Apollo 13 Crew - Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert

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0:00 · it really is a great honor to present my
0:01 · next get our first guest tonight I
0:03 · suppose the word
0:05 · hero sounds corny at times but I don't
0:07 · think you have Heroes anymore and maybe
0:09 · uh some but the youngsters need Heroes
0:11 · nowadays and they probably get tired of
0:12 · that word they would consider themselves
0:14 · I suppose
0:15 · professional test pilots uh and which
0:18 · say
0:18 · all right a tremendous skill but there's
0:21 · just been over a month since uh their
0:23 · great courage and skill under
0:24 · tremendously adverse conditions uh
0:27 · made them uh Heroes of the entire world
0:30 · would you please welcome the Apollo 13
0:31 · team James Lovell Fred Hayes and Jack
0:34 · Swaggart I don't know
0:39 · [Music]
0:44 · [Applause]
1:08 · [Music]
1:10 · foreign
1:14 · [Music]
1:21 · [Music]
1:36 · since I've been doing this show in seven
1:39 · and a half years that I've seen an
1:40 · entire studio audience uh get to their
1:43 · feet and applaud and uh you've received
1:46 · a lot of that since you've come back
1:48 · it must be an emotional type of thing I
1:51 · mentioned you fellas I use the word
1:52 · Heroes which I said you I know you've
1:54 · said it before in interviews that you
1:55 · don't consider yourself for that at all
1:56 · Captain right
1:57 · well as a matter of fact uh we didn't
1:59 · know just how the world was taking it
2:01 · until we actually got back on the ground
2:03 · that's right you're really the last
2:05 · you're always trying to find out about
2:07 · it
2:08 · you know I never thought of it that way
2:09 · it was uh after meeting all the people
2:12 · and uh
2:13 · and appreciating the uh
2:15 · the feeling and the emotion that they
2:18 · had I sort of feel like maybe I missed
2:20 · something being up there
2:22 · we missed all the excitement you know
2:24 · yeah
2:26 · were you were you kind of amazed at the
2:28 · outpouring of emotion from countries all
2:30 · over the world not just the United
2:31 · States but I can't remember a time when
2:33 · there's been a circumstance where
2:35 · somebody has been in in that kind of uh
2:38 · of a situation where the entire world uh
2:40 · and foreign countries and and the the
2:42 · even the Communist Bloc in all of the
2:44 · countries of the world seem to to join
2:46 · together for a moment a real little maze
2:48 · at that reaction he got back yes I think
2:50 · this is what uh really struck us that uh
2:53 · for perhaps just an instant maybe the
2:56 · whole world was together
2:57 · it's funny they seem to get together on
2:59 · things like science don't they they were
3:01 · in a common in a common crises we all
3:04 · seem to join hands we sure do just like
3:06 · one human being helping another
3:08 · you're you're Captain right now uh Jim
3:10 · yes Johnny and uh Fred you're uh Thomas
3:13 · you're civilian and Jack also civilian I
3:16 · was sort of outnumbered uh being in the
3:18 · military yes captain in the Navy right I
3:21 · was a I was an innocent in the Navy
3:26 · you know what being an engine in the
3:28 · Navy it's like being a hood ornament on
3:29 · an Edsel
3:30 · yeah
3:32 · there's not much call for that
3:35 · you had a busy day today haven't you
3:37 · what's what's been happening since
3:38 · you've been in New York
3:39 · well we had lunch with mayor Lindsay
3:41 · today it was very nice
3:43 · and we had a press conference uh
3:48 · and your show tonight followed by a play
3:51 · you're gonna see a play and then there's
3:53 · another I think a reception later on
3:54 · tonight because
3:55 · the mayor also is or not and he told me
3:58 · that your car was double parked down
4:00 · below and the police towed it away
4:03 · our mayor would throw away your capsule
4:05 · if it landed in New York
4:09 · [Applause]
4:15 · you probably uh been asked every
4:18 · question in the book on what they call a
4:20 · debriefing and David Brinkley wants that
4:22 · on television he never understood the
4:24 · term debriefing he says why not a
4:26 · briefing when you got back what's what's
4:27 · the difference between a briefing and a
4:28 · debriefing
4:30 · anybody any fellas you would ask us
4:33 · those techniques
4:35 · France is English major well I wanted
4:38 · debriefing I think the briefing would
4:41 · constitute the preparation and the
4:43 · training we go through getting ready to
4:45 · fly the flight and debriefing is where
4:48 · we we give our comments on how each
4:51 · phase worked and how we felt maybe our
4:54 · training was deficient and what we
4:56 · should do better the next time what was
4:58 · the greatest thrill when you got back
4:59 · outside I suppose talking to your wives
5:00 · Jack is a is a bachelor and talking to
5:04 · the president well on board the ship
5:06 · they had a little Communications link up
5:08 · with us we had three phones and it was
5:10 · sort of a one-sided conversation all
5:12 · three of us were talking at one time and
5:14 · Fred and I were talking to our wives and
5:16 · Jack was talking to the entire
5:18 · Continental airline stewardess Corps
5:20 · [Music]
5:23 · Jack has flown before hasn't he
5:27 · I thought I was going to get by without
5:29 · Jim making some comment about that but
5:31 · he didn't last time we really set it up
5:32 · for me in Chicago he said that a a
5:34 · bachelor is like a new detergent that's
5:37 · uh one that works fast and leaves no
5:39 · rings
5:44 · what are you doing about 11 30 every
5:46 · night
5:49 · we have an opening on a staff gym if you
5:51 · can come up with this stuff you can come
5:53 · up with this stuff every night you know
5:54 · you probably get tired of that don't you
5:55 · jack because uh you're one of the few
5:57 · bachelors in the whole program I guess
5:59 · of NASA right yes and that they you'll
6:02 · always have to have something to say now
6:03 · they can talk about your kids and your
6:05 · wife and so forth but I remember you
6:07 · because you went in through with three
6:08 · days notice on this slide right yes and
6:11 · uh they weren't prepared for that and it
6:13 · drove the newsmen crazy because they
6:15 · weren't quite prepared to report on Jack
6:17 · swankert and they ran around I saw them
6:18 · interviewing your landlord
6:21 · you know and the landlord says yes he's
6:23 · a his nice place here he lives right
6:25 · here
6:28 · laughs
6:30 · at the time that this happened
6:32 · um
6:33 · when you first knew that you had the
6:35 · trouble that something was wrong who's
6:36 · the first to know you were the first one
6:37 · I think the radio back to Mission
6:39 · Control in Houston right no actually it
6:40 · was Jack Jack was the man who said uh I
6:43 · think we have a problem here
6:46 · so I guess I guess turned out to be the
6:49 · understatement of the century I guess
6:50 · you know the funny thing we were going
6:52 · to get a recording uh from NASA of that
6:55 · particular time when it happened
6:56 · thinking it would be very exciting you
6:58 · know and intense but the strange thing
7:00 · about it is we we listened to it
7:02 · and it sounded like you had reported
7:04 · that the uh you know you didn't get your
7:06 · dime back from the pay phone or
7:07 · something it was it wasn't exciting at
7:09 · all in the context and the way you
7:11 · handle it is that is that because of the
7:12 · tremendous training and you're ready for
7:15 · this kind of a contingency and you just
7:17 · automatically react and then the
7:19 · emotions come a little bit later
7:21 · well I think that actually we didn't
7:23 · know really how serious the situation
7:24 · was at the time and uh as it started to
7:27 · get more serious our voices got a little
7:29 · bit more tense if you listen to the
7:31 · tapes closely it took about 45 minutes
7:34 · for I guess the problem to develop in
7:36 · its fullest
7:38 · can you remember back this is probably
7:39 · terribly difficult with all the things
7:41 · that you have to do and with shutting
7:43 · down one system and been doing all the
7:45 · technical things you have to do
7:47 · but can you remember in your mind what
7:49 · your was there fear at the time I
7:52 · suppose there was thinking that this
7:54 · possibly could be a fatal uh
7:57 · thing that could happen and you would
7:58 · could be possibly stranded or that the
8:01 · whole the unit would would explode or
8:03 · something is that moment of uh
8:05 · of saying good happens this this is it
8:07 · the percentages have caught up
8:10 · well I guess everybody kind of you know
8:11 · faces that situation where they say uh
8:13 · gee any place but here anybody but me
8:16 · and uh but there's only one thing to do
8:18 · in a situation like that as we talked
8:20 · about it that is you have to just keep
8:22 · charging forward and uh you know do
8:24 · everything possible to get back home
8:25 · again and I suppose everybody go ahead
8:27 · Ben yeah there's another Point too uh we
8:30 · have uh backups for everything and we
8:32 · were we were never in a position
8:34 · to where we didn't at least have one
8:36 · more direction to go in this case the
8:38 · limb so
8:40 · if I charge them the limb and turned it
8:42 · on and found something wrong there then
8:44 · I would have maybe got a lot more
8:46 · concerned that could have been the ball
8:47 · game right there huh
8:48 · yeah that's that's fascinating I think
8:50 · it was Alan Shepard once who said they
8:52 · asked him how he felt when they made the
8:54 · first flight and he said it was a
8:55 · strange feeling traveling around the
8:57 · Earth in a vehicle
8:58 · in which you know every part was made by
9:00 · the lowest bidder
9:04 · I don't know
9:08 · affect me trigger's your joke there
9:12 · you fellas didn't have any of this uh on
9:14 · the drip you know the saying too soon
9:16 · too old too late do you agree Edward
9:19 · well a lot of people know you're never
9:22 · too old to smarten up about some things
9:24 · for example I know that if you want to
9:27 · stay on the young side you should
9:29 · exercise and you should eat sensibly one
9:31 · way is by starting the day with a good
9:33 · breakfast like Kellogg's Product 19.
9:37 · it's the cereal with 100 percent of the
9:40 · minimum daily adult requirements for
9:42 · vitamins and iron a Powerhouse and
9:45 · delicious so get back on the young side
9:49 · start right now with Kellogg's Product
9:51 · like knee
9:56 · we're talking with the uh Apollo 13
9:58 · astronauts Jim you lost what 14 pounds
10:00 · on us 14.
10:03 · was that because the food is getting
10:04 · worse or getting better well the food
10:07 · was is getting better but we followed
10:09 · your instructions on your show a few
10:10 · months ago and uh we didn't know how to
10:12 · eat it they sent us some food from uh
10:16 · when they had the mock-up upstairs here
10:17 · in in the studio made H I guess and one
10:19 · night we tried it you said your wife uh
10:21 · my wife saw it she's here tonight uh yes
10:24 · where where's your wife sitting would
10:26 · you like to meet Mrs where were you Mrs
10:27 · lava because I've seen you on magazines
10:30 · how are you right
10:45 · yeah I guess what's that Winston
10:46 · Churchill said they also serve who also
10:48 · only stand and wait that's must be very
10:50 · very tough on wives and children uh to
10:54 · wait for you but the food yeah we had it
10:56 · one night and we didn't do it right or
10:57 · something we were putting you said a
10:59 · moment ago watering the things we
11:00 · shouldn't have put water in
11:03 · I don't think we should ever go on a
11:06 · trip Ed they haven't made they have not
11:09 · made the booster yet they can get you
11:14 · since I've lost all this weight are you
11:15 · still doing these heavy jokes about I
11:17 · don't know if nothing else
11:19 · uh I was asking Jim during the
11:21 · commercial break here when the next uh
11:22 · is this this is delayed somewhat the
11:25 · next uh projected flight has enough yes
11:27 · uh it was originally scheduled sometime
11:30 · in October and now probably the earliest
11:31 · weekend launches in December
11:33 · have they as of yet determined what went
11:37 · wrong with any degree of certainty that
11:40 · I know that you blew out what
11:41 · practically the whole side panel of the
11:42 · main booster right and they thought it
11:44 · was what in a battery uh well we lost of
11:47 · course uh all of our electrical power
11:49 · the three fuel cells and the two oxygen
11:51 · tanks and I'll refer to my Command
11:53 · Module expert to give you yeah Jack what
11:55 · do you think there which means that he
11:56 · can't quite technically get the answer
11:58 · to this
12:02 · that's what's known as the commander
12:05 · passing the buck uh no the uh
12:08 · the the problem laying the number two
12:10 · oxygen tank and uh we know that it was a
12:13 · right now a short uh in the wiring I
12:17 · don't think that uh that they have quite
12:19 · uh
12:21 · completely identified it out to be
12:23 · truthful I've been gone from the review
12:26 · board and I haven't followed their uh
12:28 · the progress of the review board so I
12:30 · haven't got the latest uh information on
12:34 · what exactly happened and since you did
12:35 · have the jettison that part
12:38 · um they don't really have any tangible
12:40 · evidence to lay their hands on do they
12:42 · just kind of have to go by what could
12:44 · have happened and then get rid of the
12:45 · Alternatives I suppose well it's amazing
12:47 · what they can do with just Telemetry we
12:49 · jettison of course the part that went
12:51 · wrong right but all the readouts that
12:53 · the ground had gotten from Telemetry in
12:55 · the communications during the incident
12:57 · and after uh plus their analysis allowed
13:00 · themselves to analyze the situation and
13:03 · come up with the answer
13:05 · was there any time that you thought that
13:07 · the backup system that you possibly
13:11 · it seems like a dumb question and I
13:13 · don't mean it morbidly but it crosses
13:15 · people's minds that you know you've
13:17 · probably seen the motion picture that
13:18 · made maroon where they were stranded
13:21 · that does that ever crossed your mind at
13:22 · any time when you go on one of these
13:24 · these flights and you've got more time
13:25 · uh in space than anybody else Jim that's
13:28 · saying what would I do in fact if this
13:32 · did happen I mean the possibility I
13:34 · guess always exists in any dangerous
13:36 · thing a human error mechanical air is
13:38 · there uh even with the greatest
13:40 · expertise that what would you do
13:44 · if you couldn't get back I know that
13:45 · sounds like an insipid question but I'm
13:48 · sure that you must have thought about it
13:50 · philosophically some someplace well I
13:52 · think everybody in in the program has
13:54 · that thought that feeling we of course
13:57 · look at it from the fact that we make
14:00 · things so reliable and so redundant that
14:02 · it's only a remote possibility and
14:05 · really we just put it out of our minds
14:06 · we have to otherwise we'd never make a
14:08 · flight you could never really function
14:09 · could you as a Professional Engineers
14:12 · under those circumstances
14:13 · I was wondering if it was planned
14:15 · beforehand that if something like this
14:17 · went wrong was the lamb supposed to be
14:18 · used as this way was that planned in the
14:21 · program or is that a surprise thing that
14:23 · just developed because you had no other
14:24 · choice let me let Fred answer that he's
14:26 · our limb expert
14:29 · they had had some procedures uh way back
14:32 · in the back room somewhere where a long
14:35 · time ago someone had envisioned using
14:37 · the lamb as a Lifeboat they were pretty
14:40 · dusty
14:41 · the only thing we had planned to use the
14:43 · land for in that regard was we had a
14:45 · procedure written in case the main
14:48 · engine on the Command Module failed
14:50 · burning in the lunar orbit part way
14:53 · you then would Scurry into the limb and
14:55 · fire it up and use this engine to get
14:57 · you headed back home
14:59 · and uh I bet they've done an update on
15:01 · that haven't they on how to use that
15:03 · again but we never really envisioned
15:05 · powering down the Command Module we
15:07 · always had the Command Module electrical
15:10 · system and oxygen system as a life
15:13 · support system one of the great problems
15:15 · was the was the cold wasn't it it got
15:17 · down to what 38 38 degrees 38 degrees
15:20 · and one of you of course had to stay up
15:23 · at all times to monitor the and do the
15:26 · readouts I suppose on the systems we
15:28 · have a short piece of film here I think
15:30 · you did this on the way back right
15:32 · after all this problem still not really
15:35 · even knowing I guess to whether you got
15:37 · into the right window as they say to
15:38 · re-enter so watch the monitor here in
15:40 · the studio and gentlemen if he'll tell
15:43 · us what the you're doing it at the time
15:45 · uh Bobby you want to roll the tape
15:47 · please here we are
15:50 · what you're looking at now is the
15:51 · Command Module it's down to about 38
15:53 · degrees uh very cold and it's completely
15:56 · dead nothing's working and you just saw
15:58 · the hash that was oh that's up through
16:00 · the tunnel as they say that's right
16:01 · right into the through the tunnel and
16:02 · back into uh the Aquarius the lunar
16:05 · module and
16:06 · Jack the interesting thing is that when
16:08 · you're right side up in the Command
16:09 · Module and you come down the tunnel
16:11 · you're upside down in the limbs so it
16:12 · takes a while to to get reoriented
16:15 · do you have any sense of direction uh
16:20 · here at all whether you're upside down
16:21 · or not since there's no Direction really
16:23 · such in space is there only visual uh
16:26 · you have no balance of course isn't your
16:28 · weight loss I mean up or down is
16:31 · relative right there's our little tape
16:33 · recorder which we played the theme from
16:34 · 2001.
16:38 · after all of this trouble you got you
16:40 · listen to a radio show
16:42 · and Jack's asleep back there near the
16:45 · hatch he was trying to get a little shut
16:47 · eye at the time
16:48 · the thing about our photography is we
16:50 · had to take it just when the light came
16:51 · around because we didn't want to use any
16:52 · interior lights because it'd use power
16:54 · oh I see so we had to shut down
16:56 · everything that wasn't necessary to save
16:58 · power are you turning at this time yes
17:00 · we are turning and there's Fred with his
17:02 · hand in his uh shirt there uh going
17:05 · sound asleep trying to get a little
17:06 · shutout keeps your hands from floating
17:08 · floating up bother you when you're
17:09 · sleeping I never thought of that
17:13 · there's a gym or is that yeah we had
17:15 · just one person who had the watch he
17:17 · wore the Hat with the communications and
17:19 · the rest of people were I know you're
17:21 · having dinner there yep there's Jack
17:22 · eating right now and it's amazing we can
17:24 · actually use a spoon and in zero gravity
17:27 · if there's enough viscosity in the fluid
17:31 · I think this is uh right prior to entry
17:34 · uh Jim and I were going up or uh through
17:36 · the entry procedures they required a lot
17:39 · of close cooperation with Jim and the
17:40 · lamb and myself in the Command Module
17:42 · you see Jim uh rubbing his hands there
17:45 · and that's because it was just that cool
17:49 · of course there was a time just before
17:51 · this last mid-course or the mid course
17:53 · 105 hours when we would still have
17:55 · missed the Earth and so we had to make
17:56 · this particular maneuver uh to make sure
17:59 · we got captured by the atmosphere right
18:01 · otherwise we'd have skipped off into uh
18:03 · into space again that's what they call
18:05 · about the re-entry angle that has to be
18:06 · so precise that you don't enter too fast
18:08 · then you don't enter too shallow that
18:10 · you as you say skip back into
18:13 · right skip away from the orbit
18:17 · actually these pictures were taken with
18:19 · a wide angle lens that Fred held most
18:21 · the time and makes the interior of
18:24 · Aquarius a lot roomier than it actually
18:26 · is
18:28 · it was sort of uh you know people get
18:30 · the impression when you see this on
18:31 · television that it's rather roomy and
18:33 · yet it's really not at all is it
18:35 · there's an advantage of zero g I shot my
18:38 · own pictures just by turning the camera
18:39 · and moving it away while it was still
18:41 · running
18:46 · what we're doing here we're trying to
18:47 · still everything you know we couldn't uh
18:49 · we couldn't dump anything over overboard
18:51 · which presented a problem for three days
18:52 · as you might think so we had a stow it
18:55 · in all kinds of containers
18:57 · and the waste products got to be quite
18:59 · deep there after a while
19:03 · I guess we've become space litter bugs
19:05 · already haven't we by she has
19:18 · to the average person who really is so
19:21 · hard for us to relate to that do you
19:23 · ever get tired of The Thrill Is it a
19:25 · tremendous tremendous thrill when you
19:27 · another dumb question I suppose when you
19:29 · get out and you look back and you see
19:31 · the Earth
19:32 · uh just hanging there it must give you
19:35 · some some strange feelings I think it
19:38 · does make all the astronauts that are
19:42 · flowing a bit philosophical
19:43 · I would think so you kind of got to
19:45 · think back and kind of puts it in
19:47 · perspective doesn't it you put the whole
19:49 · earth just in the in your hand you know
19:50 · and it really makes it uh it makes you
19:52 · wonder actually a minor planet is
19:54 · somebody once said
19:56 · um now you haven't been on the moon
19:58 · and uh and yet this was really a
20:01 · triumphant uh space journey because it
20:03 · proved that the backup system does work
20:05 · and prove that the equipment is reliable
20:07 · are you going to fly again
20:10 · well I would like to uh I seem to be
20:12 · disappointed you know going twice to the
20:14 · moon and not quite getting down there
20:15 · however uh down at Houston there are a
20:17 · lot of people who are well qualified and
20:19 · who have not yet flown and so uh my wife
20:22 · won't let me just
20:24 · well I suppose she may have a slight
20:28 · Reasoner not wanting to go through that
20:29 · again Fred how about you
20:31 · but I think the probably the true
20:34 · statement would be that every every guy
20:36 · in the office would like to fly every
20:38 · flight
20:39 · that's really impossible because for
20:42 · instance while we were training two
20:43 · other Crews were training same time 14
20:45 · and 15.
20:46 · and that's really not possible I
20:49 · certainly would personally like to have
20:51 · another chance Jack what are your
20:54 · feelings that's my feelings too I
20:55 · suppose all the fellas would like it to
20:57 · have that unique honor it everything
21:00 · came about in my case so fast that I
21:04 · really you know I was sitting there
21:06 · right on the launch pad and about 30
21:08 · minutes prior to launch when they
21:10 · hauled back the swing arm I told Jim I
21:12 · said you know I really think they're
21:14 · serious about launching me
21:17 · I was trying to think of a question
21:19 · today that you might not have been asked
21:21 · and it's it's pretty tough
21:23 · and this may sound dumb
21:26 · suppose and people have said this they
21:28 · know pretty well technically what the
21:30 · moon was and what it was composed of and
21:33 · that there was no
21:35 · the gravity was 1 6 and there's no air
21:37 · and so forth and so on
21:39 · but supposed to have been some people
21:40 · have said well possibly maybe they're
21:42 · people or civilizations had you know
21:45 · you've heard this right and have arrived
21:47 · there maybe many many years ago and live
21:49 · say underground right with their own
21:52 · type of gravity and oxygen supply and so
21:54 · forth is there anything in the NASA
21:56 · program that would prepare you
21:58 · if you landed on the moon
22:01 · right this sounds like it's not a dumb
22:04 · question and all of a sudden you look
22:05 · over and you see two
22:07 · people
22:09 · fellas coming out of a
22:13 · do they prepare you for that what you
22:15 · would say
22:16 · uh or how you deal with this at all well
22:19 · that doesn't sound strange there's still
22:20 · a lot of people who believe that there
22:21 · are people on the moon but they're
22:22 · living underground I think Jim's going
22:24 · to say that's why they took a bachelor
22:25 · law that's why
22:29 · [Applause]
22:39 · and answered your question about getting
22:41 · philosophical uh we did get a bit
22:43 · philosophical and we we brought you
22:46 · something tonight that we thought maybe
22:47 · you'd like to Oh Yeah from our crew here
22:50 · we know that uh you were a magician at
22:52 · one time and still are as a matter of
22:54 · fact I saw some of your card tricks and
22:56 · so we thought we'd present this little
22:57 · picture to you with the caption perhaps
22:59 · you'd like to read
23:00 · oh it's not great
23:02 · it says I'll read it then I'll show you
23:04 · the picture so she has a beautiful
23:06 · picture it says to the great carsoni you
23:08 · found that out huh
23:10 · do you think you're a magician try
23:12 · making this disappear since your best
23:14 · wishes the Apollo 13 crew and they've
23:15 · all signed it and of course look at that
23:17 · magnificent shot of the Earth from space
23:21 · [Applause]
23:33 · California
23:35 · I will treasure that very very much and
23:37 · I thank you gentlemen I know you've had
23:39 · a long day you know you'll have more
23:41 · plans for this evening and all I can say
23:44 · that you you've been hearing many many
23:45 · times it's it's great to have you back
23:48 · it was a magnificent magnificent feat
23:51 · and I think the whole entire world was
23:53 · tremendously proud of you and it's a
23:54 · great thrill to have you here tonight
23:56 · Jim pleasure thank you thank you
23:58 · [Music]
23:59 · [Applause]
24:01 · [Music]
24:02 · [Applause]
24:04 · [Music]
24:04 · [Applause]

Famed Apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell dies at 97-years-old [08/08/2025]
James Lovell, astronaut and Apollo 13 commander, dies (Houston we have a problem) [08/08/2025]
On This Day: Ill-fated Apollo 13 blasts off [04/11/2025]
Apollo 8 Genesis Reading (December 24, 1968) [12/24/2022]
December 24, 1968: Apollo 8 Genesis Reading and Earthrise [12/24/2021]
A SpaceX Dragon will make the 1st nighttime splashdown with astronauts in 53 years and you can watch it live [05/01/2021]
Apollo 8's Christmas Eve Message [12/24/2020]
(LISTEN) On This Day: Apollo 8 Broadcasts Biblical Christmas Message Heard By 1 Billion People [12/24/2020]
Apollo 8 [12/24/2020]
A Unique American Moment, Fifty Years Ago Today: The Rescue of Apollo 13 [04/14/2020]
50 Years ago Today Apollo 13 launched at 2:13 pm EST [04/11/2020]
On This Day in Space! April 17, 1970: Apollo 13 Returns from Aborted Moon Mission [04/17/2019]
Earthrise: The stunning photo that changed how we see our planet [12/24/2018]
Apollo 8 crew reads from the Book of Genesis (fifty years ago tonight Christmas Eve 1968) [12/24/2018]
Apollo 8: First Around the Moon [50th Anniversary of Launch TODAY!] [12/21/2018]
April 11 in Military History: Buchenwald liberated and Apollo 13 blasts off [04/11/2018]
Apollo 8: Christmas at the Moon [Launched 49 Years Ago this day] [12/20/2017]
The unrecognized decision that saved Apollo 13 [04/15/2016]
Apollo 14 Mission To Fra Mauro (1971) [02/06/2016]
Astronaut Edgar Mitchell, 6th Man on Moon, Dies in Florida [02/05/2016]
Astronomy Picture of the Day -- Earthrise [09/06/2015]
'The Astronaut Wives Club' began with triteness and ended in ugliness [08/21/2015]
Tesla is apparently recharging 'emissions free' electric cars with a diesel generator [05/28/2015]
What Would William F. Buckley Do? [10/05/2011]
Apollo heroes call on Americans to save US spaceflight programme [04/11/2010]
One of the newest craters on the Moon [03/30/2010]
'Legends of Aerospace' visit Airmen in Southwest Asia [03/10/2010]
FR Exc! Heroes Neil Armstrong, Gene Cernan, Jim Lovell, Steve Ritchie Forbidden To See Troops In SWA [03/08/2010]
"My astronauts are better than yours..." [10/29/2008]
Vanity - Apollo 13 on History Channel - what's wrong with this country? [08/28/2005]
'We'll remember him with a smile on his face' [02/03/2003]
Two Astronauts Bumped from Flight [STS-113] [11/09/2002]

"A bachelor is like a new detergent that's one that works fast and leaves no rings."

Johnny Carson was a great interviewer.

Thanks for the link.

Thank you. One of the pinnacles of human experiences.

that was terrific

“”””hero sounds corny at times but I don’t think you have Heroes anymore and maybe uh some but the youngsters need Heroes nowadays”””””

I love Johnny, but this opening could have been worded differently.
If anyone has forgotten how the Vietnam War was treated in the media, this was the year 1970, over 6,000 of our men were killed that year, almost 12,000 the year before, and thousands more to come, and many thousands before, and that doesn’t count the maimed and mangled, disfigured and amputees.

In 1970 men were earning Medals of Honor and Silver Stars, and everything else, heroes by the thousands, but......Vietnam.

I sure miss Carson. Used to watch him as a young man and on and on.

I was at Glacier National Park at the time. I remember seeing a headline on a Newspaper still on display. It was not until the movie came out that I realized everything that happened.

The DC Daily News had a big, bold headline:
APOLLO 13 OFF COURSE!

I remember following it as it unfolded, but also having a young mind’s trust and near-certainty that, after all the space program had accomplished, they would be coming home. Anyway, thanks all, great comments!

I too miss Carson, and that amazing run of space missions of the 60s and early 70s. I’ve played the Youtube vid of Neil and Buzz as they descended to the lunar surface, and it has been synced with whatever camera was recording out the window.

For most missions we didn’t see most of that stuff, we saw cartoons and diagrams with the intermittent soundtrack of Mission Control and the astronauts. And almost no ads. :^)

But even though I know that they made that first landing, listening to that recording again really was gripping.

“That’s why you put Armstrong in charge...”

https://search.brave.com/videos?q=dave%20scott%20recounting%20neil%20on%20gemini%208

In before the fake moon landing moon bats. 🦇

I was surfing some more vids, and those loons are all over the comments sections.

I remember some file footage from one of the documentaries, a moving theater marquee announcing that they’d made it down safely. Lovell at least used to claim that, of all the Apollo splashdowns, 13 landed closest to the recovery ship involved.

I was working pickpocket detail in downtown DC.
That usually meant hanging around bus stops.
One of them had a newspaper machine that sold tabloids.