Efforts to get humans into space have always been fraught with danger, which has been underscored by a number of disasters and near-disasters. One such near-disaster was the launch of the Apollo 12 mission to the moon on Nov. 14, 1969, in which the Saturn V rocket that was being used to get astronauts Charles Conrad, Richard Gordon, and Alan Bean to the moon was struck by lightning—twice.
"What the hell was that?" Gordon radioed to the ground after the first hit, which caused a major electrical disturbance, according to NASA. Twenty seconds later, another strike hit the spacecraft. "Okay, we just lost the platform gang," reported Conrad, "I don't know what happened here. We had everything in the world drop out."
After it became clear that they had been hit by lighting and after the spacecraft's electrical systems came back, astronaut Conrad radioed to the ground that "I think we need to do a little more all-weather testing," to which the person on the other end responded: "Amen."
The Apollo 12 exerience did lead to greater consideration of atmospheric electrical activity when launching spacecraft, according to the NASA, which produced an incident report (PDF) analysis the following year of what happened and how similar incidents could be minimized in future launches.
Above is the audio from NASA of the first five minutes after launch, including the two lightning strikes, and below that are photos from the mission's time on the moon.
Rocket exhaust clouds the Apollo 12 Saturn V space vehicle as it lifts off, sending astronauts Charles Conrad, Richard Gordon, and Alan Bean on the United States' second manned lunar landing mission. (NASA)
Personnel within Firing Room 2 of the Launch Control Center following the early moments of the Apollo 12 launch, about the time the mission's rocket was hit by lightning. When this view was taken—at 2 minutes, 54 seconds into the flight—the vehicle's second-stage engines ignited, carrying the Apollo 12 spacecraft to an altitude of more than 229,000 feet and more than 50 miles downrange.
Lightning strikes the Apollo 12 launch pad about 36 seconds after the spacecraft was launched. (NASA)
The Apollo 12 Lunar Module is photographed in lunar orbit from the Command and Service Modules. (NASA)
Astronaut Bean, who was photographed by fellow astronaut Conrad as Bean was completing his lunar soil collection activities on the moon's Oceanus Procellarum. (NASA/Charles "Pete" Conrad)
On April 20, 1967, NASA's robot spacecraft Surveyor 3 landed on the moon, touching down on the inside slope of a small lunar crater in the Ocean of Storms. Almost three years later, a part of the Apollo 12 mission landed nearby in the second visit by humans to the lunar surface. Intrepid touched down about 600 feet away. (NASA)
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin deploys a seismometer in the Sea of Tranquility. (NASA)
Bean, the lunar module pilot, deploys the lunar surface magnetometer, a scientific instrument, during the first Apollo 12 extravehicular activity on the moon.
Homeward bound aboard the Yankee Clipper command module, the Apollo 12 astronauts took this photograph of the sun emerging from behind Earth. (NASA)
Another photo of Earth, which is bathed is the sun's light, taken by the Apollo 12 astronauts on their way home.
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