Author Topic: Apollo 13 Case Study Part 1 and 2  (Read 9321 times)

Offline rdale

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Apollo 13 Case Study Part 1 and 2
« on: 11/06/2008 02:46 pm »
Objectives: a) Describe the Service Module Electrical Power System hardware; b) Describe the circumstances which led to the Apollo 13 accident c) Summarize the Mission Control and crew reaction.

[Anybody know what this is talking about?] Meeting Information:     Apollo 13 Blu Ray DVD to be available January 2009

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20080042304_2008041118.pdf

Offline Jorge

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Re: Apollo 13 Case Study Part 1 and 2
« Reply #1 on: 11/06/2008 08:26 pm »
Objectives: a) Describe the Service Module Electrical Power System hardware; b) Describe the circumstances which led to the Apollo 13 accident c) Summarize the Mission Control and crew reaction.

[Anybody know what this is talking about?] Meeting Information:     Apollo 13 Blu Ray DVD to be available January 2009

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20080042304_2008041118.pdf

It is one of a series of Apollo history lessons that JSC/MOD is developing for Constellation personnel. The lessons are going through export control right now; eventually the slides will all be available through NTRS. There is some possibility they will be released on DVD, but I didn't think that included Blu-Ray nor did I think a date had been set.
JRF

Offline Thorny

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Re: Apollo 13 Case Study Part 1 and 2
« Reply #2 on: 11/06/2008 09:30 pm »
There is some possibility they will be released on DVD, but I didn't think that included Blu-Ray nor did I think a date had been set.

I think that's referring to the 1995 Ron Howard film. The High-Def version was available originally only on the now-defunct HD-DVD format, and it should be appearing on Blu-Ray any time now (the High-Def version also airs regularly on Universal HD Channel.)

Offline rdale

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Re: Apollo 13 Case Study Part 1 and 2
« Reply #3 on: 11/06/2008 09:37 pm »
So JSC is providing powerpoints for the Blu Ray version of the "regular" Apollo 13 movie?

Offline Jorge

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Re: Apollo 13 Case Study Part 1 and 2
« Reply #4 on: 11/06/2008 09:39 pm »
So JSC is providing powerpoints for the Blu Ray version of the "regular" Apollo 13 movie?

I think JSC is providing video of the instructor presenting the powerpoint, not just the powerpoint.
JRF

Offline kneecaps

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Re: Apollo 13 Case Study Part 1 and 2
« Reply #5 on: 11/06/2008 10:24 pm »
Funny how things go full circle. One of the sources for research documents is Ron Burkey's virtual AGC site. Amusing that a site dedicated to restoring the past can somehow contribute to a lessons to a new/future program.

This is a really great presentation with really good technical info on Apollo 13!

A 'Must read' for anybody interested in Apollo 13.
Allow subject to scream. In space no one will hear.

Offline simonbp

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Re: Apollo 13 Case Study Part 1 and 2
« Reply #6 on: 11/06/2008 10:40 pm »
I hadn't heard this before:

- Crew was lucky this sensor failed when it did:
- Had the tanks continued on the normal cycle of every 24 hrs, the stir that caused the explosion would likely have occurred while the LM was on the lunar surface and the CSM was orbiting the Moon

Simon ;)

Offline dwmzmm

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Re: Apollo 13 Case Study Part 1 and 2
« Reply #7 on: 11/06/2008 11:13 pm »
I hadn't heard this before:

- Crew was lucky this sensor failed when it did:
- Had the tanks continued on the normal cycle of every 24 hrs, the stir that caused the explosion would likely have occurred while the LM was on the lunar surface and the CSM was orbiting the Moon

Simon ;)

That's exactly right.  The thought is really chilling if you think about it.
Dave, NAR # 21853 SR.

Offline Jorge

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Re: Apollo 13 Case Study Part 1 and 2
« Reply #8 on: 11/07/2008 05:45 am »
Funny how things go full circle. One of the sources for research documents is Ron Burkey's virtual AGC site. Amusing that a site dedicated to restoring the past can somehow contribute to a lessons to a new/future program.

It was a very useful tool to expedite the export control reviews, yes.

All the documents at Virtual AGC were also available at JSC's internal library, but they all had export control covers slapped on them. That was *not* because they were *known* to contain export-controlled material, only that they needed review to determine if they did - and the cover shifts the burden of review from the library to the borrower. That makes sense; the library has millions of documents and if they were to review every one it would literally take forever.

The US export control laws, as irrational as they are, do contain scattered bits of rationality. One bit is that anything previously published cannot be export controlled; once the cat's out of the bag, it stays out. By demonstrating that these documents had been previously published, thanks to Ron Burkey's tireless research at NARA-SW, the Apollo lessons learned project was able to greatly expedite the process of releasing their lessons publicly.

Of course, we must also acknowledge the crucial work done by the NASA History Office's Apollo Lunar Surface Journal, and the NASA Technical Reports Server.
JRF

Offline Jorge

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Re: Apollo 13 Case Study Part 1 and 2
« Reply #9 on: 11/07/2008 05:46 am »
I hadn't heard this before:

- Crew was lucky this sensor failed when it did:
- Had the tanks continued on the normal cycle of every 24 hrs, the stir that caused the explosion would likely have occurred while the LM was on the lunar surface and the CSM was orbiting the Moon

Simon ;)

That's exactly right.  The thought is really chilling if you think about it.

Also, had the same failure occurred on Apollo 8, the crew would have been doomed no matter when it occurred during the flight.

I can guarantee you Jim Lovell has pondered that thought at least once.
JRF

Offline dwmzmm

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Re: Apollo 13 Case Study Part 1 and 2
« Reply #10 on: 11/07/2008 12:00 pm »
I hadn't heard this before:

- Crew was lucky this sensor failed when it did:
- Had the tanks continued on the normal cycle of every 24 hrs, the stir that caused the explosion would likely have occurred while the LM was on the lunar surface and the CSM was orbiting the Moon

Simon ;)

That's exactly right.  The thought is really chilling if you think about it.

Also, had the same failure occurred on Apollo 8, the crew would have been doomed no matter when it occurred during the flight.

I can guarantee you Jim Lovell has pondered that thought at least once.

So has Eugene Cernan; that oxygen tank almost ended up on the Apollo -
10 SM as well.....
Dave, NAR # 21853 SR.

Offline Proponent

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Re: Apollo 13 Case Study Part 1 and 2
« Reply #11 on: 11/07/2008 12:45 pm »
So has Eugene Cernan; that oxygen tank almost ended up on the Apollo -
10 SM as well.....

But had the tank stayed in on board Apollo 10, it would not have been a problem.  It was only the fact that it was dropped when being removed from 10's service module that it suffered damage necessitating the extensive use of the tank heaters following 13's countdown demonstration test.

Offline Proponent

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Re: Apollo 13 Case Study Part 1 and 2
« Reply #12 on: 11/07/2008 01:04 pm »
- Crew was lucky this sensor failed when it did:
- Had the tanks continued on the normal cycle of every 24 hrs, the stir that caused the explosion would likely have occurred while the LM was on the lunar surface and the CSM was orbiting the Moon

How did this sensor work, anyway?  How do you measure the quantity of O2 in weightlessness?

Did if fail off-scale high, as per p. 15, or off-scale low, as per p. 16?

Why did the failed sensor cause MCC to stir the tank more often?  Is it that it was aware that the sensor had failed, so it assumed more frequent stirs were needed?  Or was it unaware of the failure and interpreted the faulty indication to mean that frequent stirs were needed?

One last question, not related to the quantity sensor:  could closer monitoring of heater operation during the mission have revealed the malfunctioning thermostat?  The report does mention that closer monitoring during detanking following the CDT would have been helpful, but I couldn't find mention of this with respect to the flight itself.

One of the things that surprises me about all of this is how much time elapsed between the electrical surge and the explosion.  I had previously imagined that once an oxygen-tank fire had begun, the tank would go off like a bomb in very short order.

Offline DMeader

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Re: Apollo 13 Case Study Part 1 and 2
« Reply #13 on: 11/07/2008 11:39 pm »
How did this sensor work, anyway?  How do you measure the quantity of O2 in weightlessness?

Capacitance gauge. A tube-in-a-tube down the axis of the tank comprised the two plates, the oxygen served as the dielectric.

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