Amazing Engineers- Men of Honor  =D> =D> =D>




Forty years after an accident that threatened the lives of the Apollo 13 space crew, a team of U of T engineers was recognized Tuesday morning for the little-known role they played in averting a tragedy.

Phil Sullivan, Rod Tennyson, Irvine Glass, Barry French and Ben Etkin were honoured during a ceremony at the Canadian Air and Space Museum at Downsview Park for helping the astronauts safely return to Earth.

On April 13, 1970, an oxygen tank exploded as the spaceship was four-fifths of the way to the moon. The crew was forced to scrap the moon mission and focus solely on getting back to Earth alive.

The plan involved the crew members moving from the service module, which was hemorrhaging oxygen, into the cramped, frigid lunar lander while they rationed their dwindling oxygen and electricity.

Using the lunar module as a lifeboat, they swung around the moon and aimed for Earth.

The professors from the University of Toronto’s Institute for Aerospace Studies were called upon by Grumman, a major contractor on the lunar program, to make crucial air pressure calculations needed for the strategy.

With very little data and no computers to rely on, the engineers were able to make the calculation and report it back to NASA.