Apollo 13 approaches splash down.
Apollo 13 splashdown. 17 April 1970.
Jack Swigert is raised to the recovery helicopter after splashdown. 17 April 1970
Apollo 13 approaches splash down.
"Three of the four Apollo 13 Flight Directors applaud the successful splashdown of the Command Module "Odyssey" while Dr. Robert R. Gilruth, Director, Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), and Dr. Christopher C. Kraft Jr., MSC Deputy Director, light up cigars (upper left). The Flight Directors are from left to right: Gerald D. Griffin, Eugene F. Kranz and Glynn S. Lunney."
Image Credit: NASA
Images of Apollo 13 Recovery
" Uploaded on Nov 15, 2011The crew of Apollo 13 on board the USS Iwo Jima following splashdown As Apollo 13 neared Earth, the crew first jettisoned the Service Module so pictures could be taken for later analysis. It was then that the crew were surprised to see for the first time that the Sector 4 panel had been blown off. According to the analysts, these pictures also showed the antenna damage and possibly an upward tilt to the fuel cell shelf above the oxygen tank compartment. Apollo 13 splashes down in the South Pacific on April 17, 1970. Finally, the crew jettisoned the Lunar Module Aquarius, leaving the Command Module Odyssey to begin its lone re-entry through the atmosphere. The re-entry on a lunar mission normally was accompanied by four minutes of communications blackout caused by ionization of the air around the Command Module. The possibility of heat shield damage from the O2 tank rupture heightened the tension of the blackout period, which took 33 seconds longer than normal.
However, Odyssey regained radio contact and splashed down safely in the South Pacific Ocean, 21°38′24″S 165°21′42″W, southeast of American Samoa and 6.5 km (4.0 mi) from the recovery ship, USS Iwo Jima. The crew was in good condition except for Haise, who was suffering from a serious urinary tract infection because of insufficient water intake. To avoid altering the trajectory of the spacecraft, the crew had been instructed to temporarily stop urine dumps. A misunderstanding prompted the crew to store all urine for the rest of the .[20]. INFO: WIKIPEDIA CUTS"
Apollo 13 U.S.S Iwo Jima Photo
"Rear Admiral Donald C. Davis, Commanding Officer of Task Force 130, the Pacific Recovery Forces for the Manned Spacecraft Missions, welcomes the Apollo 13 crew aboard the prime recovery ship U.S.S. Iwo Jima following splashdown and recovery operations in the South Pacific.
The crewmen (from left) Astronauts Fred W. Haise Jr., lunar module pilot; John L. Swigert Jr., command module pilot; and James A. Lovell Jr., commander, were transported by helicopter to the ship following a smooth splashdown only about four miles from the Iwo Jima. The Apollo 13 spacecraft splashed down at 12:07:44 p.m., April 17, 1970."
Date Taken/Released: April 17, 1970
Credits: NASA JSC
After nearly 56 hours of the mission, Apollo aborted the mission due to an explosion to one of the oxygen tanks. The explosion caused a loss of the ability to generate electricity, water, and oxygen. Unfortunately, this ended the mission's objective to land on the moon.
Apollo 13 aborted the mission and would need to return to Earth. They had to undock the lunar module which helped to preserve electrical power in order for the command module to return to Earth. Apollo 13's reentry was similar to other missions.
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