Richard Nixon, Apollo 13, and Apollo 17

What Low did not know as he met with Weinberger on December 14 was that Richard Nixon was having second thoughts about going ahead with the Apollo 17 mission. The president had somehow gotten the impression that Apollo 17 was even more risky than the three missions scheduled to precede it. Nixon did not want a repeat of the Apollo 13 experience, particularly in mid-1972, when the Apollo 17 launch was then scheduled, not least of all because it would come as he was campaigning for reelection. The near­tragedy of Apollo 13 had made a strong impression on the president, and provided the background against which he decided that Apollo 17 should be canceled.