RIP: Apollo 13's Jim Lovell

[Techwright]

https://www.nasa.gov/former-astronaut-james-a-lovell/

 

 

The term "legend" tends to be overused, but it definitely applies to astronaut Jim Lovell, lead on the near-tragic Apollo 13, arguably the most important Apollo mission after Apollo 11, though unintentionally so.  I was just old enough to understand some of the nail-biting fear that was going on as my parents closely followed the news on TV and in print.  Twenty-five years later I sat in the best theater in my region as an all-star cast reenacted those terrifying events. ( Come to think about it, that was shown 30 years ago this summer.  Interesting timing. )  I went on to listen to an audio book version of Lovell's Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13, which covered far more detail than the movie.  (The audio version appears to be out-of-print now.) I'm still astonished to this day that they survived.

 

It had been my sincere hope that Lovell would have lived long enough to know that a new generation had returned to the moon to continue what he and his team started, but sadly that was not to be.  I still have hope that Buzz Aldrin of Apollo 11 will have that honor, but the clock is ticking.

 

 

Here's Lovell at Tom Hank's AFI honors ceremony.  

 

 

 

[Xulf]

The last of NASA group 2.  There are only 6 left from the 20 of groups 3 & 4.  

 

RIP, Astronaut Lovell.

[Techwright]

6 hours ago, Xulf said:

The last of NASA group 2.  There are only 6 left from the 20 of groups 3 & 4.  

 

RIP, Astronaut Lovell.

 

That's a great point.  I focused the OP on Lovell's Apollo 13 experience, but he was also on Apollo 8, and previous to that, because he was part of Astronaunt Group 2 he was on both Gemini 7 and Gemini 12.  Additionally, he'd been a finalist for the Mercury 7 (Astronaut Group 1), but was cut due to a temporary medical issue.  Previous to that he'd been trained to be a test pilot like Chuck Yeager, and graduated top of his class, only to have an earth-bound department head pull rank and assign him to electronics and radar testing. By 1960, that role had morphed into "the McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom II program manager." (quoting Wikipedia).  So yeah, legend.   

[Luminara]

I was born too late to see the first moon landing, and by the time I was old enough to watch television, the Apollo program was over.  The Space Shuttle program, though, excited my interest in space, and I read everything I could about it.  I grew up idolizing astronauts.  They were the bravest, most dedicated human beings imaginable.  They were willing to risk their lives in every way to advance all of humanity by going into space and doing things that the rest of us only imagined.

 

Jim Lovell epitomized that heroism.  He embodied the role of hero, for me, in a way no-one else could.  He didn't walk on the moon, but he did pave the way for others to do so, and he did it selflessly, without grandstanding or self-promotion.  To him, it was a job.  And someone who can treat something that extraordinary as just a job... what is that, if not a hero?

 

I am bereft over his death, but I'm grateful to live in a world which had his shining example of courage, intelligence and perseverance.

 

Goodbye, Captain Lovell, and thank you.