Ryan's Pointless Space Facts.

[ryan]

Apollo 13 luanch

Hey guys on this day April 11th 1970 the ill-fated Apollo 13 lunar landing mission was luanched from the Kennedy Space Centre, Carrying Command Jim Lovell who had already flew around the Moon on Apollo 8, Jack Swigert Command Module Pilot will be going into space for the first time, and Lunar Module Pilot Fred Haise Jr who is going also into space for the first time.

But just before the luanch, you may know this from the movie Apollo 13 by Ron Howard, Thomas K. Mattingly was thought to be having the German Measels, so the NASA big-wigs pulled him off the prime crew, but when Apollo 13 was in crisis Ken was in the CSM Simulator figureing how to get them home, having never gotten the Measels. Ken later flew ironicly with the person who was thought to given him the Measels Charlie Duke on Apollo 16.

 

[pete.dakota]

Alan B. Shepard Jr the first Amercian in space and the 4th person to step on the Moons surface

He was the commander of Apollo 14, and so, the 5th man to walk on the moon. The fourth man was obviously the LEM Pilot of Apollo 12, Alan Bean.

But just before the luanch, you may know this from the movie Apollo 13 by Ron Howard, Thomas K. Mattingly was thought to be having the German Measels, so the NASA big-wigs pulled him off the prime crew, but when Apollo 13 was in crisis Ken was in the CSM Simulator figureing how to get them home, having never gotten the Measels. Ken later flew ironicly with the person who was thought to given him the Measels Charlie Duke on Apollo 16.

They didn't pull Mattingly from the crew because they thought he had the Measles, all they knew is that Charlie Duke had Rubella, and that Ken was the only member of the Apollo 13 crew to have not been immunised by means of prior infection.

 

[ryan]

He was the commander of Apollo 14, and so, the 5th man to walk on the moon. The fourth man was obviously the LEM Pilot of Apollo 12, Alan Bean.



They didn't pull Mattingly from the crew because they thought he had the Measles, all they knew is that Charlie Duke had Rubella, and that Ken was the only member of the Apollo 13 crew to have not been immunised by means of prior infection.

My bad for being little incorrect. Also Rubella is better known as the German Measels anyways.

 

[ryan]

Crikey, i cant believe i almost forgot about this.
April 12th, for the first ever time a human goes into space, on Vostok 1.
Yuri Gagarian, a Soviet Cosmonaut. He did one complete orbit of the earth.

The release of this from behind the iron curtain of the Soviet Union shocked NASA and now the Mercury 7 were now running for second in the so called space race. It made Yuri Gagarian a instant superstar in the Soviet Union. It looked like the Soviets were going to win the space race.
Yuri did not land in the Vostok spacecraft he ejected and landed in a parachute, deep inside, saftly in the Soviet Union area.
This day is still celebrated in Russia (formerly the Soviet Union), it's known as Cosmonuats day, and tonight is known as Yuri's Night.
Happy Cosmonauts day!
Also the first ever Space Shuttle Columbia was luanched from the Kennedy Space Center. STS-1 was really a test run for the Space Shuttle. It carried Commander John W. Young, a moon walker, and Pilot Robert Crippen.

The distictive white external tank was used for the first time, unlike the orange external tanks thats used today on the current shuttle fleet.

 

[James.Denholm]

Wow. Looks like we can rely on you for our daily on-this-day-in-space fix.

 

[BlueDragon8144]

I know whats coming up tomorrow......and it has everything to do with 13.

 

[ryan]

I know whats coming up tomorrow......and it has everything to do with 13.

Yep im gonna do a big story on that one.

 

[NukeET]

Yep im gonna do a big story on that one.

Already been done.

 

[ryan]

Already been done.

Who did it?

 

[BlueDragon8144]

already been filmed

who did it? About every news media in 1971.

 

[ryan]

already been filmed

who did it? About every news media in 1971.

No i ment my story for it, stuff Ron Howard.

 

[BlueDragon8144]

Also, Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger. One of my favorite books. Much better than any movie made about it

 

[NukeET]

No i ment my story for it, stuff Ron Howard.

Now, now, be nice.

As I understand the Australian usage of the word, "stuff", I could be very offended.

But since I'm ex-US Navy, and have been known to swear like a sailor, I'll not throw stones.

 

[NukeET]

Also, Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger. One of my favorite books. Much better than any movie made about it

Your speaking of Lost Moon.

Excellent read, BTW.

 

[ryan]

Now, now, be nice.

As I understand the Australian usage of the word, "stuff", I could be very offended.

But since I'm ex-US Navy, and have been known to swear like a sailor, I'll not throw stones.

Sorry some words mean different to you Amercians, and sailors

 

[BlueDragon8144]

Your speaking of Lost Moon.

Excellent read, BTW.

Yep, thats the one. Very excellent read on from not only the astronaut's point of view, but the views of family members, mission control, Grumman, and the media.

 

[ryan]

April 13th, 1970.
Apollo 13 was en-route to the Fra Mauro. The crew Commander Jim Lovell, Command Module Pilot Jack Swigert, Lunar Module Pilot Fred Haise Jr, have just finished there television broadcast, which no TV channel had aired. Jack Swigert had just stirred the O2 and H2 tanks. He did not know that will take the Command Module Odyssey into crisis. An explosion rattled the Service Module of Odyssey, venting O2, almost destroying the Fuel Cells and the power supply. One of the most famous words of space travel, apart of Niel Armstrongs.
''Houston, we had a problem''
Those words sent chills down the spine of the Mission Controllors and the Johnson Space Center. Commander Jim Lovell quickly spotted something passing through the window next to him, the oxygen. Apollo 13 was now loosing oxygen at an alarming rate. Mission Control quickly came up with the idea of shutting down everything in the Command Module and moving the astronauts in the Lunar Module Aquraius, using it as a sort of life boat.
As the astronauts breathed in and out in the confined space of the lunar module, the C02 levels became dangourosly high. Mission Control had to make a completly new C02 filter, because they had none that would work with the lunar modules C02 filter.

They thankfully Mission Control Improvised this, as a C02 filter.
Made of duck tape, plastic bags, and suit compressor lines. Jim Lovell always says in his interviews '' In space travel, you will be losed with out some duck tape''
and thats true.

To be continued in the outcome of Apollo 13.....

 

[ryan]

Now heres a pointless fact, 1974, Western Union with cooperation with NASA and Hughs Aircraft, luanch the USAs first commercial geosynchronus communication satellite, Westar 1.
Now thats pointless.

 

[BlueDragon8144]

You do know that the CO2 problem didn't surface until a few days later, right? It occurred after the PC+2 burn and when the astronauts were heading home, not on the day of the explosion.

And to clarify a few things, when Jack stirred the tanks, there was a spark from bare wire exposed during ground testing that ignited the melted teflon insulation, which caused the rupture of O2 tank 2 at the neck, the weakest point on the tank.

Tank 2 then released it's contents into the bay, which was under enormous amounts of pressure. Not designed for that, panel 4 blew off, one panel hitting the high gain antenna, and the many lines in the spacecraft ruptured, producing the slow leak of Tank 1 which was the venting seen and causing fuel cells 1 and 3 to die, while also disabling a few of the SM RCS, and then the famous Houston, we've had a problem quote.

Interesting fact. The LM Lifeboat idea was actually thought up of during the Apollo 9 mission.

 

[ryan]

You do know that the CO2 problem didn't surface until a few days later, right? It occurred after the PC+2 burn and when the astronauts were heading home, not on the day of the explosion.

And to clarify a few things, when Jack stirred the tanks, there was a spark from bare wire exposed during ground testing that ignited the melted teflon insulation, which caused the rupture of O2 tank 2 at the neck, the weakest point on the tank.

Tank 2 then released it's contents into the bay, which was under enormous amounts of pressure. Not designed for that, panel 4 blew off, one panel hitting the high gain antenna, and the many lines in the spacecraft ruptured, producing the slow leak of Tank 1 which was the venting seen and causing fuel cells 1 and 3 to die, while also disabling a few of the SM RCS, and then the famous Houston, we've had a problem quote.

Interesting fact. The LM Lifeboat idea was actually thought up of during the Apollo 9 mission.

Sorry, i dont want to be to presice only the basic stuff.