posted 04-10-2020 04:35 PM               

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex to Celebrate 50th Anniversary of Apollo 13 Mission with Virtual Watch Party

This weekend marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission – made famous for its "successful failure" by the 1995 film named for the mission, starring Tom Hanks, Kathleen Quinlan, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise and Ed Harris. Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex and the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation want the country to come together for a virtual celebration of these brave men and their families.

Join in by tuning in to watch the classic film at the time of launch in 1970 – 2:13 p.m. EST on Saturday, April 11 – via a favorite streaming service, and share your watch party pictures by tagging @kennedyspacecenter on Instagram and following #Apollo13inquarantine on Twitter.

The real men behind the Apollo 13 mission are astronauts James (Jim) Lovell Jr. (Commander), Fred Haise (Lunar Module Pilot) and John (Jack) Swigert Jr. (Command Module Pilot). The crew launched via a Saturn V rocket at 2:13 p.m. on April 11, 1970 from the iconic Launchpad 39A at Kennedy Space Center. Though the mission of reaching the moon, and conducting moon walks was not realized, the mission was successful in its safe return of the crew and learnings applied to future missions.

"The Apollo 13 mission has been an inspiration to generations of space explorers – and continues to inspire future space explorers today," said Therrin Protze, chief operating officer, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. "The crew's story of resourcefulness and perseverance in a time of distress is especially meaningful today as we deal with this global pandemic."