DAVID MELENDY

On this day in 1970, Apollo 13 returned to Earth safely after an on-
board accident with an oxygen tank.

The Apollo 13 crew following recovery.

TIM MAGUIRE

On this day in 1970, Apollo 13 blasted off on a mission to the moon
that was disrupted when an explosion crippled the spacecraft. The
three astronauts onboard consisted of James A. Lovell, Jr., John L. Swigert, Jr., and Fred W. Haise, Jr. All three managed to return
safely to Earth on April 17, six days after launch.

The crew of the Apollo 13 mission step aboard the U.S.S. Iwo Jima,
prime recovery ship for the mission, following splashdown and
recovery operations in the South Pacific. From left: astronauts Fred.
W. Haise, Jr., lunar module pilot; James A. Lovell Jr., commander;
and John L. Swigert Jr., command module pilot.

SANDY KOZEL

NASA announced the selection of America’s first seven astronauts
on this day in 1959.

CARLATA BRADLEY

On this day in 2003, NASA’s space shuttle Columbia exploded while
re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere. All seven astronauts on board
were killed.

Helmet found in a field after the space shuttle Columbia disaster.

Memorial at the Columbia Debris Site.

During the Vietnam War on this day in 1968, South Vietnamese
National Police Chief Brig. Gen. Nguyen Ngoc Loan executed a
Viet Cong officer with a pistol shot to the head. The scene was
captured in a news photograph shown above.

Vietcong officer Nguyen Van Lem minutes prior to his execution.

MIKE  GRACIA

    

On this day in 1958, Explorer 1 became the United States’ first
satellite in space. The launch of the satellite — twice the size
of a basketball — was an important moment for the country,
as the Space Race with the Soviet Union was just beginning.

The three men responsible for the success of Explorer 1, at left is Dr. William H. Pickering, former director of JPL, which built and operated
the satellite. Dr. James A. van Allen, center, of the State University of Iowa, designed and built the instrument on Explorer that discovered
the radiation belts which circle the Earth. At right is Dr. Wernher von Braun, leader of the Army’s Redstone Arsenal team which built the
first stage Redstone rocket that launched Explorer 1.

On this day in 1945, Private Eddie Donald Slovik became the only
U.S. soldier since the American Civil War to be executed for
desertion.