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.

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.

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 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.