Never Before Published Images of Apollo 13 Recovery

By Nancy Atkinson - April 17, 2010 at 6:26 AM UTC | uncategorized
Scan_007-SML.jpg

[/caption]

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the successful return and recovery of the Apollo 13 spacecraft and crew, which has been called the the most satisfying splashdown in the history of human spaceflight. The images here of the safe return of the Apollo 13 astronauts have never been published before, and were sent to

Universe Today

by reporter Robert Gillette.

"Once in a while, we manage to be in the right place at the right time with a camera in hand," Gillette wrote Universe Today. "I happened to be on the USS Iwo Jima as a young science reporter (for the-then San Francisco Examiner) in April 1970. By the time I made it back to shore to develop the film it no longer had news value. Maybe 40 years later they have historic value, at least for the emotion written in the faces of Lovell, Swigert and Haise. So I dug the old Kodachromes out and had them digitized."

Regarding the photo above, Gillette said he overheard Apollo 13 Commander Jim Lovell tell the Admiral of the Iwo Jima, "Thank God for Grumman," referring to the Grumman-built lunar lander that served as the lifeboat for Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert following the explosion that crippled the Command and Service Module. Gillette has determined the admiral to Lovell's left is Rear Admiral Donald C. Davis, Commanding Officer of Task Force 130, the Pacific Recovery Force for the Manned Spacecraft Missions.

See more images from Gillette, below.

[caption id="attachment_62968" align="aligncenter" width="389" caption="Rescue helicopter prepares to touch down on deck of USS Iwo Jima with Apollo 13 astronauts aboard, April 17, 1970. Image courtesy Robert Gillette."]

[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_62969" align="aligncenter" width="385" caption="Lovell and Swigert emerge from rescue helicopter, April 17, 1970. Image courtesy Robert Gillette. "]

[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_62970" align="aligncenter" width="387" caption="Jack Swigert and Fred Haise emerge from rescue helicopter,stepping on deck of the Iwo Jima. Image courtesy Robert Gillette. "]

[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_62971" align="aligncenter" width="385" caption="Haise and Lovell emerge on deck for helicopter ride to American Samoa. Image courtesy Robert Gillette."]

[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_62972" align="aligncenter" width="389" caption="Swigert strides on deck moments later for helicopter ride to American Samoa. Image courtesy Robert Gillette. "]

[/caption]

Our thanks to Robert Gillette for sending us these unique images on this anniversary of the historic return of Apollo 13. For more unique information on Apollo, see our ongoing series, "

13 Things That Saved Apollo 13

," our discussion with Apollo engineer Jerry Woodfill which highlights various turning points of the mission.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com