Apollo 13

2010-06-13T03:44:02Z

EthanA: I corrected what could be construed as an error - though the mission to the moon had to be abandon, the spacecraft did not actually "turn back."

[[Image:603px-Ap13.png|Apollo 13 Mission insignia.|thumb]]
'''Apollo 13''' was a manned mission to the moon, famous for suffering an explosion en route and being forced to abandon its planned lunar landing. The crew of Apollo 13 were in mortal danger at many times during their voyage, and were forced to use much of the technology on board in new and unexpected ways to arrive safely home.

The world response was unprecedented, with adherents of every religion and faith praying for the safe return of astronauts [[Jim Lovell]], [[Jack Swigert]], and Fred Haise.

==Mission==
[[Image:470px-GPN-2000-001167.jpg|right|thumb|The Apollo 13 lunar landing mission prime crew from left to right are: Commander, James A. Lovell Jr., Command Module pilot, John L. Swigert Jr.and Lunar Module pilot, Fred W. Haise Jr.]]

Apollo 13 launched from the Cape Kennedy space center on April 11, 1970, at 2:13 PM EST, headed for the Frau Mora highlands on the Moon. During launch, dangerous vibrations caused by instabilities in the burning fuel resulted in one of the five engines shutting down. Although this was compensated for by diverting fuel to the remaining engines and running them for longer, subsequent missions were fitted with vibration dampeners to prevent this sort of error again.

On April 13, 1970, at 10:07 EST, one of the two oxygen tanks on board the spacecraft exploded. A faulty wire had sparked, igniting the oxygen and causing the explosion. It was not the fault of any of the astronauts, or any of the ground crew in Houston. The explosion damaged the fuel cells, which were adjacent to the oxygen tanks aboard to spacecraft. In an attempt to prevent further power loss from the remaining fuel cells, the damaged fuel cells were shutdown. Although this did not have the intended effect, it made a lunar landing impossible.

With power draining, and barely enough air to last the return trip, the crew put the spacecraft into a freefall towards the moon, which swung the craft back towards the Earth. As they passed over the far side of the moon, the Apollo 13 crew were father from Earth than any human beings have been, before or since.

The crew encountered a series of difficulties on their return, including low power supplies, insufficient water, cramped quarters (parts of the spacecraft were too cold, forcing the 3-man crew into a 2-man region), Fred Haise's urinary tract infection, and dangerously high carbon dioxide levels. All of these problems were overcome, and Apollo 13 splashed down southwest of [[American Samoa]] with all crew members alive.

==Global Response==

The world broke out in prayer, with special services held at the Chicago Board of Trade, St. Peter's Basilica by the [[Pope]], at the Wailing Wall in [[Jerusalem]] and even the [[U.S. Senate]] in the form of a resolution urging prayer.<ref>http://www.amerisearch.net/index.php?date=2004-04-11&view=View</ref>

[[Richard Nixon|President Nixon]] gave thanks at Kawaiahao Church, the oldest [[Christian]] [[church]] in [[Hawaii]], on April 19, 1970, saying: <ref>''Id.''</ref>

<blockquote style="background: #F9F9F9; border: 1px solid #AAAAAA; padding: .3em;">

When we learned of the safe return of our astronauts, I asked that the Nation observe a National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving today .... This event reminded us that in these days of growing [[materialism]], deep down there is still a great religious faith in this Nation. ... I think more people prayed last week than perhaps have prayed in many years in this country .... We pray for the assistance of [[God]] when ... faced with ... great potential tragedy.

</blockquote>

==See Also==
*[[Apollo 11]]
*[[Project Apollo]]
*[[National Aeronautics and Space Administration]]
== References ==

<references/>

[[Category:Space Exploration]]

Colin Powell

2010-06-13T02:12:18Z

EthanA: /* Political views */

{{Officeholder
|name=Colin Powell
|image=Colin_Powell.jpg
|party=[[Republican]]
|spouse=Alma Vivian Johnson Powell
|religion= Episcopalian
|offices=
{{Officeholder/secretary (cabinet)
|of=State
|state=United States
|number=65th
|deputy=n
|president=[[George W. Bush]]
|terms=January 20, 2001-January 26, 2005
|preceded=[[Madeleine Albright]]
|former=y
|succeeded=[[Condoleezza Rice]]
}}
}}
'''General Colin Luther Powell''', United States Army (Ret.) (born April 5, 1937) was the 65th [[United States]] [[Secretary of State]] (2001-05) under President [[George W. Bush]] and is a [[liberal]] member of the [[Republican Party]]. As a General in the [[United States Army]], Powell also served as [[National Security Advisor]] (1987–1989), and as Chairman of the [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]] (1989–1993) he became the highest ranking African American government official in the history of the United States.

==Military career==
While at City College Powell joined the Reserve Officers' Training Corps and later described it as one of the happiest experiences of his life: finding something he loved and could do well, he had "found himself." After graduating from City College in June 1958, he was granted a commission as an Army Second Lieutenant. Powell was a professional soldier for 35 years, during which time he held a variety of command and staff positions and later served as a General. During his military career Powell received the [[Purple Heart]], [[Bronze Star]] and the [[Soldiers Medal]].

==Presidential appointments==
At the age of 49, Powell became President [[Ronald Reagan]]'s National Security Advisor, serving from 1987 to 1989. He retained his Army commission (he was a Lieutenant General at the time of his nomination) while serving as National Security Advisor. After his tenure, Powell was promoted to 4-star General under President [[George H.W. Bush]].

From 1989 to 1993, General Powell served as chairman of the [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]], the highest [[military]] position in the Department of Defense. During this time, he oversaw 28 crises, including the invasion of [[Panama]] in 1989 to remove General [[Manuel Noriega]] from power in 1989 and Operation Desert Storm in the 1991 [[Persian Gulf War]]. During these events, Powell earned his nickname, "the reluctant warrior". After the end of Persian Gulf War, Colin Powell outlined his vision for efficient and decisive military action. His plan is now referred to as the [[Powell Doctrine]]. The Doctrine expresses that military action should be used only as a last resort and only if there is a clear risk to national security by the intended target; the force, when used, should be overwhelming and disproportionate to the force used by the enemy; there must be strong support for the campaign by the general public; and there must be a clear exit strategy from the conflict in which the military is engaged.

[[Image:20010912-4-1.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Secretary of State Colin Powell, [[Vice President of the United States of America|Vice President]] [[Dick Cheney]] and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Hugh Shelton, President George W. Bush talks with the press about the previous day's terrorist attacks during a cabinet meeting Sept. 12, 2001. White House photo by Tina Hager. ]] Later as Secretary of State in the Bush [[administration]], Powell was tremendously popular among the American people. After the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]], Powell's job became of critical importance in managing America's relationships with foreign countries in order to secure a stable coalition in the [[War on Terrorism]]. Powell is best known in the international community for testifying to the [[United Nations]] in 2003 about the specifics of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program and for failing to generate international support for United States' [[foreign policy]] in George W. Bush's first term.<ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/03/17/1047749726236.html Failure of US diplomacy may claim Powell's scalp</ref> After Powell left the [[National Security Council]], the fortunes for the United States markedly improved in diplomacy (with countries like [[France]]<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/25/AR2007062501691.html?hpid=sec-world Washington Post - Rice Breaks Ice With France's New Leaders]</ref>) and in the [[Iraq War]] after the [[troop surge]] was implemented in George W. Bush's second term. In 2008, he endorsed [[Barack Obama]], who had opposed the surge in 2007.

==Political views==
Colin Powell is a [[liberal]] or moderate Republican who is [[pro-choice]] regarding [[abortion]], supports affirmative action and "reasonable" gun control. Although Powell is against [[gay]] marriage, he supports and helped craft the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy in the United States military. He has also been critical of the current policy in Iraq. In 2005, Powell telephoned two Senator's, [[Lincoln Chafee]] of [[Rhode Island]] and [[Chuck Hagel]] of [[Nebraska]] (also liberal Republicans) asking them to oppose the nomination of John R. Bolton as ambassador to the [[United Nations]]. In September 2005, Powell criticized the government's response to [[Hurricane Katrina]]. Powell was mentioned as a potential running mate for [[John McCain]]<ref>http://www.aarpmagazine.org/people/colin_powell.html</ref>, but said he was no longer interested in elected office.

==Obama endorsement==
On 19 October 2008, Powell endorsed Barack Obama for President. Powell said that Obama was a "transformational figure coming into the world stage" <ref>http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/19/colin-powell-endorses-obama/</ref> and expressed disappointment in what he called the "negative tone" of McCain's campaign, as well as in McCain's choice of [[Sarah Palin]] as the Republican vice presidential nominee <ref>http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/19/colin-powell-endorses-barack-obama-for-presiden-1/</ref> saying that she lacked experience even as he was supporting a candidate with one year of experience in the Senate before running for President. Powell went on to criticize other Republicans for what he claims is insistence on their part that Obama is a Muslim stating, "I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the Republican Party say... such things as 'Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim'. Well the correct answer is, 'He's not a Muslim, he's a Christian, he's always been a Christian'. But the really right answer is, 'What if he is?' Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer is 'No', that's not America."<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7678788.stm</ref> A month prior, Powell had said that the thought of an African American President was 'electrifying'. In his speech backing Obama, he also said he did not want to see the appointment of Conservative [[Supreme Court]] Justices.<ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27265369/</ref>

==Family and personal information==
Powell has been married to Alma Vivian Johnson since 1962. They have one child, a son, Michael (1963). The Powells are [[Episcopalians]]. One of Colin Powell's hobbies is restoring classic automobiles<ref>http://www.4driversonly.com/50226711/colin_powell_drives_a_66_volvo.php</ref>.

==External links==
[http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/powell-bio.html, WhiteHouse.gov biography]

== References ==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Colin}}
[[Category:Republican Party]]
[[Category:Reagan Era]]
[[Category:Black History]]
[[Category:United States Army]]
[[Category:United States Appointed Officials]]

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Apollo 13

Colin Powell