Battalion
Vol. 65 No. 102
College Station, Texas
Friday, April 17, 1970
Telephone 845-2226
Lunar Lander Released;
Apollo 13 Heading On In
APOLLO 13
iRE-ENTRY
By Howard Benedict
Associated Press Writer
SPACE CENTER, Houston —
The Apollo 13 astronauts today
kicked loose the lunar lander that
has served as their lifeline and
headed in the command ship for
a dash through earth’s atmos
phere to a splashdown in the Pa
cific Ocean.
Their splashdown was set for
1:07 p. m. EST.
Their service module, crippled
by an explosion Monday, had
been cast off earlier.
As the astronauts jettisoned
their services module they re
ported, “There’s one whole side
of that spacecraft missing . . .
it’s a mess.”
The damage was the result of
the oxygen tank rupture that
aborted the moon-landing mis
sion Monday night and forced
the astronauts to fight for sur
vival with the resources of their
lunar lander.
The separation of the service
module came at the end of an
hour of furious activity in which
James A. Lovell Jr., Fred W.
Haise Jr. and John L. Swigert
Jr. turned on the electrical pow
er in the command ship and fired
a control jet to aim for an after
noon landing in the Pacific Ocean.
The service module damage
would present no problem to the
astronaut’s return to earth.
Following the separation, Lov
ell said one whole panel, 22 feet
long, and part of the engine bell
were missing.
“Looks like a lot of debris is
just hanging off the side,” Lov
ell said. “It’s near the S-Band
antenna.”
The service module contained
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SPACE CENTER, Houston 05*)
—Despite the perilous flight of
Apollo 13, the United States has
no plans to develop a space res
cue system in the near future.
It would be too costly with pres
ent hardware, say officials of
the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration.
Even if another Saturn 5 rock
et had been standing by on a
launch pad at Cape Kennedy, it
might not have been useful if
Apollo 13 had needed immediate
rescue when an oxygen tank rup
tured Monday night.
Apollo 13 was nearly three
days from earth, near the moon.
The Saturn 5 would have re
quired several hours checkout
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Two hundred nineteen candi-
hates are seeking 70 positions to
be decided in the April 23 gen
eral election, Tommy Henderson,
Election Commission executive
vice president, announced Thurs
day.
Henderson said that polls will
be located at the Memorial Stu
dent Center, Sbisa newsstand,
dorm 2 guard room, and north
east of the library. A mobile poll
unit will also be used, he said.
Polls will be open from 7:30
a.m.-8 p.m., Henderson said. The
TMJthta vityA. vnW Y>e at the North
Gate post office from 7:30 a.m.-
11 a.m., the architecture parking
lot from ll:30a.m.-4 p.m. and the
parking lot of the student apart
ment office from 4:30-8 p.m.
Candidates, according to offi
cial Election Commission lists,
are:
Student Senate Executive
Committee: President — Kent
Caperton, William M. Maskal,
Jim Weaver; Vice President —
Roger Miller, David L. Moore;
Recording Secretary — Dale Fos
ter, Bill Hartsfield; Treasurer —
Jimmy Alexander, Eddie Duryea;
Parliamentarian — Michael
Martin Essmyer; Allen Eugene
Giles; Life Chairman — Rudy de
la Garza, John Sharp; Issues
Chairman — Kirby Brown, Dale
Foster, Charles R. Hoffm&n;
Welfare Chairman — Charles
Hicks; Public Relations Chair
man — Jimmy O’Jibway, Mike
van Bavel.
Student Senators:
College of Agriculture (two
senior, two junior, two sopho
more representatives): Senior —
Randall E. Betty, David E. Frost,
Charles Mueller, David Reynolds,
Gerald Witkouski; Junior —
Chuck Donnell, Kenny Hensley,
Court Koontz, Mike Latta, Ira F.
Lee; Sophomore — Mark Stephen
Kidd, Paul Eldon Puryear.
College of Architecture (one
senior, one junior, one sopho
more) : Senior — Gary Boyd,
Matt Carroll, Joe Flores, Robert
Riggs, David Stephens, Jr.; Jun
ior — Pearre Chase Jr., Ric de
Neve, Bob Thompson; Sophomore
— Darryl Baker, Cortland Piarce
Houchard, Edward Earl Huckaby.
College of Business Adminis
tration (two senior, two junior,
(See 219 Seek, page 3)
and at least three days to reach
the troubled astronauts.
The cost of a Saturn 5 is $185
million. The Apollo spacecraft
would require modification, at
great cost, to serve as a rescue
craft capable of carrying at least
five men.
There are several other ideas,
from orbiting rescue stations to
one-man space lifeboats that
could re-enter the atmosphere.
But they too cost money.
Because of economics, the space
agency has concentrated on elim
inating the chance of failure by
building backup systems in its
space vehicles.
That approach showed' short
comings when the command ship’s
main and backup supplies of pow-
6r and oxygen were drained by an
oxygen tank rupture. But the
astronauts did have the lunar
module resources to keep them
alive.
NASA does expect to have a
space rescue capability when it
develops a so-called space shuttle
system, perhaps late in this dec
ade. The shuttle would operate
like an airplane, taking off with
assist from a reusable manned
rocket to ferry men and supplies
to large orbiting space stations.
The shuttle would land like a
conventional airplane on any run
way, and could be flown 100 or
more times. With fast reaction
time, it will be able to serve in
an emergency situation.
most of the long-life oxygen and
electrical power for the Apollo
13 command: ship.
The explosion Monday night
rendered the command vehicle
useless until today when power
was restored with batteries.
The astronauts discarded the
service module to expose the
command ship heat shield which
was to protect them during the
blazing re-entry through the at
mosphere.
The spacemen used a tricky
“push-pull” technique to separate
the service module.
Lovell fired the lunar module
jets to push the service section
forward. Simultaneously, Swig-
Apollo 13 splashed down in the
Pacific Ocean southeast of Samoa
today, ending a perilous four-day
flight.
The prime recovery carrier, the
USS Iwo Jima, and a cargo ship,
the USS Hall, were in the area,
along with rescue planes, to take
the astronauts out of their cap
sule.
The crew rode its command ship
Odyssey to a pinpoint landing at
1:08 p. m., EST just four miles
from this recovery carrier.
The spaceship landed close
enough for television cameras
aboard the ship and a helicopter
to relay dramatic pictures as
Odyssey broke through a layer
of slfltfids 2,000 feet high. The
command module dangled under
three huge orange and red para
chutes.
Hundreds of sailors on the deck
cheered and clapped as the astro
nauts splashed down in warm,
rolling waters.
ert, in the command ship, fired
explosive devices to effect sep
aration. Lovell quickly reversed
the lunar craft to back away so
there would be no collision dur
ing re-entry later in the day.
The astronauts photographed
the damage. The pictures could
provide possible clues to the cause
of the rupture.
Earlier, Swigert slipped into
the command ship cabin to start
the batteries and oxygen sys
tem. These operate from a sep
arate system and are designed
for use during re-entry.
Lovell and Haise fired the lunar
craft’s small jets for 23 seconds
to zero in on the landing site 610
miles southeast of Samoa in the
Pacific.
Splashdown was scheduled for
1:07 p.m. EST.
“Right on the money,” Mis
sion Control said of the firing.
Without the firing, Apollo 13
would have missed the target
area by about 50 miles. There
was no immediate word on how
much the firing improved the
accuracy.
At the time of the burn, Apollo
13 was 43,222 miles from earth,
traveling 6,220 miles an hour.
Following the reading of the
lengthy checklist all three astro
nauts settled down to rest several
hours. They were bushed after
their long ordeal.
“We’ve got to establish a work-
rest cycle up here,” Lovell com
plained at one point when asked
to make a battery check. “We
just can’t wait around here and
just read the figures all the time
up to the burn . . . We got to get
(See Lunar, page 3)
RE-ENTRY PLAN—The Apollo 13 crew was to begin per
forming these events approximately S-'As hours before
splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, scheduled for 1:07 p. m.
EST.
Dallas Lawyer Speaker
At 68tli Muster Tuesday
On Student Problems
Smith, Ags Confer
HOMETOWN REMEMBRANCE — Three Biloxi, Miss.,
youngsters hang up a sign renaming their street after
astronaut Fred Haise Jr., who grew up on Church Street.
(AP Wirephoto)
Two A&M student leaders are
in Austin today participating in
the Governor-to-Presidents Con
ference.
Kent Caperton, Student Senate
vice president, and Tom Hender
son, president of the Texas Inter
collegiate Student Association,
were invited, along with student
leaders from across the State, to
discuss some of tht most pressing
problems facing the state.
Gov. Preston Smith is sponsor
ing the conference, which will
discuss environment, higher edu
cation, drug abuse, welfare, alien
ation of youth and the legislative
process.
Former Atty. Gen. Ramsey
Clark was scheduled to speak this
morning and CBS news correspon
dent Dan Rather was to speak at
noon. The remainder of the day
was to be spent in seminar ses
sion.
The conference resulted from
the Presid6nt-to-Presidents Con
ference held by President Richard
Nixon last summer.
A Texas conference was pro
posed by Bill Wright, student
body president at Southwest Tex
as State University and planned
through the (Governors Office.
Gov. Smith said that this con
ference was a continuation of his
policy of meeting with student
University National Bank
“On the side of Texas A&M.”
—Adv.
body presidents, one which had
already expanded his knowledge
and awareness of the ideas and
ideals of Texas youth.
“I think that this is a very
encouraging sign from our gover
nor that he is interested in our
problems and our approaches to
their solution,” Henderson said.
“With cooperation between stu
dent leaders and governmental
officials, I feel that we can go
a long way toward the solution
of our common problems in a
responsible yet satisfactory man
ner,” he said.
Dallas attorney Yale B. Griffis
will be the speaker at the annual
Muster program on the Texas
A&M campus Tuesday.
A&M students and staff and
Brazos County former students
will assemble in front of the east
entrance to the System Admini
stration Building for the 5:30
p.m. program where A&M stu
dents pay respect to deceased Ag
gies.
Collier Watson, chairman of the
Student Senate’s Student Life
Committee, will preside at the 40-
minute Muster.
The program will begin with
the Texas Aggie Band playing
“Texas Our Texas.” Civilian Stu
dent Chaplain Ed Donnell will
give the Muster prayer.
Student Senate President Gerry
Geistweidt will explain the Mus
ter tradition. An official from the
Association of Former Students
will bring greetings from the as
sociation.
A&M’s all-male Singing Cadets
will follow with “The 12th Man.”
Gen. A. R. Luedecke, acting
A&M president, will extend his
greetings and introduce Griffis.
Following the address, the band
will play the “Spirit of Aggie-
land,” with the audience joining
in the singing.
The roll call of deceased stu
dents, Brazos County former stu
dents and all Vietnam deaths
during the past year will be read
by head yell leader Sam Torn.
The Ross Volunteer Firing
Squad will give a 21-gun salute
and Silver Taps will be sounded.
Griffis is a 1930 graduate of
A&M.
A liberal arts major, he was a
Distinguished Student his junior
and senior years. He played trom
bone in the Texas Aggie Band
four years and was a member of
“C” Troop Cavalry.
Following graduation, Griffis
studied law at night at the Dallas
School of Law from 1932-36, serv
ing as president of the senior law
class. He was awarded the LLB
degree in 1936 and began an in
dependent practice in 1937.
Griffis is a member of the
American Bar Association, Dallas
Bar Association, Texas Bar As
sociation, Texas Trial Lawyers
Association, Texas A&M Associ
ation of Former Students and
Century Club member, and Dallas
A&M Club.
A&M’s Muster tradition dates
back to 1903, when the 300-mem
ber Corps of Cadets mustered to
gether in observance of the inde
pendence of Texas.
It was agreed that “forever aft
erwards” April 21 would be a
day of mustering for A&M men
wherever they might be.
Aggies have mustered on board
ship, in foxholes on the battle
field, in the Swiss Alps, in air
planes, and even on Corregidor,
shortly before the Japanese cap
tured the island in World War II.
More than 500 Musters will be
held around the world this year,
including several in South Viet
nam.
Aggies Favor Coed Housing,
Student’s PEAR Poll Reveals
A majority of the Aggies par
ticipating in a poll conducted
Wednesday and Thursday strong
ly agree that on-campus housing
is necessary for women and that
pollution is a very threatening
problem to the human race and
environment.
Sophomore accounting major
Julio Richer, initiator of the poll,
has founded the PEAR Associa
tion to conduct statistical re
search polls and surveys on the
A&M campus. According to Rich
er, the word PEAR is derived by
taking the first letters of the
phrase, “Resident After-Election
Poll” and spelling them back
wards.
He conducted his poll among
Moses Hall residents.
Richer said that it took him
over 17 hours to interview the
students and to calculate the re
sults.
Students were asked whether
they strongly agreed, moderately
agreed, slightly agreed, were in
different, strongly disagreed,
moderately disagreed or slightly
agreed with the 21 questions
Richer asked each of them.
Most of those questioned
strongly disagreed with chang
ing the name of the “Aggie War
Hymn” to the “Aggie Fight
Song.”
One hundred five of the 149
students interviewed strongly
agreed that the Student Senate
should make announcements in
The Battalion with regard to the
time and place that a senate
meeting will take place.
Most Aggies participating said
they at least agreed that the fac
ulty and students should have a
voice in the nomination of the
permanent president of the Texas
A&M University System.
Richer said that any dormitory
wishing to participate in the April
22 and April 27 election polls
must supply four volunteers per
dorm. Anyone wanting informa
tion, he said, about the poll should
contact him at 845-4075.
Civilian Week Begins Monday
Civilians begin Monday the
week that is theirs, one that
climaxes with Civilian Weekend
April 24-27.
Several activities are planned
for each day during the week,
according to Garry Mauro, presi
dent of Keathley hall and chair
man of the Civilian Student
Council’s Civilian Week-Weekend
Committee. A dance and selec
tion of the 1970-71 Civilian
Sweetheart next Saturday will
end the week.
Monday, Mauro said, has been
designated Residence Hall Day.
From noon until 6 p.m. a CSC-
sponsored auto show will be held
in the quadrangle area between
Sbisa Dining Hall and Davis-
Gary Hall. Several local auto
dealers will be participating in
the show.
Beginning at 6 p.m., halls will
participate in egg throw and
molasses drop contests, held on
a run-off type basis, in the quad
area. At 7, Aggie Cinema will
show “The Great Race” in The
Grove for 50 cents admission.
In the event of rain, the film will
be shown in Room 113 Biological
Sciences.
Tuesday is Academic Day-
Aggie Muster. A noon banquet
will honor faculty members who,
in the opinion of the CSC, are
student-oriented. Muster will be
held at 5 p.m. in front of the
System Administration Building.
A Black Awareness Rap Ses
sion at 7 p.m. ends the day. Be
tween four and six black stu
dents will be on hand in lounge
A-2, between Boses and Eugene
Halls, to answer questions other
students might have about black
student life at A&M.
“This is one of the few oppor
tunities for the average Aggie
to talk with a black student,”
Mauro said, “and find out what
he really expects to get out of
Texas A&M. It’s a chance for
Aggies to find out what the real
situation is, instead of going by
rumors.”
Wednesday will be Earth Day,
in honor of the national environ
mental teach-in being held that
day. All day will be devoted to
programs presented by A&M’s
Symposium for Environmental
Awareness. A voter rally will
be held at 5 p.m. on the drill
field, and mud football, horse
shoes, push ball and tug of war
contests will be held on the intra
mural field at West Gate. Pool
tournaments will begin at 6 in
the Aggie Den at North Gate,
and spade and chess contests will
be held in the MSC.
Get Out The Vote Day is
Thursday’s title. Throughout the
(See Civilian Week, page 2)