50 years ago today....Apollo 13 had a problem

At an altitude of some 205,000 miles above the earth, just one day from entering lunar orbit, Apollo 13 had just wrapped up a live broadcast that wasn't even covered by the networks due to lack of interest. It was getting close to shift change in Mission Control and therefore time to execute a few routine housekeeping procedures before saying good-bye to the crew for 12 hours. One of those was a "cryo stir" of the oxygen tanks within the bowels of the command service module.

Within seconds of command module pilot Jack Swigert's flipping of the switch, a loud bang echoed through the command module and master alarms began to ring out their warnings. The bang had been an explosion in the service module which ruptured the hull of the spacecraft. Immediately the spacecraft began losing power and oxygen.

The only way for the crew to have a chance was to shutdown their command module and move into the lunar module and use it as a lifeboat. Meanwhile, the controllers down at Mission Control in Houston began to frantically figure out how to get Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise back alive.

YouTube - "Houston, we have a problem!" - Apollo 13 (1995)