Apollo 13 Owners' Workshop Manual: An engineering insight into how NASA saved the crew of the failed Moon mission - Hardcover

Baker, Dr. David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0760346194 ISBN 13: 9780760346198

Publisher: Zenith Press, 2013

Synopsis

The world-famous Apollo 13 mission and dramatic explosion on the service module, captured in technical detail like you’ve never seen before. On April 13, 1970, NASA’s Apollo 13 suffered a near-catastrophic explosion in space. The planned lunar landing that day was promptly called off, and a new challenge prioritized: get the spacecraft safely back to Earth. Written by David Baker, an original member of NASA’s Apollo 13 Houston Mission Control team, Apollo 13 Owners’ Workshop Manual offers unprecedented, meticulous coverage of the Apollo 13 mission. Beginning with an overview of the era’s equipment and technology, Baker focuses primarily on the planning, goals, and execution of the mission itself, including an hour-by-hour timeline of the crew’s near-disaster in space. Additionally, his thorough analysis of the post-flight investigation and lurking design problems with the spacecraft offer the rare viewpoint of a true Apollo 13 insider. Not only does Baker present and analyze the mission itself, but he also celebrates NASA’s legacy in the wake of the event with the redesign of sections of the Apollo spacecraft and the changes to the way later missions were organized, beginning with Apollo 14. In typical fully illustrated Haynes Manual detail, Apollo 13 Owners’ Workshop Manual presents the fascinating circumstances behind a team who recovered their spacecraft just hours before hurtling back into the earth’s atmosphere. But more than that, the book is a brand-new insight into the remarkable story of how clever, improvised engineering, remarkable teamwork, and sheer will to succeed averted a major catastrophe in space.

About this title

About the Author:

Dr. David Baker worked with NASA on the Gemini, Apollo and Shuttle programmes between 1965 and 1990. He has written more than 80 books on spaceflight technology and is the author of the Haynes NASA Space Shuttle Manual, International Space Station Manual, NASA Mars Rovers Manual, Apollo 13 Manual, Soyuz Manual, Rocket Manual and forthcoming Hubble Space Telescope Manual. He lives in East Sussex.

Review:

"Apollo 13 unfolds like a taught techno-thriller. In telling the story, Baker moves from from the flight planning stage through the launch, to the post-"problem" improvisations and the post-mission failure investigation, covering every conceivable detail of the mission, from the issues with this or that o-ring to the operation of the on-board computer to the coffee break schedule in Mission control to President Nixon's diplomatic schedule without ever allowing the pace of the story to drag. Throughout the book, Baker emphasizes both the immense complexity and immense precision of the Apollo program. If you've ever watched Ed Harris' go/no-go sound off in Ron Howard's Apollo 13 and wondered just what all went into putting all those systems together, Baker is the guy who can tell you. Because he kept all the receipts." - i09.com

"Apollo 13, written by David Baker, is something of a hybrid, providing some mission history and small anecdotes not available on the beaten path. Mainly it excels in proffering an avalanche of chronology and statistics on what was to have been America's third moon landing. Want to know what time our star-crossed trio jumped into the transfer van to take them to the launch pad? It's in here. How about a schematic for the lunar module's fuel flow? Got that too. Overall, the book provides information in understandable prose and enough engineering details just far enough beyond my grasp that I shake my head in wonder at what it takes to conquer the moon." - Smithsonian Air & Space Magazine

About this edition

• Publisher: Zenith Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0760346194
• ISBN 13: 9780760346198
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 204