Commander and Astronaut James A. Lovell, Jr. – died Thursday at the age of 97. He was one of the three-man Apollo 13 spacecraft crew that set for the moon in April 1970.  

In 1970, the Apollo 13 spacecraft launched from the Kennedy Space Center. It captured the world's attention as America's third attempt to get to the moon. But after only two days, an explosion crippled the spacecraft and changed its mission: Get home safely.

The three astronauts onboard, and dozens of flight controllers on Earth, labored for days to solve one challenge after another.

Captain Jim Lovell commanded that mission—after a series of historical firsts with his flights on Gemini 7, Gemini 12, and Apollo 8.

In 2020, 1A's Todd Zwillich spoke to the captain about that historic flight on its 50th anniversary. We revisit the conversation. 

Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.  

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy