08-08-2025
Did Jim Lovell say 'Houston, we have a problem'? Iconic quote keeps echoing.
Astronaut Jim Lovell, who died Aug. 7 at the age of 97, was a pilot and an astronaut, undertook multiple space missions, was a father of four, built a successful career in business and was honored by U.S. Presidents.
But one phrase widely attributed to him has especially echoed across American pop culture for decades: "Houston, we have a problem."
The phrase is close to the actual words spoken as the Apollo 13 crisis unfolded, but the first indication that things were not well came from his crewmate, Command Module Pilot John L. "Jack" Swigert.
According to NASA, this is what Swigert actually said on April 13, 1970, as systems aboard the Apollo 13 spacecraft traveling more than 200,000 miles above Earth began to fail: "OK, Houston, we've had a problem."
At NASA Mission Control in (yes) Houston, the reply came back: "This is Houston. Say again, please."
Lovell, who was commander of the mission, replied, "Ah, Houston, we've had a problem here. We've had a Main B Bus Undervolt," indicating an electrical issue that might doom the mission — and worse, the three astronauts on board: Lovell, Swigert and Lunar Module Pilot Fred W. Haise.
Misquote and misattribution aside, though, the words "Houston, we have a problem" have become part of our pop culture collective consciousness.
Here are some of the notable times it's been used.
The 1995 movie, 'Apollo 13'
In 1995, the story of the mission and how its crew, both on the ground and in space, managed to avert disaster was adapted into a feature film starring Tom Hanks (as Lovell), Bill Paxton (as Haise) and Kevin Bacon (as Swigert).
Like most Hollywood based-on-a-true-story tales, this one took some liberties. One was to shorten the quote to "Houston, we have a problem," and to attribute it to Lovell.
Country singer Luke Combs and 'my kind of town'
Luke Combs likes Texas — is there a country singer who doesn't? There's a lot to love in the Lone Star State — and in his 2018 song "Houston, We Got a Problem," the only problem we can see is that the city seems to be lacking the woman he loves.
"It's got the biggest sky you've ever seen, the coldest beer you'd ever drinkBut I still feel like I landed on the moon 'cause it ain't got youHouston, we got a problem..."
Beyonce suspended in midair
It's low-hanging fruit to use the line "Houston, we have a problem" when something goes wrong in the Texas metropolis. But earlier this year, when pop icon Beyonce got stuck in midair in the middle of a concert at a venue in her hometown, multiple media outlets did just that.
During the kickoff night of her "Cowboy Carter" tour, a mishap with a prop car suspended above the stage at NRG Stadium. Fortunately, like the astronauts, Beyonce was safely returned to Earth.
