Fred Haise Fast Facts
CNN Editorial Research
Here’s a look at the life of astronaut Fred Haise.
Personal
Birth date: November 14, 1933
Birth place: Biloxi, Mississippi
Birth name: Fred Wallace Haise Jr.
Father: Fred Haise Sr.
Mother: Lucille (Blacksher) Haise
Marriages: Frances Patt (Price) Haise (1979-February 7, 2022, her death); Mary Griffin Grant (June 4, 1954-1978, divorced)
Children: with Mary Grant: Thomas Jesse, 1970; Stephen William, 1961; Frederick Thomas, 1958; Mary Margaret, 1956
Education: University of Oklahoma, B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering, 1959
Military service: US Navy, 1952-1954 naval aviation cadet; US Marine Corps, 1954-1956; Oklahoma Air National Guard, 1957-1963; US Air Force, 1961-1962, Captain
Other Facts
Served in the backup crew for Apollo 11 with Jim Lovell and William Anders.
Test pilot of the Space Shuttle Enterprise.
Highly involved in the fundraising and building of the Infinity Science Center in Mississippi.
Timeline
1952 – Joins the US Navy as a naval aviation cadet at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida.
1954-1956 – Is assigned to the US Marine Corp as a fighter pilot.
1957 – Joins the Oklahoma Air National Guard.
1961-1962 – Is called for active duty by the US Air Force.
1956-1966 – Research test pilot.
April 1966 – Haise is part of the fifth group of men chosen by NASA to become astronauts.
April 11-17, 1970 – Serves as the Lunar Module Pilot of Apollo 13 with Commander Jim Lovell and Command Module Pilot John L. Swigert Jr. The mission lasts five days, 22 hours, 54 minutes, and 41 seconds. An oxygen tank explosion two and half days into the flight causes the mission to be aborted and the remaining time is spent working towards the crew’s safe return.
April 17, 1970 – The crew returns to earth safely, splashing down in the South Pacific Ocean.
April 18, 1970 – Receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Nixon.
August 23, 1973 – Crashes a World War II training plane and suffers second degree burns over 65% of his body.
August 12, 1977 – Pilots the first test flight of the Space Shuttle Enterprise.
June 29, 1979 – Retires from NASA.
1979-1996 – Works for Grumman Aerospace Corporation.
October 4, 1997 – Is inducted into the US Astronaut Hall of Fame.
April 17, 2021 – A bronze statue of the three Apollo 13 astronauts is formally unveiled in Houston, capturing the moment that Haise, Lovell and Swigert stepped safely onto the USS Iwo Jima. The statue is part of a larger exhibit at Space Center Houston titled, “Apollo 13: Failure is not an option.”
February 13, 2022 – A statue of Haise is unveiled in his hometown of Biloxi, Mississippi.
April 5, 2022 – His memoir, “Never Panic Early: An Apollo 13 Astronaut’s Journey,” written with Bill Moore, is published.
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