Houston, United States around 1969/1970 34 x 20 x 8 cm Provenance: Swiss Space Museum It was less than a year ago that US astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin had become the first humans to set foot on the moon as part of the Apollo 11 mission. Interest had already waned when James Lovell, John Swigert and Fred Haise set off on Apollo 13 for the third moon landing on 11 April 1970. After just under 56 hours of flight, this changed abruptly: an oxygen tank exploded. This original device was installed in Mission Control in Houston in the Operation Control Room in one of the famous consoles and in use during the dramatic Apollo 13 mission. The unit bears the typical NASA sticker reading "Critical Space Item - Handle with extreme Care". The panel is signed on the top by well-known flight controller Sy Liebergot, who was heavily involved in the Apollo 13 rescue mission. Liebergot sat at the EECOM (Electrical, Environmental and Consumables Manager) console. On Monday evening, 13 April 1970, Liebergot was nearing the end of his shift when he ordered a routine check of Apollo 13s oxygen tanks. An explosion completely derailed the flight, causing Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell to make the famous radio call, "Houston, weve had a problem." The explosion caused the moon landing to be aborted. From then on, the three astronauts were in great danger. In Mission Control, Liebergot continued to work on the problem after a brief battle with panic until Flight Director Glynn Lunneys Black Team came on duty about an hour after the accident. The control centre and engineers throughout the US feverishly and systematically searched for solutions to bring the crew back to earth in one piece. The freezing and tired astronauts had to make delicate course corrections manually. Only shortly before arrival did they transfer to the command module for landing. The service module and the lunar module were jettisoned. After re-entering the Earths atmosphere and three interminable minutes of radio silence, the astronauts reported back. The parachutes opened and the command module splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. After almost 90 long hours, the world could finally breathe again. Sy Liebergots work continued after Apollo 13, working on both the Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz test programmes. He retired from NASA in 1988. Since the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission and the associated restoration of the Apollo Mission Control Room in Houston, it has been extremely difficult to obtain relevant equipment. MISSION CONTROL PANEL Houston, USA um 1969/1970 34 x 20 x 8 cm Es war noch kein Jahr her, dass die US-Astronauten Armstrong und Aldrin im Rahmen der Mission Apollo 11 als erste Menschen den Mond betreten hatten. Das Interesse hatte schon nachgelassen, als sich James Lovell, John Swigert und Fred Haise am 11. April 1970 mit Apollo 13 zur dritten Mondlandung aufmachten. Nach knapp 56 Stunden Flugzeit ?nderte sich dies schlagartig: Ein Sauerstofftank explodierte. Dieses originale Ger?t war in Mission Control in Houston im Operation Control Room in einer der berühmten Konsolen installiert und w?hrend der dramatischen Apollo 13 Mission im Einsatz. Das Ger?t tr?gt den typischen NASA-Sticker mit der Aufschrift ?Critical Space Item – Handle with extreme Care“. Das Panel ist auf der Oberseite signiert vom bekannten Flight Controler Sy Liebergot, der an der Apollo-13-Rettungsmission beteiligt war. Liebergot sass an der EECOM-Konsole (Electrical, Environmental and Consumables Manager EECOM). Am Montagabend, 13. April 1970, n?herte sich Liebergot dem Ende seiner Schicht, als er eine Routinekontrolle der Sauerstofftanks von Apollo 13 anordnete. Eine Explosion liess den Flug v?llig entgleisen, sodass Apollo-13-Kommander Jim Lovell den berühmten Funkspruch "Houston, we’ve had a problem" absetzte. Die Explosion führte dazu, dass die Mondlandung abgebrochen wurde. Die drei Astronauten schwebte fortan in grosser Gefahr. In Mission Control arbeitete Liebergot nach einem kurzen Kampf mit der Panik weiter an dem Problem, bis das Black Team von Flugdirektor Glynn Lunney etwa eine Stunde nach dem Unfall seinen Dienst antrat. Das Kontrollzentrum und Ingenieure in den ganzen USA suchten fieberhaft und systematisch nach L?sungen, um die Besatzung heil zur Erde zurückzubringen. Die frierenden und übermüdeten Astronauten mussten heikle Kurskorrekturen manuell ausführen. Erst kurz vor der Ankunft stiegen sie in das Kommando-Modul um. Das Service-Modul und die Mondlandef?hre wurden abgesprengt. Nach dem Wiedereintritt in de Erdatmosph?re und drei unendlich langen Minuten Funkstille meldeten sich die Astronauten wieder. Die Fallschirme ?ffneten sich und das Kommando-Modul wasserte im Pazifik. Nach fast 90 langen Stunden konnte die Welt endlich wieder aufatmen. Auch nach Apollo 13 setzte sich Sy Liebergots Wirken fort, indem er sowohl am Skylab- als auch am Apollo-Sojus-Testprogramm mitarbeitete. Er schied 1988 aus der NASA aus. Seit dem 50-Jahr-Jubil?um der Mission Apollo 11 und der damit verbundenen Restauration des Apollo-Mission-Control-Room in Houston ist es extrem schwierig, an entsprechende Ger?te heranzukommen.
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