"Apollo 13" wins two Academy Awards 1996

Ron Howard's space masterpiece Apollo 13 was nominated for a whopping 9 Academy Awards, but went home with two at the 68th annual ceremony held March 25, 1996.  It won Best Film Editing for Mike Hill and Daniel P. Hanley, and Best Sound for Rick Dior, Steve Pederson, Scott Millan, and David MacMillan.

It received nominations for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor for Ed Harris, Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published, Best Original Dramatic Score, Best Art Direction, and Best Visual Effects.  Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, and Gary Sinise did not get nominated for their performances in Apollo 13.  The movie was based on the book Lost Moon by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger.

Pocahontas went two-for-two that night, winning Best Original Musical or Comedy Score and Best Original Song for Colors of the Wind; Music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. 

Celebrating Native American Heritage Month: Jerry Elliot High Eagle, Osage Presidential Medal of Freedom awardee

Jerry Elliott High Eagle, born in 1943 in Oklahoma City, was one of the first Native American employed at NASA.  His contributions as lead retrofire officer during the Apollo 13 disaster earned him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Although facing racial discrimination from the professors at University of Oklahoma, he received a degree in physics, being one of the first Native Americans to achieve such an accomplishment. He joined NASA as a flight mission operations engineer in 1966.  He was Program Staff Engineer during the Apollo-Soyuz Program.

He was the only Native American in mission control during Apollo 11's successful moon landing.  He was lead Retrofire Officer during the Apollo 13.  For his work on helping bring the astronauts home safely, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Richard Nixon.

His name "High Eagle" was given to him by tribal elders when he turned 41.

Remembering astronaut Ken Mattingly (1936-2023)

Thomas "Ken" Mattingly, an American astronaut who went into space three times, passed away October 31. He was 87.  

Born in Chicago, Illinois, he moved with his family to Hialeah, Florida and soon, airplanes became an early fascination.  He graduated from Miami Edison High School in 1954 and received a BS degrees in aeronautical engineering from Auburn  University in 1958.  He then joined the navy and in 1966 he was selected as an astronaut.

He was scheduled to be the Command Module Pilot on the Apollo 13 mission, but he was removed form the mission because he had been exposed to German measles (which he didn't catch) and was replaced by Jack Swigert.  Mattingly did play a large role in helping the crew get safely back to Earth.

He was placed onto the crew of Apollo 16, the fifth lunar landing mission with John Young and Charlie Duke.  Mattingly and Young were the only two Apollo astronauts to fly on the Space Shuttle missions.  Mattingly carried out an EVA to retrieve film and data packages from the science bay on the side of the service module.

Mattingly served as commander of Columbia (STS-4) in June 1982, the fourth and final orbital test of Columbia.

He served as commander on Discovery (STS-51-C), a Department of Defense mission, in January 1985.

He retired from the Navy in 1986 as Rear admiral.  He passed away in Arlington, Virginia.

Happy birthday, astronaut Jack Lousma!

Jack Lousma, born February 29, 1936 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has been in space twice, participating in two different projects. 

His first trip into space was aboard Skylab 3 as pilot in July-September 1973. He conducted two EVAs for a total time of 11 hours.

His second trip into space was aboard Columbia (STS-3) as commander in March 1982.

In April 1970, he was the CAPCOM recipient of the "Houston, we've had a problem" message from Apollo 13.

Jack Swigert, Apollo 13 astronaut, born 1931

Jack Swigert, born August 30, 1931 in Denver, Colorado, went into space aboard Apollo 13 as Command Module Pilot.  Of course, we know what happened.  The mission was not successful in landing on the moon.  Swigert is the one who uttered the infamous line, "Okay, Houston, we've had a problem here."

Swigert left NASA and  and entered politics.  In November 1982,  he ran successfully for the U.S. Congress but passed away from complications due to cancer December 27, seven days before he was to begin his term.

Movie review - Salyut 7

I watched the Russian movie Salyut 7 over the weekend and was very impressed with the whole film, which is based on the rescue of the space station after contact had been lost with it.  In June 1985, the crew of Soyuz T-13, Vladimir Dzhanibekov and Viktor Savinykh, traveled to Salyut 7 and brought it back to life.  The mission has been called the “Apollo 13” of the Soviet space program.

At first, I got confused because the two main characters, the cosmonauts, were not given the full names of the real life cosmonauts.  Vladimir Vdovichenkov played Vladimir Fyodorov (Dzhanibekov) and cutie(!) Pavel Derenvyanko played Viktor Alyokhin (Savinykh). 

As I expected, the events of the real mission were embellished and over-dramatized for the film version.  For instance, Salyut 7 was crippled by a faulty electrical sensor, which determined when batteries needed charging.  Not meteorites, as in the film.

Also, a fire did not break out on the Soyuz module, causing Vladimir to don a space suit and blow the hatch putting out the fire.

Still, the movie had a lot of suspenseful moments and had some awesome special effects.   The version I saw has English subtitles, so it was easy to watch.  Even if you are not a space history buff like me, you will enjoy it for the drama and suspense.

Apollo 13 launched 1970

Apollo 13 crew (L-R): Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, Fred Haise

Mission patch

What more can be said about Apollo 13 that hasn't already?  It launched April 11, 1970 with Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise, the seventh manned mission of the Apollo program and the third mission planned to land on the moon.

Two days later, an oxygen tank exploded and they had to abort the moon landing. 

They managed to make it back home safe and sound April 17.

Happy birthday, Gemini and Apollo astronaut Jim Lovell!

Jim Lovell, born March 25, 1928 in Cleveland, Ohio, made two flights in NASA's Gemini program and two in the Apollo program, including the Apollo 13 mission.  He was the first person to go into space four times, is one of twenty-four people to fly to the moon, and one of three people to fly to the moon twice, although he did not make a landing.

His first mission was pilot on Gemini VII with Command Pilot Frank Borman in December 1965, and they spent 14 days in orbit.

His second flight was as Commander of Gemini XII with pilot Buzz Aldrin in November 1966. They performed three EVAs and conducted the fourth space docking with the Agena target vehicle, proving men could work outside a spacecraft, which paved the way for sending men to the moon.

His third flight was on Apollo 8 as Command Module Pilot with Frank Borman and William Anders in December 1968.  It was the second manned mission of the Apollo program and the first to leave Earth's orbit, reach the moon, orbit it and then return safely to Earth.

Lovell's fourth and final flight was as Commander aboard Apollo 13, with Jack Swigert and Fred Haise in April 1970.  The disaster that occurred during the mission has been immortalized in the movie Apollo 13.  Tom Hanks portrayed Jim Lovell in the movie.  Lovell is the one who uttered the famous phrase:  "Houston, we've had a problem."

Happy birthday, Apollo and Space Shuttle astronaut Ken Mattingly!

Ken Mattingly, born March 17, 1936 in Chicago, Illinois, is one of twenty-four people to fly to the moon.  Mattingly was Command Module Pilot for the Apollo 16 mission in April 1972.  During the return portion of the mission, he performed an EVA to retrieve film and data packages from the science bay on the side of the service module.

He had been assigned to be Command Module Pilot for Apollo 13 but was scrubbed only 72 hours before, due to being exposed to the measles.  Gary Sinise played Mattingly in the movie Apollo 13.

During the space shuttle program, Mattingly commanded Columbia (STS-4) with Henry Harsfield June-July 1982, the final test flight for the shuttle.

He commanded Discovery (STS-51-C) in January 1985, the first space shuttle mission dedicated to the Department of Defense.

Happy birthday, Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise!

Fred Haise, born November 14, 1933 in Biloxi, Mississippi, was an astronaut on the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission.  After high school, he served in the US Marines as a fighter pilot.  He graduated from the University of  Oklahoma with a degreee in aeronautical engineering in 1959 before becoming an astronaut.

Haise was scheduled to be the sixth human to walk on the moon during the Apollo 13 mission behind Jim Lovell, who was to be the fifth.  Jack Swigert was the Command Module Pilot.  Of course, we all know they didn't get to land on the moon but they returned to Earth safely.  Bill Paxton played Haise in the movie Apollo 13.

He was backup for the Apollo 16 mission and was slated for the Apollo 19 mission, but the latter was cancelled due to budget cuts.  Haise left NASA in 1979.

Enterprise makes its 5th and final test flight 1977

The Space Shuttle Enterprise made her fifth and final successful flight October 26, 1977.  She was piloted by Fred Haise (Apollo 13) and Gordon Fullerton (STS-3, STS-51-F).  She also landed on the concrete runway at Edwards AFB instead of a dry lakebed runway.

Her successful missions paved the way for future space shuttle missions.

John Swigert, Apollo 13 astronaut, born 1931

John "Jack" Swigert, born August 30, 1931 in Denver, Colorado, was an astronaut on the bad-luck-ridden Apollo 13 mission, as Command Module Pilot.

The mission was his only flight.  He was slated to be in the rotation for the Apollo-Soyuz project but was removed due to his involvement in the Apollo 15 Postage Stamp Incident.

Swigert passed away in 1982 from cancer.

My favorite movies 1980-1995

1980: The Empire Strikes Back



1980 (Runner-up): Airplane!



1981: Raiders of the Lost Ark



1982: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn



1982 (Runner-up): E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial



1983: Return of the Jedi



1984 (Tie): Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom



1984 (Tie): Amadeus



1984 (Honorable Mention): Star Trek III: The Search for Spock



1985: Real Genius



1986 (Tie): Aliens



1986 (Tie): Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home



1987: Predator



1988: Who Framed Roger Rabbit?



1988 (Guilty Pleasure): Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood



1989 (Tie): Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade



1989 (Tie): Steel Magnolias



1990: Home Alone



1990 (Guilty Pleasure): Tremors



1991 (Tie): Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country



19991 (Tie):  Beauty and the Beast



1992: Aladdin



1993: Jurassic Park



1994 (Tie): Star Trek VII: Generations



1994 (Tie): Ed Wood



1995 (Tie): Toy Story



1995 (Tie): Apollo 13



1995 (Guilty Pleasure): Cutthroat Island

Apollo 13 suffers near-catastrophic failure 1970

Commander James A. Lovell Jr., Command Module Pilot, John L. Swigert Jr; Lunar Module Pilot Fred W. Haise Jr.  Swigert replaced Thomas Mattingly Jr. right before the flight.  (I suppose you had to have 'Jr.' in your name to be an astronaut on this mission?)


Apollo 13 launched on April 11, 1970, as NASA's third manned mission to the moon, but two days later, April 13, an oxygen tank exploded causing another tank to fail.  This led to a loss of electrical power.  James Lovell, John Swigert and Fred Haise had to abort their landing mission, getting to orbit the moon only once before heading back to Earth.

Against staggering odds, the Apollo 13 crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on April 17.


This video from the Smithsonian Channel says the explosion happened on the 14th but NASA's website confirms it was April 13.


http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/rocketpark/apollo_13.html

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/apollo-13-oxygen-tank-explodes