This was supposed to be the 3rd mission to the moon. The three aster nuts lifted off from Kennedy Space Station in a Saturn V on April 11 1970 from pad 39 A. During second stage boost the center engine of the S-II stage cut off 132 seconds early, causing the remaining four engines to burn 34 seconds longer than normal. When they got into Orbit there appeared to be a a ruptured air tank. When The Accident Review came out the board had concluded that wires which had been damaged during pre-flight testing in oxygen tank no. 2 shorted and the teflon insulation caught fire. The fire spread within the tank, raising the pressure until oxygen tank no. 2 exploded, damaging oxygen tank no. 1 and the interior of the service module and blowing off the bay no. 4 cover.
The crew Eventually got very lucky and ended up. They eventually had to transfer into the lunar module and left the command part. They shut off all electronics except communications so they could contact earth. Then they finally planned to power the ALSEP apparatus on the lunar surface and containing 3.9 kg of plutonium, fell into the Pacific Ocean northeast of New Zealand.
http://www.apolloexplorer.co.uk/apollo13.htm
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