"Houston? We've had a problem..."

Is it really fifty years since the launch of Apollo 13? I've been fortunate enough to have met two of the three members of the ill-fated mission, James Lovell and Fred Haise on numerous occasions. Additionally, I've spent time with the mission's EECOM (electrical, environmental and communication system) controller, Sy Liebergott.

The consensus from all three was that the phrase above (not the usual misquote!) were said first by Jack Swigert, being repeated to Mission Control by Jim Lovell. Lovell and Haise were both somewhat dismissive about the accuracy of the film 'Apollo 13', particularly in relation to Ken Mattingley's contribution to finding a solution.(In the film, he comes up with several 'fixes' that Lovell states were devised by the flight crew themselves)