Thursday, April 3, 2008

Fred Haise keynotes Mississippi Economic Council Meeting

Fred Haise
Jackson Clarion-Ledger Biloxi native and Apollo 13 LM pilot Fred Haise will keynote the annual Mississippi Economic Council meeting, May 7 at the Jackson Marriott.

"Failure is Not an Option," will be the topic of Haise's speech. More than 1,000 people are expected to attend.

Haise, who was one of the 19 astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966, gained fame as crew member on the infamous Apollo 13 mission in 1970. Haise was backup to Jim Lovell, later his commander on Apollo 13, as LM pilot for Apollo 8 in 1968 and for Buzz Aldrin on Apollo 11 in 1969. After Apollo 13 returned safely in April 1970, he served as backup for John Young as commander of Apollo 16 in 1972.