Johnson Space Center
On the 5th of November 1958, Robert R. Gilruth led a small group of forty-five people from the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia to begin Project Mercury. This team included thirty-seven engineers and eight women who performed calculations on mechanical adding machines. By 1961, NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan realized this scattered operation could not support the growing ambition to land humans on the Moon. He wrote a memo recommending a new site for a dedicated organization that would eventually lead the Apollo Program. Congress passed a $1.7 billion appropriations bill in 1962 which allocated sixty million dollars specifically for building this new laboratory. A selection committee led by John F. Parsons visited twenty-three potential locations between August 21 and the 7th of September 1961. They considered cities like Jacksonville, Tampa, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, and San Francisco based on criteria including water transport access and moderate climates. Political pressure from Texas leaders was intense during these visits. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson chaired the Space Council while Senator Margaret Chase Smith and Governor John Volpe lobbied heavily for their home states. The Air Force initially planned to close MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, making it the committee's first choice. When that plan changed, the Rice University site in Houston moved to the top of the list. Webb announced the decision to locate the center in Houston on the 14th of September 1961. Public confirmation followed four days later on the 19th of September 1961. The land itself had been donated by Humble Oil company through Rice University and was previously used only to graze cattle.
Charles Luckman designed the physical structure of the facility starting in April 1962. Gilruth and his staff moved into temporary leased office space scattered across eleven different sites by September 1963. Kennedy delivered a famous speech at Rice University that same month which highlighted the Apollo program and referenced the new Center. The official doors opened for business in September 1963 after construction began two years prior. The complex eventually grew to include one hundred buildings situated on Clear Lake southeast of Houston. Joseph L. Smith & Associates owned tracts of land near the future center while NASA purchased additional property to ensure highway access. A reserve drilling site remained part of the total acreage included in the purchase. The transition from temporary locations to permanent operations marked a significant shift in organizational capacity. By 1967, the city of Houston earned the official nickname Space City due to this cultural footprint. The original Manned Spacecraft Center became home to NASA's astronaut corps and international partners. It housed the Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center which would provide flight control for every subsequent human spaceflight mission.
Christopher Kraft and three other flight controllers studied requirements for an improved control center as plans for Project Gemini developed in 1961. Philco won a contract to build electronic equipment for what would become Building 30 of JSC rather than Canaveral or Goddard. Construction started in 1963 with two Mission Operations Control Rooms designed to allow training during live missions. Testing occurred during the uncrewed Gemini 2 flight in January 1965 and the first crewed Gemini 3 flight in March 1965. The Mercury Control Center retained primary responsibility until June 1965 when Gemini 4 made it fully operational. This facility has served as the primary flight control center for all U.S. crewed missions since that date. The rooms operate around the clock usually divided into three shifts to monitor spacecraft from launch to landing. Computer resources within these rooms coordinate commands and communications with orbiting vehicles. NASA officially renamed the center the Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center on the 14th of April 2011. Today it directs American activities aboard the International Space Station while also managing past programs like Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz.
The Lunar Receiving Laboratory at Johnson Space Center quarantined the first astronauts returning from the Moon. Most lunar samples returned during the Apollo program are stored within this specialized facility today. Landing and Recovery Division operated MV Retriever in the Gulf of Mexico to practice water egress procedures after splashdown. President Richard Nixon signed a Senate resolution renaming the Manned Spacecraft Center on the 19th of February 1973. Dedication ceremonies followed six months later on August 27. A Saturn V rocket stands whole except for missing rings between stages and fairings between other sections. These components consist of actual surplus flight-ready articles rather than replicas. Real but incomplete Apollo command and service modules intended for the canceled Apollo 19 mission also remain on display. The restored Apollo Mission Control Center opened to tourists in June 2019 as a National Historic Landmark. Building 31-N houses the Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility where scientists analyze processed materials. This location preserves artifacts that connect modern generations directly to the lunar exploration era.
President Ronald Reagan traveled to JSC on the 31st of January 1986 to speak at a memorial service honoring Challenger disaster victims. Six thousand NASA employees and four thousand guests attended alongside family members of the crew. An Air Force band led singing of God Bless America while T-38 Talon jets flew overhead in a traditional missing-man formation. All activities broadcast live across national television and radio networks. A similar memorial occurred on the 4th of February 2003 for Columbia disaster astronauts three days after their loss. President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush attended this second ceremony which focused mainly on employees and families. Vice-President Dick Cheney later led a second service for the nation at Washington National Cathedral two days afterward. Hurricane Ike hit Galveston as a category 2 storm on the 13th of September 2008 causing minor damage to Mission Control buildings. Roofs of several hangars housing T-38 Talons at Ellington Field sustained storm damage during this event. These tragedies reshaped the culture within the center while creating permanent memorials near the main entrance.
The Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory contains about six point two million U.S. gallons of water where astronauts practice spacewalks. This controlled environment simulates zero-g conditions by providing neutral buoyancy for extra-vehicular activity tasks. Candidates must complete military water survival training before beginning flying instruction. They also become scuba-qualified and pass swimming tests required for EVA training. The Sonny Carter Training Facility hosts emergency procedures associated with hyperbaric and hypobaric atmospheric pressures. Astronauts maintain flying proficiency by logging fifteen hours per month in NASA's fleet of T-38 jets based at nearby Ellington Field. About three thousand two hundred civil servants including one hundred ten astronauts work at Johnson Space Center today. Over eleven thousand contractors make up the bulk of the workforce as of October 2014. Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies took over United Space Alliance's primary contract that same year. Candidates receive training on spacecraft systems plus basic sciences including mathematics oceanography orbital dynamics astronomy and physics.
Robert R. Gilruth became NASA's first director of the Manned Spacecraft Center on the 1st of November 1961. He served until the 17th of January 1972 when Christopher C. Kraft Jr. took command. Kraft led the center until the 7th of August 1982 followed by Gerald D. Griffin who served until the 14th of January 1986. Jesse W. Moore held office from the 23rd of January 1986 to the 2nd of October 1986 before Aaron Cohen began his tenure. Carolyn L. Huntoon served briefly from the 6th of January 1994 to the 4th of August 1995 while George W. S. Abbey acted as director from the 4th of August 1995 to the 23rd of January 1996. Roy S. Estess led operations from the 23rd of February 2001 to the 31st of March 2002. Jefferson D. Howell Jr. directed the center from the 1st of April 2002 to the 23rd of November 2005. Michael L. Coats served from the 23rd of November 2005 to the 31st of December 2012. Ellen Ochoa became director on the 1st of January 2013 and served until the 24th of May 2018. Mark S. Geyer took over on the 25th of May 2018 and left the 3rd of May 2021. Vanessa Wyche served acting director from the 4th of May 2021 to the 29th of June 2021 then again from the 3rd of September 2025 onward. Stephen Koerner held office from the 25th of February 2025 to the 3rd of September 2025. The Texas Space Commission was established by Governor Greg Abbott on the 26th of March 2024 at Johnson Space Center.
Up Next
Continue Browsing
Common questions
When was the Johnson Space Center officially established and by whom?
The Johnson Space Center began operations on the 5th of November 1958 under the leadership of Robert R. Gilruth who led a team from the Langley Research Center.
Why was Houston selected as the location for the new NASA center in 1961?
Houston won the selection after political pressure from Texas leaders and because the Rice University site became the top choice when plans to close MacDill Air Force Base changed.
What is the function of the Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center at Johnson Space Center?
This facility serves as the primary flight control center for all U.S. crewed missions since June 1965 and currently directs American activities aboard the International Space Station.
Who directed the Johnson Space Center between January 2013 and May 2018?
Ellen Ochoa served as director of the Johnson Space Center from the 1st of January 2013 until the 24th of May 2018.