Haynes Apollo 13 Owners' Workshop Manual

Arguably, the second-most famous NASA moon mission after Apollo 11 succeeded in landing on the moon is Apollo 13. While it failed to land on the moon as intended, it became a highpoint for NASA’s ability to solve a problem and successfully return three astronauts to Earth after an explosion crippled the spacecraft.

This Haynes NASA Mission AS-508 Apollo 13 1970 (including Saturn V, CM-109, SM-109, LM-7) Owners’ Workshop Manual examines the mission in chronological order from preparation and launch through the incident and the work to bring the crew home.

The 220-page hardcover is filled detailed drawings of systems aboard the command service and lunar modules backed up with photos, many taken on the mission itself. This special edition released for the flight’s 50^th anniversary details the heroism of the crew — Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise — as well as the teams at Mission Control, dozens of contractors and numerous others who worked to solve the problem.

Author David Baker worked with NASA, between 1965 and 1990 and was in Mission Control during Apollo 13’s flight and provided analyses to contractors after the mission, experience that gives him a unique perspective on the events. Modelers will be thrilled by the detailed images, but the book is a great resource for anyone wanting to understand the historic mission.