By TONY GUERRERO
Hays Post
An Apollo 13 astronaut shared his firsthand account of a near-disaster and remarkable survival with a Hays audience.
Ahead of the second annual Downtown Hays Science Festival, STEM Harvest is hosting an exclusive “Adventure in Space” event featuring a live virtual Q&A with Apollo 13 Lunar Module Pilot Fred Haise.
The first session with Haise took place on Tuesday, with a second session set for 6:45 p.m. Saturday at 507 Main St. Priority will be given to out-of-town students and families traveling to Hays for the Saturday session.
Attendance for the Adventures in Space events is limited to 100 participants per session. Admission is free, but pre-registration is required. You can learn more about the evening itinerary here.
Haise served as the lunar module pilot on the Apollo 13 mission in 1970. A former fighter and research pilot, Haise is one of 24 people to have flown to the moon.
"I've been blessed," Haise said. "I'm 92 years old. I look backwards over my life and I feel blessed to have had a great career."
His role in the safe return of the Apollo 13 crew, despite a mission-critical failure, demonstrated outstanding skills and composure, earning him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Haise’s 44-year career spans aeronautics, astronautics and aerospace. He has been recognized with honors including his 2023 induction into the National Aviation Hall of Fame and the publication of his memoir, “Never Panic Early.”
The event began with Logan Jaeren, a senior product design leader and lifelong space enthusiast, discussing mission patches and their symbolism as attendees created their own.
This was followed by a pizza dinner and a screening of the documentary “Apollo 13: Home Safe.” The event concluded with attendees asking Haise questions about his experience, which Jaeren described as a “successful failure.”
"It was a lunar landing mission that failed to accomplish the mission of landing on the moon, but it was incredibly successful in demonstrating the teamwork involved."
Apollo 13 would have been the third moon landing, but the mission was aborted after an oxygen tank exploded two days into the flight, disabling its electrical and life-support systems. Haise and his crewmates instead looped around the moon and returned to Earth safely.
Haise was accompanied by Jim Lovell and and Jack Swigert.
One young attendee asked if the mission had used modern technology but experienced the same oxygen tank failure, whether the outcome would have been different.
"No. We lost the capsule. The capsule was shut down completely. It was fortunate that we had a landing mission, so we did have a lunar module that was fully prepared and equipped. That gave us the second spacecraft to try to live off of for days," Haise said.
Haise said as he and his crew flew over the planned Apollo 13 landing site on the moon, he felt disappointment and a sinking feeling when he realized an oxygen tank had been lost.
"I knew I lost my chance," he said.
On the return to Earth, Haise described the view outside his window as the spacecraft heated up while traveling at 25,000 miles an hour before parachutes deployed between 10,000 and 60,000 feet ahead of splashdown.
Haise was asked if the 1995 film “Apollo 13,” directed by Ron Howard, accurately portrayed the mission.
"Yes and no ... one of the failings of the move was showing a limited team," Haise said. "There were people across the coutry, experts and engineers back the plants that had built the spacecraft. Some of those people were called on to help solve some of the issues we had to face."
“I complained to Ron Howard that he didn’t show enough people, but he said ‘you only got a certain amount of time for a movie. You can only develop so many characters.’”
Haise said his greatest accomplishment in space and aviation was his work on the space shuttle enterprise, where he was heavily involved in its design and development.
A concern Haise said he has for the future of space exploration is whether programs will continue to receive enough funding, which he added is a concern for any program, especially with changing presidential administrations and Congress.
Haise said the Apollo 13 mission did not significantly change his perspective on life, but he did gain an appreciation for the beauty of Earth. His message to young attendees was to align their talents with their interests and future careers.
“We’re all born and blessed with talent and it’s very important for your life ahead to think ahead and align that talent with how you’re going to use it best because then, you will end up enjoying most of the work you do. You’ll feel rewarded,” he said.
The Kansas Science Festival is set for May 3 and invites K-12 students, families, and community members from across Kansas to explore, question and discover together. Free event stations will spread along Main Street in downtown Hays, from the Hays Public Library to STEM Harvest.
You can learn more about Haise's story on his website.