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Chapter 2 of 5 · 13 April 1970

Oxygen Tank Explosion

Apollo 13

02 / 05

Roughly 56 hours into the flight, an oxygen tank in the service module exploded after a routine stir, damaging a second tank and knocking out the command module's main power and oxygen supply.

The famous phrase most often quoted as "Houston, we have a problem" was actually first radioed by Jack Swigert as "Houston, we've had a problem," repeated by Jim Lovell moments later. Mission Control immediately began working the problem of getting the crew home alive.

The damaged service module, photographed after separation just before reentry.
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sourcesNASA Mission Report · Apollo Flight Journal · NASA Image and Video Library — full list on Apollo 13