13 Things that Saved Apollo 13On the night of April 13th, 1970, when the oxygen tank in Apollo 13 command module exploded, a 27 year old engineer named Jerry Woodfill sat at his console in the Mission Evaluation Room at Johnson Space Center, monitoring the caution and warning system he helped create for the Apollo spacecraft.was 9:08 pm, and I looked at the console because it flickered Air Jordan Outlet a few times and then I saw a master alarm come on, Woodfill said, talking from his office at JSC where he has worked for almost 45 years. I thought something was wrong with the alarm system or the instrumentation, but then I heard Jack Swigert in my headset: Cheap 554988 003 Nike Zoom KD V Black Pack Black Blue Glow we had a problem, and then a few moments later, Jim Lovell said the same thing. so began the most perilous but eventually triumphant situation ever encountered in human spaceflight.2010 is the 40th anniversary of Apollo 13, and Universe Today had the chance to talk with Woodfill about his role in Apollo 13, a mission which many believe should have ended fatally for astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert. But it didn and the mission has come to be called a failure.What things were responsible for that success New Nike Free 5.0 V4 Shoes Grey Black the overcoming of odds to rescue of the crew?Since Woodfill was there in the thick of the action, he has some ideas on how to answer that question. But also, for the past Nike Kobe 9 Elite Low 40 years he has studied the Apollo13 mission in intricate detail, examining all the various facets of the rescue by going through flight transcripts, debriefs, and other documents, plus he talked to many other people who worked during Nike Free Womens the mission. Fascinated by the turn of events and individuals involved who turned failure into success, Woodfill has come up with what he calls Things That Saved Apollo 13.Over the next few weeks, we share Woodfill insights and discuss each of those 13 turning points. What better way to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Apollo 13!But for today, besides giving our readers a preview of what is to Nike Air Jordan 6 Olympic Shoes White Navyan 4 come the next 13 days, we take this Nike Air Jordan 3 Basketball Shoes Black White Red opportunity introduce you to Jerry Woodfill.Jerry Woodfill working in the Apollo Mission Evaluation Room. Credit: Jerry Woodfill.While attending Rice University on a basketball scholarship, Woodfill was inspired by President John F. Kennedy famous Choose to go to the Moon speech delivered at Rice. Woodfill turned in his basketball shoes and focused on his studies of electrical engineering, hoping to Carbon Grey Blue Salomon S-LAB Cheap 555035 707 Black Blue Jade Basketball Shoes Style Nike Zoom Kobe 8 VIII 5XT Wings become part of the space program.He came on board at NASA just in time to work on helping to build the Apollo spacecraft.spent years working with contractors, engineers, flight controllers and astronauts on the caution and warning system, or the alarm systems for both the lunar lander as well as the command ship, Woodfill said.He compared the alarm system to the lights that come on in an automobile when the battery is low or the generator isn working. had to come up with the best means of telling 2015 Nike Free 5.0 the astronauts they had a problem. We had to make sure the alarm system worked right.Woodfill said that like most of the NASA team, he knew the workings of the command ship and lander more intimately than any of his college courses would have required, but Carbon Grey Blue Salomon S-LAB 5XT Wings that prepared him for any problems that might arise.The Mission Evaluation Room. Credit: Jerry Woodfill.During the Apollo missions Woodfill worked in the Mission Evaluation Room, which is NOT the Mission Operations Control Room (MOCR) or Control as it is known. Nike Air Max MER was in a building adjacent to the Mission Control building. Woodfill has written a webpage detailing the difference between the MER and MOCR.were an unsung group, Woodfill said. were there for Cheap 579743-640 Nike LeBron ST II Red Grey mission support. We weren flight controllers, but we were experts. For other missions that Nike Air Jordan 11 Retro Shoes White Red were Womens Nike Blazers routine we didn play that big of a role, but for the Apollo 13 mission, we did play a role. tends to downplay both his role and the importance of the MER. the 1970s era MER to the Mission Operations Control Room would be akin to comparing the Queen Mary to a weekend boater's cabin cruiser, he said. comparing my role in the rescue to Gene Kranz and Glen Lunney's would be more incomparable.For a truly unbiased opinion, however, Chapter 11 of Jim Lovell book Moon (renamed Apollo 13 after the movie of the same name came out in 1995) details how important the people in the Mission Evaluation Room were. Yes, the were important!While many may say the way Apollo 13 turned out was luck or a fortuitous turn of events, Woodfill said he tends to lean towards providence.Over the next 13 days, perhaps we find out!And if Woodfill name is familiar to Universe Today readers, you may recall how he found the lesson plans of the teacher in space, Christa McAuliffe, and brought them to life so to speak, as they are now being used by many teachers and Challenger Learning Centers.