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64-880: The name was proposed by John O. Annexstad of the Meteorite Working Group at the Johnson Space Center , Houston, Texas , in association with field work carried out in this vicinity by the Antarctic Search for Meteorites , led by William A. Cassidy of the University of Pittsburgh , during the 1978–79 season. Download coordinates as: The Meteorite Hills are in the northwest of the Darwin Mountains. The Darwin Névé and Darwin Glacier lie to their north. Turnstile Ridge

128-558: A launch status check . If all factors are good, each controller calls for a "go" but if there is a problem requiring a hold or an abort, the call is "no go". Another form of this is stay/no stay, when the spacecraft has completed a maneuver and has now "parked" in relation to another body, including spacecraft, orbiting the Earth or the Moon, or the lunar landings. Controllers in MOCR/FCR are supported by

192-450: A space mission in real-time . Each controller is an expert in a specific area and constantly communicates with additional experts in the "back room". The flight director, who leads the flight controllers, monitors the activities of a team of flight controllers, and has overall responsibility for success and safety. The room where the flight controllers work was called the mission operations control room (MOCR, pronounced "moh-ker"), and now

256-573: 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

320-439: A crewed spacecraft clears its launch tower until it lands back on Earth, it is in the hands of Mission Control. The MCC houses several Flight Control Rooms, from which flight controllers coordinate and monitor the spaceflights. The rooms have many computer resources to monitor, command, and communicate with spacecraft. When a mission is underway, the rooms are staffed around the clock, usually in three shifts. JSC handles most of

384-534: A delegation which exerted particularly strong political pressure, prompting a personal inquiry to Webb from President Kennedy. Senators and congressmen from sites in Missouri and California similarly lobbied the selection team. Proponents of sites in Boston, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Norfolk, Virginia, went so far as to make separate presentations to Webb and the headquarters staff, so Webb added these additional sites to

448-496: A different person takes over the console. Flight controller responsibilities have changed over time, and continue to evolve. New controllers are added, and tasks are reassigned to other controllers to keep up with changing technical systems. For example, the EECOM handled command and service module communication systems through Apollo 10 , which was afterward assigned to a new position called INCO. Flight controllers are responsible for

512-441: 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

576-514: 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. In 1961, Congress held hearings and passed a $ 1.7 billion 1962 NASA appropriations bill which included $ 60 million for

640-612: A road on the facility leading to the main entrance. JSC put in a bid to display one of the retired Space Shuttle orbiters , but was not selected. 29°33′30″N 95°05′20″W  /  29.55833°N 95.08889°W  / 29.55833; -95.08889 Flight controller Flight controllers are personnel who aid space flight by working in mission control centers such as NASA 's Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center or ESA 's European Space Operations Centre . Flight controllers work at computer consoles and use telemetry to monitor various technical aspects of

704-869: A swimming test. 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. Candidates maintain their flying proficiency by flying 15 hours per month in NASA's fleet of T-38 jets based at nearby Ellington Field. Johnson Space Center leads NASA's human spaceflight-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 . The Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) office performs

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768-613: Is NASA 's center for human spaceflight in Houston , Texas (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center ), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. It was renamed in honor of the late U.S. president and Texas native, Lyndon B. Johnson , by an act of the United States Senate on February 19, 1973. JSC consists of a complex of 100 buildings constructed on 1,620 acres (660 ha) in

832-828: Is at the west end of the Circle Icefall in Darwin Glacier and appears to be the only route through the icefall. Descriptively named by the Darwin Glacier Party of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition (CTAE), 1956-58, which made the first descent of the glacier. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Geological Survey . Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center ( JSC )

896-422: Is called the flight control room (FCR, pronounced "ficker"). The controllers are experts in individual systems, and make recommendations to the flight director involving their areas of responsibility. Any controller may call for an abort if the circumstances require it. Before significant events, the flight director will "go around the room", polling each controller for a go/no go decision, a procedure also known as

960-577: Is home to Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center (MCC-H), the NASA control center that coordinates and monitors all human spaceflight for the United States. MCC-H directed all Space Shuttle missions, and currently directs American activities aboard the International Space Station . The Apollo Mission Control Center , a National Historic Landmark , is in Building 30. From the moment

1024-678: Is popularly known by its radio call signs "Mission Control" and "Houston". The original Manned Spacecraft Center grew out of the Space Task Group (STG) headed by Robert R. Gilruth that was formed to coordinate the U.S. crewed spaceflight program. The STG was based at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia , but reported organizationally to the Goddard Space Flight Center just outside Washington, D.C. To meet

1088-459: Is there to help the flight director make those decisions that have no safety-of-flight consequences, but may have cost or public perception consequences. The FOD cannot overrule the flight director during a mission. The former mission operations directorate (MOD) position was renamed FOD when the flight crew operations directorate (FCOD) was merged back with MOD beginning in August 2014. Generally, only

1152-1020: Is to the southwest, and the head of the Hatherton Glacier is to the south. 79°39′S 155°15′E  /  79.65°S 155.25°E  / -79.65; 155.25 . A nunatak 1 nautical mile (1.9 km; 1.2 mi) long at the northwest end of the Meteorite Hills. Named after Brian Mason of the Department of Mineral Sciences, Smithsonian Institution , Washington, DC, who examined and classified meteorites collected by United States Antarctic Project (USAP) field parties directed by W.A. Cassidy in seven austral summers, 1977-78 through 1983-84. 79°39′00″S 155°53′00″E  /  79.65°S 155.8833333°E  / -79.65; 155.8833333 . A rock ridge 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 km; 2.9 mi) northwest of Lindstrom Ridge in north-central Meteorite Hill. Named after Roberta Score, manager of

1216-528: The Clear Lake Area of Houston . The center is home to NASA's astronaut corps , and is responsible for training astronauts from both the U.S. and its international partners. It also houses the Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center , which has provided the flight control function for every NASA human spaceflight since Gemini 4 (including Apollo , Skylab , Apollo–Soyuz , and Space Shuttle ). It

1280-558: The Human Space Flight Programs . Johnson Space Center was granted a five-year, $ 120-million extension of its agreement with the National Space Biomedical Research Institute at Baylor College of Medicine to study the health risks related to long-duration space flight. The extension will allow a continuation of biomedical research in support of a long-term human presence in space started by

1344-595: The Jet Propulsion Laboratory or the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory for deep-space missions or Goddard Space Flight Center for near-Earth missions. Each flight controller has a unique call sign , which describes the position's responsibilities. The call sign and responsibility refer to the particular console , not just the person, since missions are managed around the clock and with each shift change

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1408-556: 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

1472-499: The physical science research at the center. ARES directs and manages all functions and activities of the ARES scientists who perform basic research in earth , planetary , and space sciences . ARES scientists and engineers provide support to the human and robotic spaceflight programs. The responsibilities of ARES also include interaction with the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance and

1536-475: The spacecraft communicator communicates directly with the crew of a crewed space flight. The acronym dates back to Project Mercury when the spacecraft was originally termed a "capsule." NASA felt it important for all communication with the astronauts in space to pass through a single individual in the Mission Control Center . That role was first designated the capsule communicator or CAPCOM and

1600-469: The "backrooms", teams of flight controllers located in other parts of the building or even at remote facilities. The backroom was formerly called the staff support room (SSR), and is now called the multi-purpose support room (MPSR, pronounced "mipser"). Backroom flight controllers are responsible for the details of their assigned system and for making recommendations for actions needed for that system. "Frontroom" flight controllers are responsible for integrating

1664-543: The Antarctic Meteorite Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, 1978-96; member of ANSMET meteorite search teams in several areas of the Transantarctic Mountains, 1984-85 and 1988-89 field seasons; supervisor, Crary Science and Engineering Center (McMurdo), 1996-2001. 79°43′00″S 156°00′00″E  /  79.7166667°S 156°E  / -79.7166667; 156 . A ridge on

1728-580: The Apollo program, but Kennedy also made reference to the new Center: What was once the furthest outpost on the old frontier of the West will be the furthest outpost on the new frontier of science and space. Houston, ... with its Manned Spacecraft Center, will become the heart of a large scientific and engineering community. During the next 5 years the National Aeronautics and Space Administration expects to double

1792-513: The FCR and MPSR are further supported by hardware and software designers, analysts and engineering specialists in other parts of the building or remote facilities. These extended support teams have more detailed analysis tools and access to development and test data that is not readily accessible to the flight control team. These support teams were referred to by the name of their room in Mission Control,

1856-785: 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 1,000 acres (400 ha) donated to Rice by the Humble Oil company, situated in an undeveloped area 25 mi (40 km) southeast of Houston adjacent to Clear Lake near Galveston Bay . At

1920-599: 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

1984-565: 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. 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

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2048-517: 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: Another 14 sites were then added, including two additional Houston sites chosen because of proximity to Rice University . The team visited all 23 sites between August 21 and September 7, 1961. During these visits, Massachusetts Governor John A. Volpe and Senator Margaret Chase Smith headed

2112-463: 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

2176-544: 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

2240-697: The center the Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center on April 14, 2011. 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

2304-450: The contract to build the electronic equipment for the new Mission Control Center, which would be located in Building 30 of MSC 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

2368-578: The coordinating facility for the Constellation program , which was planned to replace the Shuttle program after 2010, but was canceled in 2009. The visitor center has been the adjacent Space Center Houston since 1994; JSC Building 2 previously housed the visitor center. The Johnson Space Center Heliport ( FAA LID : 72TX ) is located on the campus. About 3,200 civil servants, including 110 astronauts , are employed at Johnson Space Center. The bulk of

2432-538: The dynamics of body motion under weightless conditions. Building 31-N houses the Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility , which stores, analyzes, and processes most of the samples returned from the Moon during the Apollo program. The center is also responsible for direction of operations at White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico , which served as a backup Space Shuttle landing site and would have been

2496-403: The experts in the guidance backroom, especially Jack Garman , who told him that the problem was a computer overload, but could be ignored if it was intermittent. Bales called "Go!", Flight Director Gene Kranz accepted the call and the mission continued to success. Without the support of the backroom, a controller might make a bad call based on faulty memory or information not readily available to

2560-669: 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

2624-524: The growing needs of the US human spaceflight program, plans began in 1961 to expand its staff to its own organization, and move it to a new facility. This was constructed in 1962 and 1963 on land donated by the Humble Oil company through Rice University , and officially opened its doors in September 1963. Today, JSC is one of ten major NASA field centers and the city of Houston's primary cultural footprint, earning it

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2688-624: The institute and NASA's Human Research Program through 2012. 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 International Space Station . The Overset Grid-Flow software was developed at Johnson Space Center in collaboration with NASA Ames Research Center . The software simulates fluid flow around solid bodies using computational fluid dynamics . The Texas Space Commission

2752-507: The mission operations integration room (MOIR), and are now collectively referred to by the name of their current location, the mission evaluation room (MER). While the flight controllers and their backrooms are responsible for real-time decision making, the MOIR/MER provides the detailed data and history needed to solve longer-term issues. Uncrewed U.S. space missions also have flight controllers but are managed from separate organizations, either

2816-525: 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 . The Johnson Space Center

2880-447: The needs of their system into the larger needs of the vehicle and working with the rest of the flight control team to develop a cohesive plan of action, even if that plan is not necessarily in the best interests of the system they are responsible for. Within the chain of command of the MCC, information and recommendations flow from the backroom to the frontroom to Flight, and then, potentially, to

2944-466: 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

3008-465: The north margin of ice-covered Access Slope, a route through the Circle Icefall of upper Darwin Glacier. Named in association with Lindstrom Ridge, to which Tether Rock appears to be subglacially connected. 79°41′00″S 156°03′00″E  /  79.6833333°S 156.05°E  / -79.6833333; 156.05 . An ice slope between the north end of Lindstrom Ridge and Tether Rock. The slope

3072-477: The number of scientists and engineers in this area, to increase its outlays for salaries and expenses to $ 60 million a year; to invest some $ 200 million in plant and laboratory facilities; and to direct or contract for new space efforts over $ 1 billion from this Center in this City. The 1,620-acre (6.6 km ) facility was officially opened for business in September 1963. In 1961, as plans for Project Gemini began, it became increasingly clear that

3136-566: The official nickname "Space City" in 1967. 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,

3200-601: The on board crew. Generally, a MOCR/FCR flight control team is made up of the more seasoned flight controllers than the SSR/MPSR, though senior flight controllers cycle back to support in the backroom periodically. One example of the usefulness of this system occurred during the descent of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module Eagle , when "1202" and "1201" program alarms came from the LM. GUIDO Steve Bales , not sure whether to call for an abort, trusted

3264-526: The person on the console. The nature of quiescent operations aboard the International Space Station (ISS) today is such that the full team is not required for 24/7/365 support. FCR flight controllers accept responsibility for operations without MPSR support most of the time, and the MPSR is only staffed for high-intensity periods of activity, such as joint Shuttle/ISS missions. The flight controllers in

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3328-668: The planning and training of the U.S. astronaut corps and houses training facilities such as the Sonny Carter Training Facility and the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory , a critical component in training astronauts for spacewalks. The Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory provides a controlled neutral buoyancy environment—a very large pool containing about 6.2 million U.S. gallons (23,000 m ) of water where astronauts train to practice extra-vehicular activity tasks while simulating zero-g conditions. The facility provides preflight training in becoming familiar with crew activities and with

3392-452: The property would face a highway, and the total included another 20 acres (8.1 ha) 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

3456-433: The radio call-sign Houston . When non-astronauts are communicating directly with the spacecraft, CAPCOM acts as the communications controller. As of 2011 , due to the shrinking size of the astronaut corps at the end of the Shuttle program, fewer astronauts are available to perform CAPCOM duties, so non-astronauts from the space flight training and flight controller branches also function as CAPCOM during ISS missions, while

3520-427: The same thing and serve the same function. Leads the flight control team. Flight has overall operational responsibility for missions and payload operations and for all decisions regarding safe, expedient flight. This person monitors the other flight controllers, remaining in constant verbal communication with them via intercom channels called "loops". Is a representative of the senior management chain at JSC, and

3584-523: The success of the mission and for the lives of the astronauts under their watch. The Flight Controllers' Creed states that they must "always be aware that suddenly and unexpectedly we may find ourselves in a role where our performance has ultimate consequences." Well-known actions taken by flight controllers include: There are some positions that have and will serve the same function in every vehicle's flight control team. The group of individuals serving in those positions may be different, but they will be called

3648-626: 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 295,996 sq ft (27,498.9 m ) of leased office and laboratory space in 11 scattered sites. On November 1, the conversion of the Task Group to MSC became official. Tracts of land in the vicinity of the Manned Spacecraft Center were either owned or being under exclusive control of Joseph L. Smith & Associates, Inc. NASA purchased an additional 600 acres (240 ha) so

3712-404: The vicinity of an institution of higher education, a strong electric utility and water supply, at least 1,000 acres (400 ha) 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

3776-500: The west side of Green Glacier . The ridge is 4 nautical miles (7.4 km; 4.6 mi) long and forms the east end of Meteorite Hills. Named after Marilyn Lindstrom, curator of Antarctic meteorites at the NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, for many years up to 2000. 79°40′00″S 156°09′00″E  /  79.6666667°S 156.15°E  / -79.6666667; 156.15 . A rock outlier 1 nautical mile (1.9 km; 1.2 mi) north of Lindstrom Ridge. The rock marks

3840-698: The workforce consists of over 11,000 contractors. As of October 2014, Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies took over United Space Alliance 's primary contract. As of June 2021, the center's director is Vanessa E. Wyche . NASA's astronaut training is conducted at the Johnson Space Center. Astronaut candidates receive training on spacecraft systems and in basic sciences including mathematics, guidance and navigation, oceanography, orbital dynamics, astronomy, and physics. 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

3904-474: 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. NASA named

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3968-410: Was established by Texas governor Greg Abbott on March 26, 2024 at Johnson Space Center. Astronauts, center directors, and other NASA employees are memorialized in a Memorial Grove near the main entrance and visitor badging center (building 110). Trees dedicated to the memory of astronauts and center directors are in a round cluster closest to the entrance, other employees are memorialized behind along

4032-422: Was filled by another astronaut, often one of the backup- or support-crew members. NASA believes that an astronaut is most able to understand the situation in the spacecraft and pass information in the clearest way. For long-duration missions there is more than one CAPCOM, each assigned to a different shift team. After control of U.S. spaceflights moved to the Johnson Space Center in the early 1960s, each CAPCOM used

4096-413: 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

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