Apollo 13 astronaut to present 'Failure Is Not an Option' at
Millikin's Kirkland Center on April 22
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[March 22, 2014]
DECATUR —
Fred Haise, Apollo 13 astronaut and Presidential Medal of Freedom
recipient, will present "Failure Is Not an Option" on April 22 at
7:30 p.m. in the Kirkland Fine Arts Center on Millikin's campus. The
event is free and open to the public. No tickets or reservations are
required. |
Although best known as a crew member on the ill-fated Apollo 13
lunar mission, Haise began his 20-year NASA career as an
aeronautical research pilot, serving on the backup crew for the
Apollo 8, 11 and 16 missions. In 1973, while working as a pilot on
the set of the Pearl Harbor movie "Tora! Tora! Tora!," Haise was
severely burned in a plane crash. After 14 months of recovery and
rehabilitation, he regained flight status, and in 1977, he served as
commander of the space shuttle Enterprise for the approach and
landing program at Edwards Air Force Base. Over his 25 years in the
service and with NASA, Haise logged 9,100 hours of flying time in
more than 80 types of aircraft. Haise left NASA in 1979 to become a
test pilot and executive with Grumman Aerospace Corp. In 1996, he
retired as president of Northrop Grumman Technical Services.
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Haise was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in
1970 by President Richard Nixon. He was also honored with the
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Haley
Astronautics Award, the General Thomas D. White Space Trophy, the
NASA Distinguished Service Medal, the NASA Exceptional Service
Award, the NASA Special Achievement Award and induction into the
Astronaut Hall of Fame.
Haise's presentation is the 2014 T.W. Samuels Lecture. The T.W.
Samuels Lecture Series was created in 1977 in honor of attorney T.W.
Samuels, senior partner in the Decatur law firm of Samuels, Miller,
Schroeder, Jackson and Sly. Samuels was active in Decatur community
affairs until his death in 1989 at age 103. Samuels' sons, William
J. Samuels of Menlo Park, Calif., and the late Dr. Thomas W. Samuels
Jr., created an endowment fund to finance the series in recognition
of their father. The endowment is used to bring great thinkers and
speakers to Millikin for the purpose of community enrichment.
[Text from file
received from Millikin
University] |