SPACE SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS IN THE 1970'S 



319 



the McGovern ticket might cause the Republicans to capture control 

 of Congress and thus switch the cnairmanship to Representative 

 Charles A. Mosher (Republican of Ohio). Some NASA officials were 

 apprehensive lest the next Democrat in line, Hechler, might move up, 

 because he had taken somewhat critical positions on NASA's pro- 

 grams. But according to a Washington Post article following the 

 November 1972 elections, Hechler personally urged Teague to give up 

 the Veterans' Affairs chairmanship in order to take the Science 

 chairmanship. 



One of Chairman Teague's first decisions was to find a new execu- 

 tive director. As Teague explained it: 



Ducander and I had an understanding before I became Chairman that he wasn't 

 going to stay because I felt like you had to have a technical man for staff director. 



Chairman Teague (center) meets with Apollo 13 astronauts, John L. Swigert, Jr. (left) 

 and James A. Lovell, Jr., in his Capitol Hill office. 



Teague found his man in John L. "Jack" Swigert, Jr., command 

 module pilot on the April 1970 Apollo 13 flight whic'.i had been forced 

 to return to Earth after an oxygen tank had ruptured. A graduate of 

 the University of Colorado, Swigert had obtained a master of science 

 degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a master of business 

 administration degree from the University of Hartford. In addition 

 to serving as an Air Force fighter pilot in Japan and Korea, Swigert 

 had been an engineering test pilot for North American Aviation and 

 also Pratt and Whitney. In making his appointment effective on 

 April 24, 1973, Teague stated: 



