Johnson Space Center has its origins in
NASA's
Space Task Group (STG). Starting on November 5, 1958, Langley Research Center engineers under
Robert R. Gilruth directed
Project Mercury and follow-on crewed space programs. The STG originally reported to the
Goddard Space Flight Center organization, with a total staff of 45, including 37 engineers, and eight secretaries and
human "computers" (women who ran calculations on mechanical adding machines). In 1959, the center added 32 Canadian engineers put out of work by the cancellation of the
Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow project. NASA's first administrator,
T. Keith Glennan, realized that the growth of the U.S. space program would cause the STG to outgrow the Langley and Goddard centers and require its own location. On January 1, 1961, he wrote a memo to his yet-unnamed successor (who turned out to be
James E. Webb), recommending a new site be chosen. Later that year, when President
John F. Kennedy set the goal to put a person on the
Moon by the end of the decade, it became clear Gilruth would need a larger organization to lead the
Apollo Program, with new test facilities and research laboratories.
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. A set of requirements for the new site was drawn up and released to the Congress and general public. These included: access to
water transport by large barges, a moderate climate, availability of all-weather commercial jet service, a well-established industrial complex with supporting technical facilities and labor, close proximity to a culturally attractive community in the vicinity of an institution of higher education, a strong electric utility and water supply, at least of land, and certain specified cost parameters. In August 1961, Webb asked associate director of the
Ames Research Center John F. Parsons to head a site-selection team, which included Philip Miller, Wesley Hjornevik, and I. Edward Campagna, the construction engineer for the STG. The team initially came up with a list of 22 cities based on the climate and water criteria, then cut this to a short list of nine with nearby federal facilities: • Jacksonville, Florida (
Green Cove Springs 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) Another 14 sites were then added, including two additional Houston sites chosen because of proximity to
Rice University. went so far as to make separate presentations to Webb and the headquarters staff, so Webb added these additional sites to the final review. 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
Hugh Dryden in two separate memoranda, one reviewing the criteria and procedures, and the other stating: "Our decision is that this laboratory should be located in Houston, Texas, in close association with Rice University and the other educational institutions there and in that region." The Executive Office and NASA made advance notifications of the award, and the public announcement of the location followed on September 19, 1961. According to
Texas A&M University historian
Henry C. Dethloff, "Although the Houston site neatly fit the criteria required for the new center, Texas undoubtedly exerted an enormous political influence on such a decision. Lyndon B. Johnson was Vice President and head of the Space Council,
Albert Thomas headed the House Appropriations Committee,
Bob Casey and
Olin E. Teague were members of the House Committee on Science and Astronautics, and Teague headed the Subcommittee on Manned Space Flight. Finally,
Sam Rayburn was Speaker of the House of Representatives." The land for the new facility was donated to Rice by the
Humble Oil company, situated in an undeveloped area southeast of Houston adjacent to
Clear Lake near
Galveston Bay. At the time, the land was used to graze cattle. Immediately after Webb's announcement, Gilruth and his staff began planning the move from Langley to Houston, using what would grow to of leased office and laboratory space in 11 scattered sites. NASA purchased an additional so the property would face a highway, and the total included another reserve drilling site. 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. That month, Kennedy gave a speech at Rice University on the U.S. space program. The speech is famous for highlighting the Apollo program, but Kennedy also made reference to the new Center: The facility was officially opened for business in September 1963.
Mission Control Center in 1969 In 1961, as plans for
Project Gemini began, it became increasingly clear that the
Mercury Control Center located at the
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station launch center would become inadequate to control missions with maneuverable spacecraft such as Gemini and Apollo.
Christopher Kraft and three other
flight controllers began studying what was needed for an improved control center, and directed a study contract awarded to
Philco's Western Development Laboratory. Philco bid on and won the contract to build the electronic equipment for the new Mission Control Center, which would be located in Building 30 of JSC rather than Canaveral or the
Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. Construction began in 1963. 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
Gemini 2 flight in January 1965 and the first crewed Gemini flight,
Gemini 3 in March 1965, though the Mercury Control Center still retained primary responsibility for control of these flights. It became fully operational for the flight of
Gemini 4 the following June, and has been the primary flight control center for all subsequent U.S.
crewed space missions from Project Gemini forward.
Apollo program In addition to housing NASA's astronaut operations, JSC is also the site of the former
Lunar Receiving Laboratory, where the first astronauts returning from the Moon were
quarantined, and where the majority of
lunar samples are stored. The center's Landing and Recovery Division operated
MV Retriever in the Gulf of Mexico for Gemini and Apollo astronauts to practice water egress after
splashdown. 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; dedication ceremonies were held six months later on August 27. 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. In June 2019, the restored Apollo Mission Control Center was opened for tourists.
Space Shuttle program In the wake of the January 28, 1986,
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, President
Ronald Reagan and First Lady
Nancy Reagan traveled to JSC on January 31 to speak at a memorial service honoring the astronauts. It was attended by 6,000 NASA employees and 4,000 guests, as well as by the families of the crew. During the ceremony, an Air Force band led the singing of "God Bless America" as NASA
T-38 Talon supersonic jets flew directly over the scene in the traditional
missing-man formation. All activities were broadcast live by the national television and radio networks. 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. On September 13, 2008,
Hurricane Ike hit
Galveston as a category 2 hurricane and caused minor damage to the Mission Control Center and other buildings at JSC. The storm damaged the roofs of several hangars for the T-38 Talons at
Ellington Field. ==Facilities==