Latest news with #JamesLovell
New York Times
18 hours ago
- General
- New York Times
Corrections: Aug. 12, 2025
An obituary on Saturday about James A. Lovell Jr., the commander of the three-man Apollo 13 spacecraft that survived a near-catastrophic explosion as it approached the moon in April 1970, misstated how much time elapsed before Apollo 13 detected signs of trouble. It was 56 hours, not 56 minutes. It also misidentified the astronaut who was to accompany him to the surface of the moon in a lunar module, though that mission was never accomplished. He was Fred W. Haise Jr., not John L. Swigert Jr. Mr. Swigert was to remain behind in the orbiting Apollo 13 spaceship. The obituary also misstated how many great-grandchildren Captain Lovell had. It is nine, not eight. An article and related map on Aug. 1 about the countries that recognize a Palestinian state, relying on a U.N. document from April 2024, misstated the Czech Republic's position on the recognition of a Palestinian state. While Czechoslovakia recognized Palestinian statehood in 1988, the Czech Republic recognizes the goal of an independent Palestinian state, but does not currently recognize it as one. An article on Thursday about Britain's charities' regulator clearing Prince Harry of bullying, harassment and sexism at the charity he co-founded misstated the year that Sophie Chandauka became a trustee of Sentebale. It was 2008, not 2009. Because of an editing error, the article also misstated the number of trustees left on the Sentebale board after the resignations on March 24. Five trustees resigned, leaving only Ms. Chandauka on the board, not five of nine. Ms. Chandauka appointed four new trustees on March 25. An article on Monday about the announcement that the Row NYC in Times Square will stop operating as a housing shelter for migrants misstated the ownership of the Row NYC. Rockport Group, a Boston-based real estate private equity firm, no longer has a stake in the hotel. An article on Monday about the weekend's box office earnings misstated the rating of the 'Naked Gun' remake. It is PG-13, not R. An article on Saturday about the music label Penrose Records and its influence in a soft-touch style of soul music misspelled the surname of an artist on the label's roster. She is Vicky Tafoya, not Trafoya. A Metropolitan Diary entry on Sunday misspelled the surname of the drummer for the rock band The Animals. He is John Steel, not Steele. Errors are corrected during the press run whenever possible, so some errors noted here may not have appeared in all editions. To contact the newsroom regarding correction requests, please email nytnews@ To share feedback, please visit Comments on opinion articles may be emailed to letters@ For newspaper delivery questions: 1-800-NYTIMES (1-800-698-4637) or email customercare@
1News
2 days ago
- Science
- 1News
Apollo 13 moon mission leader James Lovell dies at 97
James Lovell, the commander of Apollo 13 who helped turn a failed moon mission into a triumph of on-the-fly can-do engineering, has died. He was 97. Lovell died Thursday in Lake Forest, Illinois, NASA said in a statement. 'Jim's character and steadfast courage helped our nation reach the Moon and turned a potential tragedy into a success from which we learned an enormous amount,' NASA said. "We mourn his passing even as we celebrate his achievements.' One of NASA's most travelled astronauts in the agency's first decade, Lovell flew four times — Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8 and Apollo 13 — with the two Apollo flights riveting the folks back on Earth. In 1968, the Apollo 8 crew of Lovell, Frank Borman and William Anders was the first to leave Earth's orbit and the first to fly to and circle the moon. They could not land, but they put the US ahead of the Soviets in the space race. Letter writers told the crew that their stunning pale blue dot photo of Earth from the moon, a world first, and the crew's Christmas Eve reading from Genesis, saved America from a tumultuous 1968. ADVERTISEMENT The Apollo 13 mission had a lifelong impact on Lovell The safe return of the Apollo 13 astronauts after their lunar landing mission encountered technical difficulties, 17th April 1970. From left to right, Lunar Module pilot Fred W. Haise, Mission Commander James A. Lovell and Command Module pilot John L. Swigert. (Source: Getty) But the big rescue mission was still to come. That was during the harrowing Apollo 13 flight in April 1970. Lovell was supposed to be the fifth man to walk on the moon. But Apollo 13's service module, carrying Lovell and two others, experienced a sudden oxygen tank explosion on its way to the moon. The astronauts barely survived, spending four cold and clammy days in the cramped lunar module as a lifeboat. ''The thing that I want most people to remember is (that) in some sense it was very much of a success,'' Lovell said during a 1994 interview. ''Not that we accomplished anything, but a success in that we demonstrated the capability of (NASA) personnel.'' A retired Navy captain known for his calm demeanour, Lovell told a NASA historian that his brush with death did affect him. 'I don't worry about crises any longer,' he said in 1999. Whenever he has a problem, 'I say, 'I could have been gone back in 1970. I'm still here. I'm still breathing'. So, I don't worry about crises.' And the mission's retelling in the popular 1995 movie Apollo 13 brought Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert renewed fame — thanks in part to Lovell's movie persona reporting "Houston, we have a problem", a phrase he didn't exactly utter. ADVERTISEMENT Lovell had ice water in his veins like other astronauts, but he didn't display the swagger some had, just quiet confidence, said Smithsonian Institution historian Roger Launius. He called Lovell 'a very personable, very down-to-earth type of person, who says 'This is what I do. Yes, there's risk involved. I measure risk'.' Lovell spent about 30 days in space across four missions Apollo 13 commander James A. Lovell speaks during a televised news conference at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas, April 21, 1970, pointing to the spot on the service module where an explosion ripped a panel loose. (Source: Associated Press) In all, Lovell flew four space missions — and until the Skylab flights of the mid-1970s, he held the world record for the longest time in space with 715 hours, 4 minutes and 57 seconds. Aboard Apollo 8, Lovell described the oceans and land masses of Earth. "What I keep imagining is if I am some lonely traveller from another planet, what I would think about the Earth at this altitude, whether I think it would be inhabited or not," he remarked. That mission may be as important as the historic Apollo 11 moon landing, a flight made possible by Apollo 8, Launius said. "I think in the history of space flight, I would say that Jim was one of the pillars of the early space flight program," Gene Kranz, NASA's legendary flight director, once said. ADVERTISEMENT Lovell was immortalised by Tom Hanks' portrayal Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, and Bill Paxton in zero gravity in a scene from the film Apollo 13, 1995. (Source: Getty) But if historians consider Apollo 8 and Apollo 11 the most significant of the Apollo missions, it was during Lovell's last mission — immortalised by the popular film starring Tom Hanks as Lovell — that he came to embody for the public the image of the cool, decisive astronaut. The Apollo 13 crew of Lovell, Haise and Swigert was on the way to the moon in April 1970, when an oxygen tank from the spaceship exploded 200,000 miles from Earth. That, Lovell recalled, was 'the most frightening moment in this whole thing'. Then oxygen began escaping, and 'we didn't have solutions to get home'. 'We knew we were in deep, deep trouble,' he told NASA's historian. Four-fifths of the way to the moon, NASA scrapped the mission. Suddenly, their only goal was to survive. ADVERTISEMENT Lovell's "Houston, we've had a problem", a variation of a comment Swigert had radioed moments before, became famous. In Hanks' version, it became "Houston, we have a problem". President Clinton stands with movie star Tom Hanks and astronaut James A. Lovell during their visit to the White House. Tom Hanks plays the role of James Lovell, who was the commander of the Apollo 13 mission, in Ron Howard's 1995 drama, Apollo 13. (Source: Getty) What unfolded over the next four days captured the imagination of the nation and the world, which until then had largely been indifferent about what seemed a routine mission. With Lovell commanding the spacecraft, Kranz led hundreds of flight controllers and engineers in a furious rescue plan. The plan involved the astronauts moving from the service module, which was haemorrhaging oxygen, into the cramped, dark and frigid lunar lander while they rationed their dwindling oxygen, water and electricity. Using the lunar module as a lifeboat, they swung around the moon, aimed for Earth and raced home. By coolly solving the problems under the most intense pressure imaginable, the astronauts and the crew on the ground became heroes. In the process of turning what seemed routine into a life-and-death struggle, the entire flight team had created one of NASA's finest moments that ranks with Neil Armstrong's and Buzz Aldrin's walks on the moon nine months earlier. "They demonstrated to the world they could handle truly horrific problems and bring them back alive," said Launius. ADVERTISEMENT He regretted never being able to walk on the moon Capt. James A. Lovell, Jr., attends the 45th Anniversary of Apollo 8 "Christmas Eve Broadcast to Earth" event at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago (Source: Associated Press) The loss of the opportunity to walk on the moon "is my one regret", Lovell said in a 1995 interview with The Associated Press for a story on the 25th anniversary of the mission. President Bill Clinton agreed when he awarded Lovell the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1995. "While you may have lost the moon ... you gained something that is far more important perhaps: the abiding respect and gratitude of the American people," he said. Lovell once said that while he was disappointed he never walked on the moon, "The mission itself and the fact that we triumphed over certain catastrophe does give me a deep sense of satisfaction". And Lovell clearly understood why this failed mission afforded him far more fame than had Apollo 13 accomplished its goal. "Going to the moon, if everything works right, it's like following a cookbook. It's not that big a deal," he told the AP in 2004. "If something goes wrong, that's what separates the men from the boys." ADVERTISEMENT James A Lovell was born March 25, 1928, in Cleveland. He attended the University of Wisconsin before transferring to the US Naval Academy, in Annapolis, Maryland. On the day he graduated in 1952, he and his wife, Marilyn, were married. A test pilot at the Navy Test Centre in Patuxent River, Maryland, Lovell was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1962. He was the last of that second group of astronauts -- called 'the Next Nine' — alive and thus had been an astronaut longer than any other person alive. Lovell retired from the Navy and from the space program in 1973, and went into private business. In 1994, he and Jeff Kluger wrote Lost Moon, the story of the Apollo 13 mission and the basis for the film Apollo 13. In one of the final scenes, Lovell appeared as a Navy captain, the rank he actually had. He and his family ran a now-closed restaurant in suburban Chicago, Lovell's of Lake Forest. His wife, Marilynn, died in 2023. Survivors include four children. In a statement, his family hailed him as their 'hero'. 'We will miss his unshakeable optimism, his sense of humour, and the way he made each of us feel we could do the impossible,' his family said. 'He was truly one of a kind.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Legendary Astronaut Dead at 97. He Was Part of Famous Missions
James Lovell was a legendary astronaut who was part of multiple famous missions, including one disastrous one. He was a "veteran of the Gemini VII, Gemini XII, and Apollo 8 missions before becoming the Mission Commander for the nearly disastrous Apollo 13 mission to the Moon," according to NASA. The space agency announced on Aug. 8 that Lovell has died. James Lovell's Family Confirmed His Death, Expressing Pride Over His Career NASA released a statement from Lovell's family, confirming his death. 'We are saddened to announce the passing of our beloved father, USN Captain James A. 'Jim' Lovell, a Navy pilot and officer, astronaut, leader, and space explorer. He was 97," the family's statement says. "We are enormously proud of his amazing life and career accomplishments, highlighted by his legendary leadership in pioneering human space flight. But, to all of us, he was Dad, Granddad, and the Leader of our importantly, he was our Hero. We will miss his unshakeable optimism, his sense of humor, and the way he made each of us feel we could do the impossible. He was truly one of a kind.' NASA says, "Captain Lovell was selected as an Astronaut by NASA in September 1962. He has since served as backup pilot for the Gemini 4 flight and backup Commander for the Gemini 9 flight, as well as backup Commander to Neil Armstrong for the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission." "On December 4, 1965, he and Frank Borman were launched into space on the history-making Gemini 7 mission. The flight lasted 330 hours and 35 minutes and included the first rendezvous of two manned maneuverable spacecraft," the space agency says. "The Gemini 12 mission, commanded by Lovell with Pilot Edwin Aldrin, began on November 11, 1966. This 4-day, 59-revolution flight brought the Gemini program to a successful close." Jim Lovell's Wife Marilyn Lovell Preceded Him in Death A biography of Lovell released by NASA says he was "Born in Cleveland, Ohio, on March 25, 1928. Married to the former Marilyn Gerlach, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They have four children." Lovell's wife Marilyn Lovell died in 2023, according to her obituary. "On June 6, 1952, Marilyn and Jim married immediately following his graduation at St Anne's Episcopal Church in Annapolis, MD. Jim would proudly tell everyone he, 'married the prettiest girl from Wisconsin!'" the obituary says. Legendary Astronaut Dead at 97. He Was Part of Famous Missions first appeared on Men's Journal on Aug 8, 2025 Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Astronaut Jim Lovell, Apollo 13 leader, dead at 97
James A. 'Jim' Lovell Jr., the NASA astronaut who famously led the Apollo 13 mission through a life-threatening crisis in space, died Aug. 7 at his home in Lake Forest, Ill. He was 97. Lovell commanded Apollo 13 in April 1970, a mission meant to land on the moon that was derailed when an oxygen tank exploded two days after launch. His calm leadership and quick decision-making helped guide crewmates Fred Haise and Jack Swigert back to Earth in what became known as a 'successful failure' for the space program — a story later immortalized in the 1995 film Apollo 13, in which actor Tom Hanks portrayed Lovell. Hanks paid tribute Friday, calling Lovell 'a leader, a gentleman, and a friend.' In a post on Instagram, he wrote: 'Godspeed you, on this next voyage,' referencing the astronaut's pioneering spirit. A veteran of four spaceflights, Lovell also flew on Gemini 7, Gemini 12 and Apollo 8, the first mission to orbit the moon. In total, he logged more than 715 hours in space and became one of NASA's most respected and steady hands during the agency's pioneering years. Following his retirement from NASA and the Navy in 1973, Lovell pursued a business career and remained an outspoken advocate for space exploration. He received numerous honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. Born in Cleveland in 1928, Lovell was remembered by colleagues and family as humble, optimistic and quick with a smile. His wife of 70 years, Marilyn, died in 2023. He is survived by four children, 11 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. 'Lovell's character and steadfast courage helped our nation reach the Moon,' NASA Acting Administrator Sean Duffy said in a statement on X. 'He embodied the bold resolve and optimism of both past and future explorers.' The post Astronaut Jim Lovell, Apollo 13 leader, dead at 97 appeared first on Solve the daily Crossword
Forbes
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
The Apollo 13 Storytelling Blueprint Business Leaders Should Use To Motivate Teams
The opening scene of Apollo 13, the film based on astronaut James Lovell's harrowing space ordeal, doesn't start with his transmission to mission control: 'Houston, we've had a problem.' Instead, we see Tom Hanks (playing Lovell) at a house party along with his family and other astronauts who are gathered around a television to watch Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. Lovell had circled the moon in Apollo 8, and the Apollo 13 mission was going to be his turn to land on it. But everything changed after an oxygen tank exploded on the space capsule, turning the mission into an epic story of survival and rescue. The story—and quote—has been repeated in articles and social media tributes celebrating Lovell and his legacy. He died at the age of 97. But if you watch the movie, you'll have to wait nearly an hour before Hanks says the now-famous line (shortened in the film to Houston, we have a problem). The reason director Ron Howard chose to place the scene where he did is a technique of great storytelling, a skill business leaders should learn if they hope to inspire their audiences. A Hero's Journey Lovell's experience aboard Apollo 13 and the rest of his life on Earth follow a classic storytelling arc that's proven to be irresistible. The Hero's Journey, a storytelling structure that mythologist Joseph Campbell identified as a classic framework, follows a hero who leaves the safety of home to pursue a grand adventure where they face trials, challenges, and near-death experiences. They return from the experience transformed and use their newfound wisdom to make their community a better place. Think of the hero's journey as stages that take place within three acts, a template that nearly all successful Hollywood movies follow: Act I. The set-up. The hero's ordinary world (Tom Hanks at the watch party). Act II. The problem. The explosion and all the problems that it triggered, any one of which could have ended the lives of the three-man crew. Act III. The resolution and return. Lovell and his crew didn't just survive. He reframed the mission as a 'successful failure' and helped to transform NASA's crisis management processes. Act one is essential in the telling of a story because it makes the characters relatable. Once the audience cares about the people in the story, they're more invested in the challenges the characters face in the second act, and the resolution becomes even more satisfying. The Hero's Journey framework stands the test of time because we recognize the pattern in our real lives. That's why filmmakers follow it, and so can you. The Leader Storyteller For example, let's say you're a business leader who needs to motivate your team to complete a project under a tight deadline. Instead of telling them what to do and leaving them to get it done, you can share a story from your own experience. Act 1. You might start by painting a picture of a similar position you were once in, facing an immovable deadline that you thought would be impossible to meet. Explain how the task was formidable at first because it required moving from your ordinary world to an unfamiliar one, such as having more responsibility, etc. Act 2. Reveal the problems that came up as you tried to meet the deadline. It may have started well, but unexpected hurdles threatened to derail the project entirely. Raise the stakes if you can. Were you genuinely worried about your future at the company or your career progression? Show some vulnerability to be relatable. Act 3. Explain the resolution and how you met the deadline. Most importantly, tell the team what you learned from the experience and how it made you a better leader. Apply the lessons you learned to the project your team now faces. Yes, creative professionals make storytelling look easy. It's not. It's an art that takes time to hone. Storytelling is a skill and, like any skill, you can sharpen it. The key is to see yourself as something beyond your title, a true storyteller. While your title might read director or manager, your ability to inspire and motivate comes from your ability to spark action through your words. In a touching tribute to Lovell, Hanks, writing on Instagram, beautifully defined a true leader. Hanks wrote, 'There are people who dare, who dream, and who lead others to the places we would not go on our own. Jim Lovell…was that kind of guy.'
