SR1084 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1084 LRB101 21144 LAW 71702 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Apollo 13 mission was manned by 38-year-old Command Module Pilot John Swigert, 36-year-old Lunar Module Pilot Fred Haise, and 42-year-old Mission Commander James Lovell; and

WHEREAS, The Apollo 13 spacecraft Odyssey was successfully launched from the Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970 and was intended to be the third Apollo mission to land men on the moon; and

WHEREAS, The Odyssey successfully docked with the Lunar Module Aquarius on April 11, 1970; and

WHEREAS, When the spacecraft was 200,000 miles from Earth on April 13, 1970, a cryogenic oxygen tank stir was conducted; unbeknownst to the crew, this caused a fire in one of the spacecraft's oxygen tanks due to faulty wiring; and

WHEREAS, Moments after the cryogenic oxygen tank stir was conducted, the crew heard a large bang that was accompanied by fluctuations in electrical power and firing of attitude control thrusters; this prompted Commander James Lovell to state to the NASA command center "Houston, we've had a problem"; and

WHEREAS, This accident damaged key components of the spacecraft, including the power and oxygen supply, rendering it unable to complete its planned landing on the moon; instead, it placed the lives of the crew in jeopardy and necessitated emergency procedures in order to safely return the astronauts to Earth; and

WHEREAS, Following the accident, it was determined by mission control and Flight Director Eugene Kranz that the mission would abort by looping the spacecraft around the moon and using the Lunar Module Aquarius as a lifeboat; and

WHEREAS, In order to expedite the return to Earth, a burn of the Lunar Module Descent Propulsion System lasting four minutes and twenty-three seconds was conducted by the crew using the sun and moon as navigational aids; and

WHEREAS, The Lunar Module carried enough oxygen to support the crew during their return journey but could not sufficiently process the carbon dioxide produced by the three astronauts, requiring engineers on the ground to devise a way to adapt filters from the Command Module to work on the Lunar Module; and

WHEREAS, During the return flight from the moon, the crew members lost 31 pounds between them, endured temperatures as low as 38 degrees Fahrenheit, and were rationed to .2 liters of water per day, per person; and

WHEREAS, The crew successfully powered up the command module from full shutdown, jettisoned the Lunar Module Aquarius, and splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean on April 17, 1970, despite concerns about possible damage to the spacecraft's heat shield; and

WHEREAS, All members of the Apollo 13 crew were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by then-President Richard Nixon, with the mission being deemed a "successful failure" by the public, highlighting the resolve and ingenuity of NASA and its astronauts to confront and overcome a crisis; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare April 11, 2020 Apollo 13 Day in the State of Illinois to commemorate the 50 year anniversary of the mission launch and safe return of all three crew members to Earth.