Hell of a great life, four trips to the moon and such a long career as a pilot an astronaut in both the Gemini and Apollo programs played in the movie Apollo 13 by Tom Hanks, he’s probably most remembered for the phrase “Houston, we’ve got a problem” R. I. P.
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Jim Lovell Apollo 13 commander has passed at 97
Aug 8, 2025, 8:09 PM
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He’s probably more famous for the “failed” Apollo 13 mission (because of the movie) but I got to witness the Apollo 8 launch during Christmas week of 1968. Lovell was a member of the crew that was the first to orbit the moon - the mission that paved the way for the later moon landings.
Our family happened to be on vacation in the Sarasota area so we headed over to watch the launch. This was when space launches were an actual big event. This was probably one of the most memorable experiences of my life.
R.I.P.
Geez, Motorhead. We may have been standing next to each other when Apollo 8 lifted off! My biggest memory of that was thinking the pad was only about two miles away. At thirty seconds, I thought , "I thought this would be noisier?" Five seconds later, a sound of such intensity caused my innards to shake. That pad was 7-1/2 miles away. By the time we got back to our car, Apollo 8 was over the west coast of Africa! I was 17 at the time.
Yes indeed, quite the career, RIP Jim Lovell. Some factoids:
- Correction to OP- Jim Lovell didn't make 4 flights to the moon, but made 4 into space (2 Gemini, 2 Apollo). He was mission commander on 2 flights (Gemini12, and Apollo 13) pilot or navigator on 2 (Gemini 7 and Apollo 8, resp.)
- He was on backup crew on Gemini 4 and Apollo 11, the later as mission commander. Twist of fate on 1st one he would have been 1st man to do a spacewalk, the later he would have been 1st to walk on the moon.
- He had a cameo role in Apollo 13 movie as skipper of the recovery vessel.
- Gemini 7 set a record for the longest duration spaceflight at the time, . Quite the impressive career.
R.I.P. A true American hero.
he failed - heroes dont fail - get to the moon or else
It is a waste of time and energy to interact with twentyfive. He is a narcissist; lacking any self-awareness, shame, or regret.
^most self-referential comment in the history of TUSCL. How oblivious can you possibly be?
I think that we are (mostly) capable of figuring out who is relevant and who often wasted electrons. For myself, I am more than happy to interact with 25.
When I saw this thread I looked him up and my first thought was a true american hero. I see that he was already referred to as that, I'm just agreeing.
Sounds like he had a pretty good and interesting life.