Captain James Lovell spoke to an enthusiastic audience of about 1,500 people at Wake Forest University on this date in 1971. He talked about his four trips into space, and in particular he talked about the ill-fated Apollo 13 flight and showed a film about the flight.
Lovell was in town to represent the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, for which Lovell serves as a consultant. He emphasized the importance of the physical fitness training which he undergoes regularly.
He answered questions from the audience about his flights and about the space program. He said at that time that he would consider participating in another space flight.
The audience clearly enjoyed hearing from and seeing in person an astronaut. It would be 24 years before the movie “Apollo 13” was made and the world could experience the drama of the flight on the big screen.
In the photo, Captain Lovell is flanked by Dr. Mike Pollock and Wake Forest president James Ralph Scales.
Photo courtesy of Forsyth County Public Library Photograph Collection.
