12. Apollo 13 – 50 Years Later with Astronaut Fred Haise

Interview with astronaut Fred Haise, the lunar module pilot of Apollo 13!50 years ago the world witnessed the amazing story of Apollo 13, launched on April 11, 1970. Two days into the mission, an explosion in one of the oxygen tanks prevented the three astronauts, Commander Jim Lovell, Command Module Pilot Jack Swigert and Lunar Module Pilot Fred Haise, from landing on the Moon. The entire world awaited the safe return of the crew for four days, as the three astronauts used the Lunar Module Aquarius as a lifeboat until successfully splashing down in the South Pacific on April 17, 1970.In this episode, astronaut Fred Haise joins us by phone to discuss his amazing career, where he also served as backup for Apollo 8, Apollo 11 and Apollo 16 (and slated to be Flight Commander for the later cancelled Apollo 19). Fred also was heavily involved in the space shuttle program and successfully landed the space shuttle Enterprise for the very first time. In this interview Fred also describes his thoughts leading up to his rookie flight on Apollo 13, his thoughts when the oxygen tank exploded, and his description of what it what like as their spacecraft made its closest approach to the Moon. Fred currently serves on the board of directors for the INFINITY Science Center. For more information, visit https://www.visitinfinity.com/  Special thanks to Jason Fields of “Florida is Sinking” podcast for sharing his space journey!Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched! Start for FREEDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.