Jim Lavel, astronaut who took over the famous command Apollo 13 MissionHas died, NASA announced on Friday. He was 97 years old.
Apollo 13, the 1970 flight to the Moon, came to be known as a “successful failure” after the spacecraft, when the spacecraft experienced an oxygen tank explosion thousands of miles from the Earth, but managed to return home safely.
Acting NASA administrator Sean Dafi said in a statement that Laval died in Lake Forest, Illinois on Thursday. Dafi praised Laval’s life and work, said that he inspired millions of people.
“The character and stable courage of the gym helped our nation reach the moon and turned a possible tragedy into a success, from which we learned a large amount,” Dafi said.
The command module pilot for Lavel 1968 was Apollo 8 MissionFirst of all to take humans to the moon and back, although it did not land on the lunar surface.
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Andrew Chaikin, author of the 2007 book “A Man on the Moon” on the Apollo program, told CBS News that Lavel made some of the most memorable comments during the Apollo 8 TV broadcast. He remembered that Laval called Earth “a grand nebrit in the vastness of space”.
“Lowel was imagined, a part of Lowell that was about the imagination, and it was a clean part of it,” said Chicin.
Apollo 8 ordered the moon 10 times and sent back our world’s famous “Earth” photo from space. Laval reflected on that journey after 50 years Interview with CBS News,
“Sometimes I look back and say, you know, ‘How did we ever do this?” He said.
In 1970, Lavel got a chance to return to the moon with Apollo 13, with Comets Fred Hyise and Jack Swagart, but suddenly changed with the mission explosion.
“Houston, we had a problem here,” Swigart reported to Mission Control.
The accident forced the team of Lowell, their Crumetes and NASA to the ground to safely return all their efforts towards returning.
Dafi said about Lavel, “His cool strength under pressure helped the crew safely return to Earth and demonstrated quick thinking and innovation that informs the future NASA missions.”
NASA also shared a statement with Lowell’s family: “We are very proud of our amazing life and career achievements, which has been exposed by his mythological leadership in pursuing human space flight. But, for all of us, he was father, Granddad and our family leaders. Most important, he was remembering our hero.”
Actor Tom Hax played the role of Lavel in the 1995 film “Apollo 13”, nominated for the best portrait at the Oscar.
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