Space Center Houston, Houston Texas

Description

WELCOME ABOARD
Space Center Houston is the official visitor center of the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center—the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) center for human spaceflight activities—located in Houston, Texas. Currently, the facility is operated by the nonprofit Manned Spaceflight Educational Foundation Incorporated with design input from Walt Disney Imagineering.and designed by award-winning experience designer Bob Rogers (designer) and the design team BRC Imagination Arts.






DESTINATION MOON

Apollo 11 astronauts pose for a crew portrait. Pictured left to right are commander Neil Armstrong, module pilot Michael Collins and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin.Space Center Houston first on rare tour of historic Apollo 11.Space Center Houston is the first of four stops for a brand-new exhibit featuring the Apollo 11 command module, which will open Oct. 14. This exhibit will be the first time the Apollo 11 command module will leave the
Smithsonian since a 1971 national tour. Space Center Houston will be the only location where visitors can see the space capsules for both the first and last lunar landings. The nonprofit Space Center Houston is the home of the Apollo 17 command module, the last mission to land on the moon.In a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, guests will see more than 20 one-of-a-kind Apollo 11 mission artifacts, some of which flew on the historic Apollo 11 mission. They include the hatch, the F-1 injector plate, a lunar sample return container, astronaut Buzz Aldrin’s extravehicular visor and gloves, astronaut Michael Collins’ Omega Speedmaster Chronograph, a star chart, survival kit and more.With the addition of the new exhibit, guests will experience the first and the last moon landings in one place for the first time ever.The exhibition, a partnership of the National Air and Space Museum and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), will commemorate the 50th anniversary in 2019 of the extraordinary achievement of man’s first step on the moon.

MISSION MARS

Experience a virtual Martian sunset, climb into a simulated Orion capsule and feel the texture of rock cliffs inspired by the red planet in our brand-new interactive exhibit, Mission Mars, now open.
Discover what it takes to travel to Mars, what hardware will get us to the fourth planet in our solar system and how humans may live on the red planet in the next few decades.
Space Center Houston worked closely with NASA in the development of the Mission Mars exhibit, which guides visitors through NASA’s journey to Mars, beginning with a look at how our view of the red planet has changed through the ages. Find out what goals NASA aims to achieve by exploring Mars and what the red planet can teach us about Earth and the universe.






INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION GALLERY
ISS history:From November 1998 through February 2011, NASA completed more than 40 missions to assemble the ISS. Five space agencies collaborated with the construction of the space station, including Roscosmos, Canadian Space Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, European Space Agency and NASA. To date, there are 15 nations that have partnered with and sent astronauts to the station.
The first module to launch for the ISS was the Zarya Module, which supported most of the communications and operations of the ISS until the arrival of the Zvezda Module. The newest module, the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, arrived at the ISS on April 10, 2016 to test expandable habitats for future missions.
Most astronauts spend about six months at the station conducting research that is not possible on Earth. Astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian Cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko hold the record for long-duration stays in space after they spent 340 consecutive days on the station to provide scientists valuable information for understanding how the body reacts during extended stays in microgravity. This mission brings NASA one step closer to meeting the challenges of sending astronauts to Mars.

INDEPENDENCE PLAZA
Independence Plaza presented by Boeing shares an important trait with other awe-inspiring landmarks like Mount Rushmore. One can’t help but notice the sheer size of it all.
Driving up to Space Center Houston, guests immediately see the 240-ton complex standing beside the center. This foundation supports the 159-ton shuttle carrier aircraft NASA 905, the 80-ton shuttle replica Independence and a six-story tower that are used to enter both vehicles, as well as the exhibits inside NASA 905.






SATURN V AT ROCKET PARK
Mighty and massive, the Saturn V rocket at NASA Johnson Space Center is the tallest, heaviest and most powerful rocket ever flown. NASA used the colossal Saturn V rockets primarily during the Apollo program to send Americans to the moon.
There are only three Saturn V rockets on display in the world. The rocket at NASA Johnson Space Center is the only one comprised of all flight-certified hardware. The other two rockets are made of flight hardware, mock-ups and test components. The three segments, called stages, contain the powerful engines needed to lift off, entering orbit to reach the moon. In total, 13 Saturn V rockets launched into space.
The Saturn V rocket stands 363 feet tall and has dazzled viewers since its first un-crewed takeoff, the Apollo 4 mission in 1967. When fueled and ready for launch, the rocket can weigh 6.2 million pounds (2.8 kg). That is almost the same weight as 39 space shuttle orbiters.
Flown from 1967 to 1973, the rocket launched 27 astronauts into space with six successful missions landing men on the moon. Saturn V also launched Skylab, America’s first space station, into orbit in its final mission. Astronauts could immediately feel the impressive power of Saturn V propelling them through Earth’s atmosphere into orbit.

GEMINI V
In the middle of the Cold War, one mission not only put the U.S. space program back in front of Russia. It also boosted NASA to the moon.On Aug. 21, 1965, the third crewed Gemini flight went up with a pair of astronauts nestled in its belly. Charles “Pete” Conrad and Gordon Cooper were launched into space on a mission that lasted just shy of eight days, setting a new record for longest human space flight that was three days longer than the previous Soviet Union record. Conrad and Cooper circled the Earth 120 times on that trip.

HOURS OF OPERATION:
OPEN Daily at 9 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Admission Prices:
GUEST AGE ONLINE DOOR PRICE

CHILDREN
0-3 FREE FREE
KIDS
4-11 $24.95 $24.9
ADULTS
12-64 $29.95 $29.95
SENIORS
65+ $27.95 $27.95

Visit there website here for full details.Space Center Houston, Houston Texas www://spacecenter.org