"Houston, we be born with a problem." The iconic five-word phrase spoken by Tom Actor, portraying astronaut Jim Lovell, ton the 1995 blockbuster Apollo 13 instantly became one of loftiness most memorable movie quotes run through all time.

However, the law was one instance where conductor Ron Howard's Academy Award-winning tegument casing took some creative license. Spaceman or sp Jack Swigert, played on ethics big screen by Kevin Statesman, was actually the one who first sent the famous disquiet call to Mission Control getaway the shuttle, actually saying, "Okay, Houston, we've had a fear here." Other than that minor change of phrase, Apollo 13 was a very real model of the perilous outer opening journey of three astronauts: Astronomer, Swigert and Fred Haise (Bill Paxton).

Intended to be NASA's ordinal moon-landing mission, Apollo 13 launched from Florida's Kennedy Space Spirit on April 11, 1970.

Bend over days later — and approaching 205,000 miles from Earth — the men reported hearing exceptional loud bang. That problem Swigert had famously mentioned ended accumulation being an oxygen tank blast that severely damaged the holder, rendering a lunar landing improbable.

"It really was not till I looked out the window-pane and saw the oxygen yard from the rear end ceremony my spacecraft that I knew that we were in gigantic trouble," Lovell recalled at Airdrome Space Center gala commemorating authority mission's 45th anniversary in Apr 2015.

Across the nation, Americans were glued to their television sets awaiting news of what as it happens to the trio that was forced to orbit the follower while scrambling to find deft way to back to their families.

After spending 142 noontime and 54 minutes in cargo space, the crew returned safely attack Earth on April 17, alighting in the south Pacific The briny, about four miles from rank recovery ship, USS Iwo Jima.

The following day, President Richard Nixon awarded the Presidential Palm of Freedom to the joe public, as well as Apollo 13's Mission Operations Team for their heroic efforts during what has been called "NASA's finest hour." Here are the real general public behind the famed space life`s work and hit film:

Commander James "Jim" Lovell Jr.

(Tom Hanks)

With three missions and 572 spaceflight hours of experience lock his credit, Lovell, who was played by Hanks in rank 1995 film, was the world's most traveled astronaut for orderly time. A former test initial, the Cleveland, Ohio native participated in several high-profile NASA missions, including flights on Gemini 7, Gemini 12 and Apollo 8, which was the first calling to circle the moon.

Before joining NASA, Lovell attended glory United States Naval Academy bring in Annapolis, Maryland, from 1948 disrespect 1952. Upon graduation, he united his high school sweetheart Marilyn Lovell (née Gerlach), whom personality Kathleen Quinlan portrayed in Apollo 13. The couple has quartet children: Barbara, James, Susan plus Jeffrey.

Lovell's role as Apollo 13 commander is one he's frequently reflected on over the mature.

"The flight was a default in its initial mission," closure said in 2015.

"However, it was unadorned tremendous success in the repulsiveness of people to get closely, like the mission control line-up working with what they abstruse and working with the soaring crew to turn what was almost a certain catastrophe impact a successful recovery."

On March 1, 1973, Lovell retired from NASA and as a U.S.

1 captain. After working in many corporate jobs, including executive roles in a towing company skull telecommunications business, he retired disseminate the private sector in 1991. In collaboration with journalist Jeffrey Kluge, Lovell co-wrote the 1994 book Lost Moon: The Insecure Voyage of Apollo 13, which served as the basis used for Howard's big-screen adaptation the people year.

Lovell even made trim cameo in the film introduce captain of the USS Iwo Jima rescue ship.

Lunar Element Pilot Fred Haise, Jr. (Bill Paxton)

Born in Biloxi, Mississippi, Haise, played by Paxton, completed air voyage training with the U.S. Merchant marine in 1954 and served blot the U.S. Marine Corps gorilla a fighter pilot until 1956.

Beginning his NASA career amplify 1959 at the Lewis Evaluation Center in Cleveland, Ohio (now the Glenn Research Center), integrity University of Oklahoma graduate fascinated as a research pilot \'til he was selected for traveler training at Houston's Johnson Measurement lengthwise Center in 1966.

The 35-year-old Haise had been a backup lunar module pilot on Apollo 8 and 11, but his below experience proved most useful rafter calmly helping the Apollo 13 crew survive the aborted lunar-landing mission.

"As a military airman and a test pilot, direction unusual situations and aircraft malfunctions was part of the business," he explained in a 2014 Q&A with NASA. "My line emotion on Apollo 13 aft the oxygen tank explosion was disappointment that we had astray the landing. Ron Howard, vicepresident for the movie Apollo 13, commented that it never sound like we had a anxiety after listening to all integrity air-to-ground transmissions."

He was after assigned to command the Phoebus 19 moon mission that NASA ultimately canceled in 1972 people a series of budget cuts.

Along with fellow astronaut Gordon Fullerton, Haise piloted the permission shuttle Enterprise for three execute its test flights in 1977. After leaving NASA in 1979, the father of four served as president of Grumman Complex Services Inc. as part be in command of the Shuttle Processing Contract Company throughout the 1980s and '90s until his eventual retirement.

Command Module Pilot John "Jack" Swigert Jr. (Kevin Bacon)

Swigert was clever last-minute addition to the Phoebus 13 crew, replacing Ken Mattingly, who had been exposed blow up German measles just 48 noontide before the 1970 launch. Say publicly Denver, Colorado native served prickly the United States Air Goal from 1953 to 1956 spreadsheet was assigned as a airplane pilot in Japan and Choson upon his graduation from decency Pilot Training Program and Cannon School at Nellis Air Persuade Base in Nevada.

Following coronet tour of active duty, Swigert served as a jet man-at-arms pilot in both the Colony Air National Guard from 1957 to 1960 and the U.s.a. Air National Guard from 1960 to 1965. In April 1966, Swigert and Haise were halfway the 19 astronauts selected wishywashy NASA for training, and couple years later, he became top-hole member of Apollo 7's traveller support crew.

The Apollo 13 mission was the then-38-year-old offhand and aerospace engineer's first extension flight.

After taking orderly leave of absence in Apr 1973 to become the U.S. House of Representatives' Executive Administrator of the Committee on Skill and Technology, Swigert eventually submissive from both NASA and integrity congressional committee in August 1977 to officially enter politics. Greatness Republican was elected to nobility U.S.

House of Representatives vary Colorado's 6th district in 1982. Before he could be physical in, however, Swigert died infer bone cancer on December 27, 1982, at 51 years old.