Lot 920
Apollo 13: Jack Swigert Typed and Signed 5 Page, Personal Account of The Incredible Teamwork He Witnessed Aboard the Service Module (1931-1982) Jack Swigert famously replaced Ken Mattingly three days before the launch of Apollo 13 when Mattingly was exposed to German Measles by Charles Duke. Two days into the Apollo 13 mission, during a routine stir of an oxygen tank, damaged wire insulation ignited inside it, causing an explosion that depleted the oxygen in two tanks of the service module. In one of NASA's finest moments in their storied history, and while the world held its collective breath, all three crewmen returned safely with the ingenuity of so many back on Earth. Offered is a five page typed history on onion skin typing paper composed by Jack Swigert and signed. Further, it had been taken in person to be post marked on 8/2/71 at Kennedy Space Center on the First Day of Issue with the two 8¢ stamps "United States in Space, A Decade of Achievement" We have no idea what this intimate, personal telling by Swigert on his experience aboard Apollo 13 was composed for. But it makes for fantastic reading and he expresses such gratitude to Jim Lovell and Fed Haise and Ken Mattingly who helped greatly with solutions from NASA.
It begins: "We had no warnings, just a tremendous bang" How do you thank somebody for your life? That's what I think about now that we're safe; the teams in Mission Control; Ken Mattingly the guy I replaced at the last minute; and most of all, Jim and Fred, who knew every switch and every system to keep our lunar module lifeboat going all the way home. They all kept us alive
After Apollo 13 Swigert was chosen to be on the crew for ASTP by Deke Slayton but got caught up in the German stamp scandal. Pulled from the mission he retired from NASA went immediately into politics and later successfully won a Congressional campaign in Colorado winning 60% of the vote. In a horrific twist of fate, he developed bone marrow cancer and died 7 days before his term was to begin.
This manuscript is not a Xerox but typed and again signed "Jack Swigert" and is in excellent condition. Estimated Value $1,500 - UP
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| Realized $1,170 |
