Apollo 13 Launch

Video from the channel COUNTDOWN about Apollo 13, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 10:27. Language: English. Video type: Launch.

A montage of several shots of the Apollo 13 launch with audio from launch control and Houston. Commander Jim Lovell confirms that the spacecraft Odyssey is ready and, at T-45 s, makes the final guidance adjustment, the crew's last action before liftoff. Liftoff was scheduled for 2:13 p.m. Eastern time.

The commentary calls the weather favorable: a stationary front over the Florida-Georgia border did not bring the feared bad weather. The liquid oxygen tanks of the second and third stages and the S-IVB propellants are pressurized. At T-50 s power is transferred to the launch vehicle's batteries. The five first-stage engines ignite and liftoff follows with 7.6 million pounds of thrust. The vehicle passes through the zone of maximum dynamic pressure and Lovell reports that the first stage's center engine has shut down as planned. After stage separation, capcom Joe Kerwin confirms that the second stage is running well.

At four minutes the trajectory is following the planned profile, and the EECOM reports that the cabin is sealed at 6.1 pounds. Around five and a half minutes, the booster officer reports that the second stage's center engine has shut down early. Houston does not yet know the cause but confirms that the other engines are working and the mission is proceeding.