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After four days of nail-biting tension, the Apollo 13 command module Odyssey splashed down into the Pacific Ocean
After four days of nail-biting tension, the Apollo 13 command module Odyssey splashed down into the Pacific Ocean. Astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert had safely returned to Earth despite an explosion that took out much of their service module during their aborted trip to the Moon.
The resulting release of emotion in Mission Control could barely be contained, and no image recorded that day could fully capture the excitement, happiness and sense of accomplishment that swept through the room.
It was as though Mission Control had won back-to-back Superbowls, hit a World Series-winning grand slam in the seventh game and broken world records to take home an Olympic gold medal all at the same time. NASA had turned defeat into victory.
There’s no doubt the success of Apollo 13 was due to the contributions of thousands around the world, a major leader in the effort was Flight Director Gene Kranz, seen here second from left. It was Kranz’s team of flight controllers who oversaw most of the key events of the mission.
And although he never actually said the words back then, it was the Kranz character in the Ron Howard movie "Apollo 13," who said aloud what everyone at NASA believed during those tough days in 1970: "Failure is not an option."
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