1970-04-11 USA Apollo 13

Photo: The Apollo 13 crew (from left to right): Jack Swigert, James Lovell and Fred Haise.
Apollo 13, launched on April 11, 1970, was the third lunar landing mission in the American Apollo space program. The flight was commanded by James A. Lovell with John L. "Jack" Swigert as Command Module Pilot and Fred W. Haise as Lunar Module Pilot. Jack Swigert replaced Ken Mattingly, who was exposed to German measles.

Apollo 13 crew-signed "Type 1" Insurance Cover directly from the personal collection of Mission Commander James Lovell, with signed letter of certification. This cover features a color cachet of the mission insignia at left with "NASA Manned Spacecraft Center Stamp Club" printed above, and "Official Commemorative Cover" below. Signed by the original crew, James Lovell, Ken Mattingly and Fred Haise, machine cancelled at Kennedy Space Center om April 11, 1970 (launch date). Signed "Letter of Certification" from Lovell on his company letterhead. At the last minute, Ken Mattingly was pulled from the mission because of his exposure to German measles. - Heritage Auctions.
Apollo 13 backup crew signed launch cover. Signed by John Young, Jack Swigert and Charlie Duke, postmarked KSC dated April 11, 1970.
On April 13, 1970, while Apollo 13 on the route to the moon, one of the cryogenic oxygen tanks exploded in the service module and crippled the spacecraft. The astronauts had no choice but to retreat into the lunar module as a lifeboat. The moon landing was aborted and returning the crew safely to earth was the top priority. To make matters worse, the main antenna of the spacecraft was damaged, the crew could only communicate with Houston through a small antenna on the lunar module.

Despite multiple issues caused by limited power, loss of cabin heat, shortage of potable water, and the critical need to jury-rig the carbon dioxide removal system, Apollo 13 returned safely to Earth on April 17, 1970. The lunar module was attached to the spacecraft to preserve the maximum electrical power in the command module for reentry. The reentry involved an unusual step to undock the lunar module, in addition to the separation from the damaged service module.

Photo: Apollo 13 crew at breakfast before their flight to the Moon, April 11, 1970.
Apollo 13 official NASA cachet on cover with a Kennedy Space Center hand cancel dated April 11, 1970.
Photo: Ken Mattingly (left), who was grounded due to his exposure to German measles, joined Mission Control crew.
Photo: Spectators watching the launch of Apollo 13 on April 11, 1970, from a location more than three miles away from the launch pad.
Despite an early shutdown of one of the Saturn V rocket's second-stage engines during launch, Apollo 13 appeared to proceed normally. Just hours after reaching Earth orbit, the crew initiated the trans-lunar injection burn of the rocket's 3rd stage to send their spacecraft toward the Moon.
Photo: Fra Mauro, the planned landing site for Apollo 13.
Two days into the journey, after completing a live broadcast from space that was ignored by every major television network, mission control asked Swigert to flip a switch to perform a routine stir of the spacecraft's oxygen tanks. Minutes later, the spacecraft was rocked by an explosion causing first Swigert and then Lovell to report back to Earth, "Houston, we've had a problem.". Top: A Sarzin cover postmarked at Cape Canaveral on April 13, 1970. Bottom: A cover from The Manned Spaceflight Cover Society, hand cancelled at Houston on April 13, 1970.
Photo: "A photo taken at the Space Center in Houston, Tex,. showing the location of the Apollo service and command modules in the laboratory is shown at left. The photo at right is a diagram of the parts of the service module. Damage to the Apollo 13 command module was located around sector 4, damaging the fuel cells above it and oxygen tanks below. AP Wirephoto. April 20, 1970."
Apollo 13 malfunction was caused by an explosion and rupture of oxygen tank no. 2 in the service module, the crew moved into the lunar module - the lifeboat to return to Earth.
Parkes radio telescope was called in to assist the Apollo 13 emergency. The staff at Parkes prepared the telescope for spacecraft reception in less than six hours. While Parkes monitored the weak radio signals from Apollo 13, the ground control at Houston worked on the precise trajectory to bring the crippled spacecraft home. Above cover with a stamped Apollo 13 CSIRO ANRAO Parkes cachet, cancelled at Parkes on April 16, 1970.
Photo: Astronauts at Houston keeping track of the troubled Apollo 13 spacecraft at Mission Control. With the lunar landing canceled, mission controllers worked to bring the crew home alive.
Newspapers on April 14, 1970 headlining trouble that developed aboard the Apollo 13 which led to the cancellation of the spacecraft's attempt to land on the moon.
Photo: Charlie Duke acted as a capsule communicator (CAPCOM) with the Apollo 13 crew.
Apollo 13 cover from NASA Manned Spacecraft Center Stamp Club, postmarked at Houston on April 14, 1970, signed by Charlie Duke.
A key decision was the choice of return path. A "direct abort" would use the SM's main engine, the Service Propulsion System (SPS), to return before reaching the Moon, but the explosion could have damaged the SPS as well. A longer route that swing the spacecraft around the Moon in a free-return trajectory was decided. Above cover was postmarked at Cape Canaveral on April 14, 1970, signed by Commander James A. Lovell.
Photo: The back side of the moon as seen by the Apollo 13 crew when their spacecraft swing around the Moon.
After sending the astronauts out of Earth orbit on a path to the Moon, the detached third stage of the Saturn V rocket, called the S-IVB, was aimed squarely at the Moon. Its impact was detected by several scientific instruments left on the surface by Apollo 12. When the crew was told that the S-IVB had hit the Moon, James Lovell replied, "Well, at least something worked on this flight."
Cover signed by flight director, Eugene Kranz, who directed the Mission Control team to save the Apollo 13 crew.
Apollo 13 cover from NASA Manned Spacecraft Center Stamp Club with "MISSION ABORTED" text in red added below the stamp. Signed by James Lovell, Ken Mattingly, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert. Hand cancelled Houston TX April 14, 1970. - RegencyStamps
Photo: Primary recovery ship USS Iwo Jima steaming towards the expected Apollo 13 splashdown point, April 14, 1970.
Photo: Helicopter 66, piloted by Cdr. Charles Smiley, scheduled to recover the Apollo 13 crew.
Photo: Donald K. Slayton, Director of Flight Crew Operations for the Apollo program, reports on the flight of the stricken Apollo 13 spacecraft, April 16, 1970.
Photo: Damaged Apollo 13 service module drifted away after separated from its command module.
Above cover with a cachet that illustrates the unusual reentry of Apollo 13.
The Apollo 13 crew splashed down 4 miles from the recovery ship USS Iwo Jima.
Above USS Iwo Jima ship's postcard with Beck rubber stamped cachet, hand cancelled on April 17, 1970 and signed by commanding officer Captain Leland Erwin Kirkemo.
USS Iwo Jima recovery ship cover with Beck rubber stamped cachet, signed by the Apollo 13 crew, Jack Swigert, James Lovell, Fred Haise, commander of the Pacific-based Task Force 130 Rear Adm. Donald C. Davis, commanding officer Captain Leland Erwin Kirkemo and the helo pilot Charles B. Smiley. "The Joseph Lee Wicks Space Collection". - RRAuction
Photo: "A HAPPY SCENE takes place Friday at Mission Control, Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, as a picture of Apollo 13 flight commander James A. Lovell is flashed on a television screen after Lovell and the other two crew members were safely aboard the USS Iwo Jima. Donald K. Slayton, director of flight crew operations, leans across a console to shake hands with one of the controllers, while another member of the team puffs on a cigar. AP Wirephoto, April 17, 1970."
Photo: Crew from the next Apollo 14 flight, Edgar Mitchell and Alan Shepard, applaud the successful splashdown and recovery of Apollo 13.
USS Iwo Jima hand cancel variation with ship name appears on the top of the postmark.
Photo: James Lovell and Jack Swigert inspecting the Apollo 13 command module that carried them to a safe splashdown in the Pacific.
A pair of very rare Apollo 13 USS Iwo Jima postmarked Beck CREW Cover with the Atlantic and Pacific cachets. Capt James Martin was the Staff Legal Officer, Commander cruiser-destroyer force, Atlantic Fleet.
Photo: Apollo 13 astronauts say a few words of thanks to the crew of USS Iwo Jima before their departure for the Island of Pago Pago.
After the recovery, the Apollo 13 crew headed to American Samoa for a brief stop before they flew to Hawaii. Governor John M. Haydon of American Samoa inscribed a welcome message and autographed on this Beck printed cachet cover B838. This hand cancel is a variation with a skewed date.
Photo: Apollo 13 crew at a ritual ceremony (performed by Samoan natives) on April 18, 1970, before they departed for Honolulu.
USS Iwo Jima recovery ship cover with Ekas rubber stamped cachet.
Apollo 13 Artopages cover with a splashdown and recovery printed cachet, available on the USS Iwo Jima only. Hand cancelled on April 17, 1970, signed by helo pilot Charles B. Smiley, co-pilot D. G. McCarthy and crewman Ralph G. Slider. The cover includes an insert card, signed by the supply officer, Eugene V. Rinehart.
While the recovery date, April 17, 1970, is commonly seen on Apollo 13 Artopages covers, the above cover has an unusual date cancelled on April 10, 1970, a day before the actual launch of Apollo 13.
Apollo 13 Navy Recovery Ship cover by Artopages, postmarked April 17, 1970 on USS Iwo Jima.
Photo: "PLANNING DIRECTOR for the National Aeronautics & Space Administration, Wernher von Braun (right) attends a debriefing of the Apollo 13 spaceflight crew at the Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Tex., Monday. Donald K. Slayton, director of flight crew operations, talks with von Braun as the crew (from left) James A. Lovell Jr., John L. Swigert Jr. and Fred W. Haise Jr. listen. AP Wirephoto. April 20, 1970."
Photo: Apollo 13 crew at a news conference on April 22, 1970.
(Reference from Apollo 13, Apollo 13 S-IVB Impact Site, Apollo 13 a Successful Failure)