APOLLO 13: Houston We Have A Problem - The True Story of the Apollo 13 Disaster Those that are familiar with Apollo 13 know that it was the seventh installment of the Apollo space program. It was classified as a manned mission by NASA as well as the third mission with the intention of landing on the moon, though it never actually succeeded in the lunar landing as it was aborted due to an oxygen tank explosion. On April 11th of 1970, the Apollo 13 craft was sent to launch at 13:13 CST, or 19:13 UTC. It originated from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The incident that caused its mission to fail happened two days into the endeavor, and it crippled the Service Module. This was vitally important for the proper functioning of the Command Module. Other hardships that had to be battled during flight included loss of cabin heat, a limited supply of power, a critical need for makeshift repairs to the system that removed carbon dioxide from the craft, and a shortage of potable water. Despite all of these things, the crew was able to safely return to Earth six days after they launched, on the 17th of April. This is the incredible story of the Apollo 13 disaster, and the breathtaking, miraculous turnaround that saw the entire crew return safe and well.