Apollo 13
Flight of Apollo 13
Ionization of the air around the command module during reentry would typically cause a four-minute communications blackout. Apollo 13's shallow reentry path lengthened this to six minutes, longer than had been expected; controllers feared that the CM's heat shield had failed. Odyssey regained radio contact and splashed down safely in the South Pacific Ocean, 21°38′24″S 165°21′42″W﻿ / ﻿21.64000°S 165.36167°W﻿ / -21.64000; -165.36167﻿ (Apollo 13 splashdown), southeast of American Samoa and 6.5 km (3.5 nmi) from the recovery ship, USS Iwo Jima. Although fatigued, the crew was in good condition except for Haise, who was suffering from a serious urinary tract infection because of insufficient water intake. The crew stayed overnight on the ship and flew to Pago Pago, Samoa, the next day. They flew to Hawaii, where President Richard Nixon awarded them the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor. They stayed overnight, and then were flown back to Houston.
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