The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 4

THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, WEDNESDAY MORNING. APRIL 15. 1970 Houston Watchword: Keep Cool, and Get the Job Done By HARRY F. ROSENTHAL HOUSTON, April 14 (AP). When the exotic, handcrafted hardware broke down, humans took over.

When Apollo 13 powered down, humans powered up. When the computers and gauges and blinking lights said it wouldn't go, humans made it go. If Apollo 13 gets back safely, it will be because three men in the spacecraft and an army of experts on the ground made do with what was left. "My team has been primarily concerned with not what happened back there but what it is we were going to do about it," is how Glynn Lunney put it. Lunney was just starting grade school when the jet age began.

Monday night he was the man who made the decision the man who picked and chose from among the numbers and charts with a single goal: to bring back Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert from their trauma in space. The machine, the questions ran; how would the machine perform? "What was the most critical, single thing that had to be done last night?" Lunney, a small, slender man from Old Forge near Scran-ton, is at 33 the kind of icy-calm engineer who has an encyclopedic knowledge of space machines. He replied with little hesitation. "In my opinion," he said, "the most critical thing was people keeping cool and getting done what had to be done. And I think we were able to do that.

"I think especially the pilots remained cool throughout the whole thing, and so far we have been able to stabilize the situation and we have every intention of keeping it that way." Patiently he explained what went into the decisions: the rapidfire orders to close this valve, open this the numbers, power down, power up. He talked at length about what might have caused Apollo 13's problems 200,000 miles away from planet earth. And then he said with candor: "I don't think anybody fully understands it." One of the three passengers in a ship that now depended on human ingenuity and skill, commented at one point, "I'm afraid this is going to be the last moon mission for a long time." But at this time, nobody was worrying about that. Nobody worried any more about the quest for knowledge that placed the three men in that position in the first place. Nobody worried that a $375-million mission was a bust.

They did worry about oxygen and water and electricity. They worried about having rescue ships in place for Apollo 13's return. They worried, not about the exotic, handcrafted hardware, but about the three men who made it their servant. Not one word of disappointment came from space, although surely it was there. Nobody said drat.

Nobody asked. "Will it get home safe?" "Okay, everybody," said Lunney at one point to his crew in Mission Control. "Let's be quiet. We've got a lot of business to do. Let's concentrate on the bird." 'a Site Has Recovery Threat Hurricane Anticipated Splashdown Near Helen ABOARD USS IWO JIMA, April 15 (Wednesday) (AP).

A tropical storm that could develop into a hurricane headed toward the Apollo 13 splash Crew members aboard the froubled Apollo 13 spacecraft are (from left) Jaihes 'A, Lovell com- i-. AP Wlrlioto i mander of the mission; Fred W. Haise and John L. Swigert replacement for Tom Mattingly. Complacency down site in the Pacific Tuesday.

This recovery ship awaited the astronauts' early return to earth. Weather observers said that if Tropical Storm Helen maintains its present course and speed, it should be-about 200 miles northwest of the target point by the scheduled splash-dawn time Friday. could very well become CTirjiurricane," ship" meteorolo- Nixon Phones Anxious Wives Of Astronauts HOUSTON, April 14 (AP). President Nixon telephoned Marilyn Lovell and May Haise on Tuesday to express concern over the fate of the disabled but homeward-bound Apollo 13. A NASA spokesman said Mr.

Nixon told the wives of the two astronauts that he and the nation were following with concern the progress of the aborted moon landing mission. The two space wives received visits Tuesday from Thomas O. Paine, NASA director. "Things could be worse," Paine told newsmen outside the Lovell home. Meanwhile, Mrs.

Lovell and Mrs. Haines were trying to appear as calm as their astro- naut husbands. Both wives kept their older children home from school Tuesday although Jeffrey Lovell, 4, youngest son of flight commander James A. Lovell was hustled off to nursery Classes. The families monitored flight communications on NASA squawkboxes and tuned in television newscasts.

FULL OF CONFIDENCE A National Aeronautics and Space Administration public affairs officer said Mrs. Haise, expecting her fourth child in June, "is full of confidence in the men at Mission Control as well as the crew." Her husband, Fred W. Haise was to have been the sixth American to stroll the lunar surface. At Denver, the parents of command module pilot John -T Swigert, a bachelor, 'said they, were "worried" and "stunned" by the power failure that, canceled the moon ms. Crisis Hits fflL Sw r- dormitories, according to one Princeton University student.

"To me," he said, "like most college kids, the important part of the space program is to cut it out. It's terrible, what's happening to the astronauts, but maybe it will bring people around to getting things done on earth." In Columbus, former astronaut John Glenn said the flight of Apollo 13 illustrated vividly how "rapidly people get used to successes only to find there is always a risk involved." RISK REMAINS Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth, noted that previous moon flights were near flawless but said that should not lure the American public into a sense of bered in each of its services "until safe return." Rabbi Abraham Gross, president of the Rabbinical Alliance of America, called on all members of the clergy of all denominations to join in prayers. In New Hampshire, the Cheshire County Council of Churches called on its congregations to pray for the three men. Churches opened for prayers for an hour and church bells pealed at noon. AUTHOR'S HOPE Kansas Gov.

Robert Docking asked residents of his state to offer prayers. Both houses of the Florida Legislature stood in silent prayer for the spacemen. The Maryland Board of the National Conference of Christians and Jews asked for a NEW YORK, April 14. Americans were jolted out of their complacency about the hazards of space flight Tuesday as then allowed the tortuous homeward voyage of the crippled Apollo 13 spaceship For millions it was literally a rude awakening, since they had gone to bed Monday night giving little or no thought to the third mission aimed at putting man on the moon. They awoke to discover that astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and John Swigert were battling for life in deep space and trying to nurse their severly damage craft into aa earthbound course.

PAUSE FOR PRAYER Special prayers were said in churches across America for the safe return of the astronauts. Protestant, Catholic and Jewish clergymen hastily arranged other Apollo 13 services to be held during the period before the splashdown Friday. "When you're in trouble," Sen. George Murphy told his colleagues on the Senate floor, "it is not only wise to look around for help but to look up, too." Senate and House resolutions asked all Americans to pause at 9 Tuesday night for prayers on behalf of the three astronauts. SERVICES SET In New York, St.

Patrick's Cathedral included prayers for the astronauts in its Masses Tuesday and said it planned a special Mass at noon Friday, less than an hour before Apollo 13 was scheduled to splash into the Pacific. A spokesman for Temple Emanu-El of New York, one of the largest Jewish synagogues, said the astronauts would be remem Apollo Goes Around Moon, Starts 3-Day Trip Home AP Radiophoto from NASA The helicopter carrier USS I wo Jima approaches to recover simulated Apollo 13 command module during training exercise off Pago Pago. Ship is now headed for new splashdown area near New Zealand. Short in Heater or Fan May Have Triggered Tell-Tale Explosion By PAUL RECER HOUSTON, April 15 (Wednesday) (AP). An electrical short in a heater or a fan may have caused the explosion that crippled the world's most advanced spacecraft landing and endangered the lives of the crew.

A NASA spokesman said the couple, Dr. and Mrs. J. Leonard Swigert, "are taking it very well." FLOW OF VISITORS A steady stream of friends, neighbors and Apollo wives flowed to the Lovell and Haise homes Tuesday, bringing food, flowers and The Rev. Donald Raish, pastor of the St.

John's Episcopal Church at nearby LaPorte, conducted, a special eight-minute Communion at the Lovell home. Mrs. Lovell said she would remain at home all day. She reported earlier, "I'm not saying another word until Jim gets back home." Mrs. Haise busied herself about the house, NASA said, "to keep her mind off the situ ation." The spokesman said she was less tense than on "herSt home were the three children, Frederick, 11; Stephen, 8, and Mary, 14.

rgist R. B. Otis said, JAN CHANGE SITE Winds near the of the "storm were reported at 46 miles per hour, gusts of 34 miles per hour reaching out 150 miles from the center. Capt. Lelani E.

Kirkemo, commander of the prime recovery ship, said he anticipates no problems even if Apollo 13 splashes down in winds of up to 43 miles per hour. He said several practice exercises were conducted in winds that high off Hawaii last month. Should the wather become a critical factor, the spacecraft could move its target point 200 miles up or down the mid-Pacific recovt-ry line in the final hours. Or, major landing point changes could be made earlier if necessary. NEAR SAMOA Otis said the storm may take a more southerly course and speed up.

it was traveling southeasterly Tuesday at about 6 miles an hour and was located about 250 miles southwest of Pago Pago. The present splashdown target is about 300 miles southeast of Samoa. Ryborn i assistant Space Agency recovery team leader, said he anticipated no problems with plucking the astronauts from the ocean. AIRLIFT SET Except for the weather, Capt. Kirkemo said he has no qualms about the recovery.

"The only question now is the behavior of Helen," he said. The captain said he expects his ship to be within helicopter range of Pago Pago by early Saturday afternoon. Plans call for the astronauts to be flown to the island and airlifted by jet back to Houston. Space Aide Cuts Visit OFFENBURG, Germany, April 14 (UPI). Dr.

Kurt Debus, director of the Cape Kennedy Spacecraft Launching Center, is cutting short a West German lecture tour because of problems of the Apollo 13 moon probe. A spokesman for his hosts, the Burda publishing house, said today Dr. Demus "will return to Cape Kennedy inside the next 12 hours. 77W IAPAN WAKE GUAM NEW Qoofor h---GUINEA' FOB NEW 2 ZEALAND AUSTRAliA minute of silent prayer at 4 P. M.

At Cape Kennedy, author Martin Caidin, whose book "Marooned" tells of three fictional astronauts stranded in space, said, "I pray to God someone rewrites the ending." Americans from all walks pondered the development. "Something had to go wrong. I mean, the United States has never made a mistake up there." So reflected a Newark postman as he took a pause to think about the fate of the astronauts. STUDENT REACTION Even among the young, supposedly disaffected with technology and its achievements, the astronauts' peril was the subject of a lively "rap" in lunar module) impact, too." The engines of the moon lander, docked nose to nose with command ship, were the only power plants available to maneuver Apollo 13. The descent engine was fired for about four minutes to add 500 miles per hour to the spacecraft's speed, and tighten its aim on the earth three days away.

In their two-chamber space dwelling, the astronauts were trying to stay as quiet as possible to conserve oxygen, and lights were kept dimmed to save electricity. Most electronic systems were shut down to reduce heat and thus conserve water needed to cool them. "Jimmy and Jack are in the upstairs bedroom taking a nap," Haise reported from Aquarius. "I didn't know there was any upstairs," Mission Control kidded back. 'BARELY' ENOUGH Officials said the astronauts had enough oxygen, water and power, but just "barely" enough to survive the problems that started with an All art Accident Apollo Mishap Caught in Photo HOUSTON, April 14 (UPI).

A space center engineer dis- closed Tuesday he naa a camera-equipped, 16-inch telescope trained on the Apollo 13 mission when what appeared to be an explosion rocked the spaceship. Indulis Saulietis, an engineer with the space agency's guidance and control section, said he actually was monitoring the flight of the Apollo's S4B booster and got a picture of the mishap by accident. The photo shows the S4B winging toward a crash- landing on the moon, with the spacesiup appearing as auoui-er faint blimp below and to the left of the command ship. The command ship is surrounded by a "halo" cloud of oxygen 25 miles wide. Saulietis said he could not confirm an explosion aboard the spacecraft, but raid the release of oxygen obviously was very sudden.

Several experts have suggested the spaceship may have been hit by a small me-teoroid, but no definite cause for the accident has yet been established. and left three Americans counting their margin of safety by only a matter of hours. A reliable source in the Space Agency said engineers now suspect that a short circuit in electrical equipment which heats liquid oxygen may have caused a sudden rise in temperature and an explosion. EXPLOSION HINTED The oxygen tanks in the Apollo 13 service module hold 320 pounds of liquid oxygen. An "electric blanket" on the outside of these tanks heats the liquid oxygen, causing it to warm up and change into a gas.

Fans stir the liquid and-cause it to heat uniformly. The source said some engineers believe that a short in-the blanket heater would cause a sudden rise of pressure. If this pressure soared past 1530 lOOO Miles at Equator MIDWAY HAWAIIAN ISLANDS Honolulu' 5 OLD LANDING POINT e. SAMOA eruption in pressurized! fuel tanks Monday night. The crippled craft, officials said, has a water supply that will last about 12 hours longer than it will take to get the men home.

It has electrical power to last about 28 hours and oxygen to last about 50 hours longer than the homeward voyage. The astronauts must keep their command ship docked to Aquarius until only minutes before plunging into the Earth's atmosphere on Friday. Then they'll jetttson the small craft and ride to Earth breathing only the oxygen left in the cabin of the command ship. NIXON IMPRESSED The White House was in "direct and immediate communication" with the space center. Space agency chief Thomas O.

Paine flew to Houston from Washington to act as the link between the technicians at the center and the President. The President was said to be impressed with the poise and composure of the three astronauts. A spokesman said he felt "this efficiency and coolness' was the best hope for a safe return. POWER DROPS Odyssey, a sister ship to the command modules which four times previously have carried man to moon orbit and back, was disabled suddenly and without warning Monday night. Astronauts Lovell, Haise and Sweigert had just completed a routine telecast from space when power suddenly dropped, gas began venting uncontrollably into space and the ship gyrated.

"Hey, we've got a problem here," said Lovell, and the most perilous hours in the American space program had begun. Within hours, officials announced that the situation, though still critical, was sta- Mized and astrQ. nauts would attempt to limp home on the limited supplies from the lunar lander. Offers of help came from all over. Britain put its navy at the olsposal of any rescue operation.

France alerted its fleet to a state of readiness for the recovery. Brazil alerted its ships and planes to stand by in case a rescue was mounted off her shores. Britain's huge Jodrell Bank telescope tracked Apollo 13, following the faint signal of the moon craft Continued from First Page tion of vital and already short supplies of water, oxygen and electricity. "Shutdown," called Lovell at 9:44 P. M.

EST as the engine cut off. "Now we want to power down as soon as possible." "That was a good burn," ground control told the space fliers. A little more than an hour and a half before the rocket firing, the astronauts emerged from their only pass behind the moon, and their only close-up view of the surface they had hoped to explore. There was not a word about disappointment, only a business-like approach to the procedures for saving their expendable supplies. The rocket firing increased the craft's speed to 3100 miles an hour and saved it 10 hours on the homeward trip.

SAVE SUPPLIES That meant a 10 hour saving in water, oxygen and electrical usage. They are still surviving on the life system of the little moon lander Aquarius in which Lovell and Haisle were to explore the lunar highlands. But that hope blew up Monday, night with the ruptured oxygen tank and the failure of the fuel cells. One of the Apollo 13 astronauts was heard to say Tuesday, "I'm afraid this is going to be the last moon mission for a long time." Space officials were not so sure, however, that Apollo 13's problems would 'delay future flights. It is more important "to bring the men home safely, officials said.

They have created a high-level committee to meet every eight hours and review the flight's immediate past and future. The mission achieved its only scientific accomplishment Tuesday amid all its trouble. The third stage of the mighty Saturn 5 rocket slammed into the lunar surface with the force of 11 tons of TNT and shook the seismometer left there by Apollo 12. The experiment was designed to tell scientists something more about the structure of the moon's interior. Told of the impact, Lovell said tightly, "Well, at least something worked on this flight." Crewmate Haise added from the little lunar lander, "I'm glad we didn't have a LM pounds per square inch, which they believe may have happened, the tank would have exploded.

If the fan shorted out, the liquid oxygen would heat up too fast and unevenly, again causing a rapid rise in pres sure and a possible PUNCTURE POSSIBLE Such an explosion could well nave wuseu uie suuueai ius of oxygen from the ruptured tank. Metal shards from the shattered tank could have punctured the second tank or shattered connecting plumbing. This could have led to the slow leak which emptied the second oxygen tank within three hours. Engineers believe this sequence of events would explain the 90-second rise in pressure in one of the oxygen tanks. The rise was followed almost im-" mediately with indications the tank had emptied itself of oxygen, among the early signals that Apollo 13 was in trouble.

METEOR UNLIKELY Published reports that the oxygen loss could have been caused by the impact of a meteor were regarded as highly unlikely by space officials. Flight Director Glynn Lunney said that it was his "personal opinion that that probably had not occurred. "Based on the fact that pressure in the tank started to go up and then went down to zero," he didn't believe a meteor to be the most probable source of the emergency. Apollo 13 Rocket Crashes on Moon HOUSTON, April 14 (AP). The spent S4-B stage of the Saturn 5 that rocketed Apollo 13 from earth crashed into the moon Tuesday night with a force of 11 tons of TNT, setting off a moonquake.

The quake was measured by a seismograph left on the moon by Apollo 12. Seismic signals showing the impact were radioed to Mission SPIASHDOWN AREA lreaI 13 I APOLLO Ocean UPI Telephoto President Nixon visits Goddard Space Flight Center at Greenbelt, for a personal check on status of the Apollo 13 astronauts. The center is a key link in earth-space communications. Mr. Nixon is flanked by Dr.

John F. Clark (left), director of center, and Henry Thompson, deputy director. AP Map Old, new target areas for Apollo 13 splashdown: Present pickup site is about 800 miles northeast of New Zealand, 250 miles southeast of Samoan Islands..