EARLIER in the week, a liquid-hydrogen fuel tank had sprung a leak and threatened to delay the launch. Now, less than an hour before the late-morning blastoff, dark clouds rolled ominously across the last patches of blue in the Florida sky; a drizzling rain turned into a heavy downpour that virtually blotted pad 39A from view. But NASA officials, buoyed by a long string of space successes, were undaunted by the dangerous omens. The order was given to proceed. More reliable than any commuter train, the 11:22 moon rocket departed from Cape Kennedy....
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