Originally, the mission was supposed to launch from the Kennedy Space Center on the East Coast of Florida on April 11, 1970, with this crew: Commander James Lovell, U.S. Navy, making his 4th spaceflight, following Gemini 7, Gemini 12, and Apollo 8, which had gone around the Moon but not landed on it; Commander Thomas K. "Ken" Mattingly, U.S. Navy, who was to pilot the command module, named Odyssey; and Captain Fred Haise, U.S. Marine Corps, who was to pilot the lunar module, Aquarius, and walk on the Moon with Lovell. For both Mattingly and Haise, it was to be their 1st spaceflight.
This crew had been intended as the backup crew for the 1st lunar landing mission, Apollo 11, in case any of the men set for it -- commander Neil Armstrong, command module pilot Michael Collins, or lunar module pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin -- had to be replaced.
As it turned out, Apollo 13 had problems even before the launch date. All 3 astronauts were exposed to rubella, through training alongside their backup crew, which included Charles Duke, who caught it from a friend of his son. Of the other 5 astronauts, Mattingly was the only one who did not have a prior immunity. They couldn't take the chance on him getting sick in space, so he was grounded. Two days before the launch, he was replaced as command module pilot by another space rookie, Captain John "Jack" Swigert, U.S. Air Force.
Despite the replacement, the rocket was launched on time. Because of the mission having been assigned the number 13, long considered an "unlucky number," an urban legend got out, saying that the launch was at 1:13 PM local time -- in military time, 1313 hours. In fact, it was 7:13 PM.
April 15 is normally the deadline for filing an income tax return in America. On April 13, Swigert told Mission Control in Houston that, in the rush to get ready for the mission, he had forgotten to file his return. The men at Mission Control laughed, and decided to figure out what could be done. As it turned out, federal law entitled Swigert to a 60-day extension because, at the deadline, he was out of the country. He wasn't even on the planet. If that had been the biggest problem with the mission, it would have made a cute footnote in history.
It wasn't the biggest problem with the mission. At 10:08 PM on April 13, a routine stir of an oxygen tank on the service module ignited damaged wire insulation inside it, causing an explosion that vented the contents of both of the module's oxygen tanks to space. Without that oxygen, its propulsion and life support systems could not operate.
The crew heard what they described as a "bang," and a warning light went on. Swigert told Mission Control, "Okay, Houston, we've had a problem here." Jack Lousma, later to fly aboard Skylab and the Space Shuttle Columbia, heard this, and responded: "This is Houston. Say again, please." Lovell said, "Houston, we've had a problem. We've had a Main B Bus Undervolt."
The 1995 film Apollo 13, directed by Ron Howard, not only misquoted the line, with Tom Hanks playing Lovell, saying, "Houston, we have a problem," but made people forget Swigert's original line. (Swigert was played by Kevin Bacon, Haise by Bill Paxton, Mattingly by Gary Sinise, Brett Cullen played a capsule communicator who was a composite of several astronauts including Lousma, and flight director Gene Kranz was played by Ed Harris.)
The command module Odyssey's systems had to be shut down, to conserve its remaining resources for re-entry to Earth. The crew had to transfer to the lunar module Aquarius as a lifeboat. There was no way to attempt the lunar landing: The only priority now was getting those men home alive. As the saying went at the time, and entered into public memory, "Failure is not an option."
An Apollo lunar module was designed to support 2 men on the Moon's surface for 2 days. Mission Control, including Mattingly, improvised, so that it could now support 3 men for 4 days. The limited power meant little light, so that it was darker than intended inside Aquarius; and little heat, so Aquarius was chilly. And there wasn't much drinking water. Because of this, the crew lost a combined 31 pounds, and Haise developed a urinary tract infection.
The craft looped around the Moon on April 15, and re-entered Earth orbit on April 17. The crew climbed back inside Odyssey, and jettisoned Aquarius, which was never intended to leave the confines of the Moon and its orbit. The temperature inside Odyssey had dropped to 38 degrees. Lovell suggested that the astronauts put their spacesuits on, but was told that it would be too hot during re-entry.
Instead, Odyssey regained radio contact, and splashed down safely at 1:07 PM Eastern Time, only 3 1/2 miles from the recovery ship, the aircraft carrier USS Iwo Jima. Millions of people around the world watched on television, with great trepidation, and, finally, relief.
NASA made it up to Mattingly, allowing him to be the command module pilot for Apollo 16, and also putting him on 2 Space Shuttle missions; and also to Duke, allowing him to be the lunar module pilot for Apollo 16.
None of the Apollo 13 astronauts ever flew in space again. In 1982, Swigert was elected to Congress from Colorado, as a Republican. But, in mid-campaign, he had developed cancer. He thought he could beat it, and serve in his office. He was wrong, and died just 7 days before he would have been sworn in.
As of April 17, 2022, Lovell, Haise and Mattingly are still alive. (UPDATE: Mattingly died on October 31, 2013.)
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April 17, 1970 was a Friday. These Major League Baseball games were played that day:
* The New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-1 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Danny Carter won the game with a 3-run triple in the top of the 11th inning. Mel Stottlemyre pitched 9 innings, and Lindy McDaniel pitched the last 2 for the win. Brooks Robinson went 2-for-4, and Frank Robinson went 0-for-5. In spite of this, the Yankees finished 2nd in the American League Eastern Division, 15 games behind the Orioles, who went on to win the World Series.
* The New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-0 at Shea Stadium. Tom Seaver pitched an 8-hit shutout, aided by a home run from a surprising source, Bud Harrelson.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-2 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Dick Allen hit a home run. Lou Brock went 1-for-4 with a walk. Joe Torre went 2-for-3 with a walk and 2 RBIs. For the Pirates, Willie Stargell went 0-for-3 with a walk, and Roberto Clemente did not play.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the San Francisco Giants, 8-5 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Willie Mays entered the game as a pinch-hitter, moved to center field, and went 0-for-2. Willie McCovey went 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk, and 2 RBIs. The Reds got home runs from Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Tony Pérez, Lee May and Hal McRae.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox, 3-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you. In the bottom of the 11th inning, Al Kaline drew a walk, and Jim Northrup doubled him home. Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-3 with 2 walks.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Montreal Expos, 8-7 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Ernie Banks went 0-for-4, but Johnny Callison homered for the Cubs. Rusty Staub homered for the Expos.
* The Houston Astros beat the San Diego Padres, 4-1 at the Astrodome in Houston.
* The Kansas City Royals beat the California Angels, 7-5 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).
* The Oakland Athletics beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-2 at the Oakland Coliseum. Reggie Jackson went 0-for-4, but the A's got home runs from Bob Johnson (no relation to the man of the same name who was an All-Star for them in Philadelphia) and Dave Duncan, as Jim Kaat was knocked out of the box in the 4th inning. He was relieved by Steve Barber, who was little better. His arm wasn't sore, it was just a little stiff. (Ball Four reference.)
Catfish Hunter went the distance for the win. For the Twins, Tony Oliva hit a home run, but Harmon Killebrew went 0-for-3 with a walk, and Rod Carew went 1-for-4.
* The Chicago White Sox and the Milwaukee Brewers were rained out at Milwaukee County Stadium. The game was made up on June 8. The Brewers won, 5-2.
* The Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers were rained out at Atlanta Stadium (later renamed Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium). The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on September 1. The Dodgers swept, 6-3 and 3-2. Hank Aaron went 1-for-3 with a walk in the opener, and struck out as a pinch-hitter in the nightcap.
* And the Cleveland Indians and the Washington Senators were not scheduled.
Football was out of season. The Stanley Cup Playoffs were underway, but no games were scheduled for this day. There were 2 games played in the NBA. The New York Knicks lost to the Milwaukee Bucks, 101-96 at the Milwaukee Arena. In 1974, it was renamed the Milwaukee Exposition, Convention Center and Arena, or "The MECCA." Since 2014, it has been named the UW-Panther Arena.
Lew Alcindor, who renamed himself Kareem Abdul-Jabbar the following year, scored 33 points and grabbed 31 rebounds. And the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Atlanta Hawks, 115-114 in overtime at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California. Jerry West scored 35 points.
There were 3 games in the American Basketball Association:
* The New York Nets beat the Kentucky Colonels, 122-118 at Freedom Hall in Louisville. Lavern Tart scored 46 points for the Nets.
* The Los Angeles Stars beat the Dallas Chaparrals, 115-103 at the Moody Coliseum in Dallas.
* And the Denver Rockets beat the Washington Capitols, 130-111 at the Auditorium Arena in Denver. Rick Barry scored 40 for the Caps.
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