'Houston, we have a problem': Nasa attempts to seize Apollo 13 checklist after mission commander James Lovell sells it for $388k
NASA is questioning whether Apollo 13 commander James Lovell has the right to sell a checklist from the mission that was crucial in guiding the damaged spacecraft back to Earth.
The 70-page document, which includes Lovell's handwritten calculations, was sold by Heritage Auctions in November for more than $388,000, some 15 times its initial list price.
The checklist gained great fame as part of a key dramatic scene in the 1995 film "Apollo 13" in which actor Tom Hanks plays Lovell making the calculations.
Crucial: This file photo shows a key page from the Apollo 13 Lunar Module Checklist with handwritten notes by Commander James Lovell that helped him and his crew navigate the damaged aircraft back to earth
After the sale, NASA contacted Lovell and Heritage to ask whether Lovell could prove he owned the checklist.
Greg Rohan, president of Dallas-based Heritage, said on Thursday that the sale has been suspended pending the outcome of the inquiry.
The checklist, he said, is being stored for now in the company's vault.
Rohan said Lovell provided a signed report that he had clear title to the ring-bound checklist, which is standard procedure.
Heritage does robust business in space memorabilia and has worked with many former astronauts, he added.
'It's one that is near and dear to our hearts,' Rohan said of the space collectibles business.
National hero: This April 15, 1970 file photo shows Apollo 13 commander James Lovell speaking during a news conference in Cape Kennedy with astronaut Fred Haise
'We, like a lot of people, consider these astronauts to be national heroes.'
The Apollo 13 moon mission was aborted about 200,000 miles from Earth when an oxygen tank exploded on April 13, 1970, causing another tank to fail and seriously jeopardizing the three-man crew's ability to return home.
THE APOLLO 13 MOON MISSION :
On April 13, 1970, the Apollo 13 moon mission was aborted about 200,000 miles from Earth when an oxygen tank exploded.
The explosion caused another tank to fail, seriously jeopardizing the three-man crew's ability to return home.
Astronaut Jack Swigert famously said 'Houston, we've had a problem here' after the explosion, according to a NASA history of the flight.
The crew was forced to move into the lunar landing module for the return flight.
Lovell's calculations on the checklist were key in transferring navigation data from the command craft to the lunar module.
Astronaut Jack Swigert famously said 'Houston, we've had aproblem here' after the explosion, according to a NASA history of the flight.
The crew was forced to move into the lunar landing module for the return flight. Lovell's calculations on the checklist were key in transferring navigation data from the command craft to the lunar module.
In an e-mail to Heritage, NASA Deputy Chief Counsel Donna M. Shafer said there appeared to be 'nothing to indicate' that the agency had ever transferred ownership of the checklist to Lovell.
'Only NASA has the authority to clear NASA property for sale,' Shafer said in the e-mail, which was provided by NASA to The Associated Press.
She said the matter has been turned over to NASA's Office of Inspector General, adding that "there is potential risk of the items being seized by the government until title issues have been resolved."
Lovell, 83, who lives near Chicago and owns a restaurant bearing his name in Lake Forest, Ill., did not immediately respond to a telephone message left on Thursday with his assistant.
NASA has also raised questions about title rights for two items Heritage had sold from Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweikart: a lunar module identification plate that brought more than $13,000 and a hand controller bid at $22,705.
Doomed mission: Tom Hanks stars as commander James Lovell, alongside Kevin Bacon and Bill Paxton as the crew of the ill-fated mission in 'Apollo 13'
The space agency also targeted a fourth item, a hand glove worn by Alan Shepard during training for Apollo 14 that brought more than $19,000.
The letters follow a federal lawsuit NASA filed last year in Miami against Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell seeking return of a camera he brought back from his 1971 moon mission.
That lawsuit was settled in October when Mitchell agreed to give the camera to NASA, which in turn is donating it to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington.
Mitchell's attorney had argued prior to the settlement that NASA officials told astronauts long ago they could keep certain equipment from the missions, and many such items wind up on auction house lists.
A 1972 NASA memo seems to back up that claim, requiring only that the astronauts provide the agency with lists of items in their possession.
Apollo 15 astronauts were reprimanded after they took unauthorized, special envelopes to the moon with stamps that were cancelled shortly after their return in 1971.
They had a deal with a German stamp dealer who later sold them for $1,500 each.
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