Apollo 13 | "Houston, We’ve Had a Problem." | 1

Against The Odds

Wondery

Cassie De Pecol, History, Society & Culture, Dolby, Mike Corey, Dolby Atmos, Atmos

4.7 • 7.2K Ratings

🗓️ 4 July 2023

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On April 11th, 1970, NASA launched Apollo 13, its third manned mission to the Moon. But two days into its journey, an explosion wiped out a major source of oxygen, limiting the ship’s water and power supplies. The three astronauts onboard found themselves stranded in a crippled spacecraft 200,000 miles from Earth, while their families—and the entire nation—watched helplessly from the ground.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, Prime members, you can listen to against the odds at free on Amazon music. Download the app today.
0:17.1	Seymour Liebergaard lights a pipe in NASA's Mission Control Room in Houston, Texas.
0:23.6	It's just past 9 p.m. on April 13th, 1970, and he has another hour before his shift ends.
0:32.2	He takes a drag of his pipe and waits for the jolt of nicotine.
0:37.5	Liebergaard is a 34-year-old electrical engineer at NASA with horn-rimmed glasses and a
0:43.8	head full of thick brown hair. He sits at a console covered in dials and blinking lights.
0:50.4	Dozens of other engineers are positioned at similar consoles all around him.
0:55.7	They're monitoring the Apollo 13 spacecraft, which is two days and eight hours into its mission.
1:02.8	If all goes well, the astronauts aboard Apollo 13 will become NASA's third crew to walk on the moon.
1:11.1	Liebergaard monitors the life-support systems on board the spacecraft, air, water, and power.
1:18.4	It's a critical job, but they run so many training scenarios that now it feels routine.
1:25.2	As he smokes, a yellow warning light flashes. Liebergaard quickly identifies the problem.
1:31.7	The Apollo 13 spacecraft contains tanks of hydrogen and oxygen, which can condense and
1:37.6	deliquid in the deep cold of space. That can alter the pressure inside the tanks in ways that
1:43.6	can interfere with the life-support systems. So, warning lights flash whenever liquid builds up.
1:51.0	Liebergaard punches a button to call Jean Kranz, the chief flight director, in charge of the
1:56.6	mission, who's standing further back in the mission control room. He speaks into his headset microphone.
2:03.3	Jean, I've got a yellow warning light here. Can you ask the crew to stir the hydrogen tanks?
2:08.5	The hydrogen and oxygen tanks have internal heaters and stirrers, but the astronauts have to activate
2:14.7	the manually. Liebergaard hears Kranz's voice in his headset.
2:22.8	Liebergaard glances at the gauge for the oxygen tanks. No warning light there.
2:28.4	It never hurts to give them all a stir. Sure, Jean, let's have them stir both.
	...

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