Commander of Apollo 13 mission which successfully returned to earth after an explosion disabled its systems in 1970 has died aged 97:
www.theguardian.com/science/2025/aug/08/jim-lovell-astronaut-dies
The film account with Tom Hanks as Lovell is Mrs B's favourite and close to being mine.
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97 - A good innings!
Apollo 13 is a really good film and of course in real life it must have been extremely worrying for the families at home.
RIP.
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Sextant and pencil/pen. Lovell set the bearings for the return leg.
These were adjusted by Ground Staff as they approached earth to ensure they did not bounce off the atmosphere or burn up on re-entry.
Many of today's motorists struggle to get from A to B, even a matter of a few miles, without SatNav today. You can forget maps as these are really understood only by some over 50s.
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Your post re using a sextant in space intrigued me enough to do a bit of research, as I was just a bit surprised that an old fashioned sextant made it through security and without putting them over their baggage allowance :-)
This article seems well researched and describes the whole operation n quite some details, with (non working!!) links to NASA documents.
space.stackexchange.com/questions/32033/calculations-apollo-astronauts-were-trained-to-do-by-hand-if-loss-of-guidance-co
Seems it wasn't a sextant as we know it (Jim) but a computer sextant. And setting the bearing comprised entering numbers generated or agreed by ground staff at a keyboard.
In my reading it said somewhere that while they spend a lot of time training for one catastrophic incident they can't predict everything which might happen in space, and they can't train for all permutations of multiple incidents. There is a heavy reliance on ground staff if anything goes wrong.
Btw I'm not trying to take away anything from the skills and knowledge of any astronaut, who to my mind are incredibly brave and clever adventurers.
Re map reading - that's progress for you - map reading simply isn't a required skill for most these days!!
Last edited by: smokie on Sun 10 Aug 25 at 11:51
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The sextant was used to orientate the spacecraft with reference to a chosen star.
www.astronomy.com/space-exploration/the-story-of-the-apollo-sextant/
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I was on a course yesterday, organised by my Lakeland LDWA group, which included several hours outdoors practicing micro map reading whilst getting blown inside out at only 750ft.
An 8 hour course run by a local Mountain Leader…lots of compass work, navigating to exact spot heights, how to use pacing to measure distance in poor/ nil visibility.
Just the kind of stuff I really enjoy.
Interestingly the ML was praising modern GPS units, how good they are for extremely accurate location, and, new to me, a device by Garmin called an InReach Mini2 ’ subscription based, whose SOS when activated connects to a CA based call centre. Very impressive piece of kit…how things have changed since the Apollo days.
Last edited by: legacylad on Sun 10 Aug 25 at 12:47
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I learned to use a map/compass in the scouts and navigated myself successfully over cloud covered fells on a number of occasions in my twenties. I think I could still do it now.
My son has recently started fell walking using routes downloaded to his phone and finding his way by GPS. He's a fair weather walker and I don't think he'd set out from car/base in poor weather but he knows from various childhood walks as a family how quickly the weather can change in (eg) the Lakes.
I've given him a compass and some 1:25000 maps of the Scafell Pike area. He was intending to attempt the Pike after Xmas but for reasons X,Y and Z he's yet to do it.
A modern phone with full battery and a charging bank is pretty reliable but he needs to grasp it's not infallible nor is it if it's dropped either off a cliff or smashed on the ground.
My late Father walked in the lakes for many years with no compass and only a Bartholomews map and the relevant Wainwright. We only got into trouble on a family walk once. On Robinson starting from Newlands. Mist came down and we ended up trekking over a bog above Buttermere and reaching the motor road over Newlands Hause. Long walk back to car/guest house.
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>> it's not infallible nor is it if it's dropped either off a
>> cliff or smashed on the ground.
Neither is a compass.
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>>
>> >> it's not infallible nor is it if it's dropped either off a
>> >> cliff or smashed on the ground.
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>> Neither is a compass.
>>
True, but like dog whistles, I suspect most outdoor navigators wear their compass on a lanyard round the neck.
My phone I just stuff in my most secure pocket..never a back pocket in case I fall on my Arras on that slippery limestone :-)
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>> Neither is a compass.
My Silva compass dates back to the seventies and has been dropped many, many times.
It still works fine!!
Obviously if it fell off Broad Stand or perhaps traversing the high level route in Pillar it would be different though, were it retrieved, there's an evens chance of it's having survived.
EDIT: As LL says while on a walk the compass is on a lace (they come fitted at purchase) around my neck.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Sun 10 Aug 25 at 15:45
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Have you tried orienteering? Can be good fun - and instructional.
www.britishorienteering.org.uk/find_a_club
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Did orienteering at school many years ago and it wasn't something I remember as fun!! :-)
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>> who to my mind are incredibly brave and clever adventurers.
+1
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All cyclists of my generation were very comfortable with a Bartholomew's or an O/S map. Works of art, and I still have quite a few O/S maps dating back decades.
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I use my (now unavailable) Satmap GPS as my mapping method of choice. It's backed up by downloaded maps on my phone using the excellent OS app.
.....but, the paper map and compass are always in my rucksack, along with the ever-present first-aid kit.
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>> All cyclists of my generation were very comfortable with a Bartholomew's or an O/S map.
I've a pretty much UK wide set of Barts maps. Just the job for cycling but insufficiently detailed for walking.
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My preferred UK mapping is Harvey’s maps. A great selection of durable all weather maps in 1:25 and 1:40k scales.
They cut out all the superfluous stuff on OS maps and are far superior because of that. Perfect for hill walkers.
I’m sure you guys must have heard of and used Harvey’s maps ?
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>>
>> I’m sure you guys must have heard of and used Harvey’s maps ?
>>
Not something I've come across myself.
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I've seen them but I'm really a lowland walker and they are really designed for the climber and serious hillwalker. Not availabe for most of lowland UK. Meant to be better for showing paths and the like. A lot of detail is omitted like historic monuments and places of interest including pubs!
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>> I've seen them but I'm really a lowland walker
In Norfolk? NSS
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Beacon Hill near Sheringham towers to a magificent 344 feet above sea level. Positively Apline.
Norfolk Lowland Searchand Rescue are always to hand. Its a wild and dangerous place is Norfok
norlsar.org.uk
Last edited by: CGNorwich on Sun 10 Aug 25 at 23:39
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>> Beacon Hill near Sheringham towers to a magificent 344 feet above sea level. Positively Apline.
Gosh thats 10 seconds of Usain Bolts life wasted.
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Jim Lovell of Apollo 13 has Died. - zippy
