Payment for Services Rendered

When an oxygen tank on Apollo 13 exploded, astronauts had to depend mainly on the Lunar Module systems, designed only for landing on the moon, to carry them safely through space.

According to Futility Closet, when the crew had returned safely to Earth, Lunar Module manufacturer Grumman sent a bill for services rendered to Command Module manufacturer North American Rockwell.

Inspection:                      $     20.00

Towing Charge @ $1.00/mile        300,000.00

Loss of altitude vehicle           24,100.00
 $20/day plus .08¢ per mile

Battery charge                          5.00

Air conditioning @ $5.00/day           25.00

Room and board @ $40.00 each          600.00
 per day

I haven’t been able to find any confirmation this actually happened, but it’s the sort of story that’s so fun I’m choosing to believe it’s true anyway.

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