Apollo 13 was planned to be the third manned lunar landing. Lunar trajectory insertion occurred on schedule. The Command Service Module (CSM) then turned and docked with the Lunar Module (LM) and continued on toward the Moon. Then, almost 56 hours after liftoff, a fire broke out in the #2 oxygen tank in the CSM. This led to the loss of all fuel cell power and the other system failures. The mission was aborted and the task of getting the astronauts home safely began. The CSM was powered down and the astronauts entered the LM and used it as a "lifeboat" on the long journey home. As the crippled spacecraft neared Earth, the astronauts re-entered the CSM and jettisoned the Service Module and the Lunar Module. Fortunately, re-entry into Earth's atmosphere occurred normally. The astronauts were safely recovered at the splashdown point in Mid-Pacific after a flight of 142 hours, 54 minutes (five days, 22 hours and five minutes). Apollo 13 Launch Date: April 11, 1970, 2:13 PM EST Launch Vehicle: Saturn V Crew: Commander: James A. Lovell, Jr. Command Service Module Pilot: John L. Swigert, Jr. Lunar Module Pilot: Fred W. Haise, Jr Approximately 4” Diameter
