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Re: Apollo 13, Meteorites, and Nininger

Hi all,

>>Observations of the lunar module did strongly indicate an explosion from 
within. I suppose that it is possible for a meteor to hit the oxygen tank
and caused it to explode, but considering the miles and miles of
electrical wiring contained within the lunar module, the electrical short
is the more likely suspect. <<

Actually it was the tank in the Service Module that blew. It was the lunar 
Module that saved the astronauts lives and got them back to Earth.

Having read Lovell's Book on the subject, the tank had a history of problems 
from a long time back and somehow slipped through the cracks until the ill 
fated flight.

As far as Nininger goes, I have read him many times over and have a feel for 
his thoughts. I have also been in the nitty gritty of a launch many times at 
the Kennedy space center with all of the reporters. I have watched quotes from 
people be re written as well as statements that were qualified for a scenario 
left out. I would imagine that if Nininger was asked to assess the chances of a 
meteoroid collision (they aren't a meteorites until they hit the ground) he 
would have offered his best opinion. During the missions it was often talked 
about the chances of a stray meteoroid striking one of our Apollo's in flight.

Nasa did a wonderful job of getting us there and back with the one exception 
(even if Neil armstrong about ran out of fuel before touch down) of Apollo 13. 
It's too bad we didn't make more trips there and take advantage of our research 
and development, the costlier part of the design of the Apollo program.

--AL