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Apollo 13 Odyssey-Aquarius crewed lunar-return spacecraft family

NASA Apollo 13 spacecraft family was intended for the third crewed lunar landing; after a service-module oxygen-tank failure, lunar module Aquarius supported the crew as a lifeboat and the astronauts returned safely to Earth in April 1970.

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Identity

Aliases
Apollo 13Apollo 13 spacecraftOdysseyAquariusApollo 13 command and service moduleApollo 13 lunar module
Family Name
Apollo 13
Full Name
Apollo 13 Odyssey-Aquarius crewed lunar-return spacecraft family
Roles
crewed_spacecraftorbiterlanderresearch
Status
retired
Type
spacecraft

Details

Description
NASA Apollo 13 spacecraft family was intended for the third crewed lunar landing; after a service-module oxygen-tank failure, lunar module Aquarius supported the crew as a lifeboat and the astronauts returned safely to Earth in April 1970.
First Flight Year
1,970
Last Flight Year
1,970
Operator
Propulsion Configurations
  • Entries
    • Count
      1
      Placement
      spacecraft
      Propulsion System
      Role
      main
      Stage
      service-module
      Variant Notes
      Single Aerojet AJ10-137 Service Propulsion System on the Odyssey service module; the existing Apollo CSM Block II integrated-system identity is reused without changing the propulsion identity.
    • Count
      2
      Placement
      spacecraft
      Propulsion System
      Role
      attitude-control
      Stage
      command-module
      Variant Notes
      Two independent Command Module reaction-control subsystems; the existing Apollo CSM Block II integrated-system identity is reused without inferring individual engine variants.
    • Count
      4
      Placement
      spacecraft
      Propulsion System
      Role
      attitude-control
      Stage
      service-module
      Variant Notes
      Four Service Module reaction-control quad packages distributed around the service-module periphery, matching the existing Apollo CSM Block II integrated-system boundary.
    Name
    Apollo 13 Odyssey CSM Block II propulsion
    Notes
    The Block II CSM boundary includes service propulsion and separate command-module and service-module reaction-control systems. Saturn launch-vehicle propulsion is outside this spacecraft-family packet.
  • Entries
    • Count
      1
      Placement
      spacecraft
      Propulsion System
      Role
      landing
      Stage
      descent
      Variant Notes
      One integrated Lunar Module Descent Propulsion System installed for the planned Fra Mauro landing and used for the Apollo 13 emergency return maneuver; the existing integrated-system identity is retained rather than inventing a mission-specific engine model.
    • Count
      1
      Placement
      spacecraft
      Propulsion System
      Role
      takeoff-lift
      Stage
      ascent
      Variant Notes
      One integrated Lunar Module Ascent Propulsion System installed for planned lunar-surface liftoff and rendezvous; it was not used for a lunar ascent on Apollo 13, and no exact engine variant is inferred.
    Name
    Apollo 13 Aquarius lunar-module propulsion
    Notes
    The Aquarius lunar-module configuration models the installed integrated descent and ascent propulsion systems documented for Apollo 13. The planned landing was aborted, and NASA records the descent-engine emergency return burn; no exact canonical Lunar Module RCS dependency is substituted.

Links

Official Url
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/apollo-13/

Assets & Meta

Creation Time
August 13, 2026 at 08:57:48 UTC
Updated Time
August 25, 2026 at 19:20:07 UTC