By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

The next event in the Fort Hays State University Sebelius Lecture Series is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center, promising to bring a unique experience to attendees as they hear from NASA astronauts James Lovell and Fred Haise along with mission control flight director Gene Krantz.

As astronauts during the Apollo program, Lovell and Haise were already well-known figures in the space program during the 1960s but their exploits during the failed Apollo 13 mission that were retold in the 1995 film “Apollo 13” brought all three into the national consciousness once again.

“I think we are going to see a lot of people interested,” said Vince Bowhay, assistant director of the Memorial Union for special events and student activities. “Several generations watched it happen live on TV, while another generation watched it be portrayed in a movie with Tom Hanks.”

The mission would have been the third to land people on the moon, but a rupture in an oxygen tank crippled the service module on the craft — 200,000 miles from earth.

The three men will recount their experiences during the lecture while also discussing the future of the U.S. space program.

“I think there is always a fascination with space and what our next steps in space are,” Bowhay said.

The Sebelius Lecture Series is named for former U.S. Rep Keith Sebelius, one of the most notable FHSU alumni, and is sponsored by approximately 200 patrons.

For more about the speakers, the series or Sebelius click here.