James Lovell, the commander of the famous Apollo 13 mission, died Thursday in Illinois. He was 97.
Lovell was one of NASA's most experienced astronauts and flew four missions in space. He became world-famous for his role as commander of the Apollo 13 mission in April 1970, when an oxygen tank exploded en route to the moon. What was supposed to be a routine mission to the moon suddenly became a fight for life. Lovell and the two other astronauts had to use the lunar lander as a lifeboat for four cold days as they circled the moon and fought to get home.
"We knew we were in big, big trouble," Lovell later told NASA's historian. It was Lovell who famously said the words "Houston, we've had a problem" when the crisis occurred.
In the 1995 film "Apollo 13," in which Tom Hanks played Lovell, the phrase was changed to "Houston, we have a problem." The rescue mission became one of NASA's proudest moments, demonstrating that the space agency could solve the most complex problems under extreme pressure.
"I have no regrets other than never walking on the moon," Lovell said in a 1995 interview.
Lovell also flew on the Apollo 8 mission in 1968, the first to leave Earth's orbit and orbit the moon. He held the world record for the longest time in space with over 715 hours.
RIP
