Spacelog Apollo 13

We're still here, Fred. How's it going?

Okay. My CO₂ reading is now just below 13.

Say again what it is.

It's just—just below 13.

Okay. Just below 13. And just for your information, we've got people working on several subjects. We're working on the midcourse coming up to determine our control system and how to do it with the control system we select, what we should do about the alinement. We've got the LMS and a couple of crews cranked up working on that. And we're also working on our entry, how and when we ought to activate the CSM. And we're working on the CSM systems status. Tomorrow sometime we're going to have a MAIN BUS B checkout, so we've got a lot of people swinging pretty hard here and I've got some f-stop settings for you for the lunar-surface camera. At 1/250th, we'd like you to take targets of opportunity. Each picture use three f-stops, because we don't know exactly which one is going to work the best, so use 4, 5.6, and 8 and 1/250th for the surface camera. Copy?

Okay. Use the surface camera at 1/250th, 4, 5.6, and 8. And I've been doing quite a bit of shooting at covering two of those numbers in the range 5.6, and 8. I've also been shooting some at 11, so I'll just drop it down a little more. The Moon is still so big and bright there that I got a feeling that the Moon is probably up around the f/8 to f/11 range.

Roger, I didn't catch that last part. Maybe when the COMM gets a little better you can say it again.

Okay. How do you read now, Jack?

That's a lot better, Fred.

Okay, I just said the Moon is still so bright, that I think probably the higher range of f-stops will be better; f/8, maybe even f/11.

Okay.

I can just barely, on the left corner of the Moon now, make out the foothills of Fra Mauro formation. We never did get to see it when we were in close, there.

Okay. I'm reading on my monitor here, Fred, that you're 16214 miles away from the Moon moving at about 4500 feet per second.

Okay.

From the sounds of all the work that is going on and is still going on, this flight is probably a lot bigger test for the system on the ground than up here.

Yes, you've been—you've been working it out a little bit.

Yes. I've really got a tough job right now switching OMNIs.

Well, everybody down here is 100-percent optimistic. Looks like we're on the up side of the whole thing now.

Yes, I guess we had better be in good shape, particularly ourselves, rested for that entry day. I think that is going to be a pretty busy one.

Right, and we're working on procedures for that. Ken's been doing quite a bit of work on getting ready for entry.

How's it going, Fred?

Okay. Just fine.

Okay. We're considering a midcourse correction at 104 hours—about 20 hours from now—18 hours from now, and it's only 7 feet per second. The other option is to keep PTC up, since we may not be able to get back into it again, and delay it. So, that's the type of thing we're thinking about, but—just wanted to let you know that you're pretty much right in the middle of the fairway there and our present tracking, with no midcourse, has you—with a Gamma of 7.11, as opposed to 6.51. So, you're already in the corridor. You're just a half a degree between the center and the outer limits and we're going to tweek that up.

Okay. That sounds good.

And—we don't—Well, we think there might have been a misunderstanding earlier on the potable water. Don't worry about drinking water. Drink all you want. There's plenty of it. There's 38 pounds, and the Surgeon recommends that you use some of the fruit juices as well. Over.

And, for your information, Jack, I'm just going to tear into some beef and gravy and other assorted goodies.

I presume that you're doing this with the full permission and—of the commander.

And this—at this moment, who do you think is the commander?

If I was him, I'd make you sign out everything you ate, so I'd know.

Well, I'm sneaking inside of the LM where he doesn't have … Incidentally, this PTC must have some—must have a wobble mode around our X-axis there because now the Moon and Earth are back in the right perspective.

Good. Let's see if it goes the other way.

These guys down here are saying they knew it all the time.

Well, that's right. They do good work. Whoever heard of doing a P52 in the LM?

Say, Fred, sometime when you're not too busy chewing on that beef, how about telling us what the CO₂ reads?

Okay, I'm reading 13, 1 3.

Yes. It appears the wobble is going the other way, Jack, because the Earth is now rising and the Moon is starting to get lower in the window.

Roger. Could you give us an LPD number periodically?

LPD number? Yes, okay.

In fact, if you could give it two or three REVs in a row, why then we could predict where it's going and maybe help us set it up again if we have to.

Okay.

Okay. The center of the Earth has just gone by at an LPD number of 4.

And the center of the Moon is about LPD 21.

Okay. LPD 21. Is that the center of the Moon, you say?

That's affirm.

And, Fred, we're doing a little better on our water than we had anticipated. Our numbers were designed for 3.5 pounds per hour; we're using about 3.0, and expect to go a little bit less.

Beautiful.

When this flight's all over, we'll really be able to figure out what a LM can do.

Maybe it'll make the …

Okay. The Earth went—just went by about—clear above the LPD index. It was—it was, if it were extended, the number would be minus 6.

Okay. Way up there at minus 6.

Yes, there's actually no such number. I just extended the line beyond zero which, for a negative rate, is what it would be if there was one.

Right. If minus 6 was there, that's where it would be. Right?

That's right.

Do you still have that super-dense star field?

It's still there. I'm looking at it right now. I can look at—the Sun is right behind me, then all these sparklies show up. Yes. It kind of looks like I'm right in the middle of the—of the Milky Way. There are several thousand little sparklies at various ranges out as far as I can see …

They're kind of interesting. They're all moving … and sparkling there. And I can …—at least I think I can what will occasionally give you a real star from the bunch of sparklies, but it really does break up the capability to pick out a star pattern, particularly through …

Okay. So far, we haven't identified what the sparklies are and what is venting.

How you feeling, Fred?

Oh, as soon as I chug down this grape drink and grapefruit—orange drink, I think I'll be in pretty good shape.

How much sleep did you get between the burn and the time you got up for this exercise?

Oh, I'd guesstimate about 4 hours, Jack. Wait a minute, which burn you talking about?

It was the burn we just made. Did you get any sleep between it, and the time you got up for this watch?

Oh, no. I didn't—I haven't been to bed since all the action the night before, and I went to go to bed for about 4 hours then …

Yes.

Well, we're just trying to figure out who's likely to be the most tired up there. You or Jim.

I think we'll get caught up pretty good in the next couple of days.

Say again.

Okay, Jack. The Earth has started back down. The hack on the LPD there was 1 degree.