 On September 9 , the crew entered the simulators to begin their preparation for the flight . By the time the mission flew , the crew had spent seven hours training for every actual hour of flight . Although all crew members were trained in all aspects of the mission , it was necessary to specialize . Borman , as commander , was given training on controlling the spacecraft during the re @-@ entry . Lovell was trained on navigating the spacecraft in case communication was lost with the Earth . Anders was placed in charge of checking that the spacecraft was in working order . 
