From MSNBC on April 20, 2000		GRIM ‘WHAT-IF’ GAME FOR APOLLO 13
			Thirty years ago this month, NASA struggled to bring the three astronauts of Apollo 13 safely back to Earth after an explosion crippled their spacecraft. The tale of triumph has been told many times, but new simulations could change the historical accounts about what awaited the crew if failure turned out to be the only option.        Most accounts of Apollo 13 have indicated that if the crew had been unable to perform any maneuvers following the explosion on April 13, 1970, the spacecraft would have missed Earth by more than 40,000 miles, becoming a piece of eternal space debris.        But when Analytical Graphics and Space Exploration Engineering re-created the worst-case scenario for Apollo 13 in preparation for the 30th anniversary, the two companies came up with a different outcome: The analysis, drawing upon Analytical Graphics’ Satellite Tool Kit software, showed that the spacecraft’s slingshot course around the moon would have brought it within 2,300 miles of Earth. Apollo 13 then would have swung back out into a new fatal orbit, only to make a fiery re-entry through Earth’s atmosphere on May 20, 1970. The spacecraft — with three lifeless astronauts inside — would have burned up over the eastern Atlantic Ocean, according to the new analysis.        Mission commander Jim Lovell reportedly stated at the time that he would have preferred burning up in Earth’s atmosphere over becoming a permanent orbiting monument to America’s space program. The two companies’ analysis indicates that Lovell would have had his final wish granted if NASA’s efforts had failed.        The new analysis was brought to light April 12 on Analytical Graphics’ Web site and on Space.com, a space-oriented Web site. Space.com quoted Chuck Deiterich, who served as lead retrofire officer during the mission, as saying he was “very confident” about the revised miss distance. Deiterich aided Analytical Graphics and Space Exploration Engineering in their analysis, Space.com reported.        Analytical Graphics, based in Malvern, Pa., provides software tools to analyze and visualize orbits, with Satellite Tool Kit as its flagship product. Space Exploration Engineering, based in Paonia, Colo., specializes in aerospace engineering design and analysis.         Apollo 13 Date: April 11-17, 1970 Crew: James A. Lovell Jr., John L. “Jack” Swigert, Jr., Fred W. Haise Jr. Spacecraft: Odyssey (command module) and Aquarius (lunar module) Duration: 5 days, 22 hours, 54 minutes Flight log: En route to the moon, an oxygen tank explodes in the service module, causing the mission to be aborted.                Space Shorts includes material from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Reuters and Analytical Graphics.