American astronaut and international hero Jim Lovell has died, on August 7, 2025, in Lake Forest, Illinois, at the age of 97. He went into space four times, on Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8, and Apollo 13. He spent a total of 29 days, 19 hours, and 5 minutes in space. He was an engineer, a test pilot, an astronaut, a husband, a father, an author, a restauranteur, and an administrator. He lived a long full life, and we hope, a happy one. He winessed a great deal of history in nearly a century and made quite a bit of history himself. Captain Lovell will be long mourned, and longer remembered.

Education

• University of Wisconsin; United States Naval Academy, bachelor
  of science, 1952
• Test Pilot School, NATC, Patuxent River, Maryland, 1958
• Aviation Safety School, University of Southern California, 1961
• Advanced Management Program, Harvard Business School, 1971
• Honorary doctorates from Rockhurst college, Illinois Wesleyan University, Western Michigan University, Mary Hardin-Baylor College and Milwaukee School of Engineering.

Lovell served wiyh honor in the United States Navy from 1952 to 1973, retiring with the rank of captain.

Like most of the early astronauts, Captain Lovell was an engineer and a test pilot.

As a naval aviator, Lovell flew F2H Banshee night fighters. He served aboard the USS Shangri-La. He was program manager of the Navy’s McConnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II program. Lovell was later a flight instructor and safety engineering officer.

Apollo 13

Captain Lovell was the first human being to fly into space four times. Lovell is best remembered as the heroic commander of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission.

Apollo 13 (April 11–17, 1970) was supposed to be the third manned moon landing. However, as we all know, Lovell sent back the famous message, “Okay, Houston, we’ve had a problem.” An oxygen tank exploded, damaging the insulation and losing much of the necessary oxygen. Lovell and the rest of his crew, John Swigert and Fred Haise, were forced to take shelter in the landing module. The landing module was designed to support two men for two days, not three men for four days. But with the help of Mission Control back on Earth, Captain Lovell was able to return his crew safely to Earth. If you are old enough to remember the Spring of 1970, you’ll recall how the whole world pulled together in a way not seen before or since, in support of the astronauts.

Tom Hanks, who played Jim Lovell in the movie Apollo 13 )1995) said:  “There are people who dare, who dream, and lead others to places we couldn’t reach alone. Jim Lovell, who spent more time deeper in space than anyone else on our planet for a long time, was such a person.” Mr. Hanks was right,

Journalist Jeffrey Kruger pointed out when s “Space historians debate what the most noteworthy missions of all time are and virtually all of them would put Yuri Gagarin’s single orbit of the Earth in 1961—making him the first human being in space—on the list. After that, most would include Apollo 8, Apollo 11—the first moon landing—and Apollo 13. Lovell flew on two of them.”

Honors and Awards

When a viable lunar colony is established, I have no doubt that schools and public gardens will be named in Lovell’s honor.

• Eagle Scout; Sam Houston Area Council 1976
• Distinguished Eagle Scout Award; Presidential Medal for Freedom, 1970; NASA
• Distinguished Service Medal: two Navy Distinguished Flying Crosses; 1967 FAI De
• Laval and Gold Space Medals (Athens, Greece); the American Academy of Achievement Golden Plate Award; City of New
• York Gold Medal in 1969; City of Houston Medal for Valor in 1969; the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
• special Trustees Award, 1969; the Institute of Navigation Award, 1969; the University of Wisconsin’s Distinguished Alumni
• Service Award, 1970; co-recipient of the American Astronautical Society Flight Achievement Awards, 1966 and 1968; the
• Harmon International Trophy, 1966, 1967 and 1969; the Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy, 1969; the H. H. Arnold
• Trophy, 1969; General Thomas D. White USAF Space Trophy, 1969; Robert J. Collier Trophy, 1968; Henry G. Bennett
• Distinguished Service Award; and the AIAA Haley Astronautics Award, 1970.

James Arthur Lovell, Jr. was born March 26, 1928 in Cleveland, Ohio. He was preceded in death by his wife, Marilyn, 1952-2023. He is survived by his four children, Barbara, James, Susan, and Jeffrey, and his grandchildren to whom we offer our deepest condolences.