Frankly, I've got an inside look at this. It was a PR gimmick to hype his own ride. Astronauts are Hollywood at its worse.
It was a mistake from the beginning to hype the passengers of our techno marvels. They are human beings more disappointing than you can imagine in their flaws, failures and incompetence, with the exception of Lovell.
Narcissism on steroids. Look at the failed marriages, if you don't believe me. Hollywood has better track record. Look at John Glenn, selling out our technology to the Chinese!
The Chinese wouldn't have that supercomputer without the efforts of several scumsuckers like Glenn.
Huh? Are you a member of the "Flat Earth Society" who believe the moon landing was staged in a TV studio and shuttle missions are phony too? Maybe you think our military is "Hollywood" too. Wow.