logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2020
1 h

Apollo 13: 7. Resurrection

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Can the Apollo 13 crew survive re-entering Earth’s atmosphere aboard the revived Odyssey spacecraft? After four days in a spacecraft with dwindling power and oxygen supplies, the astronauts face a series of critical tests on their journey home. One mistake could see Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise incinerated or lost forever in deep space. In the final moments of radio silence, Nasa mission control begins to fear the worst.

Hosted by Kevin Fong.

Archive: Nasa Starring Jim Lovell John Aaron Dave Reed Hal Loden Jerry Bostick Jim Kelly Fred Haise Charlie Duke Joe Kerwin Gene Kranz, courtesy of the Johnson Space Center Oral History Project Chuck Dietrich Marilyn Lovell Gerry Griffin

Written by Kevin Fong and Andrew Luck-Baker

Theme music by Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg for Bleeding Fingers Music

A BBC Radio Science Unit production for the BBC World Service.

Up next
Jun 2025
The Space Shuttle: Introducing: The Space Shuttle
<p>To launch like a rocket and land like a plane. The space shuttle: A sci-fi dream that became reality and changed spaceflight forever. Told by the Nasa astronauts, engineers, scientists and support staff who made it happen. </p><p>Our multi award-winning podcast returns on 14 J ... Show More
3m 29s
Jul 2025
The Space Shuttle: 1. The spaceplane
<p>Can Nasa build the most complex flying machine in space history? The plan is to create a permanent human presence in space. </p><p>It’s Spring 1969 - two months before the launch of Apollo 11 – the first US mission to land humans on the moon. But meanwhile, hidden away from pu ... Show More
43m 55s
Jul 2025
The Space Shuttle: 2. The greatest test flight
<p>The astronauts count down to flying a brand-new spacecraft for the very first time. If they pull it off, they will earn a place in space history.</p><p>The rocket is built. The astronauts are trained. Mission control is ready. Space Shuttle Columbia is about to attempt the unh ... Show More
43m 15s
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2023
Apollo 13 | 43 Amps | 4
The three astronauts on the crippled Apollo 13 spacecraft round the Moon and finally begin the return leg of their journey toward Earth. But their troubles are far from over. They still have to strictly ration the amount of power they’re using, so they have enough remaining for t ... Show More
45m 21s
Sep 2024
Apollo 13
On 13 April 1970, a Moon mission almost ended in tragedy, after an explosion on board the spaceship.Fred Haise was one of the Apollo 13 astronauts. In 2010, he spoke to Richard Howells about how they managed to get back to Earth against the odds.Eye-witness accounts brought to li ... Show More
10m 6s
Aug 2023
Apollo 13 | A Flight Director Remembers | 6
Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert went through the ordeal of their lives on the Apollo 13 Mission. But the people manning Houston’s Mission Control faced their own challenges as they figured out how to bring the astronauts home safe. Former NASA Flight Director Gerry Griffi ... Show More
34 m
Feb 2022
Apollo 13
April 13th, 1970. 200,000 miles from Earth, three astronauts are approaching lunar orbit when they hear a noise. Deep in the spacecraft, a tiny wiring fault has caused an entire oxygen tank to explode. Now, it’s a race against time to save the lives of the crew of Apollo 13. It c ... Show More
56m 42s
Aug 2023
Apollo 13 | Splashdown | 5
Six days into their mission, the Apollo 13 astronauts have been working under immense pressure and on very little sleep. Tempers grow short as they battle with Mission Control in Houston over what steps to take for their biggest challenge yet: reentry into Earth’s atmosphere.List ... Show More
44m 21s
Jul 2023
Apollo 13 | "Houston, We’ve Had a Problem." | 1
On April 11th, 1970, NASA launched Apollo 13, its third manned mission to the Moon. But two days into its journey, an explosion wiped out a major source of oxygen, limiting the ship’s water and power supplies. The three astronauts onboard found themselves stranded in a crippled s ... Show More
48m 38s
Apr 2020
"Houston We’ve Had a Problem”
April 14, 1970. Apollo 13 is a quarter million miles from Earth, speeding towards the Moon, when a sudden explosion rocks the ship. Against all odds, the astronauts pull off one of the most remarkable survival missions in NASA history. On the 50th anniversary of this harrowing fl ... Show More
27m 3s
Apr 2025
"Houston We’ve Had a Problem” (feat. Captain Jim Lovell)
April 14, 1970. Apollo 13 is a quarter million miles from Earth, speeding towards the Moon, when a sudden explosion rocks the ship. Against all odds, the astronauts pull off one of the most remarkable survival missions in NASA history. 55 years after this harrowing flight, Apollo ... Show More
26m 48s
Apr 2020
Apollo 13: The drama that gripped the world
<p>50 years since the Apollo 13 mission, how millions of TV viewers followed the famous rescue of the three NASA astronauts. Also, the women who led the way in America’s space programme by spending two weeks under water and what happened when Skylab crashed to Earth in 1979. Plus ... Show More
51m 47s