Trailblazer 12

The Trailblazer 12 was a mission in the Trailblazer program. It was an ill fated mission that did not reach the moon due to an engine failure.

Launch
The pre-launch procedures had gone off without a hitch. However, during the go-no-go count, BOOSTER hesitated before affirming. All other systems reported go. The launch went off smoothly. The spacecraft staged and docked within five hours after launch. The crew transferred and soon went to work.

The problem
When the LM Crew, Travers and Clarence, attempted to ignite the engine to do the translunar burn, it did not start up. BOOSTER called and said to "try again, man." After a second attempt, there was still no burn. FLIGHT asked what the situation was. After three long minutes, BOOSTER and the LM crew determined that the oxidizers (tanks that provided oxygen for the engine, as a fire cannot burn in space) were malfunctioning and were not opening. Ten minutes passed, and then FLIGHT gave the order to abort. All teams did so save for RECOVERY. They said that, with the data that FIDO sent them, the reentry point would be 480 miles from their position. RECOVERY then aborted.

Reentry problems
However, Trailblazer 12 was not out of the woods yet. RETRO called for a burn to get them within the reentry window. After doing so, they quickly reentered the atmosphere. FIDO and LUNAR teams noticed that the LM was still attached, and promptly told the crew to jettison it. The module sent one last piece of data to mission control before comms blackout: a status report and navigation details. All crews checked in again. The details showed that since the reentry was rushed, the CM was entering inversly. FIDO interpreted it as "They're going to be landing on their heads instead of their bottoms." When communication came back, the crew told them that even though the parachutes were open, the opened at 30,000 ft instead of the predetermined 50,000 feet. After that, all else went smoothly.