Apollo 13 Page #12

if it were needed.

The House and Senate passed resolutions

calling on the American people...

to pray tonight

for the astronauts.

In Rome, Pope Paul

led 50,000 people...

in prayers for the safe

return of the astronauts.

In Jerusalem,

prayers at the Wailing Wall.

Uh, it's about time to bail

out of this ship, Freddo.

Freddo?

You okay?

I'm, uh... I'm freezing.

Can you hold out

just a little longer?

- Long as I have to.

- Aw, come on.

It won't be long.

Just a little while longer, Freddo.

Just a little while longer. We're gonna

hit that water in the South Pacific.

Open up that hatch.

- It's 80 degrees out there.

- Eighty degrees.

- You are a mess.

- Y-Yeah.

Odyssey, Houston.

Uh, how we doin', guys?

We're closing in

on lunar module jettison.

As you know,

that is time critical.

We should be making our move

into the command module.

Let's get that hatch

buttoned up,

and, when you get a chance,

let us know how you're doing.

Roger that.

Let me give you a hand there, Freddo.

We're coming up on LEM jettison.

Is everyone strapped in, Ken?

We're getting real close.

Uh, copy that, Flight. Uh, 13, Houston.

Uh, we're coming up on LEM jettison.

Stand by.

Have you got everybody

in the Odyssey?

Yeah, Ken, I'm gonna check those

pyro batteries one more time here.

Okay, the pyro batts look good.

I don't think we're gonna

have to tie the other batteries.

Sorry, Jack,

this is an old habit.

I'm kind of used to the pilot's seat.

She's yours to fly.

Okay, Odyssey, I want to double check

some reentry procedures...

right after we jettison the LEM,

which is coming up in 30 seconds.

What is that?

Oh, I was getting

a little punchy,

and I didn't want to cut the LEM loose

with you guys still in it.

That's good thinking.

Stand by, Houston.

We have lunar module jettison.

She sure was a good ship.

Farewell, Aquarius, and we thank you.

Mary?

It's almost time, honey.

Flight 9-6-6-4-0-6.

Let me put it this way.

The trajectory may be off.

Their thrusters may be frozen.

Their guidance system

might be malfunctioning.

Their heat shield could be cracked.

And their parachutes

might be three blocks of ice.

Clearly, we have

some obstacles to overcome.

Yeah, okay, but now I'm asking you,

when will we know?

Well, blackout lasts

for three minutes.

If they're not back

in four, we'll know.

Velocity now reading

- Range to go 2,625 nautical miles.

- Copy that.

Okay, Ken,

we are aligned for reentry.

Jim, we're going to need

that computer reentry program.

- Fred, how are the batteries looking?

- Okay. Batt A looks good.

Reentry interface in one minute...

- Batt B, no volts, the amps are okay.

- And 30 seconds.

Batt C...

sh*t, no volts, only two amps.

It may die before

the main chutes open.

Roger. Let's tie all the batteries

onto main A and main B.

Flight, they're still shallowing a bit

up there. Do you want to tell 'em?

- Is there anything we can do about it?

- Not now, Flight.

- Then they don't need to know, do they?

- Copy that.

RETRO says the typhoon is still

a presence in the splashdown area?

- Yeah.

- We got the parachute situation,

the heat shield, the angle

of trajectory and the typhoon.

There's so many variables,

I'm a little at a loss...

I know what the problems are.

This could be the worst disaster

NASA's ever experienced.

With all due respect, sir, I believe

this is going to be our finest hour.

Okay.

Expect entry interface

in 45 seconds.

And on my mark, your velocity...

will be 35,245 feet per second.

Mark 35 seconds

to entry interface.

Gentlemen...

it's been a privilege

flying with you.

Flight, we have loss

of radio contact.

Roger that.

Expect to regain signal

in three minutes.

It all depends

on the heat shield.

Back to the Iwo Jima

and our live cameras there.

The Navy recovery and rescue

helicopters already airborne,

circling, waiting

for first radar contact.

Coming up now on three minutes

until time of drogue deployment.

Bill, what time you got?

Standing by for any reports

of acquisition.

One minute and 30 seconds

to end of blackout.

No reentering ship

has ever taken longer...

than three minutes

to emerge from blackout.

This is the critical moment.

Will the heat shield hold?

Will the command module survive

the intense heat of reentry?

If it doesn't,

there'll only be silence.

- Mommy, you're squishing me.

- Oops, sorry, sweetie.

It's okay.

Okay, Flight,

that's three minutes.

- We are standing by for acquisition.

- Copy that.

Odyssey, Houston. Do you read me?

Odyssey, this is Houston.

Do you read?

Expected time of reacquisition,

the time when the astronauts were

expected to come out of blackout,

has come and gone.

About all any of us can do now

is just listen and hope.

We're about to learn whether

or not that heat shield,

which was damaged

by the explosion three days ago,

has withstood

the inferno of reentry.

Odyssey, this is Houston.

Do you read me?

Odyssey, Houston.

Do you read?

Three minutes, 30 seconds. Standing by.

Odyssey, Houston. Do you read?

Odyssey, this is Houston.

Do you read me?

That's four minutes.

Standing by.

Odyssey, uh, Houston. Do you read?

Hello, Houston, this is Odyssey.

It's good to see you again.

Odyssey, Houston.

Welcome home.

We're glad to see you.

- Good job, Ken. Good job.

- Thank you.

They made it. They made it.

- Yeah!

- Lunney.

Houston, we're at stable one.

The ship is secure.

This is Apollo 13 signing off.

Good job.

Our mission was called

a successful failure,

in that we returned safely,

but never made it to the moon.

In the following months,

it was determined...

that a damaged coil built

inside the oxygen tank...

sparked during our cryo stir and caused

the explosion that crippled the Odyssey.

It was a minor defect

that occurred two years...

before I was named

the flight's commander.

Fred Haise was going back

to the moon on Apollo 18,

but his mission was canceled

because of budget cuts.

He never flew in space again.

Nor did Jack Swigert,

who left the astronaut corps...

and was elected to Congress

from the state of Colorado.

But he died of cancer before

he was able to take office.

Ken Mattingly orbited the moon

as command module pilot of Apollo 16...

and flew the space shuttle,

having never gotten the measles.

Gene Kranz retired as Director

of Flight Operations just not long ago.

And many other members of Mission

Control have gone on to other things,

but some are still there.

And as for me...

the seven extraordinary days

of Apollo 13 were my last in space.

I watched other men walk on the moon

and return safely,

all from the confines of Mission Control

and our house in Houston.

I sometimes catch myself

looking up at the moon,

remembering the changes

of fortune in our long voyage,

thinking of the thousands of people who

worked to bring the three of us home.

I look up at the moon

and wonder...

when will we be going back...

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