What happened to Apollo 13 LM descent stage?












11












$begingroup$


I see in the accounts of the Apollo 13 mission that the descent stage engine of the LM were used to propel the joined spacecraft into a return trajectory to earth and that the crew remained in the LM ascent stage until shortly before reentry and return to Earth.



Here’s my question. Can we assume that the descent stage remained attached to ‘Aquarius’ all the way and so was burned up on reentry to the atmosphere with the ascent stage?



I have not seen any report indicating the descent stage was jettisoned after the engines of the descent stage were fired and its fuel supply exhausted.



Why would it not be jettisoned, if it wasn’t? It had served its purpose and would be in the way were there need to use the ascent stage engine. It would be dead weight.






apollo-program apollo-13







share|improve this question









New contributor




TomKat is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.







$endgroup$








  • 4




    $begingroup$
    The supplies for fuel, oxygen, water and batterie power were much bigger in the descent stage than in the ascent stage. It was therefore neccessary to keep the descent stage as long as possible, not only for fuel.
    $endgroup$
    – Uwe
    9 hours ago






  • 3




    $begingroup$
    Dead weight isn't a problem if you're not manoeuvring.
    $endgroup$
    – JCRM
    9 hours ago
















11












$begingroup$


I see in the accounts of the Apollo 13 mission that the descent stage engine of the LM were used to propel the joined spacecraft into a return trajectory to earth and that the crew remained in the LM ascent stage until shortly before reentry and return to Earth.



Here’s my question. Can we assume that the descent stage remained attached to ‘Aquarius’ all the way and so was burned up on reentry to the atmosphere with the ascent stage?



I have not seen any report indicating the descent stage was jettisoned after the engines of the descent stage were fired and its fuel supply exhausted.



Why would it not be jettisoned, if it wasn’t? It had served its purpose and would be in the way were there need to use the ascent stage engine. It would be dead weight.






apollo-program apollo-13







share|improve this question









New contributor




TomKat is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.







$endgroup$








  • 4




    $begingroup$
    The supplies for fuel, oxygen, water and batterie power were much bigger in the descent stage than in the ascent stage. It was therefore neccessary to keep the descent stage as long as possible, not only for fuel.
    $endgroup$
    – Uwe
    9 hours ago






  • 3




    $begingroup$
    Dead weight isn't a problem if you're not manoeuvring.
    $endgroup$
    – JCRM
    9 hours ago














11












11








11





$begingroup$


I see in the accounts of the Apollo 13 mission that the descent stage engine of the LM were used to propel the joined spacecraft into a return trajectory to earth and that the crew remained in the LM ascent stage until shortly before reentry and return to Earth.



Here’s my question. Can we assume that the descent stage remained attached to ‘Aquarius’ all the way and so was burned up on reentry to the atmosphere with the ascent stage?



I have not seen any report indicating the descent stage was jettisoned after the engines of the descent stage were fired and its fuel supply exhausted.



Why would it not be jettisoned, if it wasn’t? It had served its purpose and would be in the way were there need to use the ascent stage engine. It would be dead weight.






apollo-program apollo-13







share|improve this question









New contributor




TomKat is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.







$endgroup$




I see in the accounts of the Apollo 13 mission that the descent stage engine of the LM were used to propel the joined spacecraft into a return trajectory to earth and that the crew remained in the LM ascent stage until shortly before reentry and return to Earth.



Here’s my question. Can we assume that the descent stage remained attached to ‘Aquarius’ all the way and so was burned up on reentry to the atmosphere with the ascent stage?



I have not seen any report indicating the descent stage was jettisoned after the engines of the descent stage were fired and its fuel supply exhausted.



Why would it not be jettisoned, if it wasn’t? It had served its purpose and would be in the way were there need to use the ascent stage engine. It would be dead weight.






apollo-program apollo-13




apollo-program apollo-13






share|improve this question









New contributor




TomKat is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











share|improve this question









New contributor




TomKat is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited 8 hours ago









Nathan Tuggy

3,73842637




3,73842637






New contributor




TomKat is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









asked 9 hours ago









TomKatTomKat

562




562




New contributor




TomKat is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.





New contributor





TomKat is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.






TomKat is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.








  • 4




    $begingroup$
    The supplies for fuel, oxygen, water and batterie power were much bigger in the descent stage than in the ascent stage. It was therefore neccessary to keep the descent stage as long as possible, not only for fuel.
    $endgroup$
    – Uwe
    9 hours ago






  • 3




    $begingroup$
    Dead weight isn't a problem if you're not manoeuvring.
    $endgroup$
    – JCRM
    9 hours ago














  • 4




    $begingroup$
    The supplies for fuel, oxygen, water and batterie power were much bigger in the descent stage than in the ascent stage. It was therefore neccessary to keep the descent stage as long as possible, not only for fuel.
    $endgroup$
    – Uwe
    9 hours ago






  • 3




    $begingroup$
    Dead weight isn't a problem if you're not manoeuvring.
    $endgroup$
    – JCRM
    9 hours ago








4




4




$begingroup$
The supplies for fuel, oxygen, water and batterie power were much bigger in the descent stage than in the ascent stage. It was therefore neccessary to keep the descent stage as long as possible, not only for fuel.
$endgroup$
– Uwe
9 hours ago




$begingroup$
The supplies for fuel, oxygen, water and batterie power were much bigger in the descent stage than in the ascent stage. It was therefore neccessary to keep the descent stage as long as possible, not only for fuel.
$endgroup$
– Uwe
9 hours ago




3




3




$begingroup$
Dead weight isn't a problem if you're not manoeuvring.
$endgroup$
– JCRM
9 hours ago




$begingroup$
Dead weight isn't a problem if you're not manoeuvring.
$endgroup$
– JCRM
9 hours ago










3 Answers
3






active

oldest

votes


















14












$begingroup$

Lets have a look into Apollo By The Numbers:



enter image description here



There was a lot of unused fuel Aerozin 50 and oxidizer nitrogen tetroxide remaining in the descent stage of the Apollo 13 LM.



But the other supplies for oxygen, water and batterie power were much bigger in the descent stage than in the ascent stage. It was therefore neccessary to keep the descent stage as long as possible, not only for fuel.



There were six batteries in the LM, four in the descent stage with 400 Ah each and two in the ascent stage with 296 Ah each. So 73 % of the available battery energy was located in the descent stage. As long as the descent stage was present, all six batteries could be switched two both DC buses individually or disconnected as neccessary.






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$













  • $begingroup$
    the oxidizer wasn't oxygen
    $endgroup$
    – JCRM
    8 hours ago






  • 3




    $begingroup$
    @JCRM The LM used hypergolic fuel, no cryogenic oxygen. But oxygen was needed for breathing by the astronauts.
    $endgroup$
    – Uwe
    8 hours ago



















7












$begingroup$

Aquarius' ascent and descent stages stayed together until reentry.



As described in this QA, the descent stage carried the majority of battery power, oxygen, and water supply. Battery power in particular was the limiting factor for Apollo 13's survival, so the descent stage had to be retained until the very last moment.



As Uwe notes, over half the descent stage fuel remained (using more could have shortened the flight, but would have landed the command module in the wrong ocean), so there was no need for the ascent stage engine.






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$





















    4












    $begingroup$

    Regardless of consumables, the main concern with the descent module was the RTG.



    Each Apollo LM carried a small nuclear device containing nearly 4 Kg of plutonium that was to be left on the moon.



    The reentry of Apollo 13 was timed so that any surviving parts of the descent module of Acuarius ended up in the Tonga trench in the southern Pacific Ocean. The plutonium casket was designed to survive re-entry and was indeed confirmed to splash down at the expected location.






    share|improve this answer









    $endgroup$









    • 1




      $begingroup$
      +1 but please cite or link to a verifiable source for factual information in answers. Thanks!
      $endgroup$
      – uhoh
      4 hours ago











    Your Answer





    StackExchange.ifUsing("editor", function () {
    return StackExchange.using("mathjaxEditing", function () {
    StackExchange.MarkdownEditor.creationCallbacks.add(function (editor, postfix) {
    StackExchange.mathjaxEditing.prepareWmdForMathJax(editor, postfix, [["$", "$"], ["\\(","\\)"]]);
    });
    });
    }, "mathjax-editing");

    StackExchange.ready(function() {
    var channelOptions = {
    tags: "".split(" "),
    id: "508"
    };
    initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

    StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
    // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
    if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
    StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
    createEditor();
    });
    }
    else {
    createEditor();
    }
    });

    function createEditor() {
    StackExchange.prepareEditor({
    heartbeatType: 'answer',
    autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
    convertImagesToLinks: false,
    noModals: true,
    showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
    reputationToPostImages: null,
    bindNavPrevention: true,
    postfix: "",
    imageUploader: {
    brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
    contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
    allowUrls: true
    },
    noCode: true, onDemand: true,
    discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
    ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
    });


    }
    });






    TomKat is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.










    draft saved

    draft discarded


















    StackExchange.ready(
    function () {
    StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fspace.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f34176%2fwhat-happened-to-apollo-13-lm-descent-stage%23new-answer', 'question_page');
    }
    );

    Post as a guest















    Required, but never shown

























    3 Answers
    3






    active

    oldest

    votes








    3 Answers
    3






    active

    oldest

    votes









    active

    oldest

    votes






    active

    oldest

    votes









    14












    $begingroup$

    Lets have a look into Apollo By The Numbers:



    enter image description here



    There was a lot of unused fuel Aerozin 50 and oxidizer nitrogen tetroxide remaining in the descent stage of the Apollo 13 LM.



    But the other supplies for oxygen, water and batterie power were much bigger in the descent stage than in the ascent stage. It was therefore neccessary to keep the descent stage as long as possible, not only for fuel.



    There were six batteries in the LM, four in the descent stage with 400 Ah each and two in the ascent stage with 296 Ah each. So 73 % of the available battery energy was located in the descent stage. As long as the descent stage was present, all six batteries could be switched two both DC buses individually or disconnected as neccessary.






    share|improve this answer











    $endgroup$













    • $begingroup$
      the oxidizer wasn't oxygen
      $endgroup$
      – JCRM
      8 hours ago






    • 3




      $begingroup$
      @JCRM The LM used hypergolic fuel, no cryogenic oxygen. But oxygen was needed for breathing by the astronauts.
      $endgroup$
      – Uwe
      8 hours ago
















    14












    $begingroup$

    Lets have a look into Apollo By The Numbers:



    enter image description here



    There was a lot of unused fuel Aerozin 50 and oxidizer nitrogen tetroxide remaining in the descent stage of the Apollo 13 LM.



    But the other supplies for oxygen, water and batterie power were much bigger in the descent stage than in the ascent stage. It was therefore neccessary to keep the descent stage as long as possible, not only for fuel.



    There were six batteries in the LM, four in the descent stage with 400 Ah each and two in the ascent stage with 296 Ah each. So 73 % of the available battery energy was located in the descent stage. As long as the descent stage was present, all six batteries could be switched two both DC buses individually or disconnected as neccessary.






    share|improve this answer











    $endgroup$













    • $begingroup$
      the oxidizer wasn't oxygen
      $endgroup$
      – JCRM
      8 hours ago






    • 3




      $begingroup$
      @JCRM The LM used hypergolic fuel, no cryogenic oxygen. But oxygen was needed for breathing by the astronauts.
      $endgroup$
      – Uwe
      8 hours ago














    14












    14








    14





    $begingroup$

    Lets have a look into Apollo By The Numbers:



    enter image description here



    There was a lot of unused fuel Aerozin 50 and oxidizer nitrogen tetroxide remaining in the descent stage of the Apollo 13 LM.



    But the other supplies for oxygen, water and batterie power were much bigger in the descent stage than in the ascent stage. It was therefore neccessary to keep the descent stage as long as possible, not only for fuel.



    There were six batteries in the LM, four in the descent stage with 400 Ah each and two in the ascent stage with 296 Ah each. So 73 % of the available battery energy was located in the descent stage. As long as the descent stage was present, all six batteries could be switched two both DC buses individually or disconnected as neccessary.






    share|improve this answer











    $endgroup$



    Lets have a look into Apollo By The Numbers:



    enter image description here



    There was a lot of unused fuel Aerozin 50 and oxidizer nitrogen tetroxide remaining in the descent stage of the Apollo 13 LM.



    But the other supplies for oxygen, water and batterie power were much bigger in the descent stage than in the ascent stage. It was therefore neccessary to keep the descent stage as long as possible, not only for fuel.



    There were six batteries in the LM, four in the descent stage with 400 Ah each and two in the ascent stage with 296 Ah each. So 73 % of the available battery energy was located in the descent stage. As long as the descent stage was present, all six batteries could be switched two both DC buses individually or disconnected as neccessary.







    share|improve this answer














    share|improve this answer



    share|improve this answer








    edited 7 hours ago

























    answered 9 hours ago









    UweUwe

    10.9k23057




    10.9k23057












    • $begingroup$
      the oxidizer wasn't oxygen
      $endgroup$
      – JCRM
      8 hours ago






    • 3




      $begingroup$
      @JCRM The LM used hypergolic fuel, no cryogenic oxygen. But oxygen was needed for breathing by the astronauts.
      $endgroup$
      – Uwe
      8 hours ago


















    • $begingroup$
      the oxidizer wasn't oxygen
      $endgroup$
      – JCRM
      8 hours ago






    • 3




      $begingroup$
      @JCRM The LM used hypergolic fuel, no cryogenic oxygen. But oxygen was needed for breathing by the astronauts.
      $endgroup$
      – Uwe
      8 hours ago
















    $begingroup$
    the oxidizer wasn't oxygen
    $endgroup$
    – JCRM
    8 hours ago




    $begingroup$
    the oxidizer wasn't oxygen
    $endgroup$
    – JCRM
    8 hours ago




    3




    3




    $begingroup$
    @JCRM The LM used hypergolic fuel, no cryogenic oxygen. But oxygen was needed for breathing by the astronauts.
    $endgroup$
    – Uwe
    8 hours ago




    $begingroup$
    @JCRM The LM used hypergolic fuel, no cryogenic oxygen. But oxygen was needed for breathing by the astronauts.
    $endgroup$
    – Uwe
    8 hours ago











    7












    $begingroup$

    Aquarius' ascent and descent stages stayed together until reentry.



    As described in this QA, the descent stage carried the majority of battery power, oxygen, and water supply. Battery power in particular was the limiting factor for Apollo 13's survival, so the descent stage had to be retained until the very last moment.



    As Uwe notes, over half the descent stage fuel remained (using more could have shortened the flight, but would have landed the command module in the wrong ocean), so there was no need for the ascent stage engine.






    share|improve this answer











    $endgroup$


















      7












      $begingroup$

      Aquarius' ascent and descent stages stayed together until reentry.



      As described in this QA, the descent stage carried the majority of battery power, oxygen, and water supply. Battery power in particular was the limiting factor for Apollo 13's survival, so the descent stage had to be retained until the very last moment.



      As Uwe notes, over half the descent stage fuel remained (using more could have shortened the flight, but would have landed the command module in the wrong ocean), so there was no need for the ascent stage engine.






      share|improve this answer











      $endgroup$
















        7












        7








        7





        $begingroup$

        Aquarius' ascent and descent stages stayed together until reentry.



        As described in this QA, the descent stage carried the majority of battery power, oxygen, and water supply. Battery power in particular was the limiting factor for Apollo 13's survival, so the descent stage had to be retained until the very last moment.



        As Uwe notes, over half the descent stage fuel remained (using more could have shortened the flight, but would have landed the command module in the wrong ocean), so there was no need for the ascent stage engine.






        share|improve this answer











        $endgroup$



        Aquarius' ascent and descent stages stayed together until reentry.



        As described in this QA, the descent stage carried the majority of battery power, oxygen, and water supply. Battery power in particular was the limiting factor for Apollo 13's survival, so the descent stage had to be retained until the very last moment.



        As Uwe notes, over half the descent stage fuel remained (using more could have shortened the flight, but would have landed the command module in the wrong ocean), so there was no need for the ascent stage engine.







        share|improve this answer














        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer








        edited 8 hours ago

























        answered 8 hours ago









        Russell BorogoveRussell Borogove

        85.3k3287370




        85.3k3287370























            4












            $begingroup$

            Regardless of consumables, the main concern with the descent module was the RTG.



            Each Apollo LM carried a small nuclear device containing nearly 4 Kg of plutonium that was to be left on the moon.



            The reentry of Apollo 13 was timed so that any surviving parts of the descent module of Acuarius ended up in the Tonga trench in the southern Pacific Ocean. The plutonium casket was designed to survive re-entry and was indeed confirmed to splash down at the expected location.






            share|improve this answer









            $endgroup$









            • 1




              $begingroup$
              +1 but please cite or link to a verifiable source for factual information in answers. Thanks!
              $endgroup$
              – uhoh
              4 hours ago
















            4












            $begingroup$

            Regardless of consumables, the main concern with the descent module was the RTG.



            Each Apollo LM carried a small nuclear device containing nearly 4 Kg of plutonium that was to be left on the moon.



            The reentry of Apollo 13 was timed so that any surviving parts of the descent module of Acuarius ended up in the Tonga trench in the southern Pacific Ocean. The plutonium casket was designed to survive re-entry and was indeed confirmed to splash down at the expected location.






            share|improve this answer









            $endgroup$









            • 1




              $begingroup$
              +1 but please cite or link to a verifiable source for factual information in answers. Thanks!
              $endgroup$
              – uhoh
              4 hours ago














            4












            4








            4





            $begingroup$

            Regardless of consumables, the main concern with the descent module was the RTG.



            Each Apollo LM carried a small nuclear device containing nearly 4 Kg of plutonium that was to be left on the moon.



            The reentry of Apollo 13 was timed so that any surviving parts of the descent module of Acuarius ended up in the Tonga trench in the southern Pacific Ocean. The plutonium casket was designed to survive re-entry and was indeed confirmed to splash down at the expected location.






            share|improve this answer









            $endgroup$



            Regardless of consumables, the main concern with the descent module was the RTG.



            Each Apollo LM carried a small nuclear device containing nearly 4 Kg of plutonium that was to be left on the moon.



            The reentry of Apollo 13 was timed so that any surviving parts of the descent module of Acuarius ended up in the Tonga trench in the southern Pacific Ocean. The plutonium casket was designed to survive re-entry and was indeed confirmed to splash down at the expected location.







            share|improve this answer












            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer










            answered 5 hours ago









            Diego SánchezDiego Sánchez

            971514




            971514








            • 1




              $begingroup$
              +1 but please cite or link to a verifiable source for factual information in answers. Thanks!
              $endgroup$
              – uhoh
              4 hours ago














            • 1




              $begingroup$
              +1 but please cite or link to a verifiable source for factual information in answers. Thanks!
              $endgroup$
              – uhoh
              4 hours ago








            1




            1




            $begingroup$
            +1 but please cite or link to a verifiable source for factual information in answers. Thanks!
            $endgroup$
            – uhoh
            4 hours ago




            $begingroup$
            +1 but please cite or link to a verifiable source for factual information in answers. Thanks!
            $endgroup$
            – uhoh
            4 hours ago










            TomKat is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.










            draft saved

            draft discarded


















            TomKat is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.













            TomKat is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.












            TomKat is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
















            Thanks for contributing an answer to Space Exploration Stack Exchange!


            • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

            But avoid …



            • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

            • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


            Use MathJax to format equations. MathJax reference.


            To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




            draft saved


            draft discarded














            StackExchange.ready(
            function () {
            StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fspace.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f34176%2fwhat-happened-to-apollo-13-lm-descent-stage%23new-answer', 'question_page');
            }
            );

            Post as a guest















            Required, but never shown





















































            Required, but never shown














            Required, but never shown












            Required, but never shown







            Required, but never shown

































            Required, but never shown














            Required, but never shown












            Required, but never shown







            Required, but never shown







            -

            Popular posts from this blog

            How to reconfigure Docker Trusted Registry 2.x.x to use CEPH FS mount instead of NFS and other traditional...

            Image
            0 I am having trouble trying to reconfigure my DTR container to try and use a CEPH FS mount we created to act as a storage backend for our image repository. The Docs are very vague on this and nothing exactly explains on how to do it. Has anyone yet connected the dots? linux filesystems mount storage docker share | improve this question asked Feb 1 at 6:40 jRapp3r jRapp3r 1 1 add a comment  | 
            Read more

            is 'sed' thread safe

            Image
            2 If I have a shell/python script that uses sed to modify a file in place based on user inputs, and then two users run the same script at the same time or approx. same time, is 'sed' thread safe ? Or perhaps it is not an issue because the file_descripor that was opened by the first thread will be used to lock the file anyway ? thx linux sed python share | improve this question edited 7 hours ago Jeff Schaller 42.9k 11 59 137 asked 7 hours ago terreys terreys
            Read more

            How to make a Squid Proxy server?

            Image
            1 I want to set up squid proxy server for monitoring user activity in a network and Internet Web URL filtering for user. I also want to configure the user login, user log, user access group, and block unwanted web sites in my network. Please help me and guide me the full process to do this. server proxy squid share | improve this question edited Jul 31 '12 at 14:45 Jorge Castro 37.1k 107 422 617 asked Jul 31 '12 at 5:16 Goivind Tiwari Goivind Tiwari
            Read more