Vintage
ImranLondon delivers a compelling historical account of the Apollo 13 mission, focusing on the critical role the Omega Speedmaster played in the crew's survival. This post meticulously details the events leading to the famous 14-second engine burn, underscoring the watch's indispensable function in a real-life space emergency. It's a powerful reminder of the Speedmaster's enduring legacy and its connection to human ingenuity.
The CM had to be shut down to conserve energy for a return home and in effect the LM had become a lifeboat.
The consequences were far reaching, there was a resultant loss of heat, a shortage of water and oxygen. The CO2 scrubbers were modified to allow for more conversion into oxygen. The modification relied on equipment on board that could be hastily modified to perform a new role.
The ground crew carried out an assessment of the damage and with Flight Director Gene Kranz at the helm, came up with a recovery plan. They decided that the best way to effectively get the crew back to Earth would comprise using the gravity of the moon to sling shot the craft back to Earth and use lunar module’s Descent Propulsion System (DPS) to guide it on the correct trajectory.
However at the angle of descent they were at, the CM would ‘bounce’ straight back into space. To correct for this, the crew had to burn the engines for an allotted time to change the trajectory to allow for the correct angle of entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.
Swigert would time the burn using his Speedmaster- the Speedmaster would get its 14 seconds of fame. And an award- the famous Snoopy award.
The mission lasted till the 17.04.70 – successfully returning the crew home alive. It may not have been a success in the mission sense, but certainly was a huge success in the resourcefulness of human endeavour.
Speedmaster was naturally the choice of chronograph. Although likely to be a ref 105.012 it is unclear which variant was worn by James Lovell.
However, will the real Snoopy Speedmaster please stand up! YES- we know the REAL SNOOPY reference- Swigert wore a reference 105.012-66 CB case!
THE ORIGINAL SNOOPY is a CB case!!!!!
This must make this case reference now a legendary reference.
In summary:
James Lovell: probably a variant of the reference 105.012- unclear
John Swigert: “Snoopy” ref. 105.012-66 CB
Fred Haise: ref: 105.012-66 CB
The Omega Nautilus reference CK2998 is a specific model within the Omega lineup. This reference is identified by its unique alphanumeric designation.
No verifiable details regarding the case, materials, crystal, or movement are provided in the input facts or the collector's post.
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I was waiting for Apollo 13! Best regards
Thank you! Best Blomman
Best Reubin
but as you said, monumental achievement of the crew. The mission logo is my favorite one of all, second favorite being the Apollo 1 and third the Apollo 11 . Cheers, Filip
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