Swigert Jack

Jack Swigert (James Arthur Swigert Jr.)

Public profile: American astronaut and test pilot best known for his role on the Apollo 13 mission.

Birth and Identity

Born August 30, 1931, in Denver, Colorado, United States. Commonly known as Jack Swigert; formal name James Arthur Swigert Jr.

Key Career Highlights

• NASA Astronaut and member of the Apollo program; served as Command Module Pilot on Apollo 13.
• Apollo 13 crew originally planned with Ken Mattingly as Command Module Pilot, but Mattingly was replaced due to rubella exposure; Swigert joined Lovell and Haise for the mission.
• Apollo 13 experienced an oxygen tank explosion en route to the Moon, forcing the mission to abort a lunar landing; the crew returned safely to Earth, splashing down on April 17, 1970.
• Swigert is associated with the famous line “Houston, we’ve had a problem” (reported during the mission), which highlighted the crisis and the crew’s coordination with ground control.

Later Life and Legacy

After Apollo 13, Swigert continued to work in aerospace-related roles and remained a public figure associated with space exploration. He passed away on December 27, 1982, in Denver, Colorado, due to cancer. His legacy endures in NASA’s historical records, museum exhibits, and popular culture representations of Apollo 13.

News, Media, and Cultural Presence

• Anniversaries and retrospectives of the Apollo 13 mission are regularly covered by NASA, space news outlets, and educational programs, reflecting on the crew’s improvisation and resilience.
• The mission was dramatized in the 1995 feature film “Apollo 13,” in which Jack Swigert was portrayed by actor Kevin Bacon; the film contributed to public awareness of the mission’s challenges and ingenuity.
• Swigert’s story continues to be featured in museum exhibits, oral histories, and space-history curricula that cover Apollo-era missions.

Public Presence: Social Media and Online Presence

There are no official public social media accounts for Jack Swigert, as he passed away in 1982. Public information about him is maintained through NASA’s historical biographies, Space Center/Smithsonian museum materials, and educational resources. Any current social media pages mentioning him are typically fan pages or context posts about Apollo 13 rather than official channels.

Recent Projects and Ongoing Legacy Work

As a historical figure, Swigert has no contemporary projects attributed to him. His legacy lives on through archived NASA materials, educational content about Apollo 13, and documentary work surrounding the mission. Notable related media includes the Apollo 13 film and various museum exhibitions that showcase the mission’s ingenuity and teamwork.