Apollo 13

Apollo 13 was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo space program and the third meant to land on the Moon. The craft was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, but the lunar landing was aborted after an oxygen tank in the service module failed two days into the mission. The crew instead looped around the Moon and returned safely to Earth on April 17. The mission was commanded by Jim Lovell, with Jack Swigert as command module pilot and Fred Haise as Lunar Module pilot. Swigert was a late replacement for Ken Mattingly, who was grounded after exposure to rubella. A routine stir of an oxygen tank ignited damaged wire insulation inside it, causing an explosion that vented the contents of both of the SM's oxygen tanks to space. Without oxygen, needed for breathing and for generating electric power, the SM's propulsion and life support systems could not operate.

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On this day in history, April 17, 1970, Apollo 13 astronauts return alive, defy odds after space explosion

'Apollo 13 The iconic space film — based on the near-disaster of NASA's 1970 Apollo 13 human moon mission — was named part of the Library of Congress' National Film Registry

Ken Mattingly, Astronaut Bumped From Apollo 13, Is Dead at 87

The crew of Apollo 13 used a 5-inch, metal slide rule, model "N600-ES" made by Pickett as a back up on-board computer. It was a model that was popular among engineers, scientists and students at the time

Marilyn Lovell, wife of Apollo 13 commander, dies