The damaged service module after separation from the command module ‘Odyssey'
The damaged service module after separation from the command module ‘Odyssey'
After two lunar landings the flights to the Moon seemed to have become routine. Apollo 13 demonstrated that this was far from being the case. An accident occurred 56 hours after launch on 11 April 1970. ‘Okay, Houston, we’ve had a problem here,’ reported Command Module Pilot Jack Swigert to ground control, calmly. An oxygen tank had exploded. Within seconds, it had become a matter of life and death. The situation was analysed and decisions made. The spaceship had to circle the Moon to gain momentum for an immediate return to Earth – their only chance of survival. The title of flight director Eugene Kranz’s authobiography has gone down in history: ‘Failure is not an option!’
