We're Still Learning From Apollo 13 Half A Century Later
Apollo 13 Reminds Us of Hard Things Worth Doing, op ed, By Jim Lovell and Jim Bridenstine, WS Journal
“As the coronavirus pandemic unfolds, Americans can take comfort in our history of facing difficult times with courage and emerging stronger on the other side of struggle. The Apollo 13 mission, launched 50 years ago Saturday, reminds us of Americans’ characteristic resilience and ingenuity. … When things went wrong on the Apollo 13 mission, it captured the world’s attention. News of the oxygen-tank explosion and crippled service module jolted the public awake to the drama unfolding 200,000 miles from Earth. Americans were reminded that space exploration is high-risk work demanding exceptional technical competence and bravery. … No one familiar with the perils of the mission can look at duct tape, plastic bags and cardboard the same ever again.”
Was it duct tape that they carried or gaffer tape? (Gaffer tape is fabric, not plastic and the adhesive doesn’t usually leave residue behind. It also is easily torn, even lengthwise, and is available in lots of colors. Widely used in theater and film productions.) I was told that gaffer tape was carried on the shuttle.
It’s slightly off topic, but the current pandemic has messed up an idea of mine about public interest in spaceflight. The 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission got a whole lot of attention. The 50th anniversary of Apollo 12 got virtually no media coverage. Three or four months ago, I was waiting to see if the anniversary of Apollo 13 would get more attention, as the actual events did. Unfortunately, there are more important things on people’s minds, so that gauge of public interest in spaceflight didn’t work out.
Got lots of attention on BBC, though. As many times as I’ve heard the story of 13, they did a very nice and listenable production.