JULY 24

At 6:45 EST, the crew awakes and prepares for re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. At about 12:50, they splash down south of Hawaii, and by 2 o’clock, the three astronauts are aboard the recovery ship USS Hornet. At 3 PM, they’re greeted by President Nixon, and by 4 PM the command module is aboard the Hornet, having traveled a total of 952,700 nautical miles since launch 8 days earlier.

Now begins an endless stream of adulation, congratulation, and celebration of the astronauts and their famous accomplishment.

The crew of the Ben Franklin still have 18 days to go - and they’re having a very bad day. At 700 feet, they encounter powerful internal waves, which puts the Ben Franklin on a roller coaster, riding up and down hundreds of feet at half hour intervals. They lose some depth control. Kazimir blames hilly contours on the bottom that are not recorded on any bathymetric charts. The crew also radios the Privateer that they’re having more and more difficulty working in the perpetual cold of 57 degrees. They’re uncomfortable but not discouraged.

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