Apollo 13 Mission Timeline

(April 11, 1970 - April 17, 1970)

Apollo 13 was NASA's seventh crewed Apollo mission and the third intended to land on the Moon. Launched on April 11, 1970, the mission suffered an oxygen tank explosion two days into the flight, forcing astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise to abandon their lunar landing. Through remarkable ingenuity and teamwork between the crew and Mission Control, the damaged spacecraft safely returned to Earth on April 17, 1970, in what is often called a 'successful failure.' More Less

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Mission Background

Planning begins for centralized mission control facility

1961

After the first American astronaut entered space in 1961, planning began for a centralized facility to communicate with spacecraft and monitor their performance, largely the brainchild of Christopher C. Kraft Jr.

Image source: Christopher C. Kraft Jr.

Kennedy announces goal of landing a man on the Moon

May 25, 1961

On May 25, 1961, U.S. President John F. Kennedy announced the national goal of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth before the decade was out, setting the stage for the Apollo program.

Image source: Apollo program

John Glenn's Friendship 7 flight

Feb 20, 1962

During John Glenn's Mercury Friendship 7 flight in February 1962, the first crewed orbital flight by the U.S., one of flight director Christopher Kraft's decisions was overruled by NASA managers.

Image source: Mercury-Atlas 6

Houston's Mission Control Center opens

1965

Houston's Mission Control Center was opened in 1965, providing the centralized facility for communicating with spacecraft and monitoring their performance during missions.

Image source: Mission control center

Revised specifications call for 65-volt tank switches

1965

Under the original 1962 specifications, oxygen tank thermostatic switches were rated for 28 volts, but revised specifications issued in 1965 called for 65 volts to allow quicker tank pressurization at Kennedy Space Center.

Oxygen tank shelf re-installed in SM-109 after retesting

Nov 1968

After some retesting, which did not include filling the tank with liquid oxygen, the oxygen tank shelf was re-installed in SM-109, intended for Apollo 13, in November 1968.

Image source: Apollo 13

Nine Saturn V rockets remain for hoped-for ten landings

Jul 1969

Since success was obtained in 1969 with the sixth Saturn V rocket on Apollo 11, nine rockets remained available for a hoped-for total of ten Moon landings.

Image source: Saturn V

Apollo 11 achieves the Moon landing goal

Jul 20, 1969

The goal set by President Kennedy was achieved when Apollo 11 landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969, fulfilling the challenge of landing humans on the lunar surface.

Apollo 11 returns to Earth

Jul 24, 1969

The Apollo 11 mission returned to Earth on July 24, 1969, completing Kennedy's challenge of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth.

Image source: Apollo 11

Crew and Personnel

Jim Lovell selected for second astronaut group

1962

Jim Lovell, a graduate of the United States Naval Academy who had been a naval aviator and test pilot, was selected for NASA's second group of astronauts in 1962.

Image source: Jim Lovell

Lovell flies Gemini 7 with Frank Borman

Dec 4, 1965 - Dec 18, 1965

Jim Lovell flew with Frank Borman aboard Gemini 7 in December 1965, gaining valuable spaceflight experience that would later serve him on Apollo missions.

Image source: Gemini 7

Fred Haise selected for fifth astronaut group

1966

Fred Haise, who held a degree in aerospace science and had served in the Air Force and state Air National Guards as an engineering test pilot, was selected for NASA's fifth group of astronauts in 1966.

Image source: Fred Haise

Lovell flies Gemini 12 with Buzz Aldrin

Nov 11, 1966 - Nov 15, 1966

In November 1966, Jim Lovell flew alongside Buzz Aldrin on Gemini 12, the final Gemini mission, further building his experience for lunar flight.

Image source: Gemini 12

Apollo 8 orbits the Moon with Lovell aboard

Dec 21, 1968 - Dec 27, 1968

Jim Lovell flew on Apollo 8 in December 1968, the first spacecraft to orbit the Moon, making him uniquely experienced among the Apollo 13 crew.

Image source: Apollo 8

Apollo 8 orbits the Moon with Lovell aboard

Lovell retires from NASA and the Navy

1973

Jim Lovell retired from NASA and the Navy in 1973 and entered the private sector after his storied career as an astronaut.

Swigert removed from Apollo-Soyuz Test Project

1973

Jack Swigert was to have flown on the 1975 Apollo–Soyuz Test Project, the first joint mission with the Soviet Union, but was removed as part of the fallout from the Apollo 15 postal covers incident.

Image source: Jack Swigert

Haise flies Space Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests

1977 - 1979

Fred Haise, who had been slated to command the canceled Apollo 19 mission, flew the Space Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests before retiring from NASA in 1979.

Image source: Approach and Landing Tests

Swigert elected to House of Representatives

1982

Jack Swigert took a leave of absence from NASA in 1973 and left the agency to enter politics, being elected to the House of Representatives in 1982, but died of cancer before he could be sworn in, aged 51.

The Mission

Apollo 13 hardware received at Kennedy Space Center

Jun 1969 - Jul 1969

The LM stages, command module, and service module were received at Kennedy Space Center in June 1969; the portions of the Saturn V launch vehicle arrived in June and July.

SM-109 shipped to Kennedy Space Center

Jun 1969

Service module SM-109, containing the oxygen tank later implicated in the accident, was shipped to Kennedy Space Center in June 1969 for integration into the Apollo 13 spacecraft.

Launch vehicle rollout with spacecraft atop it

Dec 15, 1969

Testing and assembly proceeded through late 1969, culminating with the rollout of the Saturn V launch vehicle, with the Apollo 13 spacecraft atop it, on December 15, 1969.

Mission postponed from March to April 1970

Jan 1970

Apollo 13 was originally scheduled for launch on March 12, 1970, but in January NASA announced the mission would be postponed until April 11, both to allow more planning time and to spread the Apollo missions over a longer period.

Countdown Demonstration Test begins

Mar 16, 1970

The Countdown Demonstration Test took place with service module SM-109 in its place near the top of the Saturn V, beginning on March 16, 1970.

Apollo 13 launches from Kennedy Space Center

Apr 11, 1970

Apollo 13, the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo space program and intended third Moon landing, was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970.

Oxygen tank explosion disables service module

Apr 13, 1970

Two days into the mission, an oxygen tank in the service module exploded, disabling the craft's electrical and life-support systems and forcing the abort of the planned Moon landing.

Record distance from Earth at pericynthion

Apr 14, 1970

At pericynthion on April 14, 1970, the crew of Apollo 13 was 400,171 kilometers (248,655 miles) from Earth, setting the record for the furthest humans from Earth until Artemis II's lunar flyby in 2026.

Apollo 13 returns safely to Earth

Apr 17, 1970

Despite the explosion that crippled the spacecraft, the Apollo 13 crew returned safely to Earth on April 17, 1970, concluding a dramatic six-day mission that became known as a 'successful failure.'

Aftermath and Legacy

Two Apollo missions canceled during post-Apollo 13 pause

Sep 1970

Budget cuts made the decision easier, and during the pause after Apollo 13 two missions were canceled, meaning the Apollo program ended with Apollo 17 in December 1972.

Apollo 14 lands near Fra Mauro, Apollo 13's target site

Feb 5, 1971

On February 5, 1971, Apollo 14's LM Antares landed on the Moon with astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell aboard, near Fra Mauro, the site Apollo 13 had been intended to explore.

Image source: Apollo 14

Film Houston, We've Got a Problem released

1974

The 1974 movie Houston, We've Got a Problem, while set around the Apollo 13 incident, is a fictional drama about crises faced by ground personnel when the emergency disrupts their work schedules and places further stress on their lives.

Image source: Houston, we have a problem

BBC documentary episode We've Got a Problem airs

Mar 1978

"We've Got a Problem" was the title of an episode of the BBC documentary series A Life At Stake, broadcast in March 1978.

Image source: A Life at Stake

Kluger approaches Lovell about writing mission account

1991

After Jim Lovell retired in 1991, he was approached by journalist Jeffrey Kluger about writing a non-fiction account of the mission; Swigert had died in 1982 and Haise was no longer interested in such a project.

Image source: Lost Moon

Kluger approaches Lovell about writing mission account

Lost Moon memoir published

1994

The resultant book, Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13, co-authored by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger, was published in 1994.

PBS documentary Apollo 13: To the Edge and Back released

Jul 1994

In 1994, during the 25th anniversary of Apollo 11, PBS released a 90-minute documentary titled Apollo 13: To the Edge and Back.

Film Apollo 13 directed by Ron Howard released

1995

In 1995, Apollo 13, a film adaptation of Lost Moon, was released, directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks as Lovell, Bill Paxton as Haise, Kevin Bacon as Swigert, Gary Sinise as Mattingly, Ed Harris as Kranz, and Kathleen Quinlan as Marilyn Lovell.

Image source: Apollo 13 (film)

From the Earth to the Moon dramatizes the mission

1998

In the 1998 miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, co-produced by Tom Hanks and Ron Howard, the Apollo 13 mission is dramatized in the episode "We Interrupt This Program".

Image source: From the Earth to the Moon (miniseries)

Kranz publishes autobiography Failure Is Not an Option

2000

The 1995 film invented the phrase "Failure is not an option", uttered by Ed Harris as Gene Kranz; the phrase became so closely associated with Kranz that he used it for the title of his 2000 autobiography.

Image source: Gene Kranz

Apollo in Real Time site launched for 50th anniversary

2020

In advance of the 50th anniversary of the mission in 2020, an Apollo in Real Time site for the mission went online, allowing viewers to follow along as the mission unfolds, view photographs and video, and listen to audio of conversations between Houston and the astronauts.

BBC World Service airs 13 Minutes to the Moon season 2

Mar 8, 2020

In 2020, the BBC World Service began airing 13 Minutes to the Moon, radio programs drawing on NASA audio from the mission as well as archival and recent interviews. Season 2 episodes began airing on March 8, 2020, with episode 1, "Time Bomb: Apollo 13", explaining the launch and the explosion.

Documentary Apollo 13: Home Safe premieres

Apr 10, 2020

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NASA did not hold any in-person events during April 2020 for the flight's 50th anniversary, but premiered a new documentary, Apollo 13: Home Safe, on April 10, 2020; other events were rescheduled for later in 2020.