Apollo 13 Launch, 1970, NASA
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On April 11th, 1970, the NASA Apollo 13 mission lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center. The mission’s goal was to land on the moon, but as the spacecraft closed in on its destination an exposed wire caused an explosion in one of the oxygen tanks. The mission was aborted, and the crew were forced to live in the lander as they worked with NASA to develop a plan for landing the damaged spacecraft back on Earth. As a result of quick thinking and several engineering masterstrokes, all three astronauts survived the mission. The failed mission convinced U.S. officials of the need for a space rescue system, leading to a joint U.S.-Soviet test project.
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