Today in History-April 14
Captain James Lovell led the Apollo 13 mission1970: Critical explosion cripples Apollo 13
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An explosion on board Apollo 13 has caused one of the most critical
situations in American space history and put the lives of the three astronauts
on board in severe jeopardy.
The explosion happened in the fuel cells of the spacecraft's service module
approximately 56 hours after lift-off.
This resulted in the loss of Apollo 13's main power supply which means
oxygen and water reserves are now critically low.
The safety of the three astronauts, Captain James Lovell, Jack Swigert and
Fred Haise, is uncertain although Nasa is hoping emergency contingency plans
will ensure their safe return.
Certain death
The cause of the explosion is not yet clear although it is understood it
could have been the result of ameteoritecrashing into the service module.
It is unlikely the exact cause will ever be ascertained as the service
module will burn up before the spacecraft's re-entry into the earth's
atmosphere.
The crew are currently surviving on the emergency battery power supply of
the lunar module, Aquarius.
If the accident had occurred after the lunar module had been detached for
the moon landing, the astronauts would have faced certain death.
The spacecraft's main computer has now been switched off to conserve what
little power remains in the command module, Odyssey, as this part of the
spacecraft will be required for re-entry into the earth's atmosphere.
Plans have been made to "slingshot" Apollo 13 around the moon and fire the
spacecraft's last remaining booster engine to take it away from the moon's orbit
and bring it back on course to earth.
This is a highly risky operation and there is no back-up should anything go
wrong.
If all goes to plan Apollo 13 is due to splash down at approximately 1900
BST on Friday 17 April.
Geological experiments
The Apollo 13 mission was to have been man's third moon landing. The
spacecraft was due to land in the Fra Mauro area of the moon on Thursday 16
April.
Captain Lovell and Mr Haise were due to carry out geological experiments on
the moon's surface as part of an ongoing project to establish the true age of
the moon.
Rock samples taken from previous missions have been dated as being 4,500
million years old.
During the 33-hour moon landing Mr Swigert would have been responsible for
piloting the command module in lunar orbit.
Mr Swigert replaced Thomas Mattingly as command module pilot just hours
before the mission began after it was found that Mr Mattingly had no immunity
after exposure to German Measles.
Mr Lule asked people not to seek vengeance
1979: New president for war-torn Uganda
Artificially 1969:
The A man driven into exile by former Uganda dictator Idi Amin has been
sworn in as the country's new president.
Yusufu Lule was greeted by cheering crowds when he arrived back in Uganda
yesterday from neighbouring Tanzania.
On Saturday Mr Lule took his presidential oath in a ceremony on the steps
of the parliament building in Uganda's capital, Kampala.
The new president then called for a moment's silence for the estimated half
a million people who had died under General Amin's rule.
Flanked by Tanzanian army commanders whose troops drove Idi Amin from
Kampala, Mr Lule appealed to his countrymen not to seekvengeance.
"We must not indulge in the evil acts of the regime we have just removed,"
he said.
President Lule condemned the former leader as a rebel and ordered commando
squads to track him down.
He urged troops still loyal to Idi Amin to surrender saying they would be
"protected" if they handed over their weapons.
Elections
Last year Idi Amin precipitated his own downfall by sending troops to
annexe part of Tanzania.
But Tanzania fought back, invaded Uganda and helped unify the various
anti-Amin rebel groups.
Last month the dictator was forced to flee and is now believed to be in a
remote area of the country with his remaining troops.
President Lule has said free elections will be held within two years -the
first in the central African state since 1962.
The formation of the new government is being celebrated by the Ugandan
people but it is a blow for Milton Obote, the man deposed by Idi Amin in
1971.
Mr Obote is a close friend of Tanzania's president Nyerere and many
expected him to once again become president after Idi Amin's fall.
But Mr Obote's nine-year rule and his socialist reforms were almost as
unpopular as Amin's regime.
Anti-Amin forces and exile groups told President Nyerere they would not
tolerate Mr Obote beingreinstated.
Vocabulary:
meteorite:a stony or metallic mass of matter that has fallen to the earth's
surface from outer space(陨星)
vengeance: infliction of punishment in return for a wrong committed;
retribution(报复)
reinstate:to restore to a previous condition or position(复职，复位)
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