Apollo 13
"Houston, we've had a problem…"
Mission Type
crew
Launch
SPLASHDOWN
Apollo 13
Apollo 13 was supposed to land in the Fra Mauro area of the Moon. But at 5 1/2 minutes after liftoff, the crew felt a little vibration…
Learn More about Apollo 13
James A. Lovell, Jr.
Commander
Captain Lovell was selected as an astronaut by NASA in September 1962. He has since served as backup pilot for the Gemini 4 flight and backup commander for the Gemini 9 flight, as well as backup commander to Neil Armstrong for the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission. On March 1, 1973, Captain Lovell retired from the Navy and from the space program.
More About James A. Lovell
John “Jack” Swigert
Command Module Pilot
Mr. Swigert was one of the 19 astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966. He served as a member of the astronaut support crew for the Apollo 7 mission. Mr. Swigert was next assigned to the Apollo 13 backup crew and subsequently called upon to replace prime crewman Thomas K. Mattingly as command module pilot. In completing his first space flight, Mr. Swigert logged a total of 142 hours, 54 minutes in space.
More About John Swigert
Fred Haise
Lunar Module Pilot
Mr. Haise was one of the 19 astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966. He served as backup lunar module pilot for the Apollo 8 and 11 missions, and backup spacecraft commander for the Apollo 16 mission. Haise was the lunar module pilot on Apollo 13 and has logged 142 hours and 54 minutes in space.
More About Fred Haise
Apollo 13: The Successful Failure
On April 11, 1970, the powerful Saturn V rocket carrying the Apollo 13 mission launched from Kennedy Space Center propelling astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert on what was intended to be humanity’s third lunar landing. Unfortunately, the mission to explore the Fra Mauro region of the Moon did not go as planned. What many viewed as a now “routine” mission soon had millions around the globe glued to television sets watching and hoping for a positive outcome for one of the most intense episodes in the history of space exploration.
Learn More
50 Years Ago: “Houston, We’ve Had a Problem”
During their third day in space, the crew of Apollo 13, Commander James A. Lovell, Command Module Pilot John L.…
Read the Story
Apollo 13 Articles
When their spaceship was severely damaged 200,000 miles from Earth – 45 years ago this week, it was like a…
Leerlo en español aquí. Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article incorrectly listed the year Campos died. He passed away…
Six months after their return from the harrowing Apollo 13 mission, astronauts James A. Lovell, John L. Swigert, and Fred…
During a press conference on June 15, 1970, at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, Apollo 13 Review Board Chair Edgar…
On April 17, 1970, Apollo 13 astronauts James A. Lovell, John L. “Jack” Swigert and Fred W. Haise splashed down…
The crew of Apollo 13, Commander James A. Lovell, Command Module Pilot (CMP) John L. “Jack” Swigert and Lunar Module…
