Did Fred Haise get his job for Apollo 13 because he know Jim Lovell?

Answer 1

Every astronaut knew all the other astronauts. The astronauts worked together on many projects, often travelling together. So yes, Lovell knew Haise, but he also knew every other astronaut.

The Mercury astronauts received their flight assignments from Robert Gilruth, the head of NASA's manned flight program in the early 60's. It was Gilruth who decided that Alan Shepard be the first American in space and that John Glenn be the first American to orbit the earth. Astronaut Deke Slayton was chosen to fly the 4th Mercury mission (the mission after Glenn), but was grounded in September 1962 before he was able to fly, and his place was taken by Scott Carpenter aboard Aurora 7. Slayton was the only member of the Mercury Seven who did not fly in the Mercury program. Slayton eventually cleared up his irregular heart beat enough to be assigned to the last Apollo mission. His ASTP flight was the first joint mission between the United States and the Soviet Union.

After Slayton was grounded by NASA, he was also grounded by the Air Force. With a new group of astronauts coming into NASA, the administrators felt that they needed someone in charge of the Astronaut Office. His fellow Mercury astronauts insisted that Slayton be given the job and NASA agreed. As the "chief astronaut" Slayton not only selected which pilots became astronauts, he also made crew assignments for space flights. His selections were sent to his superiors in Washington DC for approval. The only time his selection was overruled was when he assigned Joe Engle as the Apollo 17 Lunar Module Pilot (LMP). Since it would be the last lunar landing flight, scientists insisted that geologist, Harrison Schmitt, be assigned as LMP. NASA brass agreed and Schmitt replaced Engle as LMP.

Slayton made all the crew assignments based on availability and need. The first person usually assigned to a flight crew was the commander. While the commander did not chose who flew with him, he did have veto power over Slayton's choices. A commander could ask for a particular astronaut to be assigned to his crew, but there were no guarantees he would get his first choice. One such incident involved Pete Conrad, the Commander of Apollo 12. Slayton assigned Richard Gordon and Clifton C. Williams to Conrad's crew. Conrad initially asked Slayton for Alan Bean instead of Williams. Bean was a student of Conrad's when Conrad was flight instructor at the Naval Flight Test Facility in Patuxent River, Maryland. The 2 men had been best friends for over 10 years, but Slayton stuck with Williams. Conrad finally got his way when Williams was killed in a plane crash on October 5, 1967.

For the most part, the logic behind the crew selection process was kept secret. The only leaks we have are those provided by the crewmembers themselves. It's completely possible that Lovell could have asked for Haise, but if he did, he didn't reveal it in his book. The more likely reason Haise was selected was because he was the best available LMP.

Answer 2

Apollo 13 Haise illness

Haise flew as the lunar module pilot on the Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970. ... During this flight Haise developed a urinary tract infection and later kidney infections. These caused him to be in pain for most of the trip.