In the process of human exploration of the universe, there is not only mystery and excitement, but also often accompanied by danger. In the vastness of space, human power seems too small, and if something happens, there will be disaster, but Apollo 13 has become "the most successful failed mission." ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="2" > space race</h1>
During the Cold War, the two superpowers of the United States and the Soviet Union launched an all-round competition in political, economic, military and other fields, and manned spaceflight, as the embodiment of high technology, naturally became the territory they competed for.
After the end of World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union captured a large number of German rocket technology experts, prompting the development of their aviation industry. The United States gained the most, taking with them a large number of German rocket technicians and components that could be assembled into 100 rockets, and with the assistance of the surrendered Germans, they quickly transported the found parts and related documents with the assistance of the surrendered Germans.
After the Arrival of the Soviet Union, it was found that most of the parts and rocket data had been taken away by britain and the United States, because Penemünde belonged to the Soviet occupation zone in the Allied Agreement, the Soviet Union was very dissatisfied with this, and protested unsuccessfully, so it had to transport the production lines in the remaining factories and the nearby German families related to the production and development of rockets to the country.
In the decades since, the two countries have relied on these talents and technologies to vigorously develop the aviation industry and engage in a fierce space race. On October 4, 1957, the former Soviet Union's R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile launched an artificial satellite (Russia's "Voyager"), the world's first artificial satellite and the first artificial object into the earth orbit, allowing the Soviet Union to defeat the United States. On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first member of humanity to enter space, allowing the Soviet Union to defeat the United States again.
One progress after another in the field of space by the Soviet Union greatly stimulated the United States and deepened the fear of the American people of falling behind in the space race. In order to give the United States the lead in the space race, in May 1961, U.S. President John F. Kennedy gave a speech deciding to implement the Apollo program to send American astronauts to the moon before the end of the 1960s.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="10" > Apollo</h1> program
The Moon is the closest celestial body to Earth, and for billions of years, she has been Earth's most loyal companion, in the vastness of space, and the Earth is constantly orbiting the Earth. Since ancient times, people have also regarded the moon as the embodiment of beauty, and have unlimited reverie about the moon.
In May 1961, when U.S. President John F. Kennedy proposed the Apollo program, the United States sent America's first astronaut into space more than 20 days earlier. With kennedy's strong support, the United States began the world's largest manned lunar landing program, which at the time was prepared to cost more than $20 billion and was organized by NASA.
After the Apollo plan was determined, experts proposed five moon landing plans, and finally everyone adopted the "lunar orbit will be legal", which is designed to land on the moon, although the process and specific technology are very complex, but there is a certain feasibility.
The lunar landing process designed by the scheme is: three astronauts in a spacecraft, the spacecraft consists of three parts: the command module, the service module, and the lunar module, which is where the astronauts live during the flight; the service module is loaded with rocket fuel and oxygen; and the lunar module is used for landing on the moon, with a separate rocket system.
When the spacecraft enters the orbit around the moon, the two astronauts who landed on the moon enter the lunar module, and then separate the lunar module from the main body of the spacecraft, and after the separation, the lunar module triggers a backward rocket to slowly land on the lunar surface. A third astronaut continued to fly around the moon in the command module.
When his two companions completed the lunar surface work task, they lit the rocket of the lunar module, ascended off the lunar surface to meet the main body of the spacecraft flying around the moon, docked and returned to the command module, then dismantled the lunar module and abandoned it, let it run around the moon to reduce the burden of the main ship, and then ignited the rocket to start returning. As they approached the atmosphere, they ignited the rocket to reduce the speed, and then dismantled and threw away the service module, leaving only the command module to return to the ground.
The advantages of this scheme are obvious, using a small lunar module to land on the moon requires only a small amount of rocket fuel, and the lunar module can be disassembled and left in the lunar orbit, so that the process of returning does not have to bear the weight.
In order to land on the moon, the United States designed and built a large Apollo lunar spacecraft with a length of 18 meters and a weight of 45 tons, and also built the "Saturn V" carrier rocket that launched the Apollo spacecraft, and then they assembled the Apollo lunar spacecraft and the Saturn V rocket on the launch pad at Cape Cavinaral.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="22" > Apollo 13</h1>
After a large number of tests, on July 16, 1969, the Saturn 5 rocket carried the Apollo 11 spacecraft into the air, and after 102 hours and 45 minutes of flight, successfully landed on the moon on July 20. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin successfully set foot on the moon and, after completing the lunar mission, returned safely to the region.
The moment astronaut Armstrong stepped on the moon, he said, "This is just a small step for me personally, but it is a big step for mankind." "The Apollo program of the United States is an epoch-making achievement in the history of world spaceflight. During the Apollo program, the United States carried out six manned flights, and a total of 12 astronauts successfully landed on the moon. But during the moon landing, there were also accidents, that is, Apollo 13.
A total of three astronauts flew aboard Apollo 13, and Jim Lowell, commander of Apollo 13, was a 42-year-old naval colonel who had served as an F-2H fighter pilot in the U.S. Naval Aviation Corps.
In 1958, Lowell participated in the mercury program astronaut selection with 109 other test pilots, but unfortunately Lowell was too high to win at that time. In 1962, Lowell applied to join the second group of astronauts, and this time he successfully advanced. In 1965 and 1966, Jim Lowell flew two space missions.
The command module pilot is Jack Swegert, who is a U.S. Air Force pilot, and the lunar module pilot Fred Hayes, who is also a U.S. Air Force pilot, both of whom have very high flying skills and stronger physical and cultural knowledge than ordinary people.
On April 11, 1970, the United States launched the Apollo 13 spacecraft, which was scheduled to land in the Flamorus region on the moon, and the astronauts were tasked with surveying the craters there and the ancient moon rocks.
Before this mission, the United States has carried out two manned moon landing programs, both of which have been successful, so in this mission, everyone seems to be very relaxed, and the flight of Apollo 13 has been quite smooth at the beginning, and all systems are working normally.
In the 46 hours and 43 minutes after launch, the staff in charge of communication with the astronauts on the ground jokingly complained: "The condition of the spacecraft is so good that we are bored to tears." "In the 55 hours and 46 minutes after launch, the astronauts aboard Apollo 13 broadcast live on television, showing ground viewers their comfortable life in space. After the live video, astronaut Jim Lowell said goodnight to those who were following the spacecraft.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="32" > escape back to Earth</h1>
That night, ten minutes after the live video ended, astronaut Jack Swegert began agitating the oxygen tank in the service module as instructed by the ground to get more accurate air pressure readings. But then the explosion occurred, first a short circuit, a high voltage, an electric spark, and the Teflon material was ignited, and then a violent explosion.
All three people on board were dumbfounded, and astronaut Jack Swift immediately contacted ground command center to report, "Hey, Houston, we're in trouble here." Nasa, based in Houston, received the report and immediately asked, "This is Houston, please say it again." At this time, it was Lowell who said the famous line that was later borrowed by countless film and television dramas: "Houston, we are in trouble." ”
This time the trouble was not small, an oxygen tube in the service cabin also exploded, Lowell looked outside and found that their precious oxygen was leaking outward, and the leaked oxygen made the rocket's flight state very unstable. Immediately after, two of the three fuel cells also failed.
A series of accidents caused the red and yellow alarm lights in the command module to flash immediately, the alarm lights of the Houston command center were immediately displayed, and all the personnel of the ground command center immediately entered the command room to discuss a solution, and NASA immediately made a decision to terminate the lunar mission and return to Earth with all its might.
After discussion, the ground commander and the three astronauts decided that the astronauts left the command module to reach the lunar module, and the lunar module with less power consumption would be responsible for navigating the spacecraft, and when the spacecraft approached the Earth, they would return to the command module, abandon the lunar module, and then return to the atmosphere and land in the command module.
Under the guidance of the ground commander, the astronauts quickly powered off the command module, leaving the little power retained until it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere and then activated, because only the command module could withstand the high temperature caused by the friction between the spacecraft and the atmosphere.
Inside the Houston Command Center, about 10,000 scientists, astronauts, experts, and other engineers and technicians were involved in the rescue effort, giving advice to nasa in space, figuring out ways to guide astronauts through a series of operations. Scientists in Houston listed "85 ifs" in a short period of time and found a response to these unexpected situations, and Strakosh, director of the lunar module design department, and his team members did not sleep for three days and three nights in a row to solve the crisis.
The three astronauts weren't left without a roof, and during those three or four days, they didn't rest and solve one problem after another, such as using the sun to calibrate the direction. It is generally used as a reference for a specific star to correct the orientation and attitude of the spacecraft. But on Apollo 13, the sunlight reflected by the exploding debris was also bright and easily confused with stars, so they had to rely on the sun. Although the diameter of the sun is too large, it will cause errors, but there is no other way.
On April 17, 1970, the three astronauts finally returned to Earth safely, and they were greeted by ships and aircraft from 13 countries (including the Soviet Union) in addition to the U.S. rescue fleet and ships. Although the mission to the moon failed, its significance is even greater than the successful moon landing, and the valuable experience accumulated by nasa in this crisis is also the wealth of all mankind.