Apollo 13 'Houston, we have a problem' Announcement
Astronaut Jack Swigert and Mission Commander Jim Lovell report a sudden explosion and electrical failure to Mission Control after an oxygen tank stir. The room shifts from routine boredom to a despera
Setting
The Mission Operations Control Room (MOCR) 2 at NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston. A multi-tiered room filled with rows of consoles facing a massive wall of projection screens.
Characters
The figures in this scene as an entity network — co-presence links everyone in the moment; speakers who trade lines are bound tighter. Turn the resolution dial to reveal depth the engine actually computed.
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Jack Swigert
primary
A 38-year-old astronaut with a lean, athletic build and rugged, clean-cut features typical of the 1960s test pilot era. He has short-cropped, wavy dark hair and a focused, disciplined gaze. His face shows the slight puffiness associated with the fluid shift in microgravity.
Jim Lovell
primary
A 42-year-old veteran astronaut of athletic build with short-cropped, sandy-brown hair and sharp, analytical blue eyes. His features are weathered by the rigors of flight training, showing a square jawline and a face that naturally projects authority and composure.
Jack Lousma
secondary
A 34-year-old Marine Corps pilot and astronaut with a lean, athletic build and a square jawline. He has short-cropped, sandy-brown hair in a neat military style and sharp, attentive eyes that remain fixed on his console monitors.
Gene Kranz
secondary
A man of disciplined, military bearing with a distinctive flat-top crew cut. He has a sharp, angular jawline and intense, observant eyes behind narrow-framed glasses. His posture is rigid and authoritative, reflecting his background as a fighter pilot and aerospace engineer.
EECOM Controller
background
A man in his early 30s with a lean, nervous build and a short, military-style crew cut. He wears thick, black-rimmed horn-rimmed glasses that have slipped slightly down the bridge of his nose due to sweat. His complexion is pale, highlighted by the flickering green glow of the CRT monitors at his station.
Dialog
Jack Swigert
Okay, Houston, we've had a problem here.
Jack Lousma
This is Houston. Say again, please.
Jim Lovell
Houston, we've had a problem. We've had a Main B Bus undervolt.
Jim Lovell
And we are venting something out into the... into the void. It's a gas of some sort.
Jack Lousma
Roger that, Apollo 13. We copy the undervolt and the venting.
Gene Kranz
EECOM, get a reading on those cryo tanks! I want a status on every system in the stack. Now!
Jack Swigert
O2 Quantity Number Two is reading zero. Houston, confirm telemetry.
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