The world-famous Apollo 13 mission and dramatic explosion on the service module, captured in technical detail like you’ve never seen before. On April 13, 1970, NASA’s Apollo 13 suffered a near-catastrophic explosion in space. The planned lunar landing that day was promptly called off, and a new challenge prioritized: get the spacecraft safely back to Earth. Written by David Baker, an original member of NASA’s Apollo 13 Houston Mission Control team, Apollo 13 Owners’ Workshop Manual offers unprecedented, meticulous coverage of the Apollo 13 mission. Beginning with an overview of the era’s equipment and technology, Baker focuses primarily on the planning, goals, and execution of the mission itself, including an hour-by-hour timeline of the crew’s near-disaster in space. Additionally, his thorough analysis of the post-flight investigation and lurking design problems with the spacecraft offer the rare viewpoint of a true Apollo 13 insider. Not only does Baker present and analyze the mission itself, but he also celebrates NASA’s legacy in the wake of the event with the redesign of sections of the Apollo spacecraft and the changes to the way later missions were organized, beginning with Apollo 14. In typical fully illustrated Haynes Manual detail, Apollo 13 Owners’ Workshop Manual presents the fascinating circumstances behind a team who recovered their spacecraft just hours before hurtling back into the earth’s atmosphere. But more than that, the book is a brand-new insight into the remarkable story of how clever, improvised engineering, remarkable teamwork, and sheer will to succeed averted a major catastrophe in space.
Dr. David Baker worked with NASA on the Gemini, Apollo and Shuttle programmes between 1965 and 1990. He has written more than 100 books on space flight, aviation and military technology. In October 2017 he received the American Astronautical Society's Frederick I. Ordway III award "for a sustained excellence in space coverage, through books, articles, as well as engagement in the early US space program." Dr. Baker is the author of the Haynes NASA Space Shuttle Manual, International Space Station Manual, NASA Mars Rovers Manual, Apollo 13 Manual, Soyuz Manual, Rocket Manual and Hubble Space Telescope Manual. David is currently the Editor of Spaceflight, the monthly space news magazine of the British Interplanetary Society, of which he is a Fellow, and he lives in East Sussex.
