The Engineer Who Saved Apollo 13: Ed Smylie
Quick answer: How did Ed Smylie help save Apollo 13?
After the April 13, 1970 oxygen tank explosion, Apollo 13's crew sheltered in the Lunar Module, where carbon dioxide began rising because the Command Module's square lithium-hydroxide canisters didn't fit. Ed Smylie and Jim Correale built an adapter from plastic bags, cardboard, tape, and a sock, and Mission Control talked the crew through building it.
On April 13, 1970, an oxygen tank exploded aboard Apollo 13. Power dropped, the crew moved into the Lunar Module as a lifeboat, and the mission became keeping three men alive long enough to get home. The next threat was invisible: carbon dioxide. The Command Module used square lithium-hydroxide canisters; the LM used round ones, sized for a short stay. Rising CO₂ would bring headaches, confusion, unconsciousness, then death. Ed Smylie of NASA's Crew Systems Division became the center of the team. He and engineer Jim Correale dumped the LM inventory on a table and built an adapter from plastic bags, cardboard, tape, and a sock. Astronaut Tony England tested it in Houston using only radioed instructions; Mission Control then walked the crew through it. It wasn't a miracle, John writes. It was disciplined problem-solving: rank the threats, design only with what's on hand, test on the ground first, and protect the endgame, reentry. The “mailbox” became the symbol because it was unglamorous.
Why it matters for leaders: In a crisis, fix what will hurt you first using only what you actually have, and don't spend tomorrow's essentials on today's panic.
Q: How was the fix tested?
A: Astronaut Tony England built it in Houston using only radioed instructions before the crew was walked through it.
Q: What three questions does John suggest in a crisis?
A: What will hurt us first in 24–72 hours, what do we already have to change that curve, and what must we preserve for “reentry”?
Read the full essay on Substack → https://heroespath.substack.com/p/the-engineer-who-saved-apollo-13
By John Fenzel, founder and CEO of Heroes' Path Foundation