Space Center Houston, Texas

Center Houston Nasa Space Center

At Space Center Houston, you can experience space from its dramatic history and exciting present to its compelling future. Space Center Houston is the only place on Earth that gives you an out-of-this-world journey through human adventures into space. Space Center Houston's unparalleled exhibits, attractions, special presentations and hands-on activities share the story of NASA's manned space flight program. See astronauts train for missions, touch a real moon rock, land a shuttle, and take a behind-the-scenes tour of NASA. You’ll understand the past, experience the present, and be a part of the future of the America’s far-reaching space program. Visit www.spacecenter.org

Space Center Houston Tours. Take a guided behind-the-scenes tram tour of the real working areas of NASA's Johnson Space Center. Visit the Historic Mission Control Center, Hangar X and the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility. Before returning to Space Center Houston, you have an optional stop at Rocket Park, home of the massive rockets used in the earliest days of the space program. The tour may visit other facilities, such as the New Mission Control Center or the Sonny Carter Training Facility. You may even get to see astronauts training for upcoming missions.

History of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Established as the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) in 1961, the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is responsible for the design, development, and operation of human space flight. For more than three decades, JSC has been the world leader in human space flight operations for NASA. Opened in 1963 with Gemini IV as the first flight controlled here, MSC became a hub of activity as the Gemini program ended and the Apollo program gained momentum. The Apollo program obtained the national goal, set by President Kennedy in 1961, of landing men on the Moon and returning them safely within the decade.  [Top]

NASA Space Center - History in the Heavens. The eyes of the world were on Houston and the MSC on July 20, 1969 as Neil Armstrong reported from the lunar surface, “Houston, the Eagle has landed.” As Armstrong descended from the Lunar Module “Eagle” proclaiming “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind,” he took his historic first steps on the Moon’s surface. In 1973, the MSC was renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) and has been the heart and headquarters of the US space flight program since. Controlling flights from Gemini, Apollo, Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz through the current Shuttle program, JSC scientists, engineers and astronauts have made history in the heavens.

Houston NASA Mission Control. JSC is the training base and home for our nation’s astronauts, and the site of Mission Control, where talented flight controllers monitor the work of astronauts in space. Operations at JSC include the development, production and delivery of the Space Shuttle orbiters, the testing of spacecraft systems, the development and integration of experiments for human space flight, scientific engineering and medical research, and the selection and training of astronauts and the operation of human space flight.

NASA Space Center Lodging. Discover space-ious comfort and luxury at the Comfort Suites Stafford/Sugar Land, located just 30 minutes from the NASA Space Center. Our distinctive Stafford boutique hotel delivers affordable hospitality, award-winning service, peaceful ambiance and extraordinary value for unforgettable getaways to “Space City,” Texas. Check for Specials & Packages.  [Top]