Try SCE to AUX! What's the story behind my latest desktop nerdery? Let me tell you a story in a small thread...

On November 14, 1969, Apollo 12 launched for the Moon's Ocean of Storms through rainy, cloudy skies over Cape Canaveral. It was 11:22am local time but looks more like 11:22pm!

Bonus: Observers, among them President Nixon, trying to stay dry while awaiting the launch.

The massive Saturn V rocket acted like a lightning rod as it tore through the clouds, and generated not one but two lightning strikes that hit the rocket and ran down the body, following the contrail to hit the launch pad.

The strike knocked out the Signal Conditioning Equipment -- SCE -- which did the unique job of translating data from the rocket into displays for the crew cabin in the Command Module as well as in Mission Control in Houston. With the SCE knocked out, the data became gibberish.

But one Mission Control officer named John Aaron had seen the pattern during a test years earlier. He alone knew the solution was the flip the SCE switch to auxiliary or AUX, which would allow the SCE to work in a lower power mode.

When the command was radioed up to the crew, the astronauts had no idea what it was. "FCE? Wha the hell is that?" Pete Conrad asked. Finally it was Al Bean who knew the obscure switch, flipped it, and all the data returned to normal showing the launch was proceeding beautifully.

The crew cackled and laughed about the confusion all the way to orbit! (From the left: Commander Pete Conrad, Command Module Pilot Dick Gordon, and Lunar Module Pilot Al Bean.)

My switch is obviously a replica and not totally authentic -- the real switch was in a bank of three -- but considering it's just a desk model I didn't need the full one. Nevertheless, I kind of love it. And it pairs exceptionally well with my Pete Conrad acton figure!

For a deeper look at the electrifying launch, featuring crew audio, check out this old video!