Famed NASA astronaut Jim Lovell, who died at the age of 97 on Thursday, played a role in the making of the hit movie Apollo 13 that chronicled the mission where Lovell served as commander. The 1970 mission was considered a "successful failure" after the spacecraft experienced an oxygen tank

The Oscar-winning actor played the real-life commander of the 1970 space mission that nearly ended in tragedy.

Tom Hanks has shared a tribute to James A. Lovell, the astronaut he portrayed in the 1995 feature “Apollo 13.” Lovell died Thursday at the age of 97. The film, directed by Ron Howard, starred Hanks as Lovell and dramatized the Apollo 13 lunar mission,