Fred Haise

Haise and fellow Apollo 13 crewmen, James A. Lovell and Jack Swigert converted their lunar module “Aquarius” into an effective lifeboat.

Quick Facts

Haise served with the U.S. Air Force as a tactical fighter pilot.

Haise was commander of one of the two 2-man crews who piloted space shuttle approach and landing test (ALT) flights in 1977.

Haise was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1997.

Astronaut Fred Haise poses for his official NASA portrait with a globe of the moon and a starry background behind him. — S69-62238 (1969) — Astronaut Fred W. Haise Jr.

S72-35901 (25 April 1972) — Astronaut Thomas K. (Ken) Mattingly II, command module pilot of the Apollo 16 lunar landing mission, floats in space outside the spacecraft during his trans-Earth extravehicular activity (EVA), as seen in this reproduction taken from a color television transmission made by a color TV camera mounted on the Command Module (CM) hatch. Mattingly used hand-holds and a foot restraint to hold himself in position, and he was secured to the spacecraft by an umbilical tether line. During his EVA, Mattingly made an inspection of the Service Module’s (SM) Scientific Instrument Module (SIM) bay, and retrieved film cassettes from the Panoramic Camera and the Mapping Camera. The trans-Earth EVA occurred at ground elapsed time of 242:55, and 2:49 p.m. (CST), Tuesday, April 25, 1972.
NASA

The crew assigned to the STS-51C mission included (kneeling in front left to right) Loren J. Schriver, pilot; and Thomas K. Mattingly, II, commander. Standing, left to right, are Gary E. Payton, payload specialist; and mission specialists James F. Buchli, and Ellison L. Onzuka. Launched aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery on January 24, 1985 at 2:50:00 pm (EST), the STS-51C was the first mission dedicated to the Department of Defense (DOD).
NASA

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Biography

Fred Haise

Haise was lunar module pilot for Apollo 13.

Haise was one of the 19 astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966. He served as backup lunar module pilot for the Apollo 8 and 11 missions, and backup spacecraft commander for the Apollo 16 mission. Haise has logged 142 hours and 54 minutes in space.

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PORTRAITS - ASTRONAUT HAISE, FRED W., JR.

Astronaut Fred Haise

NASA

All Crewed Missions

Apollo 13

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Failure Was Not an Option for Apollo 13 Astronaut Fred Haise

Fred Haise didn’t get to see much of the NASA centers he visited while training during the Apollo era. After all, he was gearing up to go the Moon.

The former astronaut paid a visit to NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, he got quite the experience – especially at the historical gantry facility, known as the Lunar Landing Research Facility during the time Haise trained here to go to space.