Spacelog Apollo 13

How do you read now?

Okay. That's a lot better, and we figure your battery glitch was just that thermal switch triggered a mal—a CAUTION and WARNING, just cycled once, and triggered a MASTER ALARM again. We'll watch the batteries for you, since you don't have any CAUTION and WARNING on now.

Okay, Jim. Your luck is holding. Tracking shows that your entry angle has gone up to minus 6.24. This is on the basis of all the data we've collected between the midcourse up to the time the SHe tank went. So we'll continue to look at it, and see if SHe tank did anything to it at all. So it's—The data has gone from 5.9 to a minus 6.24.

How are you doing, Jim?

Not bad. Not bad at all.

Is Jack in the sack, or is he with you?

Jack and Fred both are going to sleep. It's sort of humorous; Fred's sleeping place now is in the tunnel, upside down with his head resting on the ascent engine. Jack is on the floor of the LM, with a restraint … wrapped around his arm to keep him down there.

You say Jack is on the floor, and Fred is with his head on the ascent engine.

Okay, Skipper. Your luck is really hanging in there. Your water's good up to 161 hours now.

Hey, that sounds great.

That doesn't include PLSS water or command module water.

Okay. Jack, I'd just like to know what—what plans or thoughts being contemplated for the PLSSs or the OPS, whether we're going to use their LiOH canisters or take the devices back in the command module with us, or just what will be your plans.

Yes. We're talking all that over now. We haven't decided.

Everything's running real smooth over in Timber Cove, Jim.

Sounds pretty good. How about at El Lago?

Same. Everything's smooth there, too.

Jim, we've had a lot of people working on the entry procedures, and they'll be continuing to do so. We got a few ideas we'd like to toss at you so you can start thinking about them if you think you're in a position to discuss them without waking up the other guys. What do you think?

Yes, go ahead. It's okay.

Okay. A suited entry would sort of … the 1-hour LM jettison back and … back and forth up to that time. … impede our progress back and forth. …

We're losing you, Jim

Okay. I think I've got you back. I guess the midcourse at 5 hours prior to …

Affirmative, Jim. Midcourse 5 hours prior to entry interface.

If that's the case, all I'm worried about is having that all squared away. It's long before that … I want everything in its place. All the stowage cleared away, all the … ready to go and know exactly what to do and … so that we can do the midcourse, and … get into the command module … jettison the service module, and then know exactly how to get into the LM.

Roger. All those procedures will work—will be worked out precisely, and we agree that the stowage and all of those peripheral details ought to be taken care of before midcourse.

And, I guess, that last midcourse, we'd want to start looking at midcourse fairly early, if we have the power to do so, mainly because of attitude control. This last time was fairly easy, but I'm not too sure how long we can continue to …

I have … in, and it seems about as cold as it is now, we'll probably be going into suits long before entry.

Yes. That's what we were thinking.

I guess the two things which are somewhat unresolved at the moment are what to do with the OPS and what to do about the suited entry. We thought we'd toss those at you to see what you thought about them.

Okay. As far as the OPS is concerned, we have enough oxygen in the spacecraft … to get us through. I have no … command module … suit loop prior to entry. I was looking at … OPS … sources of oxygen … also in the—in the front of the suit loop or … circulate …

Jim, I'm sorry. We're not catching what you're saying. The COMM is getting kind of bad right now.

Okay, Jack. How do you read now?

I've still got you with quite a bit of background noise, but if you talk up like that, I think we can hear you.

Okay. My only concern about leaving the OPS and/or the PLSS in the command module is how soon do we have to live off the command module consumables prior to entry, and the PLSS has a fan and has a lithium hydroxide … use the command module system. Also, the OPS … right now … command module … command module oxygen and electrical power is … but I had just as soon be … back in the LM.

It sounds like the general gist of your comments are that if things remain pretty much as they are now in the command module, you'd just as soon leave the OPS in the LM. Is that affirm?

That's affirm.

Okay. And maybe you'd like to think over the suited entry bit a little while.

Okay.

Houston, Aquarius.

Go ahead.

Okay … How we aline the command module right for entry, especially if you have the LM in back. Over.

Roger. That's one subject that's been getting a lot of attention, and let me see if I can get some general ideas on that at the moment.

Jim, I can give you the general idea of the proposed procedure for bringing the command module G&N up. It's the presently proposed one. We may come up with a better one, but here's what we're looking at right now. First thing we plan to do is to—using the LM COAS, sight on the Earth with the LM just as we did in the midcourse. Then we'll do a body-axis aline, 400 plus 5 on the ACS, to put the AGS ball at 000. And then we can give you an AGS ball attitude to fly to, to point the CSM optics at the Moon. And, if you can see stars, why, we can use those too. Then we can give you an equivalent set of CDU angles to put into NOUN 20 and to torque the platform over. So, now we're coarse alined. Then we do a fine aline by shooting at the Moon and then at the Sun. Do you follow all that?

Yes. That's affirm, Jack.

Yes. The battery light's flickering, and it triggers off the MASTER ALARM.

Okay. Well, that—temperature sensor on battery 2 is kind of cycling back and forth and every time it does, it triggers a MASTER ALARM, Jim.

Okay. Same old problem, huh?

Yes.

And, Jim, finally on the P52, we're considering using the—the Moon and then the Sun for the fine aline.

Okay. The Moon and the Sun for the fine aline. Understand. We'll go through this again here …

Okay, Jack. Once—Once I get the spacecraft at the proper attitude …

Jim, I didn't copy your last question due to background noise.

Okay. Once—Once you get the AGS ball alined … command module …

After we do the body axis aline on the AGS, we can tell you what attitude on the AGS ball to fly to in order to point the CSM optics at the Moon or at some star. And then we can, knowing where the optics are pointed, give you an equivalent set of CDU angles to put in NOUN 20 to torque the platform.

Okay. I see.

That's the current thinking. It may change between now and tomorrow, but right now, that's the way it looks, Jim. It'll probably be some take-off on that anyway.

Okay. Are they planning on a G&N entry or using another system, like EMS or something like that?

It will be a G&N entry.

Nothing like going first class.

Jim, are you broken into the food locker in the LM yet?

That's affirm, Jack. I sure have. … away.

You say you did find everything in order in there, huh?

Yes, everything was great.

Okay. I'll pass it.

I had a question about that earlier.

Right.

Houston, Aquarius.

Go ahead.

I understand that one of your reasons for a suited entry is the fact that the command module hatch … hasn't been good. It doesn't seem to be any different, but in the other … our hatch is no better than other spacecraft.

No, the situation, Jim, is that your hatch is as good as any other hatch but that we won't have a chance to verify it until so late in the game, like 1 hour before entry interface, in this case; whereas before, why, we had a chance to evaluate it in lunar orbit. Over.

Oh, okay.

And that might make your time line a little too crowded, getting your suits on there at the last minute; say, less than an hour before entry interface.

Okay.

Jim, the next action item we want to pursue is transferring some LM power up to the command module MAIN B so we can start charging battery, and I guess what we ought to do is start on that one when somebody else gets up to help you there. So, when you decide to get the other guys up, or to have someone help, why, let us know and we'll start working on that.

Okay. I'll let you have Jack, and Fred's … When in the time line …?

Say again, Jim. I didn't catch that.

When in our time—What's the GET do you plan on …

Jim, I didn't catch all of what you said, but I think you wanted to know when the procedures [on] entry are going to be available and read up to you. If that's the case, why, we're talking about 120 hours or so. As far as the—charging battery A, we want to do that as soon as the other guys get up to help you. We've already passed up some of that procedure, and we have a couple of DELTAs to it.

Roger. Jack's already up. He asked … curious when you wanted to do it. Did you understand that? … Is that correct?

Jim, we're having trouble hearing you. The next order of business is to charge battery A, and when you get somebody to help you there, why, we'll go ahead and get done with it.

Okay. Sounds good.

And, before you start working on it let us know, because we've got some DELTAs to the battery charging procedure.

Roger. I'm putting Jack on the line now to copy down the DELTAs …

…

Aquarius, did you call?

Yes, Jack. I'm on the line. …

Okay. Go ahead now. I can hear better.

Okay, Jack. Joe Kerwin passed me up the procedure for powering the CSM from the LM. Has it changed?

Yes. If you'll get that out, I'll read you the DELTAs.

Okay. I've got it.