NASAWatch on CNN /HBO Max: Ad Astra Jim Lovell

Keith’s note: I was just on CNN on HBOMax with Jim Sciutto talking about Jim Lovell [Audio] transcript below.

Jim Sciutto: James Lovell who survived one of perhaps the most harrowing missions in spaceflight history has now passed away. NASA said that Apollo 13 commander James Lovell passed away thursday at the age of 97. Back in 1970 Lovell and two other astronauts were hoping to carry out the third U.S. moon landing but an oxygen tank on their spacecraft exploded two days into the mission. Here’s how Hollywood portrayed that moment. [Audio: “Houston we’ve had a problem”]. Tom Hanks played Lovell in the movie Apollo 13. The crew was forced to abort that mission Lovell’s steady hand worked to bring them safely back to Earth. NASA posted this on social media – Lovells’s life and work inspired millions. His courage under pressure helped forge our path to the moon and beyond, a journey that continues to this day.

Joining me now is Keith Cowing. He is the editor at NASAWatch.com Keith, good to have you back on. As I understand it, Houston, we have a problem. Was actually a bit of the change. A change in the wording of what he said from from space in that moment. But regardless, the leadership in a moment of crisis, tens of thousands of miles away from Earth, really, there’s nothing that compares to it in NASA history, is there?

Keith Cowing: Now, you know, you hear. The phrase the “Right stuff”. And I’ve met a lot. Of astronauts. This is the coolest cat of the Right Stuff, the nicest man you ever want to meet. He never said no when NASA would call him up to do something. I can’t think of another superlative that I could use. I mean, he was just a wonderful person up until the end.

Jim Sciutto: You know, there’s another famous line from Gene Kranz, who was the flight director at the time. He said, I have never lost an American in space. Sure as hell aren’t going to lose one. Now. This crew is coming home. You got to believe it. I just wonder how important was it for nasa to make good on that promise? In the moment? It was. It was a team effort, right? You know, certainly the leadership of Jim Lovell. But you had all those folks down on the ground who were figuring out ways to help get them home. And they, against the odds, succeeded.

Keith Cowing: Yeah. Remember the time this was, you know, I’ll be 70 in October, and I was one of those little boys watching all this. This was only 25 years after World War II. And I remember my parents reaction to this was sort of, you know, you do your job, you know, that’s what you’re there to do. Today … I don’t know, we would be different about all of it. But this was not really that much of a surprise that it went like this and how people reacted – people had gone through Apollo 1 and some of the Russians losses. So, you know, this was these guys were doing something in every everybody’s mind in service of our country. So, we kind of lost that these days. But back then it was real.

Jim Sciutto: And I mean, we’ve lost it to some degree. And that NASA’s role is smaller than it used to be because of the growth of private space companies such as spacex which has been good in many ways. But I wonder, will NASA ever capture the attention like it did all those years ago, particularly in a moment like this, with Jim Lovell leading that crew back?

Keith Cowing: Well, again, NASA and I are almost exactly the same age. And, you know, you get on, you get creaky, you think back to things as they were and all that, but that said, I think NASA is fine – and probably this was in the movie too – NASA’s finest days are ahead. I think the agency could become or renew its leadership. And again, a lot of people say, ‘let’s make NASA great again’. NASA has two spacecraft in interstellar space! They’ve gone to every planet. I mean, it’s just like we’re doing this. It’s just how do you get the mojo back? And I don’t know if that’s happening now. All these people being laid off, but I don’t think the agency is beyond that ability. You just got to get the right mix of all that together.

Jim Sciutto: And of course, there are plans in the works to put men and women perhaps back on the Moon. Keith Cowing thanks for doing this.