Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit

Houston, We Have Splashdown

Friday, April 17, 2020, By News Staff
Share

April 17 is the 50th anniversary of the splashdown of Apollo 13 after the aborted mission to the moon. The event was watched by an estimated 40 million Americans. The Apollo 13 space mission was made famous for not landing on the moon and was immortalized in a 1995 movie starring Tom Hanks.

Jack Gould of The New York Times wrote that Apollo 13 “united the world in mutual concern more fully than another successful landing on the moon would have.”

Former NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe, University Professor at the Maxwell School, served four times as a presidential appointee: at NASA; as secretary of the Navy; as deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget and deputy assistant to the President; and as comptroller and CFO at the Defense Department. O’Keefe shares his thoughts on this historic Apollo mission.

“Friday, April 17, marks the 50th anniversary of the recovery of the Apollo 13 crew after six days of space flight, crippled after the second day forcing the crew to abort their mission to the moon. The nation—indeed the world—was captivated by the courage of Captain Jim Lovell and his crew as the drama unfolded leading to their safe return.

“This anxious episode of NASA’s space exploits demonstrated the problem-solving culture of the agency in the early days of space exploration. The team on the ground expended an extraordinary effort using the rudimentary tools available during that era to bring the crew back safely.

“The story continues to inspire generations of engineers and technical teams over this half century to never give up on the effort to overcome challenges. Today it also serves as a stark reminder of how difficult space travel is even with our present-day advanced technology. We are still in the early chapters of the human quest to explore the solar system and where we reside in this vast universe.

“Technical solutions applied to today’s limitations are taking shape. But it will require that we demonstrate the same courage, determination and persistence as the team that safely recovered the crew of Apollo 13 all those years ago.”

  • Author
  • Faculty Experts

News Staff

  • Sean O’Keefe

  • Recent
  • College of Visual and Performing Arts Welcomes New Full-Time Faculty
    Monday, September 25, 2023, By Erica Blust
  • School of Education Faculty Publish ‘Lesson Study With Mathematics and Science Preservice Teachers’
    Sunday, September 24, 2023, By Martin Walls
  • Water Main Break Near Bird Library to Be Repaired Monday
    Sunday, September 24, 2023, By News Staff
  • University Musicians, West Point Band to Perform Together This Weekend As Part of Events Around Military Appreciation Day
    Friday, September 22, 2023, By Christine Weber
  • Turning Young Enthusiasts Into Scientific Researchers
    Friday, September 22, 2023, By Wendy S. Loughlin

More In Uncategorized

Syracuse Views Fall 2023

We want to know how you experience Syracuse University. Take a photo and share it with us. We select photos from a variety of sources. Submit photos of your University experience using #SyracuseU on social media, fill out a submission…

Phillips Appointed Interim Director at Lender Center for Social Justice; Director Search Committee Named

The Lender Center for Social Justice has familiar leadership for the 2023-24 academic year while a renewed search for a permanent director is conducted. Kendall Phillips, founding co-director of the Lender Center and professor in the Department of Communication and…

Syracuse Views Spring 2023

We want to know how you experience Syracuse University. Take a photo and share it with us. We select photos from a variety of sources. Submit photos of your University experience using #SyracuseU on social media, fill out a submission…

Awards of Excellence Honoree: Maxwell has Been ‘a Guiding Hand’ in Public Service Career

Standing before an audience of fellow Maxwell School alumni gathered in Washington, D.C., for the second annual Maxwell Awards of Excellence, CNN anchor Boris Sanchez ’09 shared the motivation behind his work as a journalist. Sanchez emigrated from Cuba as…

NASA Honoring Those Who Were Aboard Space Shuttle Columbia And Other Late Astronauts

Sean O’Keefe, University Professor in the Maxwell School, was interviewed for the USA Today article “Twenty years later, loss of space shuttle Columbia still teaches us lessons.” The article emphasizes how NASA’s Memorial Grove is used to honor late astronauts,…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2023 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.