Apollo 13
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NASA
NASA’s Artemis II Crew Eclipses Record for Farthest Human Spaceflight
Editor’s note: This release was updated at 7:28 p.m. EDT on April 6, 2026, to reflect Orion’s final closest approach to the lunar surface from about 4,070 miles to about 4,067 miles. NASA also updated the farthest distance Orion will travel. Four astronauts aboard NASA’s Artemis II test flight around the Moon made history at 12:56 p.m. CDT on Monday,…
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NASA
Acting NASA Administrator Reflects on Legacy of Astronaut Jim Lovell
The following is a statement from acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy on the passing of famed Apollo astronaut Jim Lovell. He passed away Aug. 7, in Lake Forest, Illinois. He was 97 years old. “NASA sends its condolences to the family of Capt. Jim Lovell, whose life and work inspired millions of people across the decades. Jim’s character and steadfast…
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NASA
Apollo 13 Launch: 55 Years Ago
NASA astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert launch aboard the Apollo 13 spacecraft from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 11, 1970. The mission seemed to be going smoothly until 55 hours and 55 minutes in when an oxygen tank ruptured. The new mission plan involved abandoning the Moon landing, looping around the Moon and getting the crew home safely…
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NASA
55 Years Ago: Preps for Apollo 13 and 14, Apollo 12 Crew on World Tour
With two months to go before flight, the Apollo 13 prime crew of James Lovell, Thomas Mattingly, Fred Haise, and backups John Young, John Swigert, and Charles Duke continued to train for the 10-day mission planned to land in the Fra Mauro highlands region of the Moon. Engineers continued to prepare the Saturn V rocket and spacecraft at the launch pad for the April 11, 1970, liftoff…
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NASA
55 Years Ago: Apollo 13 Prepares for Third Moon Landing
Following the historic year of 1969 that saw two successful Moon landings, 1970 opened on a more sober note. Ever-tightening federal budgets forced NASA to rescope its future lunar landing plans. The need for a Saturn V to launch an experimental space station in 1972 forced the cancellation of the final Moon landing mission and an overall stretching out of…
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NASA
55 Years Ago: Apollo 13, Preparations for the Third Moon Landing
As 1969, an historic year that saw not just one but two successful human lunar landings, drew to a close, NASA continued preparations for its planned third Moon landing mission, Apollo 13, then scheduled for launch on March 12, 1970. The Apollo 13 prime crew of Commander James A. Lovell, Command Module Pilot (CMP) Thomas K. “Ken” Mattingly, and Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) Fred W. Haise, and…
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NASA
SPACE WEEK: Apollo 13
This is one of my all-time favorite movies. My parents bought me a VHS copy of it for Christmas one year and I watched it probably dozens of times over winter break. Released in 1995 and featuring a great cast of Actors such as Tom Hanks, Gary Sinise, Bill Paxton, and Kevin Bacon. This movie is based off of the…
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NASA
SPACE WEEK: Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control From Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond
The book by Gene Kranz, best known for being the mission control commander during Apollo 13, published his memior in 2009 and is available in Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle and Audio Book form. It details the career of Gene Kranz from the birth of NASA (and the start of his career) clear through Apollo 13 and his retirement. It’s a great…
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Press Releases
Apollo 13 Launches for it’s ill-fated trip
At 2:23 PM, April 11th, 1970 Apollo 11 lifted off from Cape Kennedy Florida. Aside from a Second Stage engine failure during launch, the flight to this point was flawless James A. Lovell., Jack Swigert, Jr. and Fred Haise, . enroute to the NASA Transport Van on their way to Launch Pad 39-A
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NASA
NASA Commemorates 50th Anniversary of Apollo 13, ‘A Successful Failure’
As NASA marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission – which has become known as “a successful failure” that saw the safe return of its crew in spite of a catastrophic explosion – the agency is sharing a variety of resources, recognizing the triumph of the mission control team and the astronauts, and looking at how those lessons learned can be…
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