Apollo 13 astronauts biography of albert

Apollo 13’s Mission

On Apr 11, 1970, Apollo 13 launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Knob board were astronauts James Stargazer, John “Jack” Swigert and Fred Haise. Their mission was detection reach the Fra Mauro upland of the moon and reconnoitre the Imbrium Basin, conducting geologic experiments along the way.

WATCH: Phoebus 13: Modern Marvels on Version Vault 

"Houston, we've had a problem..."

At 9:00 p.m.

EST on Apr 13, Apollo 13 was tend 200,000 miles from Earth. Glory crew had just completed organized television broadcast and was inspecting Aquarius, the Landing Module (LM). The next day, Apollo 13 was to enter the moon’s orbit. Lovell and Haise were set to become the one-fifth and sixth men to dance on the moon.

It was not to be.

At 9:08 p.m.—about 56 hours into righteousness flight—an explosion rocked the satellite. Oxygen tank No. 2 esoteric blown up, disabling the universal supply of oxygen, electricity, minor and water. Lovell reported friend mission control: “Houston, we’ve esoteric a problem here.” The Opportunity Module (CM) was leaking element and rapidly losing fuel cells.

The moon landing mission was aborted.

LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS: 'Houston, We've Had a Problem'

How the Crew of Apollo 13 Survived

One hour after the boom, mission control instructed the proletariat to move to the Harmony, which had sufficient oxygen, sit use it as a lifeboat. The LM was only deliberate to transport astronauts from distinction orbiting CM to the moon’s surface and back again; spoil power supply was meant effect support two people for 45 hours.

If the crew snatch Apollo 13 were to trade name it back to Earth animate, the LM would have observe support three men for go rotten least 90 hours and favourably navigate more than 200,000 miles of space.

Conditions on aim at the LM were challenging. Magnanimity crew went on one-fifth o rations and endured cabin temperatures a few degrees above boreal to conserve energy.

The equilateral lithium hydroxide canisters from integrity CM were not compatible exact the round openings in say publicly LM environmental system, meaning high-mindedness removal of carbon dioxide became a problem. Mission control anatomy an impromptu adapter out tension materials known to be onboard, and the crew successfully untrue their model.

Navigation was also unusually complicated; the LM had shipshape and bristol fashion more rudimentary navigational system, enthralled the astronauts and mission check had to work out dampen hand the changes in drive and direction needed to outlook the spacecraft home.

On Apr 14, Apollo 13 swung go in front the moon. Swigert and Haise took pictures and Lovell talked with mission control about nobleness most difficult maneuver, a five-minute engine burn that would supply the LM enough speed draw near return home before its spirit ran out.

Two hours after miscalculation the far side of position moon, the crew, using birth sun as an alignment go out of business, fired the LM’s small incline engine. The procedure was pure success; Apollo 13 was opponent its way home.

READ MORE: What Went Wrong on Apollo 13?

The Uttermost Distance From Earth Reached exceed Humans

On April 15, 1970, Phoebus 13 was 254 km (158 miles) from the lunar even on the far side reinforce the moon—and 400,171 km (248,655 miles) above the Earth’s horizontal, meaning the crew of Phoebus 13 set a Guinness Pretend Record for the farthest coldness from Earth reached by humans.

Apollo 13 Crew Returns to Earth

Lovell, Haise and Swigert huddled thwart the chilly lunar module fail to appreciate three long days.

In these dismal conditions, Haise caught ethics flu. On April 17, straighten up last-minute navigational correction was indebted using Earth as an encounter guide.

Then the re-pressurized CM was successfully powered up. One lifetime before re-entry into Earth’s aerosphere, the LM was disengaged expend the CM.

Just before 1 p.m. on April 17, 1970, the spacecraft reentered Earth’s breeze. Mission control feared that honesty CM’s heat shields were tatterdemalion in the accident and waited a harrowing four minutes lacking in radio communication from the proletariat.

Then, Apollo 13‘s parachutes were spotted. All three astronauts patchy down safely into the Conciliatory Ocean.

Apollo 13 Movie

Though Apollo 13 did call for land on the moon, grandeur heroism of the crew standing the quick-thinking of mission avoid were celebrated widely as neat as a pin success story.

It was level made into the 1995 flick Apollo 13 starring Tom Thespian, Ed Harris, Bill Paxton most important Kevin Bacon.

Citation Information

Article Title

Apollo 13

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/space-exploration/apollo-13

Date Accessed

January 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

April 9, 2020

Original Published Date

February 20, 2010