A real-time journey through the Apollo 13 mission

Introduction

This website replays the Apollo 13 mission as it happened, 50 years ago. It consists entirely of historical material, all timed to Ground Elapsed Time--the master mission clock. Footage of Mission Control, film shot by the astronauts, and television broadcasts transmitted from space have been painstakingly placed to the very moments they were shot during the mission, as has every photograph taken, and every word spoken. This project includes newly digitized and restored mission control audio. The last tapes of these recordings were discovered in the National Archives fall of 2019 and were digitized in February, 2020 and contain the time surrounding the onboard explosion. These recordings haven't been heard since the accident investigation in 1970.

Interface

Upon starting the application, select whether to begin one minute before launch, or click "Now" to drop in exactly 50 years ago, to-the-second during the mission anniversary. Navigate to any moment of the mission using the time navigator at the top of the screen. The top bar is the entire mission with two bars below it providing magnification. Clicking transcript items, photos, commentary items, or guided tour moments also jumps the mission time to those events. Main mission audio consists of space-to-ground (left ear), capcom loop (right ear), and on-board recorder (center, when available). Selecting a Mission Control audio channel mutes the main audio, opens the Mission Control audio panel, and plays the "live" audio of each selected Mission Control position. Change channels by selecting the seats in Mission Control. Closing the Mission Control audio panel will unmute the main audio and continue mission playback. These 50 channels of Mission Control audio spanning the entire mission have only recently been digitized and restored, and are made publicly available here for the first time. They total over 7,200 hours in length. Please contact Ben Feist for any inquiries.

"I could put my thumb up to a window and completely hide the Earth. I thought, 'Everything I've ever known is behind my thumb."

— Jim Lovell

Commander, Apollo 13

"My biggest emotion on Apollo 13 after the oxygen tank explosion was disappointment that we had lost the landing."

— Fred Haise

Lunar Module Pilot, Apollo 13

"Okay, Houston, we've had a problem here."

— Jack Swigert

Command Module Pilot, Apollo 13