posted 04-15-2020 12:00 AM               

Apollo 13: America's Finest Hour, Told to You Live by the Heroes Who Were There

Apollo 13 Astronaut Fred Haise, Mission Lead Flight Director Milt Windler, and Flight Directors Gerry Griffin and Glynn Lunney appear in a Facebook Live event to celebrate a deep space rescue of the crew, which was caused by an unexpected oxygen tank explosion in the Service Module. The intended third Moon Landing Mission quickly changed to saving three of America's heroes, Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert.

Apollo 13 is the most memorable deep space rescue mission in the storied annals of American manned spaceflight history. Clearly one of NASA's finest moments, the rescue takes center stage during a once-in-a-lifetime Facebook Live event hosted by the San Diego Air & Space Museum this Friday (April 17) from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Pacific time, the Museum announced today.

"Apollo 13: America's Finest Hour" is being hosted on the San Diego Air & Space Museum's Facebook page, exactly 50 years to the day of the splash down by one of NASA's most heralded missions. It's the real life story about what it took to save the crew from certain death in deep space.

"Apollo 13 is THE American success story and is being chronicled by the men who were responsible for the rescue and who were actually there," said Jim Kidrick, President & CEO of the San Diego Air & Space Museum. "This is an incredible opportunity to see and hear from the men who were the right team at the right time – and how people working together can overcome anything they set their minds to accomplish. With all that's going on in the world today, it's time to acknowledge our human abilities to conquer the unknown and unexpected. Taking on life's challenges and winning is what we do as a species. Celebrating Apollo 13 is perfectly timed for what the world is experiencing right now."

As of April 15, Apollo 13 Lunar Module Pilot Fred Haise, Lead Mission Flight Director Milt Windler, and Mission Flight Directors Gerry Griffin and Glynn Lunney have confirmed for the Facebook Live event, moderated by Jim Kidrick, President & CEO of the Museum, and Mark Larson, the Museum's Chairman of the Board. The event is the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience their live, candid comments, sharing the real-life story in their own words of the teamwork required to save the spacecraft and crew from certain death.

posted 04-16-2020 01:48 PM               

You'll hear first-hand stories from the men who were there during one of NASA's finest hours, including Astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, Mission Lead Flight Director Milt Windler and Flight Directors Gene Kranz, Gerry Griffin and Glynn Lunney.