Apollo 13 launched toward the Moon before its near-fatal accident
On this day · 11 April 1970
It lifted off on April 11, 1970, as a routine third Moon landing — then an oxygen tank blew, and the mission became a rescue.
On April 11, 1970, at 1:13 p.m. local time, Apollo 13 launched from Kennedy Space Center carrying Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise toward what was meant to be the third crewed Moon landing.
Two days later, on April 13, a routine command to stir a service-module oxygen tank ignited damaged wiring inside it. The tank ruptured, draining both oxygen supplies and crippling the spacecraft’s power and life support. Swigert’s report — “Houston, we’ve had a problem” — became one of history’s most quoted understatements.
With a Moon landing impossible, the crew sheltered in the cramped Lunar Module as a lifeboat.
Using the lander’s engine and oxygen, and improvising a fix for carbon-dioxide buildup, mission control swung the men around the Moon and back. They splashed down safely in the Pacific on April 17, turning a failed landing into NASA’s most celebrated rescue.
Sources & references
2 referencesWell-established. Corroborated by 2 independent sources.
