Apollo 13 45th Anniversary Celebration with Lovell, Haise and Kranz
Yesterday evening was some treat at the Cradle of Aviation in East Garden City/Union Dale NY. This was a special night because not only was it honoring the two astronauts and flight director and the NASA team who helped return them home safely from this mission. The night also honored those in attendance and who have passed away, that worked on the mission (let that be constructing the Grumman-made Lunar Module, to those who helped guide the team back home on April 17th, 1970). My grandfather, Anthony Schumcaher was one of the Grumman employees who had a hand in engineering the Lunar Module.
We received a behind the scene tour in the minds of Lovell, Haise (Astronauts) and Kranz (flight director) during and after the return of the Apollo 13 mission during their panel discussion. Their insights were full of wisdom. All three shared the same thought process. Many would perceive this mission as a failure but great things came from the event. A movie, books, highlights of Long Island’s history, and ultimately an amazing story of great leadership and teamwork. At the beginning of the Apollo 13 mission, there was not real media coverage given. NASA's intention was to get some coverage to bring a bit more attention to the mission, well, they got the whole nations attention and some.
Grumman-made Lunar Module
Gene Kranz (Lead Flight Director for Apollo 13). He is the older gentleman in the center of the photo.
