Apollo 13

Jim Lovell

• Birthday: 03/25/1928
• Role: Commander
• Nationality: American
• First Flight: 12/04/1965
• Last Flight: 04/11/1970

James Arthur Lovell Jr. is a former NASA astronaut, Naval Aviator, and retired Navy captain. Lovell is known for being the commander of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission, which suffered a critical failure en route to the Moon but was brought back safely to Earth through the efforts of the crew and mission control. In addition to being part of the Apollo 13 crew, Lovell was the command module pilot of Apollo 8, the first Apollo mission to enter lunar orbit.

Jack Swigert

• Birthday: 08/30/1931
• Role: Command Module Pilot
• Nationality: American
• First Flight: 04/11/1970
• Last Flight: 04/11/1970

John Leonard “Jack” Swigert Jr. was an American test pilot, mechanical and aerospace engineer, United States Air Force pilot, and NASA astronaut. He was one of twenty-four astronauts who have flown to the Moon.[2][3]

Before joining NASA in 1966, Swigert was a civilian test pilot and fighter pilot in the Air National Guard. After leaving NASA, he was elected to Congress from Colorado’s new 6th district, but died before being sworn in.

Fred Haise

• Birthday: 11/14/1933
• Role: Lunar Module Pilot
• Nationality: American
• First Flight: 04/11/1970
• Last Flight: 04/11/1970

Fred Wallace Haise Jr. is an American former NASA astronaut, fighter pilot with the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Air Force and test pilot. He is one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon, having flown as Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 13. He was to have been the sixth person to land and walk on the Moon, but the Apollo 13 mission was aborted before lunar landing. He went on to fly Space Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests in 1977, and retired from NASA in 1979.

Apollo 13

• Type: Human Exploration
• Orbit: Lunar Orbit

Apollo 13 was the famous mission that never made it to the moon’s surface because of a catastrophic malfunction on board, but the astronauts did return safely to the Earth. The mission was commanded by Jim Lovell, the Command Module Pilot was Jack Swigert, and the Lunar Module Pilot was Fred Haise. The mission launched on April 11th 1970 and the Capsule safely landed in the ocean on April 17th 1970.

Launch Complex 39A

Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

Launch Complex 39A has witnessed the launch of 183 rockets, including 182 orbital launch attempts, while Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA, has been the site for 241 rocket launches.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Saturn V

The Saturn V was a human-rated expendable rocket used by NASA between 1967 and 1973. Most notably, the Saturn V took the Apollo program to the Moon. It still remains the world’s tallest, heaviest, and most powerful rocket ever brought to operational status and is the only launch vehicle to take humans beyond LEO.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. NASA have many launch facilities but most are inactive. The most commonly used pad will be LC-39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.