San Diego Air & Space Museum Hosting Special Apollo 14 50th Anniversary Video Reunion

The prime crew of the Apollo 14 lunar landing mission. From left to right they are: Command Module pilot, Stuart A. Roosa, Commander, Alan B. Shepard Jr. and Lunar Module pilot Edgar D. Mitchell. The Apollo 14 mission emblem is in the background.

DDG 51 Flight III Program Update wi...
DDG 51 Flight III Program Update with Capt. Mark Vandroff at SAS 2016

San Diego, CA – February 16, 2021 – The San Diego Air & Space Museum is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 14, the third mission to successfully put American astronauts on the Moon, with two special video reunions featuring Flight Director Gerry Griffin and Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise, one of the CAPCOMS on Apollo 14. Part 1 of the reunion is currently airing on the Museum’s YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/V-0gY1jP9AM Part 2 will debut this Friday Feb. 19 beginning at 4 p.m. Pacific Time on the Museum’s website at: https://sandiegoairandspace.org/apollo14 On Jan. 31, 1971, Commander Alan Shepard, America’s first man in space during the Mercury program in 1961, Command Module Pilot Stuart Roosa, and Lunar Module Pilot Edgar Mitchell, launched from Cape Kennedy atop a massive Saturn V rocket on their nine day mission to the Moon. It was NASA’s first mission after the nearly-tragic explosion and fire on Apollo 13, which ultimately resulted in several improvements to the Command Service Module on Apollo 14 and subsequent Apollo flights.

Alan Shepard and the American flag on the Moon, Apollo 14, February 1971 (photo by Edgar Mitchell)

By the time of the launch of Apollo 14, NASA had an all-star team in Mission Control. Griffin was a veteran Flight Director of several previous Apollo flights and was surrounded by several Flight Directors who also had taken part in multiple Apollo missions. Haise also had extensive experience in the Apollo program, having flown to the Moon on Apollo 13 and having served on the back up crews for Apollos 8, 9 and 11. He volunteered to be a CAPCOM on Apollo 14 because of his extensive knowledge of the mission parameters after training for them on Apollo 13.

he Apollo 14 launch vehicle is rolled out from the Vehicle Assembly Building, November 9, 1970

During the video reunions, Griffin and Haise share stories and anecdotes about Apollo 14 specifically and about the Apollo program overall. During Part 2, they also share their thoughts about the current and future state of the world’s space programs. Part 1: https://youtu.be/V-0gY1jP9AM Part 2 will debut this Friday Feb. 19 at 4 p.m. Pacific; https://sandiegoairandspace.org/apollo14

The San Diego Air & Space Museum is California’s official air and space museum and education center. The Museum is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and was the first aero-themed Museum to be accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. The Museum is located at 2001 Pan American Plaza, Balboa Park, San Diego, CA 92101. The Museum and gift store are open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with admissions until 4:30 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas DayThe Museum is temporarily closed to the public in the interest of public health concerns.

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