David K. Li is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.
Astronaut Thomas K. 'TK' Mattingly, best known for helping to guide the Apollo 13 mission home from near-catastrophe in 1970, has died, officials said Thursday. He was 87. “We lost one of our country’s heroes on Oct. 31.
astronaut TK Mattingly was key to the success of our Apollo Program, and his shining personality will ensure he is remembered throughout history,' Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement. Mattingly was the command module pilot aboard Apollo 16 when astronauts explored the moon’s Descartes Highlands in 1972. He had been slated to be aboard Apollo 13 but was removed 72 hours before lift due a possible exposure to Rubella. An on-board explosion aboard Apollo 13 prompted the famous call for help from John 'Jack' Swigert, “Houston, we’ve had a problem here,” which has been popularly quoted as, 'Houston, we have a problem.
was after exposure to rubella just before the launch of Apollo 13,' Nelson said. 'He stayed behind and provided key real-time decisions to successfully bring home the wounded spacecraft and the crew of Apollo 13 — astronauts James Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise.'
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