HOUSTON, WE’VE HAD A PROBLEM:  Ed Smylie, a hero of the Apollo 13 mission, died three weeks ago at the age of 95.  He headed the team of engineers that came up with a way to save the lives of astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise.  The news has only made it into the major media in the last day or two.

Here’s what happened (in case you don’t remember the event and didn’t see the 1995 movie):  An oxygen tank exploded, forcing the astronauts to retreat from the command module to the lunar module.  But air in the lunar module was designed to handle only two men, not three.  NASA estimated that, after two days, the build-up of carbon dioxide would render the air poisonous.  Something had to be done fast...