Portal:Spaceflight/Selected article/Week 22 2009

Apollo 13 was the third manned Apollo mission intended to land on the Moon. Due to the explosion of an oxygen tank during the translunar coast phase of the mission, the landing was aborted. The spacecraft flew around the Moon on a free return trajectory, and the crew returned safely to Earth several days later.

The mission was launched by a Saturn V rocket from the Kennedy Space Center on 11 April 1970, at 19:13 UTC. Two days later, while the mission was en route to the moon, a fault in the electrical system of one of the Service Module's oxygen tanks produced an explosion that caused both oxygen tanks to fail and also led to a loss of electrical power. The command module remained functional on its own batteries and oxygen tank, which were only designed to support the vehicle during the last hours of flight. The crew shut down the Command Module and used the Lunar Module as a "lifeboat" during the return trip to earth. Despite great hardship caused by limited power, loss of cabin heat, and a shortage of potable water, the crew returned safely to Earth, and the mission was termed a "successful failure." (more...)