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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The Apollo 13 mission was manned by 38-year-old
3Command Module Pilot John Swigert, 36-year-old Lunar Module
4Pilot Fred Haise, and 42-year-old Mission Commander James
5Lovell; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The Apollo 13 spacecraft Odyssey was successfully
7launched from the Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970 and
8was intended to be the third Apollo mission to land men on the
9moon; and
 
10    WHEREAS, The Odyssey successfully docked with the Lunar
11Module Aquarius on April 11, 1970; and
 
12    WHEREAS, When the spacecraft was 200,000 miles from Earth
13on April 13, 1970, a cryogenic oxygen tank stir was conducted;
14unbeknownst to the crew, this caused a fire in one of the
15spacecraft's oxygen tanks due to faulty wiring; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Moments after the cryogenic oxygen tank stir was
17conducted, the crew heard a large bang that was accompanied by
18fluctuations in electrical power and firing of attitude control
19thrusters; this prompted Commander James Lovell to state to the
20NASA command center "Houston, we've had a problem"; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, This accident damaged key components of the
2spacecraft, including the power and oxygen supply, rendering it
3unable to complete its planned landing on the moon; instead, it
4placed the lives of the crew in jeopardy and necessitated
5emergency procedures in order to safely return the astronauts
6to Earth; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Following the accident, it was determined by
8mission control and Flight Director Eugene Kranz that the
9mission would abort by looping the spacecraft around the moon
10and using the Lunar Module Aquarius as a lifeboat; and
 
11    WHEREAS, In order to expedite the return to Earth, a burn
12of the Lunar Module Descent Propulsion System lasting four
13minutes and twenty-three seconds was conducted by the crew
14using the sun and moon as navigational aids; and
 
15    WHEREAS, The Lunar Module carried enough oxygen to support
16the crew during their return journey but could not sufficiently
17process the carbon dioxide produced by the three astronauts,
18requiring engineers on the ground to devise a way to adapt
19filters from the Command Module to work on the Lunar Module;
20and
 
21    WHEREAS, During the return flight from the moon, the crew
22members lost 31 pounds between them, endured temperatures as

 

 

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1low as 38 degrees Fahrenheit, and were rationed to .2 liters of
2water per day, per person; and
 
3    WHEREAS, The crew successfully powered up the command
4module from full shutdown, jettisoned the Lunar Module
5Aquarius, and splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean on
6April 17, 1970, despite concerns about possible damage to the
7spacecraft's heat shield; and
 
8    WHEREAS, All members of the Apollo 13 crew were awarded the
9Presidential Medal of Freedom by then-President Richard Nixon,
10with the mission being deemed a "successful failure" by the
11public, highlighting the resolve and ingenuity of NASA and its
12astronauts to confront and overcome a crisis; therefore, be it
 
13    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL
14ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare April 11,
152020 Apollo 13 Day in the State of Illinois to commemorate the
1650 year anniversary of the mission launch and safe return of
17all three crew members to Earth.