Johnson Space Center

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Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center
File:GPN-2000-001112.jpg
An aerial view of the Johnson Space Center facility of Houston in 1989
Johnson Space Center is located in Texas
Johnson Space Center
LocationHouston, Texas
Built1962–1963
ArchitectNASA
Architectural styleNo Style Listed
NRHP reference No.85002815 [1]
Added to NRHPOctober 03, 1985

The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center ("JSC") is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's center for human spaceflight activities. The center consists of a complex of 100 buildings constructed on 1,620 acres (656 ha) [3] located in southeast Houston, Texas. Johnson Space Center is home to the United States astronaut corps and is responsible for training astronauts from both the U.S. and its international partners. The center, originally known as the "Manned Spacecraft Center" was constructed on land donated by Rice University and was opened in 1963. In 1973, the center was renamed in honor of the late President and Texas native, Lyndon B. Johnson.[4]

The Johnson Space Center is home to Mission Control Center (MCC-H), the NASA control center that coordinates and monitors all human spaceflight for the United States. MCC-H directs all Space Shuttle missions and activities aboard the International Space Station. The center is also responsible for direction of operations at White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico, which serves as a backup Shuttle landing site and as the coordinating facility for the upcoming Project Constellation program, which will replace the Space Shuttle program after 2010.[3]

History

Space Shuttle Challenger, atop its Boeing 747 SCA, flying over JSC

Johnson Space Center has its origins in legislation shepherded to enactment in 1958 by then-U.S. Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, who was from Texas. After President John F. Kennedy made the goal in 1961 to put a man on the Moon by the end of the decade, the Space Task Group was formed with Langley Research Center engineers to lead the Apollo Project.[4] The group would need test facilities and research laboratories suitable to mount an expedition to the moon. In July 1961, NASA Administrator James E. Webb headed the site selection team. Requirements for the new site included the availability of water transport and an all-weather airport, proximity to a major telecommunications network, availability of established industrial workers and contractor support, an available supply of water, a mild climate permitting year-round outdoor work and a culturally attractive community. Houston was initially included because of the proximity to the 4,700-acre (19 km2) United States Army San Jacinto Ordnance Depot located on the Houston Ship Channel, and to regional universities, including Rice University, University of Texas, and Texas A&M University.[4] The selection of Houston for the site was announced in September 1961. Construction of the center designed by Charles Luckman[5]began in April 1962, and the facility was officially opened for business in September 1963.[6] When opened, the facility was originally designated the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) and was to be the primary center for U.S. space missions involving astronauts. The center was renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in 1973, the year Johnson died.

The Mission Control Center has been the operational center of every American human space mission since Gemini IV. The control center manages all activity on board the spacecraft and directs all space shuttle missions. Mission Control Center was constructed in 1962.[4] By 1965, JSC was fully operational and has been responsible for coordinating and monitoring every crewed NASA mission since the Gemini Project.

Mission Control celebrating the successful splashdown of Apollo 13.

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.

In the wake of the January 28th, 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, the then-President Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy traveled to the Johnson Space Center on January 31st, 1986, 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 carefully planned 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 networks.

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 a real (though incomplete) Apollo CSM, intended to fly in the canceled Apollo 19 mission.

In September 2001, NASA's Johnson Space Center celebrated its 40th year of leading America into space. [7]

On April 20, 2007 a hostage situation developed in Building 44, the Communication and Tracking Development Laboratory where a gunman killed one person, injured another, and took a hostage for over three hours until finally committing suicide.

On September 13, 2008 Hurricane Ike hit Galveston as a Category 2 Hurricane and caused damage to the Johnson Space Center, destroying a few hangars for the T-38 Talons and other buildings were damaged as well.

Personnel

Around 3,000 civil servants, including 110 astronauts, are employed at JSC. The bulk of the workforce are the over 15,000 contractors. Over 15 contracting firms work at JSC; the largest is the United Space Alliance, which accounts for about 40 percent of the JSC employees. As of November 2005 the center director is former astronaut Michael Coats. Michael Coats is the tenth director at JSC, the first being Robert Gilruth.

Training

NASA's astronaut training is conducted at the Johnson Space Center. Astronaut candidates receive training on shuttle systems and in the basic sciences which include mathematics, guidance and navigation, oceanography, orbital dynamics, astronomy, and physics. [8] Candidates are required to complete military water survival prior to beginning their flying instruction. Candidates are also required to become SCUBA qualified for extravehicular training and are required to pass a swimming test.[9][10] EVA training is conducted at the Sonny Carter Training Facility. Candidates are also trained to deal with emergencies associated with hyperbaric and hypobaric atmospheric pressures and are given exposure to the microgravity of space flight.[8] Candidates maintain their flying proficiency by flying 15 hours per month in NASA's fleet of T-38 jets based at nearby Ellington Field. Additionally, candidates practice Orbiter landings in the Shuttle Training Aircraft.[8]

An astronaut training in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory

The astronauts begin their formal training program during their year of candidate training by reading manuals and by taking computer-based training lessons on the various Orbiter systems. The training process includes practice with the single systems trainer where the astronauts are trained to operate each Orbiter system and to recognize malfunctions and perform corrective actions.

Following SST training, the astronauts begin training in the Shuttle Mission Simulators (SMSs). The SMS provides training of shuttle vehicle operations and systems tasks associated with the major flight phases. Astronauts begin their training in the SMS using training software until they are assigned to a particular mission. Astronauts also train with the flight controllers in the Mission Control Center. The SMS and MCC are linked by computer in the same way the Orbiter and MCC are linked during an actual mission.

The Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory provides a controlled neutral buoyancy environment a very large pool containing about 6.2 million US gallons (23,000 m³) of water where astronauts train to practice extra-vehicular activity tasks while attempting to simulate zero-g conditions.[11][12] The facility provides pre-flight training in becoming familiar with crew activities and with the dynamics of body motion under weightless conditions.[8]

Research

Johnson Space Center leads NASA’s flight-related scientific and medical research programs. Technologies developed for spaceflight are now in use in many areas of medicine, energy, transportation, agriculture, communications and electronics. [13]

The Prebreathe Reduction Program is a research study program at the JSC that is currently being developed to improve the safety and efficiency of space walks from the ISS.

The OVERFLOW software was developed at JSC, in collaboration with ARC.

Facilities

The buildings at Johnson Space Center are all numbered and not named. A partial listing of building numbers and what is contained in them follows:

Building Description
1 Headquarters of JSC, including the offices of senior management and the JSC director.
2 Public Affairs Office, video production, and audio processing facilities. The JSC Visitors Center was a former tenant until 1993.
3 First cafeteria and employee store.
4 Offices for human spaceflight activities, including astronauts, flight controllers, and flight directors.
5 Shuttle Mission Simulator (SMS), both fixed-base and motion-based.
7 Vacuum Chamber and Space Suit testing facilities.
8 Health Clinic and historical photo and video archives.
9 Space Vehicle Mockup Facility (SVMF), including full-scale International Space Station module mockups and several Space Shuttle cabin and payload bay mockups.
10 Large scale fabrication facility, the high bay, and machine shops.
11 Second cafeteria and employee store.
12 JSC's Office of Education, which specializes in promoting space science, technology, engineering and mathematics across the country.
15 Human and Environmental Factors offices
16 and 16A Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory, where software and hardware changes are tested to insure they function well with the whole vehicle in a simulated flight environment.
30 Mission Control Center (MCC) including the Flight Control Rooms (FCRs) to support the Space Shuttle and ISS.
32 Space Environment Simulation Laboratory Two vacuum chambers for testing flight hardware, designated as a National Historic Landmark.
37 Life Sciences Laboratory. Formerly the Lunar Receiving Laboratory.
44 Communications and Tracking Center.
45 Offices for human spaceflight activities, including astronauts, flight controllers, and flight directors.
110 Security headquarters just outside the NASA gates by the employee entrance. Security issues badges for employees, contractors, and visitors.

Visitor complex

The visitor's center of JSC is Space Center Houston since 1994. One of the JSC buildings (Building 2) once housed the JSC Visitor's Center.

Heliport

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center has the Johnson Space Center Heliport (FAA LID: 72TX). Ronald C. Bailey manages the heliport.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23.
  2. ^ "Apollo Mission Control Center". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
  3. ^ a b NASA. "Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center". Retrieved 2008-08-27.
  4. ^ a b c d "JSC History". Retrieved 2008-03-25.
  5. ^ [1]
  6. ^ "Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center". NASAFacts. JSC 04264 Rev D.
  7. ^ "JSC Celebrates 40 Years of Human Space Flight". National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved 2007-02-18.
  8. ^ a b c d NASA. "Astronaut Selection and Training". Retrieved 2008-08-27.
  9. ^ Fitzpatrick DT, Conkin J (2003). "Improved pulmonary function in working divers breathing nitrox at shallow depths". Undersea Hyperb Med abstract. 30 (Supplement). Retrieved 2008-08-27.
  10. ^ Fitzpatrick DT, Conkin J (2003). "Improved pulmonary function in working divers breathing nitrox at shallow depths". Aviat Space Environ Med. 74 (7): 763–7. PMID 12862332. Retrieved 2008-08-27. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  11. ^ Strauss S (2008). "Space medicine at the NASA-JSC, neutral buoyancy laboratory". Aviat Space Environ Med. 79 (7): 732–3. PMID 18619137. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  12. ^ Strauss S, Krog RL, Feiveson AH (2005). "Extravehicular mobility unit training and astronaut injuries". Aviat Space Environ Med. 76 (5): 469–74. PMID 15892545. Retrieved 2008-08-27. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ NASA. "Johnson Space Center: Exploring the science of space for the future of Earth" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-08-27. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  14. ^ http://www.airnav.com/airport/72TX

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Category:Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.

Heliport

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