Page 5 - My FlipBook

became a test pilot for military jets. When the manned spaceflight
program began looking for pilots to ride rockets into space, Lovell
jumped at the chance to apply. The astronaut-training program
accepted him.
By the time of the Apollo 13 launch, Lovell had flown three
space missions and logged more hours in space than any other
astronaut. He had circled the moon and seen its pale gray pits and
craters outside the spacecraft window. On the Apollo 13 mission,
he was getting ready to fulfill a lifelong dream—to walk on the
surface of the moon.
Apollo 13 was the first spaceflight for the other members of
the crew. Haise, a native of Biloxi, Mississippi, earned a degree
in aeronautical engineering from the University of Oklahoma. He
served with the air force as a tactical fighter pilot and test pilot
and flew for the marine corps, the navy, and the Oklahoma Air
National Guard.
Exploration and the science of space travel fascinated Haise.
He spent many hours learning how to identify different types of
rocks. He practiced operating
the geological equipment the
crew would use to extract rock
and soil samples on the moon.
Haise looked forward to the
discoveries their exploration of
the moon would reveal.
Swigert was a last-minute
replacement for astronaut Ken
Mattingly. One week before the
launch, a member of the backup
crew came down with German
James (Jim) A. Lovell Jr., Apollo 13 measles. Before his symptoms
Commander
appeared, he unknowingly

5 Explosion in spAcE