if you ask me i would say jim lovell. i'm biased. jim and i have worked together. >> rose: "apollo 13" "gemini 7." >> rose: tom hanks. >> exactly. jim was and still is a fantastic rudder and stick man. frank boorman, commander of "apollo 8" was considered a true genius in terms of his natural feel. he was a caution astronaut but a terrifically adept one. but chris craft, when i asked him that question, i said "who is the best pure pilot who ever flew under your xand?" and he said "i'm not trying to give you the appropriate answer. i always said the best crew that's flying is the best that's... that's ever flown is the one that's currently flying because they have built on the achievements of every other crew before them and the next one will be better than they are. >> rose: somebody wrote-- maybe you-- that as good as they were in mechanically getting up there and back in terms of all the skills of pilots and all the skills they had learned that it wasn't inevitable about them that they would not be leer kl. >> that's right. jack swi

. >> captain jim lovell, apollo 8, won the space race by orbiting the moon on christmas eve, 1968. >> happy birthday, mother. >> apollo 13 proved to nasa could manage a crisis it had not trained for. >> maybe i did not realize the capacity of the american industry and military, that they could do something like that and accomplished. >> there is no ambiguity in terms of getting the job done. >> rusty stay in orbit testing systems and the docking techniques critical to the missions. >> that was an incredible challenge for not just those of us who were part of the program, but as the region but for the nation as a whole. >> we did go to the moon because people in the united states were afraid that maybe communism and the science of communism was better than ours. >> apollo 12 held the fourth man to walk on the moon. >> they said, we will spend the money, we will do anything to show that our technology is better than anybody else's. >> we had to invent the technologies. we had to build the teams and write the procedures for something that had never been done before. >> jean france, fligh

lovell. i'm biased. jim and have woed together. >>ose: "apollo 13" "gemini 7." >> rose: tom hanks. >> exactly. jim wasnd still is a fantaic rudder and sck man. frank boorman, comnder of "apollo 8" was considered a true geni in terms of his natural feel. heas a caion astronaut but a terrifically adept o. but chricraft, when i asked him that question, said "who is t best pure pilot whover flew under your xand?" and he said "i'm not trying to give you theappropriate answer. i alwaysaid theest crew that's fing is the best th's... that's ever flown is the one that's currently flying becausthey have built on the achievements of every other crew before tm and the next one will be bter than th are. >> rose: somebody wrot- maybe you-- thats good as they were in mechacally getting up there and back in terms of all the skil of pilots and all t skills they had learn that it sn't ivitable about them that they woulnot be leer kl. >> that's righ jack swigt point that out. anody who listened to those tapes and ard those transcripts ow that. here y

back in the 60s onboard gemini seven, astronauts frank portman and jim lovell orbited the earth 206 times over 14 days sitting in this tiny cramped little spacecraft. could even stretch their legs. since then, we have watched tragedies unfold live, collectively mourned the loss of life, and then routed for nasa to persevere. >> we explore space in order to make our world better. and that kind of says it all for me. >> and in our expanding universe, we earthlings continue doing the same, looking up and reaching out for new discoveries. in cape canaveral, phil keating, "fox news". >> julie: brand-new developments on that light rail train collision we told you about in san francisco. this video courtesy of kgo just coming into our newsroom. we're told that there are injuries. in fact san francisco police department has said that there are injuries mostly minor injuries. no fatalities reported her too that is the good news. but this happened at the west portal station in the city. it is now closed and dozens of passengers are being treated at the hospital. so they being treated there with bra

jim lovell said when we spoke about this a couple of days ago, he said, i guess they figured we wereig boys and didn't need the help. but nasa now knows that they do need help. and paradoxically, some of the help they get now involves not massive global fame followed by indifference, but indifference from the start. because people have just sort of quit paying attention to the shuttle. >> so where were you july 20th, 1969? >> i was at a most appropriate place, i was at a summer camp called camp comet, a space camp -- >> seriously? that must have been unbelievable. >> all of our bunks were named after planets and i was sitting in a giant rec hall with two other campers around a little black and white tv with rabbit ear antennas and it was the perfect place to be. >> what was that like, was everybody cheering? >> they were whooping. it tells us something about the role walter cronkite played. he's woven into even that memory. the moment he said, that's it, man is on the moon, there was a cheer that went up from the throat of 200 campers that i'll never forget. >> people can read a lot

and it might not be the commander, and on the cover of the book, that picture is me outside and jim lovele took the picture. but buddy system just like scuba diving, you want to have mutual protection. there was another factor in there that has to do with the training workload. the commander was in charge of all the critical moments, and most critical was the power of descent, and it was neil's job for the descent and relocation and the landing. and he executed the maneuvers and they don't use the commander co-pilot but mine was the eagle. host: and those words by neil armstrong, the words for the country, one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind. did he come up with that? guest: he said that he did, and it's so neil to think of things and respond in a professional way. and in a sense, his step for man, is my observation of loneliness and his reference to mankind is magnificent. and his words contrasting, a human being and then mankind. host: you wrote and getting attention, let me share. host: can you explain? guest: yes, we were challenged by sputnik, and further challenged

and it might not be the commander, and on the cover of the book, that picture is me outside and jim loveleook the picture. but buddy system just like scuba diving, you want to have mutual protection. there was another factor in there that has to do with the training workload. the commander was in charge of all the critical moments, and most critical was the power of descent, and it was neil's job for the descent and relocation and the landing. and he executed the maneuvers and they don't use the commander co-pilot but mine was the eagle. host: and those words by neil armstrong, the words for the country, one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind. did he come up with that? guest: he said that he did, and it's so neil to think of things and respond in a professional way. and in a sense, his step for man, is my observation of loneliness and his reference to mankind is magnificent. and his words contrasting, a human being and then mankind. host: you wrote and getting attention, let me share. host: can you explain? guest: yes, we were challenged by sputnik, and further challenged by