Captain of Apollo 13 Finds Even Model Rockets Have Glitches

UNIVERSAL CITY â€”  “Five, four . . . “ Capt. James Lovell, commander of the ill-fated Apollo 13, sat a short distance from the black-tipped yellow rocket.

“Three, two . . . “

The event was a model rocket competition here on Thursday. The crowd joined in on the countdown’s final seconds.

“One!�

Nothing. The rocket’s thrusters failed to fire. The crowd remained quiet, except for a few nervous whispers. On the launch pad, the rocket remained a still life.

“Uh-oh,� said Lovell. “Houston, it looks like we’ve got a problem here.�

Lovell’s deadpan comment echoed his all-too-real broadcast to Mission Control 25 years ago, when he and two other men were in a faltering spacecraft 200,000 miles from home. But this time, with the stakes much lower, his line got a huge laugh.

Lovell and fellow astronaut Wally Schirra judged the competition among 30 fifth-graders from Oxnard Street Elementary School in North Hollywood.

The event marked the opening of the “Making of Apollo 13� attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood. The exhibit, featuring a cutaway of the Apollo 13 command module and replica space suits, sat next door to the An American Tail Theatre and the set of the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.

“When I was a little kid, we didn’t have engines like this,� said Lovell, looking over a rocket that was to be launched. He said he was an avid model rocket builder as a child.

“I had to use my own propellant. I used gunpowder. It didn’t come back down.�

For the competition’s first entry, the problem was leaving the ground rather than returning, although the rocket finally lifted skyward on the third attempt.

“This was your Gemini 6 flight Wally,� quipped Lovell, referring to Schirra’s 1965 mission that was twice aborted on the launch pad. “I knew it.�

Schirra laughed. “Just think, this is all put together by the lowest bidder,� he said, repeating an old joke among veterans of the space program.

All five model rockets ultimately launched and landed safely. All the students received passes for a daylong, general science workshop at the Los Angeles Museum of Science and Industry.

Students on the team with the highest-flying model--Laura Blanco, Miguel Figueroa, Chris Orantes, Martha Sencion, David Villagrana and Cynthia Zuniga--were also awarded a weeklong visit to U.S. Space Camp, operated by NASA, in Alabama.

“This is definitely a lifetime memory,� said Lourdes Knapp, a sixth-grade teacher who accompanied the students. “How often do you get a chance to meet a real-life astronaut?�

“What we’re trying to do is give them some enthusiasm about education, whether they become a rocket engineer or a doctor,� said Lovell. “It [Apollo 13] is a reminder not only of where we have been, but also where we can go in the future.�

Lovell co-wrote “Lost Moon� about the troubled 1970 space flight. The book was the basis for the just-released film.

Schirra was one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts. He also commanded Apollo 7 and served on Gemini 6.

“After three [space] flights, it’s nice to be here,� Schirra, 72, told the crowd at Universal City. “At my age it’s nice to be anywhere.�

Renewed interest in the Apollo 13 mission allowed both men to dust off other tried-and-true quips.

One student asked the astronauts what their favorite sight was during their adventures in the space program.

“The parachute,� Schirra said.

“The water,� Lovell corrected.

The easy banter continued throughout the program, proving that, for these two former astronauts, there was really no problem here at all.