IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1421 

Recognizing the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission and the heroic 

actions of both the crew and those working at mission control in Houston, Texas, for bringing the three astronauts, Fred Haise, Jim Lovell, 

and Jack Swigert, home to Earth safely. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 28, 2010 

Mr. POE of Texas (for himself, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. OLSON, Mr. CULBERSON, 

Ms. GRANGER, and Mr. BRADY of Texas) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Science and Technology 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission 

and the heroic actions of both the crew and those working at mission control in Houston, Texas, for bringing 

the three astronauts, Fred Haise, Jim Lovell, and Jack 

Swigert, home to Earth safely. 

Whereas, on April 11, 1970, Apollo 13 was launched with an 

intended destination of Fra Mauro highlands on the 

Moon; 

Whereas on the way to the Moon, roughly 199,990 miles 

from Earth, the number 2 oxygen tank exploded and seriously damaged the Apollo 13 spacecraft; 

Whereas after mission control calculated that a lunar landing 

was impossible, mission control decided to fly a 


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•HRES 1421 IH 

circumlunar orbit and use the Moon’s gravity to return 

the ship to Earth; 

Whereas the tireless and heroic work of both mission control 

and the astronauts on board the spacecraft allowed Apollo 13 to safely navigate back to Earth; 

Whereas the heroic work of mission control in Houston, 

Texas, solved a number of unique engineering problems, 

such as using the lunar module as a lifeboat for the crew 

and devising a carbon dioxide control system completely 

from scratch; 

Whereas without the outstanding work of the men and 

women at mission control, the astronauts would most certainly not have been able to return to Earth safely; 

Whereas the safe return of the crew is a testament to United 

States ingenuity, and a can-do attitude which represents 

the best of the space program and the Nation; 

Whereas the Apollo program lasted from 1961 to 1975 and 

set a number of milestones in human spaceflight, including the first mission that left low Earth orbit and the 

first man on the Moon; 

Whereas the Apollo program spurred advances in many areas 

of technology including avionics, telecommunications, and 

computers; and 

Whereas the Apollo missions sparked interest in many fields 

of engineering which benefitted the United States economy, national psyche, and leadership in science and technology: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) recognizes the 40th anniversary of the Apol3 lo 13 mission; 


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•HRES 1421 IH 

1 (2) recognizes the bravery and heroism of the 

2 astronauts of the Apollo 13 mission, as well as the 

3 men and women in mission control; 

4 (3) reaffirms its support of National Aero5 nautics and Space Administration (NASA) and 

6 human space flight; and 

7 (4) recognizes the tremendous advances to 

8 science and technology in the United States that 

9 were spurned by the Apollo space program. 

Æ 


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