The Apollo 13 Accident: What Really Went Wrong

In April 1970, nearly 56 hours into the flight of Apollo 13, an oxygen tank failed and the mission to the Moon was aborted. The official Review Board judged the accident to have been nearly catastrophic. And it found that the cause went back years before launch, to a chain of small mistakes. What went wrong? This is the story of the Apollo 13 accident. What failed, why it failed and what changed afterwards, explained from the official investigation. Sources (public domain): Report of Apollo 13 Review Board (NASA, 1970) - https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/luna... Photos and archive footage (public domain unless noted): [video] The Apollo 13 Booster Impact Experiment - with Newly-Discovered Audio AR1LeC77mzk.webm - NASA Goddard - Public domain - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Th... [video] Concert videos (SVS14133 - Concert Astrophysics Apollo 13 FINAL 1080 35mbps).webm - NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio - KBR Wyle Services, - Public domain - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Co... Apollo 13 Flown Silver Robbins Medallion (SN-354).jpg - Struck by Robbins Company for NASA - Public domain - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ap... Apollo 13 Prime Crew.jpg - NASA - Public domain - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ap... Apollo 13 passing Moon.jpg - James Lovell, John Swigert, Fred Haise - Public domain - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ap... Apollo 13 Mission Profile Pamphlet.tif - NASA - Public domain - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ap... Apollo 13 Mailbox at Mission Control.jpg - NASA - Public domain - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ap... 03-Apollo-13-Earth-1e0e6ea-e1630412014517.webp - NASA / restored by Toby Ord - Public domain - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:03... Apollo 13 - HAL.png - Transcription managed by David M. Goldenbaum of Test Division, Apollo Spacecraft - Public domain - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ap... Apollo 13 Service Module - AS13-59-8500.jpg - NASAScan by Kipp Teague - Public domain - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ap... Apollo 13 Crew before launch - S70-34767.jpg - NASA - Public domain - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ap... Apollo 13 with president Nixon.jpg - NASA - Public domain - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ap... The final crew of Apollo 13 enjoy a breakfast.jpg - NASA - Public domain - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Th... The final crew of Apollo 13 enjoy a pre-launch breakfast of steak and eggs on the morning - NASA - Public domain - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Th... Apollo 13 prime crew before water egress training, January 1970.jpg - NASA - Public domain - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ap... Two crew men of the Apollo 13 lunar landing mission simulate lunar surface Extravehicular - NASA - Public domain - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tw... ...and 39 more public-domain images from NASA and Wikimedia Commons. Music: "Ossuary 5 - Rest" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) - Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ How this video was made: the script is drafted from the sources above with AI assistance, every date, number and name is checked automatically against those sources, and the narration uses a synthetic voice. It is educational and respectful of the people involved. #space #disasters #history #documentary