Captain James Lovell Jr, commander of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission, will present the keynote address at the NTEA convention in Las Vegas. Lovell is the recipient of numerous honors and awards including the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
" Apollo 13, a Successful Failure," will describe the leadership and courage that was necessary to guide the disabled spacecraft safely back to Earth after an explosion damaged its critical life-support systems. Lovell will tell how his crew modified their lunar module into a lifeboat when the cryogenic oxygen system failed. Emergency modifications to the lunar module conserved electrical power and water in sufficient supply to ensure crew's survival in space and return to Earth.
Before gaining distinction on Apollo 13, Lovell was a naval aviator and test pilot. He served as a backup pilot on the history-making Gemini 7 flight that produced the first rendezvous of two manned spacecraft in 1965. He was the backup commander for the Gemini 9 flight, and in 1966 he commanded the Gemini 12 spacecraft in concluding the Gemini program.
Lovell's work on the Apollo program includes being a command module pilot and navigator for the epic six-day journey on Apollo 8, during which he and his crew were the first humans to leave earth's gravitational force. He also was backup commander to Neil Armstrong for the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission.
After Apollo 13, Lovell joined the Bay-Houston Towing Company and became president and CEO in 1975. Lovell later joined Fisk telephone systems as president. He then was named executive vice-president of Centel Corporation after it acquired Fisk in 1980. Lovell is president of Lovell Communications, a company that distributes information to the United States Space Program.
Lovell holds degrees from the United States Naval Academy, the University of Southern California Aviation Safety School, and the Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Program. He received honorary degrees from Blackburn University, Mary Hardin-Baylor College, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Rockhurst College, Susquehanna University, Washington and Jefferson College, Western Michigan University, and William Patterson College.
Lovell is a fellow in the Society of Experimental test pilots and is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the Harmon, Collier, and Goddard Aerospace Trophies, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the French Legion of Honor, NASA Distinguished and Exceptional Service Medals, Naval Astronaut Wings, and two Flying Crosses.