INCO Gold : We got a CO2 filter problem on the lunar module.
EECOM Gold : Five filters on the LEM.
INCO Gold : Which was meant for two guys for a day and a half. So I told the doc...
Dr. Chuck : We're already up to 8 on the gauges. Anything over 15, and you get impaired judgment, blackouts, the beginnings of brain asphyxia.
Gene Kranz : What about the scrubbers on the command module?
INCO Gold : They take square cartridges.
EECOM Gold : And the ones on the LEM are round.
Gene Kranz : [pinching the bridge of his nose] Tell me this isn't a government operation.
EECOM Gold : This just isn't a contingency we've remotely looked at.
Dr. Chuck : Those CO2 levels are gonna be getting toxic.
Gene Kranz : Well, I suggest you gentlemen invent a way to put a square peg in a round hole. Rapidly.
That was from the script of Apollo 13, which may have, in part, been taken from memories of the actual participants in the real event which happened in April, 1970.
Now, it is being reported via Fox News that the two Starliner astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, are wearing spacesuits designed for the Starliner and will not be retrofit for SpaceX. As actor, Ed Harris, playing Flight Director, Gene Kranz said, “Tell me this isn't a government operation.”
Initially, you would think it was an easy problem to solve. But, when you think it through, the suits need to be fitted for each person, training how to use a different life support system would need to be done and then, the cost to get the suits to the space station would be prohibitive. And, other issues would probably need to be addressed, as well.
While the concept of having private companies assume the role of providing ships to get into space, NASA has to be more than the lift service for the rockets. There has to be certain features which are generic and applied across the board to each contractor. Like life support systems.
Fortunately, presently this is a near-earth issue, which can probably be resolved by what Harry Stamper (Bruce Willis) said in Armageddon, “You’re NASA, for chrissakes. You’re the geniuses who figure this out. And have geniuses backing you up!”
But if this were a deep-space problem, like going to Mars, or even to the Moon, there would be no way to rescue them. The rescue of Apollo 13 both in the movie and in real life was a true miracle.
Hopefully, this latest SNAFU can be resolved with minimal additional difficulty. Otherwise, a pause of our current space program will need to be employed until all the companies involved figure out what needs to be done to reduce additional risks to our astronauts.
Only then, will we feel our space program is as safe as it can be.
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