Spacelog Apollo 13

Aquarius, Houston. We'd like to have AFT OMNI, and we're going to lose contact with you for about a minute here while we try to establish tracking. And our latest data shows that your closest approach to the Moon is going to be 60 miles perigee. Over.

Okay. Closest approach, 60 miles, and I'm sitting on AFT OMNI now.

Houston, Aquarius. Over.

Go ahead, Aquarius.

Okay. We're thinking about rigging up the urine dump to the side hatch. We're thinking about rigging up the urine dump to the side hatch and save urine heater power. What do you think?

Stand by 1.

Better still so we won't freeze up our urine dump.

Roger. That sounds like a good plan, Jim. Why don't you go ahead with that one?

Okay, Aquarius. And down here we're getting regrouped, trying to work on your control modes and trying to set up something for PTC and taking a look at consumables as opposed to flight plan, and so forth, and as soon as we get all that information, we'll pass it up to you. We also have the 14 backup crew over in the simulators looking at dock burns and also trying to see what kind of alinement procedures they can come up with for looking at stars out the window. So if you ever are able to see any stars out there and think you can do an alinement out the window, why let us know.

Okay. Jack, right now we're not able to. The sunlight's reflecting off the thrusters and whatever debris came away at the time of the mishap is still with us, such that the stars are hard to find, and why—what respect do you want us to do the stars out the window—just to check the LMS run, is that correct?

That's affirmative. We'd like to correlate the information we get with your's, so that if we can use it to update the platform, we can. What we're really trying to do, Jim, is see if we can do a COAS aline so we can power down the platform.

That is Aquarius. We're getting an awful lot of static on the uplink now, and we're not reading you at all.

I have good signal strength and I'm on AFT OMNI.

How do you read now, Aquarius?

Hey, Jim, do you suppose that you could orient the LM so that the service module would be between you and the Sun? I believe you could see—recognize constellations out your front windows then.

Aquarius, Houston. Radio check.

Okay, Jack. How do you read now?

Okay. Hearing you 5 square now, Jim. And the question we have, is there some way you can orient the spacecraft so that the service module is between the LM and the Sun so you can recognize constellations out the window? And secondly, can you see anything out the AOT?

Aquarius, Houston. How do you read?

Aquarius, request FORWARD OMNI, please.

Aquarius, Houston. Request FORWARD OMNI. How do you read?

Okay, Houston; Aquarius. How do you read?

Hello there, Aquarius. Loud and clear. How do you read me?

There's an awful lot of background —

We get a lot of background static, Jack. You're down in the mud. You having a ground problem?

You're unreadable, Jack. We've got our signal strength meter—right now it keeps wavering up and down, and the best I'm getting is about 2.4 AGC.

Roger. Request FORWARD OMNI.

I am on FORWARD OMNI. I've been on FORWARD OMNI.

Okay. How do you read, Jack?

I'm hearing you 5 square, Fred. How me?

Aquarius, Houston. How do you read?

Okay. We're up to about 2.6 AGC now.

Aquarius, Houston. Radio check.

Okay. Every time you transmit, Jack, the AGC starts to drop off and the static level turns up.

Okay, Fred. You're loud and clear.

I wish you were.

Fred, go to DESCENT O₂.

DESCENT O₂. Roger.

Hello, Houston; Aquarius.

Hello there, Aquarius. How do you read me now?

Hello, Houston. Aquarius.

Aquarius, Houston. Go.

Okay. That's the first clear word we heard from you, Jack. Do you think it could be my pitch attitude that's breaking up your incoming? I guess you've been hearing us.

We have been hearing you, and the problem is on the ground. I hope we have it corrected now.

Okay. That sounds good.