Jim Lovell, Apollo 13 commander, has died

For an astronaut, it has to be a triumph to die of old age or natural causes. Doubly so for the crew of Apollo 13.

I was lucky enough to have met and spent some time with Jim Lovell. An absolute gentleman, and it was a joy to have been in his company.

Ad Astra ...

He came to speak at a small awards ceremony at my university. He came into the room and said "sorry, I know you were all expecting Tom Hanks!"

Really seemed like a great guy, shame to hear about his passing.

"We" [0] need to get back up there before they're all gone.

[0] I say "We" but I'm not American...

An utter shame that he never got a chance to actually touch down on the moon. IMO, he, and everyone involved with Apollo 13 after it left the ground, truly represent the peak of NASA personnel. Listening to the calm, cool manner in which Jim and everyone else conducted themselves with while their spacecraft was literally falling apart around them give me chills.

Godspeed sir

Houston, I have a problem with my eyes.