Apollo 13 Launch Anniversary

Today is the anniversary of the Apollo 13 launch. It’s one of my favorite movies, not least because my father worked at NASA in those days and was part of the team who created the Saturn 5 rockets that launched Neil Armstrong and many other astronauts including the Apollo 13 crew moonward. He was part of the first stage team here at NASA – Michoud in New Orleans East. Although he was a small cog in a big machine, Dad did suggest a design change that was implemented and saved about $300,000 – big money in those days. Those were exciting times in the space program, and I’m proud that my Dad had a part in it, however small. It was a real thrill for me to go back to Michoud and to Stennis Space Center in Mississippi decades later to teach a series of database classes to actual rocket scientists.

If you’ve seen the Apollo 13 movie you remember that Ken Mattingly was exposed to the measles and had to stay home. Thanks to Newspaper Archive here’s more on that story. “Calm Trio Streaks Toward Moon” describes the premature rocket cutoff at the beginning of what was expected to be a very boring trip. If you’re really into the story and want to learn more about the space program of the 60s and 70s, check out Gene Kranz’ memoir, “Failure is not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond” – it’s fascinating. Also worth a look, of course, is the book on which the Apollo 13 movie is based.