Bookable
An Apollonaut travel guide
A city of spaceflight.
An introduction to the area south-east of Houston where NASA’s Johnson Space Center and its visitor centre stand.
On this page
Read the centre from NASA Parkway
Space Center Houston stands on East NASA Parkway, beside the Johnson Space Center, south-east of downtown Houston. NASA chose Houston for its crewed spaceflight centre in 1961, and Mission Control has worked here since 1965.
A guide can give context without turning a working place into a backdrop. Notice how the tram tour moves between office buildings, training facilities and test halls that are still in use.
Machines at full size
The Saturn V in Rocket Park lies on its side, with its stages separated so that you can walk its full length. Outside, the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft shows how an orbiter was carried on the back of a jumbo jet.
Begin with a detail and ask how it was made, tested and maintained. A photograph alone cannot tell you who built a capsule or the conditions in which they worked.
A visitor centre chapter
Space Center Houston shows another side of the Johnson Space Center: a place built for people to understand human spaceflight, from Mercury capsules to the International Space Station.
Look at the meeting of the two: a working NASA centre, and the galleries that explain it to visitors.
Make room for context
Pair this reading with the centre’s history and the Journal. This is an introduction for visitors, not a claim that our team manages these places or represents NASA.
Read at the source
Sources & further reading
Links lead to the original publishers.
