Editing 1438: Houston

{{comic
| number    = 1438
| date      = October 24, 2014
| title     = Houston
| image     = houston.png
| titletext = 'Oh, hey Mom. No, nothing important, just at work.'
}}

==Explanation==
On {{w|Apollo 13}}'s way to the Moon, during a routine stirring of one of the oxygen tanks, an explosion occurred that damaged the craft. Frantic efforts by the {{w|Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center|mission control}} center located in Houston resulted in the safe return of all astronauts.

A similar situation is depicted in this strip including the design of the spacecraft, the nature of the problem, and the famous misquote "Houston, we have a problem". The modern type of monitor ({{w|Liquid-crystal display|flat panel LCD}}) in front of which Cueball sits suggests that the author is describing a more modern scenario. This time, however, there is much less help from ground. Upon receiving the message from the spacecraft, [[Cueball]] seems fairly indifferent. Instead of attempting to resolve the issue, he mocks the crew for not knowing how to stir and hangs up in favor of taking a call. 

The last panel presents a coarse view of the spacecraft in orbit, with just enough detail on Earth to identify the continents Africa, Europe, the eastern halves of the Americas, and the largest islands of the Caribbean (Cuba and Hispaniola). From the zig-zag lines that show the origin of the transmissions it now becomes apparent that [[Cueball]] is not located at NASA Mission Control in Houston, Texas, USA. Instead, his position is far away to the northwest, on the other side of the continent, very likely at {{w|Houston, British Columbia}}, Canada. As of 2022, [https://www.houston.ca/ Houston] is a town of 3200 people that describes itself as "home to the outdoor enthusiast". There is a [https://www.houston.ca/airport small airport] about 9 km northwest of the community: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston,_British_Columbia#Transportation Houston Aerodrome], which is operated by the District of Houston and has no scheduled service. An operator at [https://www.houston.ca/transportation this airport] would be used to dealing with, at most, "small to medium sized aircraft during daylight hours in VFR conditions". 
Hence, Cueball considers the call from space as a prank, and reacts accordingly, failing to help, being rude, and in the end even completely ignoring the call.  This is contrary to how one would expect mission control to behave in the event of an explosion.{{Citation needed}} However, since there are several towns of the name of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_(disambiguation) "Houston"], and since it was never explicitly stated which one of those was addressed by the spacecraft, something like this was just bound to happen eventually. 

In the title text we learn that the call is from Cueball's mother, who is probably politely asking if he's got time for a chat. He tells her that he's doing "nothing important"—further driving home that he never assumed the distress call to be real. 

=== Apollo 13 ===
NASA mission {{w|Apollo 13}} was intended to be the third manned landing on the moon. Immediately following the explosion, astronaut Jack Swigert calmly reported—and shortly later repeated by James A. Lovell—to mission control: "Houston, we've had a problem"—a notable understatement which was famously misquoted in the {{w|Apollo 13 (film)|1995 film adaptation of the mission}} as "Houston, we have a problem".

Mission control worked diligently and tirelessly to solve numerous problems such as:
* If and how to adjust the spacecraft's trajectory.
* How to have the astronauts jerry-rig CO<sub>2</sub> removal equipment intended for the command module to work with the lunar module (to which the astronauts had evacuated) using the equipment on board.
* How to power the equipment back up within strict limitations.

==Transcript==
:[A spacecraft floats in outer space, the earth far in the background. Bits of it have broken off.]
:Orbiter transmission: Houston, we have a problem

:[Cueball with a headset sits at a computer desk with two monitors.]
:Cueball: Cool.

:[We see a close-up of Cueball.]
:Orbiter transmission: ...What? Houston, we stirred our O₂ tank and it ''exploded''!
:Cueball: Sounds like you suck at stirring.

:[We see the orbiter in space, far from the planet.]
:Orbiter transmission: ...Houston? Are you-
:Cueball: Listen, I've got another call. Good luck landing your airplane or whatever.
:''Click''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]