Apollo 13: recuperation of astronauts - Apollo 13 crew return - Astronaut James A. Lovell...

Apollo 13: recuperation of astronauts - Apollo 13 crew return - Astronaut James A. Lovell Jr leaves the Apollo capsule while Fred W. Haise Jr settles on the lifeboat with John L. Swigert Jr (back). 17 April 1970. A water level view of the Apollo 13 recovery operations in the South Pacific Ocean. The three astronauts as seen egressing their spacecraft. John L. Swigert Jr. (back to camera), command module pilot, is already in the life raft. Fred W. Haise Jr., lunar module pilot, facing camera, is stepping into the life raft. James A. Lovell Jr., commander, is leaving the spacecraft in the background. A United States Navy underwater demolition team assists with the recovery operations. The three crewmembers were picked up by helicopter and flown to the prime recovery ship, USS Iwo Jima. The Apollo 13 Command Module (CM) splashed down at 12:07:44 p.m. (CST), April 17, 1970, to conclude safely a perilous space flight. Though the Apollo lunar landing mission was canceled, a disastrous loss of three astronauts was averted