HOUSTON, April 13, 1970 (UPI) -- When the Apollo 13 moon flight experienced electrical failure last night, Astronauts James A. Lovell, Fred W. Haise and John L. Swigert reported events calmly and matter-of-factly to Mission Control.
The first report from the spacecraft was:
"....Hey, we've got a problem here."
Either Swigert or Haise made the report.
At Mission Control, capsule communicator Jack Lousma said: "This is Houston, say again please."
"Houston, we've had a problem," Lovell said. "We've had a main B bus undervolt."
The communications between Lousma and the spacecraft then went this way:
Lousma: "Roger, Main B undervolt. Okay, stand by 13. We're looking at it."
Haise: "Okay, and right now Houston, the voltage is looking good. And we had a pretty large ban associated with the caution and the warning there. And if I recall, main B was the one that had an amp spike on it once before."
Lousma: "Roger, Fred."
Haise: "In the interim here, we're starting to go ahead and button up the tunnel again (the astronauts had just been in the moon lander)."
Haise: "Yeah, we got a main bus A undervolt now, too, showing."
Lousma: "Roger."
Haise: "And Jack, our 02 cryo No. 2 tank is reading zero, did you get that?"
Lousma: "O2 (oxygen) quantity No. 2 is zero."
Haise: "That's AC, OK, yes, that's AC and it looks to me looking out the hatch that we are venting something. We are venting something out into the - space."
Lousma: "Roger, we copy your venting."
Swigert: OK, and something is giving us a rate, Jack, both in pitch and roll, so I'm suspecting that maybe it's whatever is that we're venting back there. I had to use direct in order to stabilize it, and as soon as I do we're going to pick up rates again. Can you pick up any jets firing?"
Lousma: "Stand by. What direction are your rates in Jack?"
Swigert: "It's negative pitch and negative roll."
Lousma: "OK 13, we've got lots and lots of people working on this. We'll get you some dope as soon as we have it - and you'll be the first one to know."
