Sharing Space With Deke Slayton

The Deke Slayton Memorial Space & Bicycle Museum in Sparta, Wisconsin has an incredibly special event coming up on Saturday, September 16 at 5:30pm. “Sharing Space With Deke” will include presentations by Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise and mission patch expert Logan Jaeren. Attendance can be either in-person at the museum or on Zoom.

During the years Deke Slayton was Chief of the Astronaut office two of his many duties were hiring astronauts and assigning crews to missions. One of the many astronauts Slayton selected was Fred Haise who was eventually assigned to the Apollo 13 mission. Apollo 13, with the crew of Jim Lovell, Haise, and Jack Swigert, was to land on the moon in April 1970, but due to an explosion in the oxygen tank two days after launch the mission changed to getting the three astronauts back to Earth. Four days later the astronauts splashed down in the south Pacific Ocean.

Slayton himself would finally get his ride into space in 1975 as the docking module pilot for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, a mission done in partnership with Russia. After this mission NASA was focused on the next space vehicle- the space shuttle. Slayton became the manager of the Space Shuttle Approach and Landing Test where he would work closely with Haise who was half of one of the two two-man flight crews.

Every NASA mission has a mission patch. The designs are intricate with a great deal of aforethought, each one telling a story. Logan Jaeren has spent years collecting patches and the stories that go with them. On September 16 he will share stories about patches including Slayton’s Apollo-Soyuz Test Project and Haise’s Apollo 13.

Due to Haise’s age, he does not travel much and so will be presenting via Zoom; Jaeren will be at the museum. There will be time to ask both speakers questions. Autographed copies of Haise’s book, “Never Panic Early,” will be available for purchase at the museum as well as Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, Apollo 13, and Approach and Landing Test patches.

Tickets for the event are $10 and can be purchased on the museum website dekeslaytonmuseum.org. Attendance can be either in-person at the Deke Slayton Memorial Space & Bicycle Museum, 200 W Main St, Sparta, WI, or on Zoom. Those attending on Zoom will receive the link one hour before the event.