Apollo 13, launched on April 11, 1970, was the third lunar landing mission of the American Apollo space program. The flight was commanded by James A. Lovell, with John L. "Jack" Swigert serving as Command Module Pilot and Fred W. Haise as Lunar Module Pilot. Jack Swigert stepped in for Ken Mattingly, who had been exposed to German measles.
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| Photo: Fra Mauro, the intended landing site for Apollo 13. |
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| Photo: The Apollo 13 crew (from left to right): Jack Swigert, James Lovell, and Fred Haise. |
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| Apollo 13 crew-signed "Type 1" Insurance Cover from the personal collection of Mission Commander James Lovell, accompanied by a signed letter of certification. This cover features a color cachet of the mission insignia on the left, with "NASA Manned Spacecraft Center Stamp Club" printed above and "Official Commemorative Cover" below. It is signed by the original crew: James Lovell, Ken Mattingly, and Fred Haise, and was machine cancelled at Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970 (launch date). The letter of certification, signed by Lovell, is printed on his company letterhead. Ken Mattingly was removed from the mission at the last minute due to his exposure to German measles. - Heritage Auctions. |
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| Photo: The Apollo 13 crew enjoying breakfast before their flight to the Moon on April 11, 1970. |
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| Apollo 13 backup crew signed launch cover, featuring signatures from John Young, Jack Swigert, and Charlie Duke, postmarked at Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970. |
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| Photo: Ken Mattingly (left), who was grounded due to his exposure to German measles, joined Mission Control crew. |
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| Apollo 13 official NASA cachet on a cover with a hand cancel from Kennedy Space Center, dated April 11, 1970. |
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| Photo: Spectators observing the launch of Apollo 13 on April 11, 1970, from a spot more than three miles away from the launch pad. |
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| Although one of the second-stage engines on the Saturn V rocket shut down early during launch, Apollo 13 appeared to be on track. Just hours after achieving Earth orbit, the crew conducted the trans-lunar injection burn using the rocket's third stage (S-IVB), directing the spacecraft toward the Moon.
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On April 13, 1970, while Apollo 13 was on its way to the Moon, a cryogenic oxygen tank exploded in the service module, causing significant damage to the spacecraft. The astronauts had to take shelter in the lunar module, which they used as a lifeboat. The planned Moon landing was scrapped, and the mission was refocused on safely returning the crew to Earth. Additionally, the main antenna was damaged, forcing the crew to communicate with Houston through a smaller antenna on the lunar module.
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Two days into the mission, following a live broadcast from space that was missed by all major television networks, mission control instructed Swigert to flip a switch for a routine stirring of the spacecraft's oxygen tanks. Just minutes later, an explosion rocked the spacecraft, leading Swigert and then Lovell to inform Earth, "Houston, we've had a problem."
Top: A Sarzin cover postmarked at Cape Canaveral on April 13, 1970. Bottom: A cover from The Manned Spaceflight Cover Society, hand canceled in Houston on April 13, 1970. |
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| Photo: On the left, an image from the laboratory at the Space Center in Houston, Texas, depicts the position of the Apollo service and command modules. On the right, a diagram illustrates the components of the service module. Damage to the Apollo 13 command module was discovered in sector 4, impacting the fuel cells above and the oxygen tanks below. |
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| The Apollo 13 malfunction happened when oxygen tank no. 2 in the service module exploded and ruptured, forcing the crew to take refuge in the lunar module, which acted as their lifeboat for the return to Earth. |
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| The Parkes radio telescope was enlisted to assist during the Apollo 13 emergency. The staff at Parkes prepared the telescope for receiving signals from the spacecraft in under six hours. As Parkes tracked the faint radio signals from Apollo 13, ground control in Houston focused on calculating the exact trajectory needed to bring the damaged spacecraft safely home. The cover above features a stamped Apollo 13 CSIRO ANRAO Parkes cachet, canceled at Parkes on April 16, 1970. |
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| Photo: Astronauts at Houston keeping track of the troubled Apollo 13 spacecraft at Mission Control. With the lunar landing canceled, mission controllers worked to bring the crew home alive. |
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| Newspapers on April 14, 1970, featured headlines about the trouble aboard Apollo 13, which resulted in the cancellation of the Moon landing mission. |
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| Photo: Apollo 13 flight controller Glynn Lunney at press Conference on April 14, 1970, reports on a "super-fast" return that would propell the Apollo 13 crew home a day earlier and perhaps save their lives. |
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| A critical decision involved selecting the return path. A "direct abort" would have utilized the Service Propulsion System (SPS) in the Service Module to bring the crew back before reaching the Moon, but there was concern that the explosion may have compromised the SPS. Instead, they opted for a longer route that would swing the spacecraft around the Moon using a free-return trajectory. The cover above was postmarked at Cape Canaveral on April 14, 1970, and signed by Commander James A. Lovell. |
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| An Apollo 13 NASA local post cover, postmarked in Houston on April 14, 1970. |
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| An Apollo 13 cover issued by the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center Stamp Club, displaying the words "MISSION ABORTED" in red beneath the stamp. This cover is signed by James Lovell, Ken Mattingly, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert. It is postmarked in Houston on April 14, 1970. - RegencyStamps |
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| Photo: Charlie Duke served as the capsule communicator (CAPCOM) for the Apollo 13 crew. |
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| Apollo 13 cover from the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center Stamp Club, postmarked in Houston on April 14, 1970, and signed by Charlie Duke. |
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| Photo: The far side of the Moon as captured by the Apollo 13 crew during their spacecraft's swing around it. |
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| A cover signed by flight director Eugene Kranz, who led the Mission Control team in efforts to rescue the Apollo 13 crew. |
After sending the astronauts out of Earth orbit toward the Moon, the Saturn V rocket's detached third stage, the S-IVB, was deliberately aimed at the Moon. Its impact was recorded by several scientific instruments left behind by the Apollo 12 mission. When the crew was informed that the S-IVB had successfully struck the Moon, James Lovell quipped, "Well, at least something worked on this flight."
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| Photo: The crash of Apollo 13's third stage onto the Moon. |
Despite numerous challenges—including limited power, loss of cabin heat, a shortage of potable water, and the urgent need to improvise a carbon dioxide removal system—Apollo 13 safely returned to Earth on April 17, 1970. The lunar module remained attached to the spacecraft to conserve as much electrical power as possible in the command module for reentry. The reentry procedure required an extra step, involving the undocking of the lunar module along with the separation from the damaged service module.
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| Photo: An illustration depicting Apollo 13's midcourse correction to ensure its return to Earth. A failure in this correction would result in the crew being stranded in space. |
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| Photo: On April 16, 1970, Donald K. Slayton, Director of Flight Crew Operations for the Apollo program, provided an update on the situation of the damaged Apollo 13 spacecraft. |
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| Photo: The primary recovery ship USS Iwo Jima is heading toward the anticipated splashdown area for Apollo 13. Helicopter 66, piloted by Commander Charles Smiley, is prepared to retrieve the Apollo 13 crew. |
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| Above is a postcard featuring the USS Iwo Jima ship, marked with a Beck rubber-stamped cachet, hand-cancelled on April 17, 1970, and signed by the commanding officer, Captain Leland Erwin Kirkemo. |
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| USS Iwo Jima recovery ship cover featuring an Ekas rubber-stamped cachet, cancelled on April 17, 1970. |
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| Photo: On the left, an illustration depicting the stages of separation that Apollo 13 will undergo during re-entry into Earth's atmosphere. On the right, a photo captures the Apollo 13 service module drifting away after it has separated from the command module. |
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| A cover featuring a cachet that depicts the unique reentry of Apollo 13, postmarked at Cape Canaveral on April 17, 1970. |
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| Photo: The Apollo 13 crew captured this image of Earth, showcasing the Baja Peninsula and northern Mexico, along with the Southwestern United States. The majority of the rest of North America is shrouded in clouds.
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| A cover featuring an illustration depicting Apollo 13's trajectory from its final course correction to its splashdown site on Earth, postmarked at Cape Canaveral on April 17, 1970. |
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| "Orbit Covers" featuring an illustration of the Apollo 13 re-entry and splashdown, postmarked at Cape Canaveral on April 17, 1970. |
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| Photo: The Apollo 13 crew splashed down just 4 miles from the recovery ship USS Iwo Jima on April 17, 1970. |
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| Photo: The Apollo 13 crew aboard the USS Iwo Jima carrier in the Pacific on April 17, 1970. |
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| Photo: Edgar Mitchell and Alan Shepard, crew members from the upcoming Apollo 14 mission, applaud at Mission Control in Houston, Texas, celebrating the successful splashdown and recovery of Apollo 13. |
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| USS Iwo Jima recovery ship cover featuring a Beck rubber-stamped cachet, signed by the Apollo 13 crew members Jack Swigert, James Lovell, and Fred Haise, as well as Rear Adm. Donald C. Davis, commander of the Pacific-based Task Force 130, Captain Leland Erwin Kirkemo, the commanding officer, and helicopter pilot Charles B. Smiley. "The Joseph Lee Wicks Space Collection". - RRAuction |
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| PPhoto: A jubilant atmosphere filled Mission Control at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston on Friday as a picture of Apollo 13 flight commander James A. Lovell appeared on a television screen, celebrating the safe return of Lovell and his two crewmates aboard the USS Iwo Jima. Donald K. Slayton, director of flight crew operations, leans over a console to shake hands with one of the controllers, while another team member savors a cigar. |
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| USS Iwo Jima hand cancel variation featuring the ship's name at the top of the postmark. |
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| Photo: Lovell and Swigert examine the Apollo 13 command module, which safely brought them back to a splashdown in the Pacific. |
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| A pair of Apollo 13 USS Iwo Jima Beck crew cover with the Atlantic and Pacific cachets. Capt James Martin was the Staff Legal Officer, Commander cruiser-destroyer force, Atlantic Fleet. |
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| Photo: Apollo 13 astronauts express their gratitude to the crew of the USS Iwo Jima before heading off to the Island of Pago Pago. |
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| Following their recovery, the Apollo 13 crew made a brief stop in American Samoa before flying to Hawaii. Governor John M. Haydon wrote a welcome message and signed this Beck printed cachet cover B838. The hand cancel features a variation with a skewed date. |
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| Photo: The Apollo 13 crew participated in a ceremonial ritual conducted by Samoan natives on April 18, 1970, prior to their departure for Honolulu. |
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| Apollo 13 Artopages cover featuring a splashdown and recovery printed cachet, exclusively available on the USS Iwo Jima. It was hand cancelled on April 17, 1970, and is signed by helicopter pilot Charles B. Smiley, co-pilot D. G. McCarthy, and crewman Ralph G. Slider. The cover also includes an insert card signed by the supply officer, Eugene V. Rinehart. |
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| Although the recovery date of April 17, 1970, is typically found on Apollo 13 Artopages covers, the cover shown above features an unusual cancellation date of April 10, 1970, which is a day before Apollo 13's launch. |
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| An Apollo 13 "Navy Recovery Ship" cover from Artopages, postmarked on April 17, 1970, aboard the USS Iwo Jima. |
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| Photo: Wernher von Braun (right), the Planning Director for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, attends a debriefing for the Apollo 13 spaceflight crew at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas, on Monday. Donald K. Slayton, director of flight crew operations, converses with von Braun as the crew—James A. Lovell Jr., John L. Swigert Jr., and Fred W. Haise Jr.—listens. |
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| Photo: During a news conference on April 22, 1970, at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas, the Apollo 13 crew admired a model of their spacecraft. |
(Reference from
Apollo 13,
Apollo 13 S-IVB Impact Site,
Apollo 13 - A Successful Failure)
