Science: Heading for the Hills

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ONLY nine months have passed since man made his first lunar landing, and many Americans have already become rather blase about moon shots. But to the thousands of spectators in Florida and millions in front of TV sets around the world, last week's Apollo launch—televised from close up for the first time—had obviously lost none of its awesome drama. "Good luck, and head for the hills!" called Cape Kennedy launch control to the Apollo crew. Apollo 13 did just that. It lifted off into the hazy Florida skies in a cloud of flame and, only six-tenths of a second late, headed toward the hilly highlands near the lunar crater Fra Mauro, 246,000 miles away.

Only one mechanical bug marred the launch: the inboard engine of the Saturn rocket's second stage shut down two minutes prematurely. But the remaining four engines of the stage automatically compensated by firing 33 seconds longer than programmed, and the third-stage S-4B rocket burned an extra ten seconds to boost the spacecraft unerringly into earth orbit. Then, after 1½ revolutions of the earth, a five-minute blast from the S-4B sent the fifth U.S. manned lunar mission on a long glide toward the moon.

Painful Choice. Another bug—this one viral—made the hours before liftoff almost as tense as the launch itself. The countdown for the mission was about to begin when Astronaut Charles Duke, of the Apollo 13 back-up crew, complained of chills, fever and a rash. Doctors diagnosed his illness as rubella, or German measles. Duke had apparently caught the disease from the children of friends. Dismayed NASA officials immediately ordered blood tests of Apollo 13's first-line crew members, who had come in contact with Duke during several preflight conferences. Both Astronauts Jim Lovell and Fred Haise were found to be immune to rubella. Command Module Pilot Ken Mattingly was not; his blood lacked the necessary antibodies.

NASA was faced with a painful choice. If Mattingly were allowed to go on the mission, he might well be disabled by the disease (which can blur vision and swell the joints in the hand), perhaps while alone in orbit around the moon. If the mission were delayed until the next practical launch date, May 9, the extra cost would be $800,000 and there might also be some deterioration of the Saturn systems. In contrast, there was the possibility of replacing Mattingly with his back-up crewman, John Swigert, who was found to have immunity against rubella. But Swigert had trained only with the back-up crew and there was doubt that he could properly coordinate with Lovell and Haise on such short notice. Said Astronaut Chief "Deke" Slayton: "It was sort of like trying to put Glenn Miller into Tommy Dorsey's band. Both are great musicians, but each has a different style."

Alone in Orbit. Against the objections of Lovell, who wanted to risk taking Mattingly along, NASA officials decided to put Swigert to the test. He was substituted for Mattingly in mission simulator tests and quickly proved that he was master of his assignment. So while a delighted Swigert lifted off from Cape Kennedy, a bitterly disappointed Mattingly watched from the Mission Control Center in Houston.