3 ms·
>This is the mother of all hacks, the genius device that saved the Apollo XIII crew from dying in their emergency return to Earth, Not to detract from the acco
by fnordfnordfnord 12y ago
>This is the mother of all hacks, the genius device that saved the Apollo XIII crew from dying in their emergency return to Earth,
Not to detract from the accomplishment; but I'm confident that the astronauts would have been able to figure this out by themselves if needed, and didn't do so because of the command/control nature of NASA missions.
The instructions could have been shortened to: Fit the Command Module scrubber filter to the Lunar Module's filter hole. Use tape and plastic to seal the rig for proper airflow.
- oddevan 12y agoI also wonder if there were other issues on-board that required their attention or otherwise diverted on-board brainpower. Not to mention they had a limited amount of equipment on-board, so they basically had ONE CHANCE to get it right; no room for trial-and-error. There was a surplus of equipment on the ground, so they had more of a chance to make mistakes and get it right before directing the crew on-board. So yes, they would have been able to figure it out if needed, but I think there are other reasons besides NASA's (infamous) bureaucracy.
- fnordfnordfnord 12y ago>so they basically had ONE CHANCE to get it right; no room for trial-and-error. That isn't necessarily so, but it is definitely prudent to optimize the use of their limited supplies. To be fair, I agree it's better that they had more people looking at the problem, and I agree that it was the right thing way to do it; but it isn't as though astronauts are chimps, or even that mere mortals are always unable to improvise non-standard solutions.
- johansch 12y agoAlso: humans perform intellectual tasks quite poorly when their brains are being oxygen-deprived.