Haise, Fred Wallace, Jr. (1933-…), served as lunar module pilot of the United States Apollo 13 space flight in April 1970. About 56 hours after the flight began, an explosion caused by a short circuit severely damaged the systems that supplied electricity and oxygen to the command module. Haise and his two fellow astronauts retreated into the lunar module, which had enough oxygen to keep them alive during their return to the earth. In 1977, Haise flew the first manned space shuttle test flight with Gordon Fullerton.
Haise was born on Nov. 14, 1933, in Biloxi, Mississippi. He became a naval aviation cadet in 1952. Haise also served with the U.S. Marine Corps , the Air National Guard , and the Air Force . He graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1959. Haise was a test pilot , instructor, and fighter pilot from 1959 until he became an astronaut in 1966.
Haise resigned from the space program in 1979. He joined Grumman Corporation in 1979 as vice president of space programs. He later became president of Grumman Technical Services and president of Grumman’s Space Station Program Support Division. After Northrop Corporation acquired Grumman in 1994, Haise became a vice president of the combined company, Northrop Grumman Corporation. He retired from Northrop Grumman in 1996.
