Apollo 13

This is Mission Control; we're now at 2 hours, 54 minutes with the crew, and preparing for the CSM separation from the S-IVB; the subsequent docking with the Lunar Module and the ejection of the LM and Command Module from the Saturn third stage. The times of all of those events are almost precisely as indicated in the Flight Plan. The separation maneuver scheduled to occur at Ground Elapsed Time of 3 hours, 6 minutes, 37 seconds; and the docking would come then with the LM at 3 hours, 16 minutes Ground Elapsed Time. Our displays in Mission Control are showing the effects of the Translunar Injection burn; we currently show the spacecraft at an altitude of 1,183 nautical miles [2,191 km], traveling at a velocity of 31,406 feet per second [9,573 metres/second].

And our booster engineer reports the S-IVB is nearly in the proper attitude. We're about 5½ minutes from the scheduled time of separation, and we are expecting that the crew will have the television transmitter and camera on, beginning at a Ground Elapsed Time of about 3 hours, 15 minutes for television coverage of the docking.

Telemetry data, here on the ground, indicates that the spacecraft has separated from the S-IVB. Astronaut Jack Swigert at this time would be in the commander's couch, the left-hand couch, at the controls of the spacecraft during the transposition and docking maneuvers. And we should be getting television transmissions from the spacecraft, beginning at about 3 hours, 15 minutes Ground Elapsed Time.

Swigert reporting that the SLA panels on the S-IVB are coming into view.

The network controller reports we're getting television signals now from the spacecraft, a bit earlier than expected and the crew is apparently somewhat ahead of the timeline in the Transposition and Docking maneuver. We'll stand by for a television picture.

We're looking down the nose of the S-IVB minus its SLA panels at this time, the top view of the LM. That last report Swigert said they were 80 feet away from the S-IVB and that distance should be closing.

Fred Haise is manipulating the TV camera. We haven't determined yet which window of the Command Module we're looking out of. Jack Swigert in the left hand couch maneuvering the spacecraft, the Command Module, into position for the docking.

This view of the Saturn third stage and the Lunar Module is coming to us from about 5,000 [nautical] miles [9,000 km] beyond Earth. The spacecraft and S-IVB travelling at a speed of about 22,900 feet per second [7,000 m/s] at this time.

Haise is apparently maneuvering the camera inside the spacecraft for an interior view at this point and we'll stand by to see if we've got enough light inside the spacecraft to get a useable picture.

This view is looking up into the docking tunnel of the Command Module with the tunnel light showing toward the top of the tunnel.

At this point, we're getting a good view of Jack Swigert in the left hand seat of the Command Module.

Although we have a rather dim picture at this time, we can see Jim Lovell working in the tunnel area. Lovell has removed the hatch cover, inspected the docking latches and reported that everything was in order in the tunnel. He should be shortly attaching the umbilical to the Lunar Module which will provide power to the heaters and some of the critical LM guidance equipment, and then reinstalling the tunnel hatch.

This television transmission has being going on now for about forty minutes, and during that period of time, the spacecraft has covered more than five thousand miles. We currently show an altitude of 10,481 nautical miles [19,411 km].

We're now about two minutes away from the scheduled CSM LM ejection time. At that time, the crew will activate a switch which separates the - which fires pryotechnics separating tie-down straps and the spring actuators at the attach points of the LM landing gear. It will eject the LM and the Command and Service Module at a velocity of about eight-tenths of a foot a second [25 cm/s]. This will be coupled then with a short burn with the Reaction Control System jets adding another four tenths of a foot per second [12 cm/s] to the separation velocity, giving them a total separation velocity of 1.2 feet per second [37 cm/s].

We've been advised that within a few minutes we'll have to recycle the converter which converts the television picture we're receiving from sequential black and white to color. This would require the converter to be down for a couple of minutes, while it's reloaded with tape and in that interim period of time we would expect the picture to be down.

We've just had a dropout in signal as the spacecraft maneuvered out of the field of view of the High Gain Antenna. At this point, the crew should be switching shortly to the Omni antennas and we'd expect to reacquire signal lockon.

The booster engineer reports the preliminary indications are that our Saturn S-IVB evasive maneuver was successful. The Flight Dynamics Officer will be evaluating the trajectory to assure that we've got the kind of separation from the spacecraft that we were looking for and also to determine to what extent we are heading toward the trajectory which would impact the S-IVB on the Moon. At 6 pm Central Standard Time, there will be a press conference in the news center auditorium. This is the small auditorium in Building 1, with Ken Mattingly. Astronaut Mattingly, until a few days ago, was the prime Command Module Pilot for the mission and due to exposure to measles, was replaced by Jack Swigert. Mattingly has been in the control center and is currently in the control center observing the progress of the mission. I have to repeat that press conference with astronaut Mattingly is scheduled for 6 pm Central Standard Time in the news center auditorium.

This is Apollo Control at 4 hours, 37 minutes. We're now about 3 minutes away from the scheduled LOX dump, the propulsive vent of liquid oxygen through the engine nozzle of the S-IVB. The Saturn Instrument Unit will command this maneuver or command the LOX dump and the LOX will flow out the engine bell for 48 seconds or until the tank is empty whichever comes first. The preliminary plan would be for the LOX dump to produce a change in velocity of about 28 feet per second [8.5 m/s] which would contribute to the trajectory change placing the S-IVB on an impacting trajectory with the Moon and subsequent midcourse corrections using the two 70-pound thrust [311-newton] Auxiliary Propulsion System units on the S-IVB would be intended to correct this trajectory and bring it into the precisely preplanned limits.

Astronaut John Young, who was backup commander for Apollo 13, is now serving as Capsule Communicator in place of astronaut Joe Kerwin.