Jim Lovell, commander of NASA's Apollo 13 moon mission, dies at 97
Hollywood star Tom Hanks portrayed Lovell in director Ron Howard's acclaimed 1995 film Apollo 13, which recounted the mission that was planned as humankind's third lunar landing. An onboard explosion en route to the moon put the lives of Lovell and crew mates Jack Swigert and Fred Haise in grave danger.
The three endured frigid, cramped conditions, dehydration and hunger for three-and-a-half days while working with Mission Control in Houston to find solutions to bring the crippled spacecraft safely back to Earth.
'A 'successful failure' describes exactly what (Apollo) 13 was – because it was a failure in its initial mission – nothing had really been accomplished,' Lovell told Reuters in 2010. 'It was a great success in the ability of people to take an almost-certain catastrophe and turn it into a successful recovery.'
THE CRISIS IN SPACE
Apollo 13 launched on Apr 11, 1970, nine months after Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon during Apollo 11.
Days before liftoff, backup lunar module pilot Ken Mattingly was replaced by rookie astronaut Swigert after being exposed to German measles. The mission proceeded smoothly for two days until, shortly after a TV broadcast from space, an exposed wire in an oxygen tank caused an explosion 320,000 km from Earth.
The accident ruined the crew's chances of landing on the moon and threatened their lives. Swigert radioed Mission Control: 'Houston, we've had a problem here' later adapted in the film to Hanks' famous line, 'Houston, we have a problem.'
With power failing, the crew abandoned the command module for the lunar module, designed for two men, and used it as a lifeboat for the journey home. Temperatures plunged, water was rationed and a filter was improvised to remove carbon dioxide.
The crew altered course to loop once around the moon before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean near Samoa on Apr 17, 1970.
FOUR SPACEFLIGHTS
Apollo 13 was Lovell's fourth and final space mission. He first flew in 1965 on Gemini 7, the first link-up of two manned spacecraft, followed by Gemini 12 in 1966. In December 1968, Lovell flew on Apollo 8, the first mission to orbit the moon, reading from the Book of Genesis during a Christmas Eve broadcast to Earth.
Lovell never walked on the moon, but a lunar crater bears his name. He retired from NASA in 1973, later working in the maritime and telecommunications industries.
A LIFE BEYOND NASA
Lovell co-authored the 1994 book Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13, which became the basis for Howard's film. He made a cameo in the movie as the commander of the US Navy recovery ship that greets the returning astronauts.
Born in Cleveland on Mar 25, 1928, Lovell was five when his father died and his family moved to Milwaukee. He became interested in space as a teenager, graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1952 and became a test pilot before joining NASA's astronaut corps in 1962.
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Business Times
2 days ago
- Business Times
US astronaut Jim Lovell, commander of Apollo 13, dead at 97
[WASHINGTON] US astronaut Jim Lovell, the commander of the Apollo 13 Moon mission which nearly ended in disaster in 1970 after a mid-flight explosion, has died at the age of 97, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) announced Friday (Aug 8) . The former Navy pilot, who was portrayed by actor Tom Hanks in the 1995 movie Apollo 13, died in a Chicago suburb on Thursday, the US space agency said in a statement. The astronaut's 'life and work inspired millions of people across the decades', Nasa said, praising his 'character and steadfast courage'. Lovell travelled to the Moon twice but never walked on the lunar surface. Yet he is considered one of the greats of the US space programme after rescuing a mission that teetered on the brink of disaster as the world watched in suspense far below. 'There are people who dare, who dream, and who lead others to the places we would not go on our own,' Hanks said in an Instagram post. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 2 pm Lifestyle Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself. Sign Up Sign Up 'Jim Lovell, who for a long while had gone farther into space and for longer than any other person of our planet, was that kind of guy.' Launched on Apr 11, 1970 – nine months after Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon – Apollo 13 was intended to be humanity's third lunar landing. The plan was that Lovell would walk on the Moon. The mission, which was also crewed by astronauts Jack Swigert and Fred Haise, was already considered fairly routine. Then an oxygen tank exploded on the way there. The disaster prompted Swigert to famously tell mission control: 'Houston, we've had a problem.' Lovell then repeated the phrase, which is slightly different to the one used in the Ron Howard movie, according to Nasa. The three astronauts and crew on the ground scrambled to find a solution. The US followed the chaotic odyssey from the ground, fearing that the country could lose its first astronauts in space. Around 200,000 miles (321,869 km) from Earth, the crew was forced to shelter in their Lunar Module, slingshot around the Moon and rapidly return to Earth. The composed leadership of Lovell – who was nicknamed 'Smilin' Jim' – and the ingenuity of the Nasa team on the ground managed to get the crew safely back home. Lovell was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, but never returned to space. Born on Mar 25, 1928, in Cleveland, Ohio, Lovell worked as a Navy pilot before joining Nasa. He was one of three astronauts who became the first people to orbit the Moon during the Apollo 8 mission in 1968. The mission also took the famous image 'Earthrise', in which the blue planet peeks out from beyond the Moon. Lovell's family said they were 'enormously proud of his amazing life and career,' according to a statement released by Nasa. 'But, to all of us, he was dad, granddad, and the leader of our family. Most importantly, he was our hero,' the statement added. 'We will miss his unshakeable optimism, his sense of humour, and the way he made each of us feel we could do the impossible.' AFP
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Straits Times
Astronaut Jim Lovell, commander of Nasa's Apollo 13 moon mission, dies aged 97
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Jim Lovell commanded Nasa's ill-fated 1970 Apollo 13 mission, which went horribly wrong when an onboard explosion on the way to the moon put in danger the lives of the three astronauts onboard. WASHINGTON - American astronaut Jim Lovell, commander of the failed 1970 mission to the moon that nearly ended in disaster but became an inspirational saga of survival and the basis for the hit movie Apollo 13, has died at the age of 97, Nasa said on Aug 8. Hollywood superstar Tom Hanks played Lovell in director Ron Howard's acclaimed 1995 film. It recounted Nasa's Apollo 13 mission, which was planned as humankind's third lunar landing but went horribly wrong when an onboard explosion on the way to the moon put the lives of the three astronauts in grave danger. Lovell and crew mates Jack Swigert and Fred Haise endured frigid, cramped conditions, dehydration and hunger for three and a half days while concocting with Mission Control in Houston ingenious solutions to bring the crippled spacecraft safely back to Earth. 'A 'successful failure' describes exactly what (Apollo) 13 was - because it was a failure in its initial mission - nothing had really been accomplished,' Lovell told Reuters in 2010, in an interview marking the 40th anniversary of the flight. The outcome, the former Navy test pilot said, was 'a great success in the ability of people to take an almost-certain catastrophe and turn it into a successful recovery.' The Apollo 13 mission came nine months after Neil Armstrong had become the first person to walk on the moon when he took 'one giant leap for mankind' during the Apollo 11 mission on July 20, 1969. There was drama even before Apollo 13's launch on April 11, 1970. Days earlier, the backup lunar module pilot inadvertently exposed the crew to German measles but Lovell and Haise were immune to it. Ken Mattingly, the command module pilot, had no immunity to measles and was replaced at the last minute by rookie astronaut Swigert. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. 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But moments after the crew finished a TV broadcast showing how they lived in space, an exposed wire in a command module oxygen tank sparked an explosion that badly damaged the spacecraft 320,000km from Earth. The accident not only ruined their chances of landing on the moon but imperiled their lives. 'Suddenly there's a 'hiss-bang. And the spacecraft rocks back and forth,'' Lovell said, in a 1999 Nasa oral history interview. 'The lights come on and jets fire. And I looked at Haise to see if he knew what caused it. He had no idea. Looked at Jack Swigert. He had no idea. And then, of course, things started to happen.' 'Houston, we have a problem' Swigert saw a warning light and told Mission Control: 'Houston, we've had a problem here.' In the movie, the line is instead attributed to Lovell and famously delivered by Hanks - slightly reworded - as: 'Houston, we have a problem.' With a dangerous loss of power, the three astronauts abandoned the command module and went to the lunar module - designed for two men to land on the moon. They used it as a lifeboat for a harrowing three-and-a-half-day return to Earth. The astronauts and the US space agency experts in Houston scrambled to figure out how to get the crew safely home with a limited amount of equipment at their disposal. Electrical systems were turned off to save energy, sending temperatures plummeting to near freezing. Water was drastically rationed, food was short and sleep was nearly impossible. The crew had to contrive a filter system to remove high levels of carbon dioxide that could have proven deadly. 'The thought crossed our mind that we were in deep trouble. But we never dwelled on it,' Lovell said in the Nasa interview. 'We never admitted to ourselves that, 'Hey, we're not going to make it.' Well, only one time - when Fred looked at... the lunar module and found out we had about 45 hours worth of power and we were 90 hours from home.' People worldwide were captivated by the events unfolding in space - and got a happy ending. The astronauts altered course to fly a single time around the moon and back to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean near Samoa on April 17, 1970. Lovell never got another chance to walk on the moon after Apollo 13, which was his fourth and final space trip. His first trip had been the Gemini 7 mission in 1965, featuring the first link-up of two manned spacecraft. His second was Gemini 12 in 1966, the last of the programs that led to the Apollo moon missions. Lovell's third mission was Apollo 8 in December 1968, the first to orbit the moon. During a telecast to Earth from their spacecraft on Christmas Eve, Lovell and crew mates Frank Borman and William Anders read verses from the Bible's Book of Genesis. Lovell, who later had a moon crater named in his honour, retired as an astronaut in 1973, working first for a harbour towing company and then in telecommunications. He co-authored a 1994 book, Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage Of Apollo 13, that became the basis for Howard's film. Lovell recalled a meeting with Howard in which the director asked the astronaut which actor he would want to play him. 'I said, 'Kevin Costner',' Lovell said. 'And Hanks never lets me forget that... But Hanks did a great job.' Lovell made a cameo appearance in the film as the commander of the US Navy ship that retrieves the astronauts and shakes hands with Hanks. James Lovell was born in Cleveland on March 25, 1928. He was just five when his father died and his mother moved the family to Milwaukee. He became interested in space as a teenager, and graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1952, becoming a test pilot before being selected as a Nasa astronaut in 1962. He had four children with his wife, Marilyn. REUTERS
CNA
2 days ago
- CNA
Jim Lovell, commander of NASA's Apollo 13 moon mission, dies at 97
WASHINGTON: American astronaut Jim Lovell, commander of the failed 1970 Apollo 13 mission to the moon that nearly ended in disaster but became an inspirational saga of survival, has died at the age of 97, NASA said on Friday (Aug 8). Hollywood star Tom Hanks portrayed Lovell in director Ron Howard's acclaimed 1995 film Apollo 13, which recounted the mission that was planned as humankind's third lunar landing. An onboard explosion en route to the moon put the lives of Lovell and crew mates Jack Swigert and Fred Haise in grave danger. The three endured frigid, cramped conditions, dehydration and hunger for three-and-a-half days while working with Mission Control in Houston to find solutions to bring the crippled spacecraft safely back to Earth. 'A 'successful failure' describes exactly what (Apollo) 13 was – because it was a failure in its initial mission – nothing had really been accomplished,' Lovell told Reuters in 2010. 'It was a great success in the ability of people to take an almost-certain catastrophe and turn it into a successful recovery.' THE CRISIS IN SPACE Apollo 13 launched on Apr 11, 1970, nine months after Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon during Apollo 11. Days before liftoff, backup lunar module pilot Ken Mattingly was replaced by rookie astronaut Swigert after being exposed to German measles. The mission proceeded smoothly for two days until, shortly after a TV broadcast from space, an exposed wire in an oxygen tank caused an explosion 320,000 km from Earth. The accident ruined the crew's chances of landing on the moon and threatened their lives. Swigert radioed Mission Control: 'Houston, we've had a problem here' later adapted in the film to Hanks' famous line, 'Houston, we have a problem.' With power failing, the crew abandoned the command module for the lunar module, designed for two men, and used it as a lifeboat for the journey home. Temperatures plunged, water was rationed and a filter was improvised to remove carbon dioxide. The crew altered course to loop once around the moon before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean near Samoa on Apr 17, 1970. FOUR SPACEFLIGHTS Apollo 13 was Lovell's fourth and final space mission. He first flew in 1965 on Gemini 7, the first link-up of two manned spacecraft, followed by Gemini 12 in 1966. In December 1968, Lovell flew on Apollo 8, the first mission to orbit the moon, reading from the Book of Genesis during a Christmas Eve broadcast to Earth. Lovell never walked on the moon, but a lunar crater bears his name. He retired from NASA in 1973, later working in the maritime and telecommunications industries. A LIFE BEYOND NASA Lovell co-authored the 1994 book Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13, which became the basis for Howard's film. He made a cameo in the movie as the commander of the US Navy recovery ship that greets the returning astronauts. Born in Cleveland on Mar 25, 1928, Lovell was five when his father died and his family moved to Milwaukee. He became interested in space as a teenager, graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1952 and became a test pilot before joining NASA's astronaut corps in 1962.
