The above statement made by Lovell is true. This is because the path of the spacecraft will be dependent on the gravitational forces and theories of gravitational forces were formed by Isaac Newton. (i.e. F = GMM/d^2)
Also the path of the rockets will abide by Newton's laws - i.e. the rocket will remain in constant motion and that the acceleration of the rocket will be dependent on the force (newton's 1st and 2nd laws).
Therefore, because the rocket launch and trajectory of its return was dependent on the gravitational forces, Lovell's statement can be considered true as it was through the ideas of Newton which allowed for a successful mission.
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Newton's first law - the law of inertia, an object will continue what it was originally doing unless acted upon by an external force
in this case, the rocket will continue accelerating, because it is being acted upon by the gravitational field of the moon
Newton's second law - a body that experiences a force will experience an acceleration (F=ma)
because there is a force provided by the rocket engines(when they are turned on), the rocket will experience an acceleration. when the rocket engines are turned on, the rocket will experience acceleration to move out of the gravitational field
Newton's third law - for every force, there is an equal and opposite force
although the force generated by the rocket engines are opposed by g-forces, they g-forces are relatively smaller, thus the rocket's ability to accelerate out of the gravitational field.