CHICAGO (AP) — James Lovell, the commander of Apollo 13 who helped turn a failed moon mission into a triumph of on-the-fly can-do engineering, has died. He was 97.

Lovell died Thursday in Lake Forest, Illinois, NASA said in a statement on Friday.

“ Jim’s character and steadfast courage helped our nation reach the Moon and turned a potential tragedy into a success from which we learned an enormous amount,” NASA said. "We mourn his passing even as we celebrate his achievements.”

Astronaut James Lovell, Jr. is hoisted in a cage from rubber life raft after recovery from space ship, Dec. 27, 1968. (AP Photo)

One of NASA's most traveled astronauts in the agency's first decade, Lovell flew four times — Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8 and Apollo 13 — with the two Apollo flights riveting the folk

See Full Page