In Memoriam: James Lovell
Astronaut James “Jim” Lovell, who was the commander of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission, died on Thursday, August 7, 2025. He was 97 years old.
Lovell went on four spaceflights, including Gemini VII, Gemini XII, Apollo 8, and Apollo 13.
“Lovell’s life and work inspired millions. His courage under pressure helped forge our path to the moon and beyond – a journey that continues today,” NASA wrote in a statement.
He was born on March 25, 1928 in Cleveland, Ohio. Lovell graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1962 and logged over 7,000 hours of flight time. He joined NASA in 1962 as one of their second round of astronauts with Neil Amrstrong, Charles “Pete” Conrad, and John Young, among others.
His flights on Gemini VII and Gemini XII were created to show how humans could live in a weightless environment and to practice the docking and rendezvous technology. His next mission was Apollo 8, which circled the moon.
Apollo 13 was his final and most famous mission. It launched on April 11, 1970, and was planned as NASA’s third moon landing, but it started to fail about 56 hours into the mission. An oxygen tank on the spacecraft exploded, causing another to fail and putting Lovell, and crewmen John “Jack” Swigert and Fred Haise in jeopardy 200,000 miles from Earth.
Over the course of three days, NASA engineers and mission controllers worked to rescue the astronauts who were dealing with a water shortage, electrical power issues, and dangerous levels of carbon monoxide. After six days in space, Apollo 13 landed safely in the Pacific Ocean. Lovell was praised for handling the pressure, his quick thinking, and leadership during the dangerous situation.
Throughout his four spaceflights, he spent 715 hours in orbit and retired in 1973. From there, Lovell worked at Bay-Houston Towing Company, becoming the CEO in ’75. He was the president of Fisk Telephone Systems, and he worked at Centel Corporation in Chicago, retiring in ’91 as the executive vice president. He was on the board of directors for the Federal Signal Corporation, the Astronautics Corporation of America, and Centel. Later, Lovell’s family opened a restaurant in Lake Forest, Illinois.
Popular Topics
Overstreet Access Quick Links
In Memoriam: James Lovell
Astronaut James “Jim” Lovell, who was the commander of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission, died on Thursday, August 7, 2025. He was 97 years old.
Lovell went on four spaceflights, including Gemini VII, Gemini XII, Apollo 8, and Apollo 13.
“Lovell’s life and work inspired millions. His courage under pressure helped forge our path to the moon and beyond – a journey that continues today,” NASA wrote in a statement.
He was born on March 25, 1928 in Cleveland, Ohio. Lovell graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1962 and logged over 7,000 hours of flight time. He joined NASA in 1962 as one of their second round of astronauts with Neil Amrstrong, Charles “Pete” Conrad, and John Young, among others.
His flights on Gemini VII and Gemini XII were created to show how humans could live in a weightless environment and to practice the docking and rendezvous technology. His next mission was Apollo 8, which circled the moon.
Apollo 13 was his final and most famous mission. It launched on April 11, 1970, and was planned as NASA’s third moon landing, but it started to fail about 56 hours into the mission. An oxygen tank on the spacecraft exploded, causing another to fail and putting Lovell, and crewmen John “Jack” Swigert and Fred Haise in jeopardy 200,000 miles from Earth.
Over the course of three days, NASA engineers and mission controllers worked to rescue the astronauts who were dealing with a water shortage, electrical power issues, and dangerous levels of carbon monoxide. After six days in space, Apollo 13 landed safely in the Pacific Ocean. Lovell was praised for handling the pressure, his quick thinking, and leadership during the dangerous situation.
Throughout his four spaceflights, he spent 715 hours in orbit and retired in 1973. From there, Lovell worked at Bay-Houston Towing Company, becoming the CEO in ’75. He was the president of Fisk Telephone Systems, and he worked at Centel Corporation in Chicago, retiring in ’91 as the executive vice president. He was on the board of directors for the Federal Signal Corporation, the Astronautics Corporation of America, and Centel. Later, Lovell’s family opened a restaurant in Lake Forest, Illinois.
Popular Topics
Overstreet Access Quick Links
