Jim Lovell, Apollo 13 commander, dies at 97
Jim Lovell, the astronaut who guided the crippled Apollo 13 spacecraft safely back to Earth in 1970, has died at age 97, NASA announced Friday.
A four-time spaceflight veteran, Lovell was best known for leading Apollo 13 after an oxygen tank explosion forced the mission to be aborted two days after launch. Working with fellow astronauts Jack Swigert and Fred Haise, and ground controllers in Houston, Lovell turned the lunar module into a lifeboat, conserving power and water as the crew looped around the Moon before splashing down on April 17, 1970, News.Az reports, citing ABC News.
Lovell also flew on Gemini 7, Gemini 12 and Apollo 8 — the first mission to orbit the Moon — and was backup commander for Apollo 11. He retired from NASA and the Navy in 1973, later working in the telecommunications industry.
Born March 25, 1928, in Cleveland, Lovell was portrayed by Tom Hanks in the 1995 film Apollo 13. He received both the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Lovell’s wife, Marilyn, died in 2023. He is survived by four children.
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