50 Years Ago, Apollo 13 Moon Mission Became NASA’s ‘Successful Failure’
By the time the towering Saturn V rocket carrying the Apollo 13 crew left the launchpad at Cape Canaveral, Florida, thundering into the skies on April 11, 1970, traveling to the moon seemed about as interesting to the general public as commuting to work.It was, after all, America’s third mission aimed at landing on the desolate orb, a feat accomplished nine months before during the much-celebrated Apollo 11 mission.“After the landing there was a general letdown, not just by the general public, but I think by NASA itself,” Apollo 13 …