Museum Of Flight Gala Honors Apollo 13 Mission

By Stephanie Cartier

Apollo 13 is one of the best known of the lunar landing attempts, dubbed by NASA "a successful failure." The bravery of those in space and on the ground who brought the troubled spacecraft home made history. And now, the crew and flight team are lending their celebrity to help raise money for Seattle's Museum of Flight.

On June 11th, the museum's 2005 Wings of Heroes Gala will honor the 35th anniversary of the famed Apollo 13 mission by hosting astronauts Jim Lovell and Fred Haise, Jr., lead flight director Gene Kranz, and back-up astronaut T.K. Mattingly.

Several members of the mission control team who worked feverishly to bring the crew home will also attend. "We're delighted to get the support of people with that kind of drawing power,” says Craig O'Neill, director of marketing at the museum.

About one thousand people are expected to attend the black-tie event, where they'll have the chance to bid on about a dozen items that have flown in space. Coordinators expect the event to bring in about $1 million for the museum's educational programming.

The gala is sold out, but the museum will host events Sunday, June 12, that will be open to the general public. There are no confirmations yet as to who will attend the public event, but museum officials guarantee that members of the Apollo program will be available to share stories and sign books between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., and the program is free with museum admission.

Apollo 13 made history when the third mission aiming to land on the moon quickly turned into a mission to avoid disaster. Mission controllers worked tirelessly to save the lives of the astronauts after an oxygen tank in the service module exploded, wiping out the power systems and disabling the spacecraft.

While hosting the Apollo 13 crew and mission controllers is a major event, the museum boasts an impressive roster of guest speakers and authors throughout the year. "We're very fortunate to present astronauts two to three times a year,” O'Neill says. Recently, visitors met Commander Butch Voris, founder of the legendary Blue Angels.

Since the mid-1990s, the Museum of Flight has held an annual, large-scale summer fundraiser. Last year, the gala attracted Medal of Honor winners, members of the Flying Tigers, American Fighter Aces, and several Tuskegee Airmen. The event coincided with the opening of the museum's "Personal Courage Wing,” which commemorates those involved in fighter aviation in World War I and World War II. "The museum really values its relationships with astronauts and aviation celebrities,” says O'Neill.

The money raised at the annual summer events directly benefits the youth education mission of the museum. "Flight is a very powerful tool to help generate interest in math and science,” says O'Neill. The museum has worked with more than 75,000 school students annually, on-site or through outreach programs.

Besides all of the happenings, the museum itself is impressive. Visitors can tour a former Air Force One, the only Concorde on the west coast, and the "Red Barn,” the original Boeing manufacturing plant.

Interactive exhibits offer something of interest for just about everyone. "Certainly you don't have to be an airplane nut to have an afternoon of intense enjoyment at the museum,” says O'Neill. But it takes more than an afternoon to see it all. If you go, plan your trip carefully. The volume of exhibits means you probably won't see the entire collection in one trip.

To see the Museum of Flight's calendar, visit www.museumofflight.org

Stephanie Cartier is pursuing a master's degree in Technical Communication at the University of Washington.

Top: Seattle's Museum of Flight is home to many impressive and historic aircraft.

Bottom: Exterior view of the Museum of Flight. Photos: Museum of Flight