APOLLO 13: AMERICA’S FINEST HOUR (San Diego Air & Space Museum), Apr 17, 2020, virtual, 5:00-7:00 pm ET (2:00-4:00 pm Pacific)

The San Diego Air and Space Museum will hold a virtual event via Facebook on April 17, 2020 from 2:00-4:00 pm Pacific Time (5:00-7:00 pm Eastern) to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the safe return of Apollo 13.

“Apollo 13: America’s Finest Hour” features an impressive group of Apollo 13 veterans, including the two surviving members of the crew, Jim Lovell and Fred Haise (Jack Swigert died in 1982), Lead Mission Flight Director Milt Windler, and Mission Flight Directors Gerry Griffin, Gene Kranz, and Glynn Lunney.  The event will be moderated by Jim Kidrick, President and CEO of the museum, and Mark Larson, Chairman of the Board.

Apollo 13 launched to the Moon on April 11, 1970.  Two days later, on April 13, an explosion in the Service Module put the lives of the crew in jeopardy and scuttled plans for Haise and Lovell to land on the Moon.  Instead, the ground control team led by the Mission Directors developed a plan to get them back to Earth by swinging around the Moon and splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on April 17.

More information is on the event’s website.