1. Jim Lovell was "probably the astir well-liked of each the astronauts," Tom Hanks shared successful a behind-the-scenes interview successful 1995. "He was precise easy-going—notoriously easy-going, arsenic a substance of fact."

Plus, longtime abstraction enthusiast Hanks had ever wanted to play an astronaut (and he went connected to big and executive-produce the 1998 miniseries From the Earth to the Moon).

So, spot-on casting choice... check.

2. In summation to this movie being based connected true, much harrowing-than-fiction events, the screenplay by William Broyles Jr. and Al Reinert was adapted from the 1994 book Lost Moon, by Lovell and writer Jeffrey Kluger.

3. Ron Howard was determined not to see immoderate footage from the existent mission, truthful 2 idiosyncratic Lunar Module replicas and 2 Command Modules were constructed for the movie. He besides had iconic quality anchor Walter Cronkite re-record immoderate of his lines from his CBS broadcasts reporting connected the authorities of the mission.

4. Spacecraft interiors were constructed by the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center's Space Works, which had besides restored the existent Apollo 13 bid module.

5. Hanks, Kevin Bacon and Bill Paxton trained at the U.S. Space Camp successful Huntsville, Ala.

6. In the film, the Apollo 13 unit plays "Spirit successful the Sky" aft their palmy launch, but successful world they played the taxable from Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey—which had conscionable travel retired successful 1968 and besides inspired the sanction of their bid module, Odyssey (also truthful named for its Homeric significance).

7. To get that zero-gravity feeling, they spent 13 days filming in a weightless environment, made imaginable aboard NASA's specially modified KC-135 Stratotanker, a Boeing-designed subject aerial refueling craft aptly nicknamed the "Vomit Comet," which could execute astir 23 seconds of zero-G astatine a time.

"All the humor goes into your head, and it feels similar erstwhile you're connected a Rock-O-Plane astatine the amusement park, it conscionable feels similar you've got spun upside down," Hanks described the experience. "...Then you realize, oh, I conjecture this is weightlessness."

9. Lovell didn't accidental "Houston, we person a problem," exactly.

According to recordings from that day, Jack Swigert (played by Bacon) was archetypal to archer ngo control, "OK, Houston, we've had a occupation here," but portion of the transmission was garbled and helium was asked to repetition himself. 

Lovell past reiterated, "Houston, we've had a problem."

12. Fred Haise, played by Paxton, truly did propulsion up a small (and conscionable once) successful space, but from lingering effects of a virus, not question sickness.

They utilized Beef-a-Roni for abstraction vomit and, aft losing immoderate benignant of stake with Hanks, Paxton ate immoderate was near successful the can.

None of the actors really did propulsion up aboard the "Vomit Comet," according to them astatine least, but immoderate unit members did.

13. Lovell was Neil Armstrong's backup for Apollo 11, and past helium was enactment connected the docket for Apollo 14, but helium and his unit were bumped up successful line. 

"I went location and I told my wife, 'We're gonna spell connected 13, not 14,' and she said, '13?'" Lovell recalled successful an interview with Astronomy magazine. "I said, 'Well, it comes aft 12.' Then they enactment that successful the movie."

14. Kathleen Quinlan (who made her movie debut successful 1973's American Graffiti co-starring Howard) was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her crook arsenic Marilyn Lovell, Jim's precocious schoolhouse sweetheart and woman since 1952. And conscionable arsenic the actors immersed themselves successful that NASA satellite to prepare, Quinlan did her probe into what it was truly similar being an astronaut's wife. 

"I met Marilyn, and she was so gracious and helpful," Quinlan recalled to Smashing Interviews successful 2014. "Jim and Marilyn flew maine to Houston. Jim really flew the plane, and Marilyn sat successful the backmost serving coffee. It was truly cute."

"I met a batch of the astronauts' wives, and I realized erstwhile I met them and talked with them what a strong, important power they were connected their husbands and wherever they were successful their minds earlier they took off," she continued. "They had to beryllium truly ready, and it had a batch to bash with who was determination supporting them. Marilyn was precise helpful."

16. Hanks was lone 38 and truthful besides a fewer years shy of Lovell's existent age, but coming disconnected of 2 consecutive Best Actor Oscar wins, for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, determination was nary bigger movie prima successful the satellite to formed arsenic your starring man. His idiosyncratic information streak came to an extremity successful 1996, though Apollo 13 was nominated for 9 Oscars, including Best Picture, and won two, for Best Film Editing and Best Sound.

17. In further movie commentary, Marilyn Lovell fundamentally said that Hanks nailed her husband's mannerisms so, really, there's nary bigger honor. One much honor: successful 1996, Hanks had an asteroid named aft him, the "12818 Tomhanks."

20. That's Lovell himself playing the skipper of the USS Iwo Jima, the betterment vessel dispatched to greet the Apollo 13 unit upon their instrumentality to Earth. In fact, it's Lovell wearing his ain captain's uniform. Howard wanted to cinematically beforehand him to admiral, but Lovell insisted connected portraying the existent fertile helium had achieved erstwhile helium retired from the Navy.

Lovell recalled telling the director, "'I'll excavation retired the azygous of a captain—my ain uniform. I'll particulate it off. I'll enactment connected the ribbons that the existent [skipper] had truthful it volition beryllium authentic, and I'll spell from there.' It was my uniform. I took it retired and enactment successful connected to marque definite it didn't person immoderate spots connected it."

21. At slightest 1 professional hadn't done their homework: Howard remembered seeing a remark paper aft a screening that dismissed the film's "typical Hollywood" ending—because successful world those astronauts would've ne'er survived, wrote the film-but-not-history buff.

Above, the existent Lunar Module Aquarius being recovered by the USS Iwo Jima upon splashdown successful the South Pacific connected April 17, 1970.

23. A 20-by-8-foot mural called "The Steeds of Apollo" that was connected show astatine the St. Regis Hotel successful New York inspired the patch, designed by Lumen Martin Winter, that the Apollo 13 unit wore connected their uniforms aft the astronauts saw the mural during a sojourn to the hotel.

Decades later, Lovell mentioned to Hanks that helium had seen that the mural was in the catalog for an upcoming art auction successful Santa Monica, Calif. Naturally, Hanks' woman Rita Wilson and her parent went to the auction, bought "The Steeds of Apollo," and the household talented the painting to Lovell, who had it installed astatine his family's Chicago-area restaurant, Lovells of Lake Forest. Before the edifice closed successful 2015, he donated it to the Capt. James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center successful Chicago.

24. Ken Mattingly, who was replaced by Swigert connected the unit aft helium was exposed to rubella and didn't person immunity, was successful the Mission Control country successful Houston erstwhile Apollo 13 launched. He aboriginal orbited the satellite arsenic a subordinate of Apollo 16 successful 1972.

"Ken is 79 years aged present and inactive ne'er had the measles," Haise told Gulf Live successful 2015 during an quality at Stennis Space Center successful Mississippi, a time aft the 45th day of the splashdown successful the South Pacific Ocean.

Haise called it fortunate for the Apollo 13 crew that Mattingly, who was intimately acquainted with the spacecraft, was determination connected the crushed erstwhile the mishap happened. "Ken was a cardinal idiosyncratic successful bringing america home," helium said. "The movie is somewhat constricted successful what they tin amusement successful 2 hours."

25. When the movie came retired successful 1995, newsman Barbra Zuanich-Friedman, who personally knew Capt. Jack Swigert (at left), objected to his portrayal successful the movie arsenic a brash ladies antheral who on with Haise played 2nd fiddle to the heroic Lovell—and whose readiness for the ngo is questioned earlier and aft the mishap aboard the bid module Odyssey.

"I was disappointed successful the one-dimensional portrayal of rookie astronaut Swigert, whom I met successful 1968," Zuanich-Friedman wrote for the Los Angeles Times. "[Kevin Bacon] was forced to play Swigert a spot lopsided—first giving america the content that successful his off-hours helium was a cocky, skirt-chasing bachelor and aboriginal portraying him arsenic an intimidated, insecure and possibly resented subordinate whose each determination was scrutinized for error."

Swigert "was ever the epitome of bully manners," she besides wrote. "He was shy, good-humored, optimistic and intense. I learned astir his emotion for flying that captured him astatine property 14 and ne'er fto go...For the record, helium was uniquely qualified to measurement into the hard occupation of maneuvering Apollo 13's bid vessel Odyssey."