What actually went wrong with Apollo 13?

The Apollo 13 malfunction was caused by an explosion and rupture of oxygen tank no. 2 in the service module. The explosion ruptured a line or damaged a valve in the no. All oxygen stores were lost within about 3 hours, along with loss of water, electrical power, and use of the propulsion system.

What type of engine did Apollo 13 use?

The Saturn V rocket had five J-2 engines, each producing 200,000 pounds of thrust, together creating the 1 million pounds of thrust needed for a mission to the Moon.

What was the biggest problem with Apollo 13’s return to Earth?

“Houston, we’ve had a problem” Apollo 13 was to be the third mission to land on the Moon. An explosion in one of the oxygen tanks crippled the spacecraft during flight and the crew were forced to orbit the Moon and return to the Earth without landing.

What happened to the center engine on Apollo 13?

At 5 1/2 minutes after liftoff, John Swigert, Fred Haise and James Lovell felt a little vibration. Then the center engine of the S-II stage shut down two minutes early. This caused the remaining four engines to burn 34 seconds longer than planned, and the S-IVB third stage had to burn nine seconds longer to put Apollo 13 in orbit.

Why was Apollo 13 classified as a failure?

Apollo 13 was to be the third lunar landing attempt, but the mission was aborted after rupture of service module oxygen tank. Still, it was classified as a “successful failure” because of the experience gained in rescuing the crew.

What was Apollo 13 launch date?

Apollo 13 was launched on Saturn V SA-508 on 11 April 1970 at 19:13:00 UT (02:13:00 p.m. EST) from pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center. During second stage boost the center engine of the S-II stage cut off 132 seconds early, causing the remaining four engines to burn 34 seconds longer than normal.

What is the Apollo Command and service module?

The Apollo command and service module (CSM) was one of two principal components of the United States Apollo spacecraft, used for the Apollo program, which landed astronauts on the Moon between 1969 and 1972.