Question about the Apollo 13 movie

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

Awesome.. Thank you!!

 

[Push The Button]

And not to be nitpicky, because I love this movie too, but the line was Houston, we've had a problem here; Jack Swigert said it first, then Lovell repeated it.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

The phrasing is slightly different in the film than real life, but Swaggart did say a similar phrase first even in the film.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ Uh, I think you mean Swigert.

Swaggart was this guy...

 

[UssGlenn]

they had actually run simulations on over the years, ..... and even the CO2 scrubbers crisis, which in reality employed the on-board vacuum cleaner, and had been invented during sims for Apollo 8.
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/oral_histories/MattinglyTK/MattinglyTK_11-6-01.htm

If they had thought there might be a CO2 scrubber problem in advance, why didn't they just design the scrubbers to be compatible from the beginning?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

"Tell me this isn't a government operation." - Gene Kranz

 

[diankra]

Wasn't aware that they'd tested out the CO2 problem during Apollo 8, but they did do some tests on the LM Lifeboat Mode (checking out visual navigation techniques that could be used if the CM instruments were shut down, etc), though back then the assumption was that astronauts would only need to use the LM for a few hours while fixing a minor CSM problem (the assumption was that any problem that would knock out the CM for days would be so serious that it would probably kill the crew outright, and definitely make it impossible to pull off a successful re-entry).
They also tested, on Apollo 10 I think, how long the LM electronics would work without cooling by leaving them on, with the cooling system water supply turned off, when the LM was jettisoned, and monitoring the telemetry for as long as it lasted. That became a live issue when the LM water was running low late in 13.

 

[IcecreamLtDan]

Part of the issue with that was that the individual modules were built by different manufacturers. North American designed and built the CSM and the LEM was designed and built by Grumman. This was done so that the whole project could meet President Kennedys imposed time limit of reaching the moon before the decade was out. There were so many changes made to both modules during the design and manufacturing project, the contractors never really worked together to make things compatible that they never thought would need to be.

they had actually run simulations on over the years, ..... and even the CO2 scrubbers crisis, which in reality employed the on-board vacuum cleaner, and had been invented during sims for Apollo 8.

If they had thought there might be a CO2 scrubber problem in advance, why didn't they just design the scrubbers to be compatible from the beginning?

 

[Trekker4747]

Part of the issue with that was that the individual modules were built by different manufacturers. North American designed and built the CSM and the LEM was designed and built by Grumman. This was done so that the whole project could meet President Kennedys imposed time limit of reaching the moon before the decade was out. There were so many changes made to both modules during the design and manufacturing project, the contractors never really worked together to make things compatible that they never thought would need to be.

Yeah, I thought that was the case. The only "compatibility" they needed was to fit together.

 

[diankra]

Also, weight was a key issue. If using compatible parts aboard both craft had added a few pounds of weight to the LM it would have been more trouble than it seemed worth even if they'd considered it.