Bookable
An Apollonaut travel guide
Moments in a longer story.
Selected milestones in the history of the Johnson Space Center and Space Center Houston.
On this page
Mission Control, Moon missions and visitors
These dates describe the place you can learn about here. They are not a company timeline for Apollonaut.
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19 September 1961
Houston chosen
NASA announces Houston as the site of its new crewed spaceflight centre.
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1 November 1961
Manned Spacecraft Center
The centre is formally established.
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September 1963
Open for work
The new site south-east of Houston opens.
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June 1965
Mission Control
Mission Control in Houston is fully operational for the Gemini 4 flight.
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19 February 1973
Named for Johnson
The centre is renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.
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1977
A Saturn V on display
A Saturn V rocket goes on outdoor display at the centre’s entrance.
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16 October 1992
Space Center Houston opens
The visitor centre opens, run by the non-profit Manned Space Flight Education Foundation.
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2014
Smithsonian Affiliate
Space Center Houston becomes a Smithsonian Affiliate; NASA 905 arrives and Independence is lifted onto it in August.
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23 January 2016
Independence Plaza
Independence Plaza opens to the public.
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June 2019
Mission Control restored
The restored Apollo Mission Control room opens to visitors.
Follow the stories behind the dates
A timeline is a beginning. The longer history introduces the people and places; the sources below provide further context.
Read at the source
Sources & further reading
Links lead to the original publishers.
