Tom Hanks
August 21, 2025

James Lovell received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1995, with Tom Hanks in attendance.

Credit: James M. Kelly/Globe Photos/Zuma Press/Alamy Stock Photo

During the deep dive into all things Apollo 13 amid preproduction for the film, Jim Lovell took me night-flying in his twin-engine Beechcraft Baron from a grass-strip airfield outside of Austin, Texas. No one was at the airport, so after a pilot check walkaround of the airplane, we took off. Jim had…

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