Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise joins Terri and her pilot husband Ron Guthrie on Big Blend Radio's "Travel with Terri Podcast" for a special Veterans Day conversation about a journey most of us will never take: out into space and safely back again.
Fred, a native of Biloxi, Mississippi, was the lunar module pilot on Apollo 13 in 1970. When an oxygen tank exploded two days into the flight, a Moon landing became what Terri calls the greatest survival story in space exploration history. In his own words, Fred takes us inside the crisis: the crew change just days before launch, the Moon landing he lost, powering up a spacecraft that was never meant to be restarted, and the thousands of people on the ground who tested every fix before it was ever sent up to the crew.
Because it's Veterans Day, Fred also reflects on his service as a Navy aviation cadet, Marine Corps fighter pilot and Air National Guard pilot, with three honorable discharges framed in his office. Ron, a retired fighter pilot, shares stories of his own. The conversation also covers Fred's test flights of Space Shuttle Enterprise, the EAA Aviation Museum and AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, his advice for young people choosing a career, and how Apollo 13 compares with today's Artemis missions.
Fred turns 93 on November 14, 2026. To learn more about his life story, read his book, "Never Panic Early."
LEARN MORE ABOUT FRED HAISE
- Follow Fred: https://fredhaise.space/
- "Never Panic Early" Book onAmazon): https://www.amazon.com/dp/1588347133
- EAA Aviation Museum: https://www.eaa.org/eaa-museum
- NASA: https://www.nasa.gov/
TRAVEL WITH TERRI
- Terri's website: https://travelwithterri.com
- Travel with Terri Podcast: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/travel-with-terri
- The Luxe Explorer digital podcast magazine: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/the-luxe-explorer-magazine
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