Houston, We've Got a Problem

Last updated
Houston, We've Got a Problem
GenreDrama / Sci-Fi
Written by Jeremy Helson
Directed by Lawrence Doheny
Starring Robert Culp
Clu Gulager
Gary Collins
Sandra Dee
Ed Nelson
Music byRichard Clements
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producer Harve Bennett
ProducerHerman S. Saunders
Production locations Johnson Space Center - 2101 NASA Rd., Houston, Texas
CinematographyJ.J. Jones
EditorRobert F. Shugrue
Running time74 min.
Production companies Silverton Productions
Universal Television
Original release
Network ABC
ReleaseMarch 2, 1974 (1974-03-02)

Houston, We've Got a Problem is a 1974 American made-for-television drama film about the Apollo 13 spaceflight, directed by Lawrence Doheny and starring Ed Nelson in the role of NASA Flight Director Gene Kranz.

Contents

Technical and historical accuracy

The title of the film is a misquotation of the ominous announcement made by Commander Jim Lovell following the explosion of an oxygen tank which tore off the side of the spacecraft's service module. Lovell actually said, "Houston, we've had a problem". [1]

The film does not focus on the spaceflight itself, but rather on the crises in Mission Control. Jim Lovell wrote a letter to TV Guide about the film, saying that the crises in Mission Control were dramatized. Lovell called the film "fictitious and in poor taste." [2]

Executive producer Herman Saunders said he could have never sold the television station on a documentary and that warnings were added to the film to indicate it was fictitious. [2]

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"Houston, we have a problem" is popularly quoted as a phrase spoken during Apollo 13, a NASA mission in the Apollo space program and the third meant to land on the Moon. After an explosion occurred on board the spacecraft en route to the Moon at 55:54:53, Jack Swigert, the command module pilot, reported to Mission Control Center in Houston, Texas: "Okay, Houston ... we've had a problem here." After being prompted to repeat his words by Jack R. Lousma, the capsule communicator at Mission Control, Jim Lovell, the mission commander, responded: "Ah, Houston, we've had a problem."

References

  1. "Detailed Chronology of Events Surrounding the Apollo 13 Accident". NASA. Retrieved 2011-04-11.
  2. 1 2 "Apollo 13 Movie Irks Lovell". The South Bend Tribune. South Bend, Indiana. Associated Press. February 28, 1974. p. 5 via Newspapers.com.