EECOM Loop During Accident

The NASA Apollo 13 recordings are a unique and valuable resource for understanding the Apollo 13 mission and the challenges faced by the crew. The recordings include everything from the astronauts' conversations with Mission Control to their descriptions of the explosion that damaged the spacecraft and their efforts to survive and return to Earth.The Apollo 13 recordings were recently digitized and restored, and they are now available online for the first time. This is a significant event, as it allows us to hear the events of the mission unfold firsthand from the perspective of the astronauts.The recordings are also a testament to the ingenuity and courage of the Apollo 13 crew. In the face of a crisis, they worked together with Mission Control to find a way to survive and return home safely. Their story is one of hope and resilience, and the recordings provide a powerful reminder of what can be achieved when people work together.Here are some of the most notable moments from the Apollo 13 recordings:

• "Houston, we've had a problem." - Jim Lovell, reporting the explosion that damaged the spacecraft.
• "Power down everything but the essentials." - Gene Kranz, Flight Director in Mission Control, giving the order to conserve power.
• "We're going to have to use the LM as a lifeboat." - Jim Lovell, deciding to use the Lunar Module to return to Earth.
• "We're going to make it." - Jim Lovell, expressing confidence in the crew's ability to survive and return home.
• "Splashdown confirmed! Apollo 13 is safe." - Mission Control, announcing the safe landing of the Apollo 13 spacecraft in the Pacific Ocean.

The Apollo 13 recordings are a fascinating and inspiring record of a mission that could have ended in disaster, but instead became a story of triumph. They are a must-listen for anyone interested in the history of space exploration and the human spirit.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
And you could come at Bennett.It's still like a verification in the docking
angle because that's what we'll be usingfor computations, all alignments and everything else.
Uh, let's see if there's anythingelse, like go ahead of com
Okay, Well, let's terminate theUH battery be charge at UH fifty five
plus five zero, Okay, anduh at the same time, I'd sure

(00:21):
like to have a crosst all fourtanks. Uh, let's wait till they
get settled down a bit more protectfight G and Z go gen C.
Kay would still like to re enablethe other two quads for the maneuver.
Okay, when rolling to UH zerosix zero, you want'em to enable
C and D right right, youwant'em to disable A and B.

(00:41):
No, okay, all four quads. If you have a couple jet maneuver
archer E copies, I think I'vecone go get it. How about meeting
me on CSM one something I'd liketo prefer the guys, Yeah, like
to know what R So I'm lookingat this uh C twenty seven. Who
was they gonna will you? Butgoing one hundred and eighty degrees out from

(01:02):
this fixt Indeed, I don't understandit. I wanted to talk to you
guys about from a nat Now we'reuh figure we came up with was adding
about fourteen degrees to it. Andwhat we do add fourteen degrees to our
uh th thing we want temper showif boy were by their fame close to
right on the money to the othertank from there, you wanna yeah,

(01:23):
tack one when you do a comparisonto tank one by adding fourteen degrees,
you're right there. You got thehallwork did in the whole way. What
do they say and add fifteen degreestrack fifteen degrees that guy we want the
te degree. Uh we came upwithout uh again past history and there's for
the failure to follow their deed.H. Then the next thing we'd like

(01:49):
you to do is do when youtake data that we had before the failure,
siy, is there a thick uhyour rate or you add fifteen degrees
fourteen degrees to that uh to dothat way to you able to check us
out that way, D and Dwho put this thing in any way it
doesn't say and it is well shallbe on five thirty you wanna call Shelby

(02:12):
battery charge and battery B say again, uh, that call Shelby on what
uh what request we'd like to do? Yeah, you might give him a
call now once you give him acall verifying, cause you know what you're
handling. He's at five nine ohseven? What track mote? What durbo
and what beam? Would H say? Five nine h seven and severn forty
five? Okay? During the teamOkay, we get a call, I

(02:34):
don't know, Okay, Narrow,I'll keep the monitor up on this word
in the primary okay, anything elseokay, and we in a good lock
up uh til after we burn atthe maneuver, I was able to lock
you up and get uh real goodtickles drinks. And if the people that
right there at about two hundred andthirty nine degrees uh in y are that

(03:00):
the uh think gotrek uh would justdrop off and uh y'all would go to
Darrow and it would go to ninetybroder got me uh in the uh TV
hill was a great white g andC gen C. We'd verify that day

(03:20):
real fu four thruster. Okay,I'm going to maneuver to ryl haarrel and
Harrold name girl and girl. Okay, verify that they re you're showing a
disabled jim. Yeah, gopcom,we're still seeing sea forth thruster or disabled
e com EPs. I was waitingfor you to call in. Yeah,
they had a shot up to Georgewith tex S fourth or light econ go

(03:42):
HEC. You've got forty eighth hoursback in battery b now, okay,
you got it quite okay, Okay, if like and tellers, I wanna

(04:04):
go around the horn and uh pickup anything you need configuration wise, telling
you go ahead, like, uhyou still worried about any configuration items?
Uh negative the uh blim he yourcurrent indicates that, uh the lemb was
properly closed out. Uh they apparentlyhave not closed the limb hatch yet.

(04:24):
Okay, so you're happy that youdon't need'em to verify that. Uh
what was it? Activation two?Three of those pages were on there.
I decided it was TLC two manconverg go, Hey, what do you
think about that gauging thing? Doyou think that's a lot of well?
Oh or what I ask you thatI haven't had a chance. I need
to talk to my guys in ninetyany more. Okay, Uh, they

(04:45):
think it's a hun they're one hundredand eighty out. Uh so watch stand
by the walk you uh kay,well just remember it's an open item.
You've got the original I got indeck. We'd like to uh you know
if that's two point zero precise orof a two point one or one point
night now if you find a twopoint nir over time. Okay, I
have got your answer. Got rideyour flight okay, go with okay,

(05:43):
g NC, you got any configurationitems there? Uh negative flight capcom looks
like the last item we uh needhere is a stir and they ache to
it out two and they're convenience.Okay, mm carrying up on an mc

(06:04):
w huh yeah, fifty five fiftythirteen. We've got one more item for
you. When you got a dance, we'd like it their uh thir up
your prior day that MCNW already occurred. He commed, I missed it.
More of a chair contents betet ifyou needed okay, fifty five fifty two,
it came on, thank you,you calm on, uh you calm

(06:31):
one. Okay, let's make surewe get to stir first. George,
can you hang on? Yeah,you have a year gud I. He
did read it up to them.Yeah, you guys look at your uh
oh two quantities and see if yousee a big change. What's the man?

(06:58):
Go ahead where you gonna ask it? Who? Uh about that uh
antenna configuration or not? They?Uh, they give it to us.
They're an auto and are a goodprimery. Okay, flat gun go get
ch Uh. We finally got ourdeath to age update. Uh do you
wanna just read it up to thecrew or up point you? Uh?

(07:21):
Let's see and uh can we collapsedip bands and do all that good stuff
and we uplink here? Uh?Yeah, that why we just ready that
uh uh if they entered through thedisc gear, they gonna do it.
Stay what I want now. Wehaven't stayed at out in that uh attitude

(07:46):
yet. I don't think we're gonnahave any fright. I don't think there's
any problem. They haven't opened updead the ins. Yeah, that's that's
just what I'm saying. The timeto do it is now, guys,
Flat guns go gutch as long ashe's in pooh, and don't recolect to
uh he killed yes hee kind kor enter ad goat count you get your
stir down. The two kind mightbe uh it's n that's uh data.

(08:13):
Why don't you gotta beeve gone offthe hide? Dame threw checklist anyway on
board? Don't you ride? Don'tyou got a page update? Well,
why don't we read it up to'em? And I don't serve? Both
purposes are right, both have matteredas well as just want to tell'em
what paid you wanted in the checklist? O game like tell me go tell
the problem area? What's some moreof the data? Ya the curt list?

(08:37):
Okay, we got more on aproblem. Okay, listen, listen
to you guys. We forsst uhfuel sell one again and two pressure?
We lost uh oh two tank twopressure? You can see you wanna look
at it and temperature about a problem? Okay? Right? Then by they
got a problem see a hardware eachsee your er? Uh you count negative

(09:00):
fight? W oh two tank twopressure? Leave? The crew reported,
well you got a main b undergo. Okay, flight, we've got some
ment inspructation fights. Let me letme add'em up, Roger. Okay.
Then by a third day and we'relooking at it, we may have
had an instructation prom flight Roger,okay, yuh, let's get let's get
our inspiration uh lined up here.You guys, where did you go?

(09:22):
E sis? What do you got? Brown? Are your confident or uh
care to ground? Yeah? Boththat kids? Uh who to tank two?
Look at that? Yeah pressure ohtwo? Tank one? Uh plunctuating
uh coming down on impu tang andif we had a pretty large bang associated
with the uh carton and warning thereand the very call me b was the

(09:43):
one that uh had a ample bikeon it. Uh one before okay,
okay, is the pressure coming down? Uh? Tell you watch the white
team? What's that that's coming tothree seventy three? It hasn't moved.
They reflected anywhere negative noun signal?Uh you can say again larning no signal

(10:07):
gate so no common sign gator Uhwhere they uh go ahead and button up
the tunnel again. Side. Wegot to find out what the configuration is
on the crowd tanks, uh,on the heaters and fans. Is you
uh what's the wrong that we candetermine that uh the center uh on Uh
see now and oh two or quantitytwo it's uh quaradros the eight uh down

(10:28):
around twenty to percent now at fourthfeet high again, Roger Kay let's check
her electrical now you guys, hey, we've got some problems with feel show
one into if we believe you that, or we uh restored on our computer
of the one week played. Wehave uh a EPs con Yeah, okay,

(10:54):
you reported an AC two glitch,Yeah, a big gla. How
was there runners calculation? M sampbut you steve uh right, negaty Okay,
there we see two again. Therewe'll go, oh about EC two?
Do you have a barber bar ecs? He counts every click your EC

(11:16):
two you'll sell three currents gone dessertby the way, sad is search thanks
holding in there, RecA. Okay, okay, we need to put a
fuel cell on bus B and theokay, silplight he kind of a lot
of instrumentation process or go ahead andstring. Hey he's remove fuel sell he's

(11:37):
flipping a fuel cells around flight.Oh, let's get some recommendation here side.
If you got any better ideas?Right? Okay, ps, you'll
sell one is disconnected from all that. We need to reconnect. Uh right
now, you'll sell one to Aand three to b. H see if

(11:58):
you can get reconnect'em. Okay, flighty can but hat he's got uh
fuel cells one and three are offline. He we've got main A volts.
We have no main V volts.Have attempt to re uh reconnect the fuel
cells fuel cell one domain A,fuel cell UH three domain B three to

(12:18):
B. Yeah, okay, ifyou'll just try that one back domain A,
fuel cell three back domain B mainA three domain B. Let's see
what happens. Okay, now isthere do we have instrumentation problems? Well,
we've lost A. It does appearwe've lost AC bus two voltage.

(12:39):
Main B is reading uh uh fourvolts and that effectively takes AC two away
from us. Okay, he wasno barberpole on board. Uh yeah,
and he reported barber poles on theuh frodge on the fuel cell to Yeah,
let's see if we can get heruh DC back rodge. Go ahead,
GENC verify that the quad Delda heliumvalves are open. Now you're seeing

(13:05):
an attitude problem or you're seeing someuh by levels that are giving you problem.
Some low pressures and the fuel oxidizeruh which would be symptomatic of the
helium valve closing in and firing.Some jets WED number two helium valve or
delta what Blair, You don't believethat O two tank one pressure game No,
no, no search tank's good catchthy manifold goods is good alt the

(13:31):
helium valve is open. Any otherproblems in the RCS? What okay?
Uh? Is that all we comeup with? Work? Uh? We
got any other regular station? Yeah, we wanted to get fuel cell one
configured domain A, fuel sell threeDomain B. Did you pass that up?
Let's attempt that point thirteen. Thenwe'd like it to attempt to reconnect

(13:54):
fuel fell one Domain A and fuelfell three Domain B. Uh. I
verify that quad belta is open?Uh? We would with why be with
flies and fifty five fifty five alittle forward lest we two? Okay?
Uh, here's that I'm going?Uh? I tried to read that.

(14:16):
Uh field you one to three areboth going, Uh, great flag,
but they're both going. They're broughtthe clothes. I copy flight the copy.
Let me let me miserad on that. What do you think about that,
dick? Uh? Like it meansare connected to the bus. Yeah,

(14:39):
he's got his graves, but we'reshowing zero. Uh and he's reading
zero on the currence on bold.So we right. Then you try to
other discri let. Let you wannadivers in ongration. Yeah, but he
got you UH three to eight rightyour flight he can't go, he can't.
Let's reverse the configuration request. Okay, but wait a minute. We
got a good ma A bus.Let's make sure that whatever we do doesn't

(15:01):
screw up mayine. Fuel cell twois on mayin a flight light. I'm
not gonna ask to change that.Okay, what do you wanna do?
Let's try to put fuel Sell oneon main B, fuel Sell three on
Maine. We use the other UHsensing circuitry. Fu'll sell number one on
main B, fuel Sell three onMaine. We're not gonna touch fuel sell

(15:31):
two flight Okay, but if wegot any problems in the system, I
wanna make sure that we don't blowthe boliage off Maine A and then we're
not gonna be able to see anything. Come your book, where's drawing a
you got? Can we review ourstatus here SI and see what we've got

(15:52):
from a standpoint of status, Whatdo you think we got in a spacecraft
that's good? Main bus A isreading twenty five volts? Okay, May,
and that's reflected by the fact uhfuel sale too is putting out uh
fifty three AM's which is just aboutthe most it can and keep her voltage
up. Okay, So that's bonafid AC Bus two is zero, which

(16:12):
is reflected by the fact we lostmain b AC bus e comb. That's
the EPs stand by plane, GoEPs. Let's throw a battery on uh
bus uh b at BUSK at theway out side it out. Uh we're
getting under volt play count is hereand say guss go ahead of count.

(16:36):
Okay. Uh. If we wannakeep much, you say you go a
try stay by ex change configuration.Got battery a A main A good ideas
get battery a m an a lOkay, okay, go ahead side.
So I was gonna ask you toput a battery on flane gory competite on
the row, uh golden jack,or to high gamet drive about AC two

(16:59):
Okay, you want Omni bravo rightEPs count? Yeah, why don't we
just try fuel cell one on mainb by itself to see if that takes?
Uh? Well, yeah, you'reand low end too pressure on?
Fu'll sell one? What'll youing lowtwo pressure on? Uh? You'll sell
three? Uh? We gonna beuh got I wanna seck goud what those
fuel cells are doing there? Oh? Do you tell what these kind?

(17:19):
We might have a uh a pressureproblem in a fuel cell. It looks
like Charley down. Yeah, seethe intel simultaneously. That can't be really
runs. I I can't believe thatright off the bat. But they're not
beeding currents. Yeah, if youbelieve that? Into pressure? We blew

(17:44):
a seer. What could you play? We got on the Charlie and how
it right? Yeah, we might'velost your cell one and it looks like
fuel cells two three is gone too. Okay maas recording to that O two
say again, bank, I don'tknow what did you start? We were

(18:06):
reading fifteen ps L and fuel sellthree. Yeah, you wanna get onboard
read that bank? Wow? Yeahreading? Okay? You want fuel cell
one in t into in two andfuel cell three O two pressure. Those
the only two that have been flightycom go eat com. Okay, let's
get read out on the couple fuelcell pressures here? Okay, uh fuel

(18:27):
Sell one into pressure, fuel Sellthree O two pressure. We're reading UH
zero in two pressure and fuel sellone and thirteen ps I on UH fuel
Sell three O two pressure. Okayyou want fuel sell one in two pressure
into pressure fuel sell three? Whatdo you want there? Oh two pressure?

(18:49):
Oh two pressure capcom let's get thoseas a start thirteen. Yeah I
do, guys, I'm ready forit. Uh we want a one a
hardware race start? Who was doing? I cravely find maneuver and uh that
he should have killed it. Butit'll tell to the spot on the or
we use it as I think weought to disconnect fuel cell three fund uh

(19:12):
plus b. It's not doing abit of good three and he'll sell one
from a. Let's disconnect him andtake those pressure readouts again if if he's
reading the same we are. Youcan see the flight. Oh you wanna
get it off? Uh? You'dsee and see if we can bring those
pressures back up and see if weremove a low quite D heating. Uh,
it looks like that's cleared up rod. That cleared up flight. We're

(19:33):
good. Chee Okay, are weusing rcs? Do permit? We're gonna
have to switches try now. Wait, i'd see the attempt stop coming down,
the tc US hanging in there.Uh uh yeah, this the fuel
cell three we're showing the radiator.Uh, heat projection to stand down by
one. They give me a uhminimum fuel use that you configuration that'll keep
me out if I tell you gotell me if eleven meter car becomes sens

(20:00):
what ste EPs he can roger,Yeah, I'll go ahead, uh go
ahead me later on. This isand uh taker which is uh three opplicant
Uh the point thick two bakers touh point fix and the thing and the
other one uh peel fell one hnier gen h read the duo hudder zero.

(20:29):
We can firmly remember we confirmed thatright there. Alright, that's why
we're reading. Okay, I justget a three O two read out.
But we're eating eight point six now, he said, didn't he say two
Baker's point six? You fuck I'lleat that RCSB finish DODG flighty st right
now. Okay, okay, uhweekend on Septumber flight. Okay, side

(20:56):
this Mexico and side let's let's removethe loads from the puel cell and see
if it'll do. You wanna takeuh make you wanna take make sure the
fuel sell three and the fuel sailone are disconnected. Huh take it up.
Take fuel cell three off the bus. Okay, fuel sale one and
three, Yeah, e com flatflight econ go ahead, Uh, why

(21:17):
don't we try, uh leave fuelseal two alone and just make sure that
one in three are disconnected from bothbuses and make sure that there's actually won't
be any load on'em at all. And s let's see what happens to
the cells. See if we canget that O two pressure up on fuels
out three or what do you wannado? Open circuit fuel cell one and
thrink that's for in flight? Okay, Capcom, let's recommend we open circuit

(21:41):
fuel cell number one and number threeand leave fuel cell number two as is
and take okay one or three opencircuit two is is and uh earlier got
a report from him that uh threewere reading uh grave but zero flow?
Yeah, cap Con, let's onthen that e com reply flighty con,
why do way just open circuit oneand make sure that we don't have any

(22:02):
problems getting that back onto the bus. And okay, just watch it for
a while before we make any furthermoves with three Roger, Okay, Capcom,
let's just open circuit one of thoseright now, thirteen Houston, we'd
like you to open the circuit fieldfell one leave two and three is okay,
I'll get to work on that flight. Is uh back? Uh are

(22:25):
old pro Uh? Well you knowwhat cat brag or to look at that?
We could just fla that's right toflight. That's the uh DAC problem.
Okay, Roger, Yeah, that'sthat's a good thing. And I
let's say and looking out the uhpack, so we are a Betty Trumpet
prow thinks they're betting wherever ned flightWe not uh get to the uh the

(22:47):
place fider we con oh ye knowwhen that shows up? Roger, that
well, we've already seen some ofit. Okay, said all the guys
right peak on the EPs. Okay, we've gotta put out here, everybody
into pressure three zero. If you'llsell one, you get anything that looks
a normal in your f you'll sellone. O two is alright, it's

(23:07):
fifty four now it's ten psi belowH two. See anything that is uh
with the instrumentation you've got, itcould be vetting. Kay, if you'll
tell what you just wanted uh offthe line down, Jack, Is that
right? We just let's kind offight one agsk a line and then you
look at the system flight before thevetting is concerned. Let okay, let's

(23:32):
try in it. I see now, if you'll self three the one of
'em, we look like we gota good end too. Pressure come flightle
say again. If you call itin your back up, he comes down.
See if we can get some morebrain power in this. You got
one here, Rochet flood inco