Johnson Space Center
Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center | |
Abbreviation | JSC |
---|---|
Predecessor | Space Task Group |
Formation | November 1, 1961[1] |
Location | |
Owner | NASA |
Director | Vanessa E. Wyche |
Staff | 3,200 civil service |
Website | JSC home page |
Formerly called | Manned Spacecraft Center |
The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight in Houston, Texas (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. It was renamed in honor of the late US president and Texas native, Lyndon B. Johnson, by an act of the United States Senate on February 19, 1973.
JSC consists of a complex of 100 buildings constructed on 1,620 acres (660 ha) in the
The original Manned Spacecraft Center grew out of the
History
Johnson Space Center has its origins in
Site selection
In 1961, Congress held hearings and passed a $1.7 billion 1962 NASA appropriations bill which included $60 million for the new crewed spaceflight laboratory.
- Jacksonville, Florida (Naval Air Station)
- Tampa, Florida (MacDill Air Force Base)
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- Shreveport, Louisiana (Barksdale Air Force Base)
- Houston, Texas (San Jacinto Ordnance Depot)
- Victoria, Texas (FAA Airport; former Foster Air Force Base)
- Corpus Christi, Texas (Naval Air Station Corpus Christi)
- San Diego, California (Camp Elliott)
- San Francisco, California (Benicia Arsenal)[7]
Another 14 sites were then added, including two additional Houston sites chosen because of proximity to Rice University.[4] The team visited all 23 sites between August 21 and September 7, 1961. During these visits, Massachusetts Governor John A. Volpe and Senator Margaret Chase Smith headed a delegation which exerted particularly strong political pressure, prompting a personal inquiry to Webb from President Kennedy. Senators and congressmen from sites in Missouri and California similarly lobbied the selection team. Proponents of sites in Boston, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Norfolk, Virginia,[8] went so far as to make separate presentations to Webb and the headquarters staff, so Webb added these additional sites to the final review.[7]
Following its tour, the team identified MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa as its first choice, based on the fact the Air Force was planning to close down its Strategic Air Command operations there. The Houston Rice University site was second, and the Benicia Ordnance Depot in San Francisco was third. Before a decision could be made, however, the Air Force decided not to close MacDill, omitting it from consideration and moving the Rice University site to first place. Webb informed President Kennedy on September 14 of the decision made by him and deputy administrator
The land for the new facility was 1,000 acres (400 ha) donated to Rice by the Humble Oil company, situated in an undeveloped area 25 mi (40 km) southeast of Houston adjacent to Clear Lake near Galveston Bay.[11][12][13] At the time, the land was used to graze cattle.[9] Immediately after Webb's announcement, Gilruth and his staff began planning the move from Langley to Houston, using what would grow to 295,996 sq ft (27,498.9 m2) of leased office and laboratory space in 11 scattered sites.[6] On November 1, the conversion of the Task Group to MSC became official.[1]
Construction and early operations
Tracts of land in the vicinity of the Manned Spacecraft Center were either owned or being under exclusive control of Joseph L. Smith & Associates, Inc.[14] NASA purchased an additional 600 acres (240 ha) so the property would face a highway, and the total included another 20 acres (8.1 ha) reserve drilling site.[15] Construction of the center, designed by Charles Luckman, began in April 1962, and Gilruth's new organization was formed and moved to the temporary locations by September.[16] That month, Kennedy gave a speech at Rice University on the US space program. The speech is famous for highlighting the Apollo program, but Kennedy also made reference to the new Center:
What was once the furthest outpost on the old frontier of the West will be the furthest outpost on the new frontier of science and space. Houston, ... with its Manned Spacecraft Center, will become the heart of a large scientific and engineering community. During the next 5 years the National Aeronautics and Space Administration expects to double the number of scientists and engineers in this area, to increase its outlays for salaries and expenses to $60 million a year; to invest some $200 million in plant and laboratory facilities; and to direct or contract for new space efforts over $1 billion from this Center in this City.
— John F. Kennedy, Speech at Rice University, September 12, 1962[17]
The 1,620-acre (6.6 km2) facility was officially opened for business in September 1963.[18][19]
Mission Control Center
In 1961, as plans for
The new center had two Mission Operations Control Rooms, allowing training and preparation for a later mission to be carried out while a live mission is in progress. It was brought online for testing purposes during the uncrewed
NASA named the center the Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center on April 14, 2011.[22]
Apollo program
In addition to housing NASA's astronaut operations, JSC is also the site of the former
On February 19, 1973, four weeks after Johnson's death, President Richard Nixon signed into law a Senate resolution renaming the Manned Spacecraft Center in his honor. As Senate Majority Leader, Johnson had sponsored the 1958 legislation which created NASA;[23][24] dedication ceremonies were held six months later on August 27.[25]
One of the artifacts displayed at Johnson Space Center is the Saturn V rocket. It is whole, except for the ring between the S-IC and S-II stages, and the fairing between the S-II and S-IVB stages, and made of actual surplus flight-ready articles. It also has real (though incomplete) Apollo command and service modules, intended to fly in the canceled Apollo 19 mission.[citation needed]
In June 2019, the restored Apollo Mission Control Center was opened for tourists.[26]
Space Shuttle program
In the wake of the January 28, 1986,
A similar memorial service was held at the Johnson Space Center on February 4, 2003, for the astronauts who perished in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster three days before, which was attended by President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush. Although that service was broadcast live by the national television and radio networks, it was geared mainly to NASA employees and the families of the astronauts. A second service for the nation was led by Vice-President Dick Cheney and his wife Lynne at Washington National Cathedral two days later.[27]
On September 13, 2008,
Facilities
The Johnson Space Center is home to
JSC handles most of the planning and training of the US astronaut corps and houses training facilities such as the
Building 31-N houses the Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility, which stores, analyzes, and processes most of the samples returned from the Moon during the Apollo program.[citation needed]
The center is also responsible for direction of operations at White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico, which served as a backup Space Shuttle landing site and would have been the coordinating facility for the Constellation program, which was planned to replace the Shuttle program after 2010, but was canceled in 2009.[citation needed]
The visitor center has been the adjacent Space Center Houston since 1994; JSC Building 2 previously housed the visitor center.[citation needed]
The
Personnel and training
About 3,200 civil servants, including 110 astronauts, are employed at Johnson Space Center. The bulk of the workforce consists of over 11,000 contractors. As of October 2014, Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies took over United Space Alliance's primary contract.[33] As of June 2021,[update] the center's director is Vanessa E. Wyche.[citation needed]
NASA's astronaut training is conducted at the Johnson Space Center. Astronaut candidates receive training on spacecraft systems and in basic sciences including mathematics, guidance and navigation, oceanography, orbital dynamics, astronomy, and physics.
Research
Johnson Space Center leads NASA's human spaceflight-related scientific and medical research programs. Technologies developed for spaceflight are now in use in many areas of
The
Johnson Space Center was granted a five-year, $120-million extension of its agreement with the
The
The
The Texas Space Commission was established by Texas governor Greg Abbott on March 26, 2024 at Johnson Space Center.[41]
Memorial Grove
Astronauts, center directors, and other NASA employees are memorialized in a Memorial Grove near the main entrance and visitor badging center (building 110). Trees dedicated to the memory of astronauts and center directors are in a round cluster closest to the entrance, other employees are memorialized behind along a road on the facility leading to the main entrance.[42][43]
Space Shuttle retirement
JSC put in a bid to display one of the retired Space Shuttle orbiters, but was not selected.[44]
Gallery
-
A 2010 photo of JSC from the International Space Station
-
Space Shuttle Challenger atop its Shuttle Carrier Aircraft over JSC in 1983
-
Mission Control Center in 2004
-
Shuttle simulator in Building 9 in 2006
-
Aerial view of the complex from 2000 feet, c 1989
See also
References
- ^ a b Grimwood (1963), p. 152.
- ^ Murray & Bly Cox (1989), pp. 33–35.
- ^ Dethloff (1993), p. 36.
- ^ a b "JSC History". Retrieved March 25, 2008.
- ^ a b Dethloff (1993), p. 38.
- ^ a b Swenson, Loyd S. Jr.; Grimwood, James M.; Alexander, Charles C. (1989). "Chapter 12.3: Space Task Group Gets a New Home and Name". This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury. Special Publication. Vol. 4201. NASA.
- ^ a b Dethloff (1993), p. 39.
- ^ Korsgaard, Sean (July 20, 2019). "Williamsburg recalls watching Apollo 11 and helping crew get there". Virginia Gazette, Daily Press. Tribune Media. Archived from the original on July 24, 2019. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
- ^ a b Dethloff (1993), p. 40.
- ^ Dethloff (1993), pp. 41–42.
- ^ "Houston, we have a space program". Archived from the original on January 6, 2017. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8223-1537-7.
- ^ a b Dumoulin (1988).
- ^ "Space" is our product. // Aviation Week & Space Technology, June 17, 1963, v. 78, no. 24, p. 127.
- ^ Dethloff (1993), p. 48.
- ^ Swenson; Grimwood; Alexander (1989). "Appendix C: Organization Charts". This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury. Special Publication. Vol. 4201. NASA.
- ^ John F. Kennedy, "Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort"
- ^ "Charles Luckman Biography". Loyola Marymount University. 2007. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008. Retrieved July 6, 2009.
- ^ "Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center". NASAFacts. JSC 04264 Rev D.
- ^ Dethloff (1993), pp. 85–86.
- ^ Dethloff (1993), p. 85.
- ^ NASA - NASA Names Mission Control for Legendary Flight Director Christopher Kraft. Nasa.gov (2011-04-14). Retrieved on 2013-09-06.
- ^ Nixon (1973).
- ^ New York Times (1973).
- ^ "Space center dedication held". Victoria Advocate. (Texas). Associated Press. August 28, 1973. p. 1A.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
- ^ Woodruff, Judy (February 6, 2003). "CNN LIVE EVENT/SPECIAL: Remembering the Columbia 7: Washington National Cathedral Memorial for Astronauts". CNN. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- ^ a b Frank Morring Jr. (September 16, 2008). "Ike Damage To NASA-JSC Light". Aviation Week. Retrieved October 18, 2009.[permanent dead link]
- PMID 18619137.
- PMID 15892545. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
- ^ a b c NASA. "Astronaut Selection and Training". Archived from the original on April 27, 1999. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
- ^ "AirNav: 72TX - Johnson Space Center Heliport".
- ^ "NASA Awards Mission Operations Support Contract". NASA.gov. NASA. July 14, 2014.
- PMID 12862332. Archived from the original on August 11, 2011. Retrieved August 27, 2008.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link - PMID 12862332. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
- ^ Siceloff, Steven (April 20, 2011). "T-38s Soar as Spaceflight Trainers". NASA.
- ^ NASA. Johnson Space Center: Exploring the science of space for the future of Earth (PDF) (Report). NASA. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
- ^ "Astromaterials Research Office". Johnson Space Center. Archived from the original on October 10, 2009. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
- ^ "Johnson Space Center to continue biomedical research". Houston Business Journal. October 2, 2007. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
- ^ "Comparison of V-4 and V-5 Exercise/Oxygen Prebreathe Protocols to Support Extravehicular Activity in Microgravity". NASA Technical Reports. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
- ^ "Gov. Greg Abbott announces launch of Texas Space Commission at Johnson Space Center in Houston". khou.com. March 26, 2024. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
- ^ "Memorial Grove Map". NASA. Archived from the original on March 5, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
- ^ "Memorial Trees - Starport". starport.jsc.nasa.gov. January 4, 2022.
- ^ Berger, Eric. "Houston we've had a problem: 'Space City' snubbed in bid for retired space shuttle". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on April 17, 2011. Retrieved April 12, 2011.
Further reading
- ISBN 978-1502753588.
- Dumoulin, Jim (1988). "LYNDON B. JOHNSON SPACE CENTER". NSTS Shuttle Reference Manual. NASA: Kennedy Space Center. Archived from the original on January 14, 2012. Retrieved January 19, 2010.
- Grimwood, James M. (1963). "PART III (A) Operational Phase of Project Mercury, May 5, 1961 through May 1962". Project Mercury: A Chronology. Special Publication. Vol. 4001. Washington D.C.: NASA. p. 152.
- Murray, Charles; Bly Cox, Catherine (1989). Apollo: The Race to the Moon. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-671-61101-1.
- New York Times (February 20, 1973). "Houston Space Center Is Named for Johnson". The New York Times. p. 19.
- Nixon, Richard M. (February 19, 1973). "50 – Statement About Signing a Bill Designating the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas, as the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center". Retrieved July 9, 2011.
External links
- Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center
- Suddenly, tomorrow came... A history of the Johnson Space Center (PDF format) 1993
- JSC Celebrates 40 Years of Human Space Flight September 2001
- Roundup, official newsletter Roundup archive 1961-2001 Roundup archive 2003-present
- NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project – Interview with Thomas W. 'Tommy' Holloway
- "America's Space Program: Exploring a New Frontier", a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan
- Aviation: From Sand Dunes to Sonic Booms, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary
- Mission Control Archive Footage