The astronaut who joined a moon mission three days before it launched

History · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Jack Swigert was a backup astronaut until a last-minute measles exposure forced a crew change for Apollo 13. Thrust into the command module just 72 hours before liftoff, he became a central figure in one of space exploration's most harrowing survival stories after an oxygen tank ruptured in deep space.

Born in Denver in 1931, John Leonard Swigert Jr. was a lifelong aviation enthusiast who earned his private pilot license by age 16. After graduating from the University of Colorado in 1953, he served as a fighter pilot in Japan and Korea before transitioning into a career as a commercial and engineering test pilot. He joined the NASA Astronaut Corps in 1966, eventually becoming a specialist on the Apollo command module.

Swigert's defining moment arrived in April 1970. Originally assigned to the backup crew for Apollo 13, he replaced Thomas K. Mattingly just three days before the mission began because Mattingly had been exposed to rubella. During the flight, a service module oxygen tank failed, forcing the crew to abort their lunar landing. Swigert, alongside James A. Lovell Jr. and Fred W. Haise Jr., utilized the lunar module as a lifeboat to survive the journey around the Moon and return safely to Earth on April 17, 1970.

Following the mission, Swigert's career took a complex turn. While he was initially considered for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, his involvement in a 1972 controversy regarding the unauthorized sale of autographed philatelic items led to his removal from the flight program. He subsequently left NASA in 1973 to pursue a career in Washington, D.C., serving as an executive director for a House of Representatives committee.

Swigert eventually transitioned into politics, seeking a Senate seat in 1978 before successfully winning election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982. Tragically, he died of cancer on December 27, 1982, before he could be sworn into office. His legacy remains tied to the extraordinary improvisation required to bring the Apollo 13 crew home against overwhelming odds.

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