtime.org/13/?t=-02:07:00&ch=47

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General Discussion / Apollo 13 Mission Ops Report - Sections of interest

« on: August 28, 2023, 09:01:27 am »

This thread will serve as a compilation of several interesting sections or pages from the Apollo 13 Mission Operations Report. That document was published after the completion of the mission, written by the flight controllers who were scheduled to work during the mission. It served the following purposes:

• Provided a debriefing from flight controllers regarding events and anomalies specific to their position.
• Allowed controllers to suggest recommendations to existing procedures in order to resolve future anomalies.
• Served as a repository for special documents that were used or created throughout the mission, such as the diagram for building the Mailbox (CSM-to-LM LiOH adapter), the modified re-entry checklist, and the LM power transfer.

The document is available for everyone's perusal from the Apollo 13 Flight Journal, and I encourage everyone to partake in it.

I'll post the first section of interest later today in this thread.

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Apollo 13 Moments of Interest / 140:03:43 RETRO Chuck Deiterich gets spooked by YAW

« on: August 17, 2023, 08:33:49 am »

Chuck Deiterich is quite a character, in a way that I think is underestimated by listening just solely to the Flight Director loops. When listening to the Flight Dynamics loops in particular during the re-entry phase, you can detect a great deal of anxiety and chariness about him in a way that tends to be somewhat charming. 😊

The below recording is just one of many instances in which his nervousness is on display when YAW asks him a question that sounds innocuous on paper, but which would understandably prompt panic under different circumstances. Given the proximity to entry interface and considering the fact they've already done a midcourse and an SM sep, their options for recovering from a mistake were greatly limited.

Link: https://apolloinrealtime.org/13/?t=140:03:43&ch=19

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Apollo 13 Moments of Interest / Multiple times - "Listen to the air-to-ground!"

« on: July 27, 2023, 07:27:44 pm »

Every flight controller (with the occasional exception of the FIDO officer) was expected to listen to the air-to-ground loop any time that the crew started transmitting, so that the crew wouldn't have to waste time repeating themselves and also to ensure any urgent questions or comments were addressed. Any controller who repeatedly failed to do so would usually find themselves shown out of the MOCR with another controller to take their place.

But even on Apollo 13, some controllers would be caught flat-footed. Below is a list of links to instances in which FLIGHT reprimanded the controller for apparently failing to listen to the loop.

Link 1: 060:47:52 - Black FLIGHT (Lunney) to INCO (Scott)
Link 2: 073:24:16 - Gold FLIGHT (Griffin) to CONTROL (Wegener)
Link 3: 084:28:16 - Maroon FLIGHT (Windler) to FAO (Gardner)

And at about 139:39:11, a little bonus clip here where YAW (I think Pressley or Wells?) tells INCO (Hanchett) to listen to the air-to-ground during an exchange that essentially amounts to YAW saying "We're too busy to do your work, INCO."

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Apollo 13 Moments of Interest / 116:19:06 Lunney spars with trench over final midcourse time

« on: July 04, 2023, 02:08:55 pm »

This is a follow-up to this thread posted earlier by Ben Feist. In the original thread, Lunney had an argument with RETRO Chuck Dieterich and FIDO Dave Reed (nominally the lead RETRO and FIDO on this mission) about having the hatch open or closed during LM SEP. Lunney eventually got his way there since the higher-ups had firmly agreed that the tunnel would be pressurized with the hatch closed, as they had done on Apollo 10.

Here, he returns an hour later to discuss moving the midcourse correction to an earlier time, based upon feedback from John Young (backup CDR) over the re-entry procedures being too crowded -- although this is less a discussion and more a circus tamer fending off angry lions. This time, the flight dynamics branch prevails, but only due to the combined feedback of the other astronaut pilots in the MOCR (off the loop) and Lunney's agnosticism on the issue.

Link: https://apolloinrealtime.org/13/?t=116:19:06&ch=50

Edit: As a note of interest, they do eventually succeed at de-crowding the re-entry timeline, but primarily as a result of taking advantage of a newly-developing situation. This is because Maroon FLIGHT Milt Windler makes an executive decision at 133:21:53~ to power up the PGNS three hours early as part of a larger effort to warm the crew up. They were able to do this thanks to the wide water and power margins that they had accumulated for themselves as a result of their brutally marginal power profiles. Because of this, they were able to tweak the re-entry procedures (see 135:45:50) around having the PGNS available early.

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Apollo 13 Moments of Interest / 068:58:17 "Mayonnaise in your mouthpiece"

« on: June 05, 2023, 08:44:04 am »

Relatively self-explanatory.

Link: https://apolloinrealtime.org/13/?t=068:58:18&ch=5

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Apollo 13 Moments of Interest / 058:40:27 Steve Bales takes charge

« on: April 14, 2023, 03:32:04 pm »

I know Naraht will appreciate this. The entire GUIDO-R loop around this area is great to listen to, as it shows GUIDO #3 (out of 4 or 5 crowded around the console) Steve Bales taking command trying to solve the integration problem in the LM. His preferred option is to send MIT vectors to run on their hybrid since the LM is (assumed to be) not able to navigate in deep space. Jack Garman, the AGC expert, has meanwhile been trying to convince Steve to upload a state vector. This leads to Bales eventually asking flatly: "Are we wrong doing what I say we're going to do?"

Link: https://apolloinrealtime.org/13/?t=058:40:27&ch=22

One thing of note: Jack does warn Steve against depending on the hybrid to work for them due to difficulty bringing it up. This ends up being prescient as later on, when trying to do the free return burn at 61:30 GET, they're unable to get the hybrid to churn out a run in time, despite repeated prodding from GUIDO Gary Renick, Jack, and Steve. This forces Gary to use his own professional judgment to assure Lunney to go ahead with the burn.

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Apollo 13 Moments of Interest / 041:02:42 Manned Spacecraft Center at its finest

« on: February 16, 2023, 12:57:23 pm »

It's evident that mission controllers are informed that all of their conversations over the loops are being recorded for posterity and public record, so they keep their dialogue as muted as possible. Still, things occasionally slip through...

This might be considered slightly NSFW... I would make sure your headphones are plugged in.

Link: https://apolloinrealtime.org/13/?t=041:02:42&ch=17

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Apollo 13 Moments of Interest / 058:26:57 Jim Fucci expresses his displeasure at Parkes being inoperable

« on: February 16, 2023, 12:28:04 pm »

NETWORK Ron DiCosmo gives PROCEDURES Jim Fucci a briefing on the current state of Parkes (the 210ft radio telescope otherwise known as "The Big Dish"), and the inability to get LM data.

Link: https://apolloinrealtime.org/13/?t=058:26:57&ch=5

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Apollo 13 Moments of Interest / 138:41:40 Slayton calls Mary Haise to give a status update

« on: February 09, 2023, 02:38:56 pm »

As CAPCOM Joe Kerwin reads up the preliminary entry PAD to the crew, Deke Slayton - sitting to his left - makes a check-in call to Mary Haise, who is greatly relieved to hear that things are going well on board Aquarius and Oydssey as they make their final trek towards Earth.

Link: https://apolloinrealtime.org/13/?t=138:41:10&ch=14

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Apollo 13 Moments of Interest / 138:19:41 Tense moment on GUIDO loop when CMC won't go to standby

« on: February 09, 2023, 01:16:43 pm »

Jack Swigert is attempting to activate the CMC in the freezing-cold command module, which is more than essential to allow the crew of Apollo 13 to do a proper re-entry. He mentions over the loops that he's unable to get the computer to go into standby. As GUIDO Ken Russell troubleshoots the problem with Jack Garman in the backroom, Garman almost flippantly remarks that this particular computer has a history of having trouble with going into standby. Not something that anyone wants to hear at this particular phase of the mission when everything is already in a critical state.

Link: https://apolloinrealtime.org/13/?t=138:19:41&ch=21

Edit: One particularly humorous (in hindsight) remark towards the end of the conversation is "You can always come up by powering down and powering up the computer again." How many times have we heard this when dealing with tech support in the 21st century?

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Apollo 13 Moments of Interest / 040:39:15 EECOM Dumis and backroom talk sports

« on: January 31, 2023, 01:04:24 pm »

Sleep period for day 3 of the mission, in the wee hours of the morning at 07:52AM CST. It starts out with the EPS reaching out to Dumis to ask the name of a specific Houston Oilers football player (Jerry LeVias), followed by some brief conversations about baseball and basketball, a cake that Dumis brought in, and the local girls (note that Dumis is married, and this is also mentioned on the loops). This is about as lazy and desultory as conversations on the MOCR loops ever get.

Link: https://apolloinrealtime.org/13/?t=040:39:15&ch=17

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Apollo 13 Moments of Interest / 036:33:56 Neil Hutchinson chews out EECOM John Aaron

« on: January 27, 2023, 04:42:29 pm »

Future FLIGHT director Neil Hutchinson, currently stationed at SPAN for CSM operations during Apollo 13, requested data from EECOM John Aaron earlier for a TCE problem with fuel cell 3. John ran the playbacks needed, but in doing so, did not set up a dedicated chart recorder to provide SPAN with their own copy of the data. As a result, they were forced to copy the strip chart recording with a Xerox machine, something that's not easy to do when the paper is a bit over 70 inches long. Neil voices his frustrations to John with the hopes that he will correct this issue in the future.

Yes, even the best steely-eyed EECOMs can make mistakes!

Link: https://apolloinrealtime.org/13/?t=036:33:56&ch=17

Supplemental: About 45 minutes prior to that, Neil asked for the TCE data from John, which led to the above episode taking place in the first place.

Link: https://apolloinrealtime.org/13/?t=035:54:44&ch=17

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Apollo 13 Moments of Interest / 056:01:53 Comedy night with RECOVERY

« 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
Link: 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.

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Apollo 13 Moments of Interest / 085:53:56 Big discussion in the MOCR about block data & loss of comm

« on: January 06, 2023, 10:00:43 pm »

This is Milt Windler's first shift as FLIGHT after the accident. Going through the loops, it's interesting to study his ethos on managing the flight and how it seems to differ from the current philosophy that the flight controllers are operating under.

This is a particularly notable example. After receiving the latest vector from the tracking, FIDO Jay Greene is working on a maneuver PAD based on the data. However, he and the Trench are unwilling to pass up block data to the spacecraft since, in this unusual configuration, there still is no consensus on how to perform a midcourse later on in the flight. Windler, however, presses on against the Trench, stating they should be able to at least give something to the crew in the event of a loss of comm.

This argument involves nearly all of the key LM players in the MOCR, including Greene, of course; GUIDO Gary Renick; RETRO Tom Weichel; CONTROL Larry Strimple; CAPCOM Jack Lousma; and FAO Spence Gardner.

Link: https://apolloinrealtime.org/13/?t=085:53:56&ch=50