On February 5, 2015, the San Diego Union-Tribune (
visit link) ran the following story:
"ASTRONAUTS WILL MAKE S.D. VISIT
By Gary Robbins 5:05 A.M.FEB. 5, 2015
SAN DIEGO — At least eight former astronauts are scheduled to visit the San Diego Air & Space Museum in Balboa Park on March 21 to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Apollo 13, the flight that experienced an explosion that forced the crew to make an emergency return to Earth.
For the same event, the museum has booked four former NASA flight directors who worked on historic missions. The past astronauts who have committed to attending the commemoration include:
• Jim Lovell and Fred Haise of Apollo 13 (third crew member Jack Swigert has died).
• Bill Anders, who flew on Apollo 8.
• Gene Cernan, an Apollo astronaut and the last man to walk on the moon.
They’re set to be joined by Al Worden, who flew on Apollo 15; Walt Cunningham, a member of the Apollo 7 crew; Joe Engle, who was part of several space shuttle crews; and Rusty Schweickart, who flew on Apollo 9.
The former flight directors are Glynn Lunney, Gerry Griffin, Gene Kranz and Milt Windler.
Jim Kidrick, the museum’s president, said in a statement: “(On) March 21, we honor the Apollo 13 mission and the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo legacy, events in history which truly demonstrated that failure was never an option in space. This is the opportunity for those attending to retrace the many successes, and sometimes tragedies, which accompanied the acceptance of President Kennedy’s challenge to land on the moon within a decade.
“This very special evening recounts firsthand the true saga of ingenuity, risk and triumph from America’s heroes. There’s no better time than this, during our 2015 (Balboa Park) Centennial, to bring so many history makers together in one location … right here in San Diego, home of the Atlas rocket and so many other contributions to space excellence.”
For more info, go to sandiegoairandspace.org."