Apollo 13: The seventh manned mission: in-flight abort 11

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Apollo 13: The seventh manned mission: in-flight abort 11–17 April 1970

Orloff, Richard W. / Harland, David M.

The Apollo 13 accident was nearly catastrophic. Only outstanding performances by the crew and ground support personnel and the excellent performance of the LM systems made a safe return possible.

The following conclusions were made from an analysis of post-mission data:

The mission was aborted because of the total loss of primary oxygen in the service module. This loss resulted from an incompatibility between the design of a switch and pre-mission procedures, a condition that, when combined with an abnormal pre-mission detanking procedure, caused an in-flight shorting and a rapid oxidation within one of two redundant storage tanks. The oxidation then resulted in a loss of pressure integrity in the related tank and eventually in the remaining tank.

The concept of a backup crew was proven for the first time when, 3 days prior to launch, the backup command module pilot was substituted for his prime crew counterpart, who was exposed and found susceptible to rubella (German measles).

The performance of lunar module systems demonstrated an emergency operational capability. Lunar module systems supported the crew for a period that was twice the intended design lifetime.

The effectiveness of pre-mission crew training, especially in conjunction with ground personnel, was reflected in the skill and precision with which the crew responded to the emergency.

Although the mission was not a complete success, a lunar fly by mission, including three planned experiments (lightning phenomena, Earth photography, and S-IVB lunar impact), were completed and data were derived with respect to the capabilities of the lunar module.