Jim Lovell

James A. Lovell, Jr., Captain, USN, Ret. (born March 25, 1928) is a former NASA astronaut, most famous as the commander who brought the crippled Apollo 13 back safely.

NASA Experience

Lovell was the backup pilot for Gemini 4, and his first spaceflight was as pilot of Gemini 7 in December 1965, which was the first flight to spend a fortnight in space, and also conducted the first space rendezvous with Gemini 6A. Lovell was originally scheduled to be the backup commander of Gemini 12, but after the deaths of Elliott See and Charles Bassett, he became backup commander of Gemini 9A, and in November 1966 made his second flight into space as commander of Gemini 12. After these two flights, Lovell had spent more time in space than any other astronaut.

Related Topics:
Gemini 4 - Gemini 7 - December - 1965 - Gemini 6A - Gemini 12 - Elliott See - Charles Bassett - Gemini 9A - November - 1966

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He was then made command module pilot on what would become the crew of Apollo 8 afterMichael Collins, the original pilot, suffered a bone spur on his spine. Along with Frank Borman and William Anders, Lovell flew on Apollo 8 in December 1968, the first manned mission to travel to the Moon.

Related Topics:
Apollo 8 - Michael Collins - Bone spur - Frank Borman - William Anders - December - 1968 - Moon

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Lovell was backup commander of Apollo 11 and was scheduled to command Apollo 14, but he and his crew swapped missions with the crew of Apollo 13, as it was felt the commander of the other crew, Alan Shepard, needed more time to train after being grounded for a long period. On April 11 1970, Lovell took off on Apollo 13 with Fred Haise and Jack Swigert, planning to land on the Moon along with Haise. But on April 13, an oxygen tank on the spacecraft exploded, causing it to lose oxygen and power. The mission was aborted, and using the lunar module's engine, oxygen and power, Lovell and his crew travelled once around the Moon and returned to Earth safely on April 17. Lovell was one of only three men to travel to the Moon twice, but unlike John Young and Eugene Cernan, he never walked on it.

Related Topics:
Apollo 11 - Apollo 14 - Apollo 13 - Alan Shepard - April 11 - 1970 - Fred Haise - Jack Swigert - April 13 - Lunar module - April 17 - John Young - Eugene Cernan

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His four flights made him the recordholder for time in space (over 715 hours) until the Skylab missions. It is also possible that he holds the record (with his Apollo 13 crewmates) for farthest distance a human has travelled from Earth.

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