NASA will honor the late
astronaut John "Jack" L. Swigert, Jr., with the presentation of an
Ambassador of Exploration Award for his involvement in the U.S. space
program. During a ceremony with Apollo 13 spacecraft commander James Lovell
on Friday, May 23, Swigert's sister Virginia will accept the award at and
present it for display to the Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum in
Denver, Colo. The award presentation will highlight the opening of the
museum's new exhibit on Colorado's Astronauts.
NASA is giving the Ambassador of Exploration Award to the first
generation of explorers in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space programs
for realizing America's goal of going to the moon. The award is a moon rock
encased in Lucite and mounted for public display. The rock is part of the
842 pounds of lunar samples collected during the six Apollo expeditions
from 1969 to 1972.
Swigert was born in Denver and received a bachelor of science degree in
mechanical engineering from the University of Colorado in 1953. Swigert was
the command module pilot for the Apollo 13 mission. He was elected to the
U.S. House of Representatives in November 1982, but died the following
month before taking office.
Source: NASA
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