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Welcome to My Apollo 13 Shrine!
Hey there, space cadets!! My name is Commander Dave (okay, my REAL name is David Chen and I'm 14, but Commander Dave is my official callsign - even my mom calls me that sometimes). Welcome to what I am pretty sure is the BEST Apollo 13 fan page on the entire World Wide Web!!! You might be wondering: "Dave, why Apollo 13?" Well, let me tell you. I have watched the movie Apollo 13 exactly 347 TIMES on VHS. That is NOT an exaggeration. I keep a tally sheet taped to the side of my TV set. My dad says I'm going to wear out the tape, but so far it's holding up great (I did have to adjust the tracking once though). I built this website on my dad's 486 computer using Notepad and our 28.8k modem. It takes about 45 seconds for this page to load, which I think is totally worth it because of all the cool GIFs. 
I also run the Lincoln Middle School Space Club with my best friend Mike (he's the Vice Commander). We meet every Thursday in Mrs. Patterson's room. My mom is the "honorary treasurer" which basically means she brings snacks and drives us to the planetarium. We have 7 members now!! If you go to Lincoln Middle, you should TOTALLY join. Oh, and get this - I wrote a letter to NASA last year asking how to become an astronaut, and they actually wrote back!!! They sent me a signed poster of the STS-72 shuttle crew. It's framed on my wall right above my computer. It is my most prized possession. (Well, that and my Apollo 13 movie poster, which I won at a raffle at Space Camp.) I have glow-in-the-dark stars on my bedroom ceiling and I arranged them in ACTUAL constellations. Orion, Cassiopeia, Ursa Major, and the Big Dipper. My little sister tried to add some random ones but I made her take them down because they weren't astronomically accurate. My dream is to be the first person on Mars. I figure if I start training now, I'll be ready by like 2020. That's only 24 years away!! Anyway, look around, check out the facts, and ENJOY!! And remember: it's "Houston, we've HAD a problem." NOT "we have a problem." Don't get me started.
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WHAT'S NEW ON THIS PAGE
March 15, 1996: Added the APOLLO MISSIONS DATABASE! Check it out! I spent like 3 weeks typing up all the info from my dad's encyclopedia set and this awesome book I got from the library. I think it's the most complete Apollo database on the internet (at least in the CapeCanaveral neighborhood)!!
February 28, 1996: Got 4 new GIFs from my friend Mike. He found them on some FTP site. This page is looking AWESOME. Mike is a GIF-finding genius. He's also working on his own dinosaur page which is going to be rad.
February 14, 1996: Happy Valentine's Day! My valentine is the MOON (just kidding... mostly). Actually Stephanie Morgan in my science class is pretty cool too. She knows all the planets in order. But DON'T tell her I said that!!!!
January 20, 1996: PAGE LAUNCHED!! Houston, we have a homepage!! My dad helped me set up the FTP thing to upload the files. It only took us 4 hours! (Okay, 6 hours. The modem kept disconnecting.)
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Amazing Apollo 13 Facts That Will Blow Your Mind!!
FACT #1: When the oxygen tank exploded on Apollo 13, the real crew used the Lunar Module (which was supposed to land on the Moon!) as a LIFEBOAT to survive the trip home. They called it "the lifeboat." The LM was only designed to support 2 people for 2 days, but they squeezed 3 guys in there for almost 4 days!! That is SO awesome. I wrote a whole report about it for Mr. Henderson's class and got an A+.
FACT #2: Jim Lovell is the only person in history to fly to the Moon TWICE without ever landing on it!! He went on Apollo 8 (first humans to orbit the Moon - SO COOL) and then Apollo 13. Can you imagine flying all the way to the Moon and not getting to land on it? That would be like driving all the way to Disneyland and then the parking lot is full. Except way worse.
FACT #3: The movie used REAL NASA footage mixed in with the actors! Ron Howard (the director, he was also Richie Cunningham on Happy Days) went to NASA and got actual launch footage and mission control video. Some of the shots in the movie are REAL. How awesome is that?? Tom Hanks even went on the KC-135 "Vomit Comet" plane to film the weightless scenes in ACTUAL zero gravity!
FACT #4: Okay here is my BIGGEST PET PEEVE in the universe. Everyone always says "Houston, we have a problem." WRONG WRONG WRONG!! The actual quote from Jack Swigert was "Houston, we've HAD a problem." Past tense!! Because the problem had ALREADY happened! And then Jim Lovell repeated it: "Houston, we've had a problem." Even the movie gets it right (mostly) but EVERYONE misquotes it!! I correct people at school and they look at me funny but I DON'T CARE because accuracy matters. My friend Mike says I need to calm down about this but HE'S WRONG TOO.
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★ Featured Image ★
The Apollo 13 Command Module "Odyssey" This is the Command Module that carried astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise on their incredible journey. After the oxygen tank explosion on April 13, 1970, they had to shut down Odyssey to save power and move into the Lunar Module "Aquarius." They didn't power Odyssey back up until right before re-entry. Can you imagine sitting in a FREEZING COLD dead spacecraft for days not knowing if it would start back up?? The temperature dropped to 38 degrees Fahrenheit inside. That's almost freezing!! The crew said water was condensing on all the surfaces. I get cold when my mom turns the thermostat down to 65 so I can't even IMAGINE. Image courtesy of NASA. NASA images are in the public domain which is really cool of them. |
NASA Mission Control - "Failure Is Not An Option" This is where the magic happened. Gene Kranz (the flight director with the awesome flat-top haircut) and his team worked around the clock to bring the crew home safely. The movie shows Ed Harris playing Gene Kranz and he was SO GOOD. Tom Hanks deserved a third Oscar for this movie and I will argue with ANYONE about this. He had already won for Philadelphia AND Forrest Gump. Apollo 13 should have been #3. He was ROBBED. |
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Cool Space Links
Other awesome sites on the World Wide Web!!
NASA Homepage (http://www.nasa.gov) - THE coolest website EVER. I check it like every single day after school. They have pictures from the Hubble Space Telescope that will make your brain explode. If you only visit one other website from my page, make it this one!!
Space Camp Alabama - I'm going this summer!!! It's in Huntsville, Alabama at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. My mom said I could go if I get all A's this semester. I'm getting all A's except maybe a B+ in English but I'm working on it. They have a REAL Saturn V rocket there. If you've never been to Space Camp you haven't lived.
The Planetary Society - This is Carl Sagan's organization! Carl Sagan is one of my heroes (along with Jim Lovell and Tom Hanks). My dad got me a membership for Christmas and I get their magazine in the mail. I am the youngest member in my zip code. (Okay I don't actually know that but I bet I am.)
Mike's Dinosaur Page - This is my friend Mike's page, it's pretty cool too. He's got like 40 dinosaur pictures and a quiz where you match dinosaur names to their pictures. He thinks T-Rex is the best dinosaur. I keep telling him Velociraptor is cooler (Jurassic Park proved it) but we agree to disagree. His page is still under construction though because he keeps getting distracted helping me with THIS page.
More links coming soon! Email me your favorite space links!!
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The mighty Saturn V! 363 feet tall. 7.5 million pounds of thrust. The most powerful rocket ever built!! Learn more on the Missions page! |
Earthrise from the Moon! This is what the astronauts saw. Makes you think, doesn't it? More photos in the Gallery! |
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"We just put three guys on the moon... in a LIFEBOAT." 
Splashdown! April 17, 1970 After 5 days, 22 hours, 54 minutes, and 41 seconds, the crew of Apollo 13 splashed down safely in the South Pacific Ocean. Every single time I watch this part of the movie I get chills. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Even on viewing #347. My mom says I cry every time but I do NOT cry I just get something in my eye. Okay maybe I cry a little bit. |
Contact Commander Dave!
Got comments? Know a cool Apollo 13 fact I missed? Want to join the Space Club? Email me at: commander_dave@geocities.com (Please don't send me chain emails. Mike already sent me 17 of them this month.) |
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(It might also work in Internet Explorer but I haven't tested it and frankly I don't trust Microsoft with space stuff) You are visitor # 002,847 Last updated: March 15, 1996 by Commander Dave "I look up at the night sky and I feel so small, and then I remember that humans walked on the Moon, and I feel like anything is possible." - Commander Dave, age 14
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