Um, no. The "icy, dormant command module" was the only part of the spacecraft that could survive "streaking back into the atmosphere".
Apollo technically could not "return to Earth orbit" (it never left Earth orbit; the moon is in Earth orbit, after all), but if the author means it "returned to low Earth orbit," no, it didn't.
I am finding myself feeling progressively older as I watch the Astronaut heroes of my youth pass on to the Heavenly Green Fields. This past Sunday was the 59th Anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s epic First Spaceflight. Yes he was a Cosmonaut but that does not make this Anniversary any less significant. Ironically, he probably died because of his ‘hero status’ to the Soviet Union. Banned from further spaceflights, he died at age 34 in a MiG-15 training flight, 27 March 1968.
All of the original Mercury 7 have passed on with the last being John Glenn at age 95 in 2016. Of the 16 Gemini Astronauts (missions 3-12), only 7 are still living with Frank Borman being the oldest at 92, 11 days older than Jim Lovell. Of the 12 manned Apollo crews (Apollo 1, 7-17) which had 32 members; now only has 14 surviving, again with Frank Borman being the eldest. Of the 12 ‘Moon Walkers’, only 3 are still living.
I tried to find the movie on TV yesterday, but despite having almost 200 channels (Spectrum) not one channel was airing it. Morons.
I remember the Apollo 13 rescue very well. I was a college sophomore and TVs were set up in common areas on campus where we gathered to watch between classes. I recall there was even special chapel service to pray for their safe return. This was at the height of the Vietnam Nam war and even the campus protesters silently watched. There was a feeling of spontaneous exuberance when we watched them parachute safely into the Pacific
Nice piece remembering how great America is and has been. Not much mention of Jack Swigert and Ken Mattingly. Mattingly is still alive. Swigert died many years ago.