Touchdown

Apollo 13 Timeline FAI-ME BSW

By warlick17b

  • Mission pilot replaced

    Mission pilot replaced
    Lt. Commander Thomas Kenneth Mattingly, command module pilot, is exposed to rubella from a backup crew member, forcing him to be replaced by backup command module pilot John Leonard Swigert, Jr.

  • Liftoff

    Liftoff
    Apollo 13 takes off from Cape Conaveral at 1313 CST
  • Period: to

    Apollo 13 Mission

  • Apollo 13 Leaves free return orbit

    Apollo 13 Leaves free return orbit
    At 1953 CST, command module pilot Swigert fires the Odyssey's engines, sending the craft out of its free return trajectory toward the moon.

  • Broadcast, Explosion, Relocation

    Broadcast, Explosion, Relocation
    Following a televised broadcast at 2056 CST, ground control requests that the crew cryo stir the oxygen and hydrogen tanks. At 2107 CST, the crew reports a problem in the service module as oxygen tank two explodes, famously saying "houston, we have a problem." At 2250 CST, the crew is forced to enter the Aquarius lunar module to use its seperate life support system, after attempts to stem the flow of oxygen are unsucessful and even damaging, as they disable two engines in the process.

  • Around the moon

    Around the moon
    At 0243 CST, the crew use the Aquarius' engines to line up a trajectory which will slingshot them around the moon back toward earth using the moon's gravity. At 1815 CST, the ship moves behind the moon as part of this plan, cutting off radio communication. The crew take the opportunity to take many photographs of the moon's surface.

  • Module reoxygenation and second explosion

    Module reoxygenation and second explosion
    At 0338 CST, the crew adapts carbondioxide filters in the aquarius to compensate for the unintended strain of their combined breathing. At 1423 CST, the aquarius' second battery explodes, costing a quarter of the remaining power and knocking the ship off course. This forces the crew to fire the engines to correct course at 2231 CST.

  • Viewing and re-entry

    Viewing and re-entry
    At 0714 CST, the service module is jetisoned, which allows the crew to see the damage from the explosion. At 1043 CST, the crew returns to the Odyssey and jetisons the aquarius. Finally, at 1153 CST, the crew begins the re-entry process and loses contact with mission control temporarily.