Forty years?
April 13, 2010 (Tuesday)
Does it not seem impossible that forty years have come and gone since the words, “Houston, we have a problem” were uttered from a spacecraft bound for the moon? On April 13, 1970, James Lovell, Jr., commander of the mission, uttered those famous words.
A very exciting and well-done movie was made about the mission, which experienced explosions on the outer hull of the Service Module. Photographs were made from the outside from the lunar landing module, to which the astronauts moved because it had a working life support system. The craft was severely damaged.
The movie shows how the ground crews worked with the flight crew for the next few days, as they whipped around the moon to create the slingshot effect that enabled it to head back home to earth. The world breathed a sigh of relief when the men got back home.
The mission failed to land men on the moon, but it did fly by the moon, and the crew came back home. Many people worked tirelessly and constantly to figure out a way to get those men safely back to their families. Much was learned. In many ways, what seemed a failure became America’s finest hour.
But, forty years ago? Unreal.