Jim Lovell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jim Lovell
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Lovell in 1969
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| Born |
James Arthur Lovell Jr.
March 25, 1928 |
| Space career | |
| NASA astronaut | |
| Rank | Captain, USN |
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Time in space
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29d 19h 5m |
| Selection | NASA Group 2 (1962) |
| Missions | |
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Mission insignia
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| Retirement | March 1, 1973 |
| Military career | |
| Years of service | 1946–1973 |
James Arthur Lovell Jr. (born March 25, 1928) is a retired American astronaut. He was also a naval aviator, test pilot, and engineer. In 1968, he became one of the first three astronauts to fly to and orbit the Moon during the Apollo 8 mission. Later, he commanded the famous Apollo 13 mission in 1970. This mission faced a serious problem on its way to the Moon, but the crew safely returned to Earth.
Lovell graduated from the United States Naval Academy. He flew F2H Banshee night fighter jets. He also became a test pilot and worked with radar systems. In 1960, he managed the Navy's McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II program.
NASA did not choose Lovell for the first group of astronauts, the Mercury Seven. This was due to a temporary health issue. However, he was accepted in 1962 into the second group of astronauts. This group was needed for the Gemini and Apollo missions. Before Apollo, Lovell flew two Gemini missions: Gemini 7 in 1965 and Gemini 12 in 1966. He was the first person to fly into space four times. He was also the first person to fly to the Moon twice. Lovell has received many honors, including the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. He also co-wrote the book Lost Moon, which inspired the movie Apollo 13.
Early Life and Education
James Arthur Lovell Jr. was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on March 25, 1928. He was the only child of James Lovell Sr. and Blanche Masek. His father passed away in a car accident in 1933. After this, James and his mother lived with a relative in Terre Haute, Indiana. They later moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he attended Juneau High School.
As a child, Lovell was a Boy Scout. He achieved the highest rank, Eagle Scout. He became very interested in rockets and built flying models when he was a teenager.
After high school, Lovell studied engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison for two years. This was part of a Navy program called the "Flying Midshipman" program. He said this program allowed him to go to college because he didn't have enough money otherwise. While at Wisconsin, he played college football. He also worked at a restaurant and cared for lab animals to earn extra money.
In 1948, the Navy began reducing its aviation program. To ensure he could become a pilot, Lovell applied to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. He was accepted and started there in July 1948.
During his first year, Lovell wrote about liquid-propellant rocket engines. He graduated in 1952 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He then became an ensign in the Navy. On June 6, he married Marilyn Lillie Gerlach. They had started dating in high school. Marilyn moved to Washington, D.C., to be closer to him while he was at Annapolis. They had four children: Barbara, James, Susan, and Jeffrey.
Lovell was one of 50 students from his graduating class chosen for naval aviation training. He trained to be a pilot from 1952 to 1954. On February 1, 1954, he officially became a naval aviator. He then flew McDonnell F2H Banshee night fighters. This included a deployment on the aircraft carrier USS Shangri-La. Lovell completed 107 landings on aircraft carriers.
In 1958, Lovell began a six-month test pilot training course. This was at the Naval Air Test Center in Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland. He graduated at the top of his class. He was then assigned to work with radar systems.
Later that year, Lovell was considered as a possible astronaut for Project Mercury. However, he was not chosen because of a temporary high bilirubin count. In 1960, Lovell became the program manager for the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II aircraft. In 1961, he became a flight instructor and safety officer. He also completed Aviation Safety School at the University of Southern California.
Becoming an Astronaut (NASA)
Astronaut Selection Process
In 1962, NASA started looking for its second group of astronauts. These astronauts would fly missions for the Gemini and Apollo programs. Lovell saw an advertisement and decided to apply again. He went through medical exams and interviews. This time, he passed all the tests.
On September 14, Lovell was told he had been accepted. On September 17, NASA officially announced the new group. They were called the "Next Nine" or the "New Nine." The new astronauts moved to the Houston area in October 1962. Lovell and fellow astronaut Pete Conrad built houses in Timber Cove, near the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC).
The first four months of training involved classroom lessons. Astronauts learned about spacecraft propulsion, how things move in orbit (orbital mechanics), astronomy, computing, and space medicine. They also learned about the Gemini spacecraft and its rockets. They had survival training in jungles, deserts, and water. Each astronaut was given a special area to become an expert in. Lovell became responsible for recovery systems.
Gemini Program Missions
Gemini 7: A Long Stay in Space
Lovell was chosen as the backup pilot for Gemini 4. This put him in line for his first space flight three missions later. He became the pilot of Gemini 7 with commander Frank Borman. Their mission was announced on July 1, 1965.
Gemini 7 was a preparation for Apollo missions. Its main goal was to see how a crew and spacecraft would handle fourteen days in orbit. This was long enough for a Moon mission. Doctors wanted to study the effects of such a long flight on the astronauts.
The mission before Gemini 7, Gemini 6, had a problem. Its target vehicle exploded after takeoff. So, McDonnell, the company that built the Gemini spacecraft, suggested that Gemini 6 and Gemini 7 could meet in space. This would be the first space rendezvous.
For Gemini 7, both astronauts would sleep and work at the same time. They had twenty experiments to do. Eight of these were medical, to collect data on long space flights. To save space, a new, lighter space suit was designed. It had a soft hood instead of a helmet.
Gemini 7 launched on December 4, 1965. It reached its orbit of about 300-kilometer (160 nmi). Lovell found it harder to put on and take off his space suit than Borman. At first, one astronaut had to wear a suit, but it made them too hot. Mission control eventually allowed both to take their suits off.
Gemini 6A launched on December 15 and met up with Gemini 7. The two spacecraft flew together for three orbits. They were between 0.30 and 90 meters (1 and 300 ft) apart. Gemini 6A returned to Earth on December 16.
In the last two days of the mission, Lovell read a book. Some small problems happened as the flight went on. Two thrusters stopped working, but it was not a big issue. There was also concern about the fuel cells losing power. However, tests showed the batteries could last for the rest of the flight. Gemini 7 returned safely on December 18. The fourteen-day flight set a new endurance record, completing 206 orbits.
Gemini 12: Mastering Spacewalks
On January 24, 1966, Lovell was named as the backup commander for Gemini 10. This changed after the Gemini 9 crew died in a plane crash. Lovell and Buzz Aldrin became the backup crew for Gemini 9A. This then put Lovell in line to command Gemini 12, his second flight. Their selection was announced on June 17.
The main goal of Gemini 12, the last Gemini mission, was to master extravehicular activity (EVA), or spacewalks. Spacewalks had been very difficult on earlier missions. New ideas were developed to help. Moving in space was found to be like being underwater. Aldrin used this new training method. The space suits had a waist restraint, and the spacecraft had more handrails and handholds. Procedures were changed to make spacewalks less tiring.
Gemini 12 launched on November 11 and quickly reached orbit. Its first job was to meet its target vehicle. This was hard because the radar failed. Aldrin, who had studied rendezvous for his PhD, used a sextant to measure angles and the onboard computer to calculate what to do. Lovell then flew the spacecraft. They successfully docked with the target vehicle. Lovell then undocked and docked again.
Aldrin performed three spacewalks. The first was a "standup EVA" where he stood up in the open spacecraft door. This helped him compare the effort needed for different movements. It set a record of two hours and twenty minutes. The next day, Aldrin did his "free-flight EVA." He climbed to the target vehicle using hand-holds. He installed cables, connected electrical parts, and tested tools for Apollo. This spacewalk lasted two hours and six minutes. A third, shorter standup EVA was done on November 14 for photos and experiments.
Gemini 12 returned to Earth on November 15 after 59 orbits. The landing was smooth. The spacecraft landed only 5.5 kilometers (3.0 nmi) from the recovery ship, the aircraft carrier USS Wasp. This mission proved that astronauts could work well outside a spacecraft. This was very important for the Apollo missions to the Moon.
Apollo Program Missions
Apollo 1 Fire and Redesign
On January 27, 1967, astronauts Gus Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee died in the Apollo 1 fire. Lovell was in Washington, D.C., at the time. He attended the signing of the Outer Space Treaty. Four days later, Lovell flew to West Point, New York, for White's funeral. Lovell was a pallbearer at the service.
After the fire, the Apollo command module was redesigned. In April 1968, Lovell and other astronauts spent 48 hours in a command module in the Gulf of Mexico. They tested how well the spacecraft floated in water.
Apollo 8: First Trip to the Moon
Lovell was originally chosen as the command module pilot (CMP) for the backup crew of Apollo 9. He later joined the main crew for Apollo 9. However, delays in building the Lunar Module (LM) changed the plans. NASA decided to send Apollo 8 to orbit the Moon instead of just orbiting Earth. This meant the crews for Apollo 8 and Apollo 9 were swapped. Lovell, Frank Borman, and William Anders became the crew for Apollo 8. They trained for ten hours a day in a simulator.
Apollo 8 launched on December 21, 1968. Borman, Lovell, and Anders were the first crew to ride the powerful Saturn V rocket. They were also the first humans to travel to the Moon. Their spacecraft entered lunar orbit on December 24, Christmas Eve.
On Christmas Eve, the crew broadcast black-and-white TV pictures of the Moon's surface to Earth. Lovell, Borman, and Anders took turns reading from the Biblical creation story in the Book of Genesis. They orbited the Moon ten times in 20 hours and ten minutes. They began their return to Earth on Christmas Day. When radio contact was re-established, Lovell famously said, "Please be informed, there is a Santa Claus."
As the command module pilot, Lovell was the navigator. He used the spacecraft's sextant to find their position by measuring star locations. He used this information to make course corrections. Once, Lovell accidentally erased some computer memory. This caused the spacecraft to try to correct its position incorrectly. It took Lovell ten minutes to figure out the right values and another 15 minutes to enter them. Sixteen months later, during Apollo 13, Lovell would have to do a similar manual correction under much more serious conditions.
A feature on the Moon's surface, Mount Marilyn, was named by Lovell in honor of his wife.
The spacecraft landed safely in the ocean on December 27. It was estimated that the crew had traveled 933,419 kilometers (504,006 nmi).
Apollo 13: A Successful Failure
Lovell was the backup commander for Apollo 11. Later, he was scheduled to command Apollo 14. However, NASA decided to give the Apollo 13 command to Lovell's crew instead. This was to give the original Apollo 13 commander more training time. Lovell agreed, saying, "What could possibly be the difference between Apollo 13 and Apollo 14?"
Just seven days before launch, a backup crew member got rubella (German measles). This exposed both the main and backup crews. Only Ken Mattingly, the command module pilot, was not immune. So, two days before launch, Mattingly was replaced by Jack Swigert. Mattingly never got rubella and later flew to the Moon on Apollo 16.
Lovell launched aboard Apollo 13 on April 11, 1970. He and Fred Haise were supposed to land near the Fra Mauro crater. Scientists believed this area held clues about the Moon's early history.
"We have a problem here", Swigert informed mission control.
"This is Houston, say again please," the capsule communicator, Jack Lousma, responded.
"Houston, we've had a problem," Lovell replied.
During a routine check of an oxygen tank on the way to the Moon, a fire started inside the tank. NASA later found that damaged electrical wires likely caused a spark. This problem had been reported before the mission. The heaters in the tank had been left on for too long, which damaged the wires. The liquid oxygen quickly turned into a high-pressure gas, bursting the tank. This caused a second oxygen tank to leak. In just over two hours, all the oxygen was lost. This disabled the fuel cells that powered the Command/Service Module Odyssey.
Apollo 13 was not on a free-return trajectory (a path that would naturally loop around the Moon and back to Earth). The crew had to use the Apollo Lunar Module as a "lifeboat." It provided battery power, oxygen, and propulsion. Lovell and his crew re-established the free-return path. They swung around the Moon to return home. Based on calculations from Earth, Lovell had to adjust the course twice. He did this by manually controlling the Lunar Module's thrusters and engine.
Apollo 13 returned safely to Earth on April 17. Lovell said, "I'm afraid this is going to be the last lunar mission for a long time." However, NASA quickly reassured the public that more Moon missions would happen. Nine months later, Apollo 14 made the trip to Fra Mauro, with improved oxygen tanks.
Apollo 13's flight path gave Lovell, Haise, and Swigert the record for the farthest distance humans have ever traveled from Earth. Lovell is one of only three people to travel to the Moon twice. But unlike the other two, John Young and Gene Cernan, he never walked on it. He spent 715 hours and 5 minutes in space on his Gemini and Apollo flights. This was a personal record until the Skylab 3 mission in 1973.
Later Life and Achievements
Lovell retired from the Navy and the space program on March 1, 1973. He then worked at the Bay-Houston Towing Company in Houston, Texas, becoming CEO in 1975. He later worked for other companies, retiring as an executive vice president in 1991. Lovell received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award and the Silver Buffalo Award from the Boy Scouts of America.
He served on the boards of directors for several organizations. In 1999, his family opened a restaurant called "Lovell's of Lake Forest." It displayed items from his time with NASA and the movie Apollo 13. The restaurant closed in 2015.
Marilyn Lovell, his wife, passed away on August 27, 2023, at the age of 93.
After Frank Borman passed away on November 7, 2023, Lovell became the oldest living former astronaut. As of December 2024, he lives in a Chicago suburb.
Awards and Honors
Lovell has received many awards and honors, including:
- Navy Distinguished Service Medal
- Distinguished Flying Cross
- Presidential Medal of Freedom
- Congressional Space Medal of Honor
- NASA Distinguished Service Medal
- NASA Exceptional Service Medal
- Légion d'honneur (from France)
Other notable awards include:
- American Academy of Achievement Golden Plate Award (1968)
- National Geographic Society's Hubbard Medal (1969)
- Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) Gold Space Medals (1971)
- Space Foundation's General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award (2003)
- NASA Ambassadors of Exploration Award (2009)
- Laureate of the Order of Lincoln (2012)
The Gemini 6 and 7 crews won the Harmon Trophy in 1966. Lovell received a second Harmon International Trophy in 1967 for Gemini 12. The Apollo 8 crew won the Collier Trophy for 1968. President Richard Nixon also gave them the Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy in 1969. Lovell received a third Harmon International Trophy in 1969 for Apollo 8. The Apollo 8 crew was also named Time Magazine Men of the Year in 1968.
Lovell was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1982. He was also inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1993.
He received Chicago's medal of merit. The Apollo 13 crew received the City of New York Gold Medal. Lovell also received the 1970 City of Houston Medal for Valor.
Lovell was featured on the cover of Time magazine in 1969 and 1970. He was also on the cover of Life magazine in 1970.
He received the University of Wisconsin's Distinguished Alumni Service Award in 1970. He also received honorary degrees from Western Michigan University and William Paterson College. In 2016, he received an honorary degree from his original alma mater, the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Tributes and Namesakes
A small crater on the far side of the Moon was named Lovell in his honor in 1970. Discovery World in Milwaukee was renamed The James Lovell Museum of Science, Economics and Technology. It was located on James Lovell St., also named for him. The Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center was completed in 2010.
Organizations and Memberships
- Trustee of the National Space Institute
- Chairman of the National Eagle Scouts Association
- Fellow in the Society of Experimental Test Pilots
Images for kids
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Lovell before the Gemini 7 launch in a special G5C space suit. This suit had a zippered hood instead of a solid helmet.
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Lovell (second from left) and Buzz Aldrin (third from left) arrive on the recovery ship, the aircraft carrier USS Wasp, after the Gemini 12 flight.
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The Apollo 8 crew. From left to right: Lovell, William Anders, and Frank Borman.
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Lovell at the Command Module Guidance and Navigation station during the Apollo 8 mission.
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Marilyn Lovell and children Susan, Barbara, and Jeffrey meet with reporters after Apollo 13's safe return.
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Lovell reads a newspaper about Apollo 13's safe return aboard the recovery ship USS Iwo Jima.
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Lovell speaking at the North Carolina Science Festival in April 2017.
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Lovell (left), Gene Cernan (center), and Neil Armstrong during the 2010 Legends of Aerospace tour.
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Lovell and his wife Marilyn in 2009.
