Launch into the storm

Apollo 12 lifted off on 14 November 1969 at 16:22 UTC from Pad 39A in rainy weather. Thirty-six seconds after launch — and again sixteen seconds later — lightning struck the rocket. The onboard electronics dropped out and the panel lit up with a cascade of warnings.

The vehicle carried its own storm: the Saturn V’s exhaust plume formed a conductive path to the ground and triggered two lightning discharges. The fuel cells disconnected, the guidance platform tumbled and the telemetry to Houston turned to nonsense. Commander Conrad reported that they had “lost everything”.

The save came from 24-year-old controller John Aaron, who recognised the same odd data pattern from an earlier test. He offered one cryptic call: “SCE to AUX.” Switching the signal-conditioning equipment to backup restored the telemetry, the crew reset the fuel cells, and the mission could press on to Earth orbit.

◉ Real photograph