Apollo 17 Apollo 17 Apollo 17 was the final mission of NASA's Apollo program. Launched at 12:33 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on December 7, 1972, with a crew made up of Commander Eugene Cernan, Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans, and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt, it was the last use of Apollo hardware for its original purpose; after Apollo 17, extra Apollo spacecraft were used in the Skylab and Apollo–Soyuz programs. Apollo 17 was the first night launch of a U.S. human spaceflight and the final manned launch of a Saturn V rocket. It was a "J-type mission" which included three
The Reluctant Astronaut 1998 autobiography, the infamous "Apollo 1" fire led to Universal Pictures being skeptical about releasing a comedy on space travel so soon after the tragedy. Not as popular as his first film ventures, "The Incredible Mr. Limpet" (1964) and "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" (1966), due to its connection to the Apollo program, "The Reluctant Astronaut" still was a popular children's film and was frequently shown on weekend afternoons. Knotts was nominated for the 1967 Golden Laurel Male Comedy Performance Award for his role in "The Reluctant Astronaut". For the benefits in publicity for their programs, NASA also named Knotts,