Apollo 13
on Sheila Ash (India), 20/Feb/2017 05:45, 34 days ago
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The cosmic curtain cloaked the 3 in silencetheir fate hung in a delicatebalance.Downwards they fell, fast and furious,to the world below, so still , so curious.There, all daily life adjournedto see if they would be returned.Man stood full of fear and dread3 minutes to know if all were dead.They were the unexpected crew -one trip before they had been due,then changed again by German measles,these 3 now faced the final evils.Lovell, Swigert and Haisehad been in space a mere 3 days.13, a number with a reputation,announced its catastrophic devastationwith a bang. Power fluctuations,Short loss of ship to shore communications.Then, those now famous words,cut through the air like deathly swords -“Houston, we have had a problem”Jack Swigert said, all calm and solemn.The explosion put Odyssey past redemptionleaving Aquarius their only option.Unable to scrub and clean their airthey faced death’s cold relentless stare.Could they conjure up the partto make Aquarius a safe life raft?To take not 2, but bring home 3required exceptional ingenuity.Conserving power as pressure mounted.Each step tested, each step accounted .Until, with confidence, Control assertedthat square to round could be convertedby hypoxic brains and shivering handsfrom things aboard. They had a plan.In their hands a box of tricksto make the great Heath Robinson fix.Those minutes of re-entry violence,Their mounting tension, mounting silence.3 expected, been and gone;4 came and went, far too long.Blood pumped boldly through our veins,ears strained like labour pains,hands twitched with gross impatience,tears waited in eyes across the nation,Till o’er the air a faint crackle splutteredgentle words were quietly heard to flutter.Then hearts rejoiced in celebrationas 3 men walked out in strict procession.Down in the history books it standsa tribute to the endurance of Man.A successful failure it’s been calledApollo 13 who kept the world enthralled.© Sheila Ash 19thFebruary 2017 Seehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_13andhttp://www.space.com/17250-apollo-13-facts.htmlhttp://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/mission_trans/AS13_TEC.PDFpg 167(any factual errors are all my own!)ashramblings