2-860-668 - Heritage Space/Heritage Images

Apollo 13 Splashdown, 1970. A perilous space flight comes to a smooth ending with the safe splashdown of the Apollo 13 Command Module (CM) in the south Pacific Ocean, only four miles from the prime recovery ship, the U.S.S. Iwo Jima. The Command Module "Odyssey" with Commander, James A. Lovell Jr., Command Module pilot, John L. Swigert Jr. and Lunar Module pilot Fred W. Haise Jr. splashed down at 12:07:44 p.m. (CST), April 17, 1970. The crewmen were transported by helicopter from the immediate recovery area to the U.S.S. Iwo Jima. The Apollo 13 Moon landing expedition was aborted after an oxygen tank in the service module (SM) failed two days into the mission.