I was curious so I investigated a bit. Commander Lovell called Apollo 13 a "successful failure" in 1970. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19710038390 https://ntr

I was curious so I investigated a bit. Commander Lovell called Apollo 13 a "successful failure" in 1970. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19710038390 https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19710038390 NASA also listed Apollo 13 as a "successful failure" in published documents: https://www.google.com/books/edition/NASA_Activities/pDrEu7PZgxIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22successful%20failure%22%20 https://www.google.com/books/edition/NASA_Activities/pDrEu7P...