Apollo 13 astronaut, MS State alum Ed Smylie passes away

A Mississippi State alumnus who played a pivotal role in the Apollo 13 mission died on Monday.

Robert ‘Ed’ Smylie was born in Lincoln County, best known of his role in solving the C02 scrubbers issue during the Apollo 13 mission.

He was part of the team finding a solution when the Lunar module started to lose breathable air.

Smylie suggested the use of duct tape, using his Mississippi roots saying if an object moves and it isn’t supposed to, use duct tape.

The method worked and helped the astronauts return to Earth.

Smylie continued to work with NASA until his retirement in 2010.

He was 95 years old.