On April 11, 1970, Apollo 13 was launched into space. That was forty five years ago. When Apollo 13 was launched, the US space agency was on top of the race. They have proven their technology and they were discussing a lot of NASA missions since budget seems to be no longer a problem.
As the spacecraft travels to the moon, its oxygen tank was raptured causing the mission to be aborted. The three astronauts inside the craft slightly escaped death. Then it became a reminder of how complicated it is to go on a space mission.