Award Has Been Presented Since 1952 By The Aero Club of New England

The Aero Club of New England will present the 2018 Godfrey L. Cabot Award to James A. Lovell, CAPT USN (Ret) at a ceremony to be held June 15 at the Harvard Club in Boston, MA.

Lovell (pictured) will be recognized for his significant contribution to the American Space Program, during which time he assisted in changing the course of space exploration through his pioneering efforts as Apollo astronaut and as Apollo Mission Commander.

For a time, Lovell was the world’s most traveled astronaut and part of several historical firsts with his flights on Gemini 7, Gemini 12, and Apollo 8. On Apollo 13, Lovell and his crew turned an imminent catastrophe into a “successful failure” as they brought home a damaged spaceship.

Lovell served as Command Module Pilot and Navigator on the epic six day journey of Apollo 8 — man’s maiden voyage, in December 1968. Apollo 8 was the first manned spacecraft to be lifted into near earth orbit by a 7.5 million pound thrust Saturn V launch vehicle and Lovell and crew became the first humans to leave the earth’s gravitational forces.

He completed his fourth mission as Spacecraft Commander of the Apollo 13 flight, and became the first man to journey twice to the moon. Apollo 13 was programmed for 10 days; however, the original flight plan was modified en route due to a failure of the Service Module cryogenic oxygen system.

(Source: Aero Club of New England. Image provided)

FMI: www.acone.org