America lost one of its heroes this week with the passing of astronaut Jim Lovell, who died Thursday at age 97.
His obituary in the NY Times reads, in part:
James A. Lovell Jr., the commander of the three-man Apollo 13 spacecraft that survived a near catastrophic explosion as it approached the moon in April 1970, before safely returning to Earth in an extraordinary rescue operation, died on Thursday in Lake Forest, Ill. He was 97.
His family confirmed his death in a statement to NASA. He lived in Lake Forest.
Captain Lovell, a former Navy test pilot, flew for some 715 hours in space, the most of any astronaut in the pioneering Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs forged by the United States as it vied with the Soviet Union to put a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s.
He took part in two Gemini missions that orbited Earth and was one of the three astronauts aboard Apollo 8, the first spaceflight to orbit the moon, before he was chosen by NASA for Apollo 13.
It was Lovell's book on the latter mission, “Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13,” on which the 1995 Academy Award-winning movie, "Apollo 13," was based. And now the man who played him in the blockbuster film, Tom Hanks, has penned an inspiring in memoriam to him.
"There are people who dare, who dream, and who lead others to the place we would not go on our own. Jim Lovell, who for a long while had gone farther into space and for longer than any other person of our planet, was that kind of guy," Hanks wrote on his Instagram account. "His many voyages around Earth and on to so-very-close to the moon were not made for riches or celebrity, but because such challenges as those are what fuels the course of being alive — and who better than Jim Lovell to make those voyages. On this night of a full Moon, he passes on — to the heavens, to the cosmos, to the stars. God speed you, on this next voyage, Jim Lovell," the actor added.
Also chiming in to honor and remember the hero was "Apollo 13" director Ron Howard, according to the Variety story linked above.
“Rest in peace, Commander Lovell.," he said in a statement. "Navy test pilot, Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8 and, of course, Apollo 13. Simply knowing Jim has been a tremendous honor. His combination of intellect, courage and commitment to duty made him one of the most remarkable individuals I’ve ever met. His support of our movie-making efforts inspired authenticity and elevated our process in so many ways. Thank you, sir, for your service to our country and to humankind.”
As readers might have seen earlier this week, NASA under the second Trump administration is reportedly readying plans to take us back to the Moon by 2030, with ambitious plans to build a nuclear reactor on the satellite's surface, as my colleague Katie Jerkovich wrote.
READ MORE: Trump’s Taking Us Back to the Moon, and This Time We Are Doing a Lot More Than Just Setting Foot
Here's more about Lovell's life leading up to his astronaut years, from the NYT obit linked above:
James Arthur Lovell Jr., who was known as Jim, was born in Cleveland on March 25, 1928, the only child of James Arthur and Blanche (Masek) Lovell. His father, a salesman for a coal furnace company, died in an auto accident when he was a child, and the boy and his mother settled in Milwaukee, where he attended high school.
He was intrigued by the possibility of space travel, and as a teenager he and a friend built a rocket using gunpowder. It blew up in midair, but his life course was set.
He attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison for two years, then entered the Naval Academy, graduating in 1952. After serving as a Navy test pilot, he was selected in September 1962 as a NASA astronaut in a group that would be trained for Gemini and Apollo flights.
When Americans mourn a hero, it's an appropriate time to pause politics. Both Hanks and Howard do exactly that here, unlike how many of their number on the Left usually react to the deaths of public figures. The U.S. space program's storied history--and its heroes--are bigger than all of us.
RIP, hero.
Enjoy the original trailer for "Apollo 13," which includes the famous quote, "Houston, we have a problem!" below: