Today in Technology History

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April 13

One of the most dramatic episodes of the Space Age began with a bang.

The intended mission of Apollo 13 and its three astronauts (Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert) was to explore the lunar surface for ten days, taking photographs and rock samples. The launch went smoothly and the spacecraft was en route to the Moon when, on April 13, 1970, a damaged oxygen tank exploded. Moments later, astronaut Swigert uttered the now-famous phrase, "Houston, we've had a problem here."

Apollo 13 consisted of three modules: a command module (Odyssey), a service module and a lunar module (Aquarius). The explosion depleted the crew's store of precious oxygen, severely damaged the command module, and essentially destroyed the service module. The three crewmen moved to the lunar module, which had been designed for only two astronauts.

Over the next four days, the crew struggled to stay alive. Guided by thousands of engineers on Earth, the crew performed complex emergency procedures. They constructed makeshift air filters, conserved food and water, and plotted a course around the Moon and back to Earth.

Since only the command module had a protective heat shield, for the final descent the astronauts had to abandon the lunar module that had kept them alive for nearly 87 hours. ("Farewell, Aquarius, and we thank you," said Mission Control. "She was a good ship," said Captain Lovell.)

Relying on calculations from NASA's computers, the astronauts safely landed the command module in the Pacific Ocean on April 17, just 3.5 miles from their recovery ship.

Related links:

• Click here to visit NASA's homepage for the Apollo 13 mission.

• Click here to read more about the "successful failure" of Apollo 13.

• This Space.com article explores the causes of the Apollo 13 accident.

 

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