Handout/NASA/AFP US astronaut Jim Lovell, the commander of the Apollo 13 Moon mission which nearly ended in disaster in 1970 after a mid-flight explosion, has died at the age of 97, NASA announced Friday. The former Navy pilot, who was portrayed by actor ...

A veteran of the early days of the U.S. space program has died. Astronaut Jim Lovell flew in space four times. He's best known as the commander of the ill-fated Apollo 13. That mission almost ended in catastrophe after an explosion crippled the spacecraft.

(CNN) — Famed NASA astronaut Jim Lovell, who commanded the harrowing Apollo 13 mission that was forced to abandon a lunar landing attempt in 1970, has died. He was 97. Lovell died on August 7 in Lake Forest, Illinois, according to a NASA news release.

US astronaut Jim Lovell, the commander of the Apollo 13 mission to the Moon which nearly ended in disaster in 1970 after a mid-flight explosion, has died at the age of 97, NASA announced Friday. Lovell, who was played by actor Tom Hanks in the 1995 movie ...