![]() ![]() It benefited everyone involved, she added, to have the NASA center relocated to Houston from Langley Aeronautical Center in Virginia. Brown, one of Johnson’s most important political and financial backers who also was chairman of the Rice Board of Trustees at the time, Kean said. Thomas attended Rice, was a close political ally of Johnson’s and was roommates with George R. Congressman Albert Thomas, a Texas Democrat whose district included the area, was chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee that oversaw the NASA budget. Coward, executive secretary of the Harris County AFL-CIO Council, told reporters at the time.īut the selection also had political roots. “We have 22,000 skilled craftsmen in this area, available for work on the space laboratory project,” N.E. MAKING HISTORY: Mission Control's first female chief flight director stands as NASA role model and team builderĮxperts at the time told the Chronicle that Houston was chosen because of its “highly skilled craftsmen.” Dethloff’s book, “Suddenly, Tomorrow Came: The NASA History of Johnson Space Center.” The spot fit the criteria laid out by the agency: nearby water transportation, a moderate climate, close proximity to universities and strong electric and water supplies, among other things, according to Henry C. And it remains the base of operations for the International Space Station. It was home to Space Shuttle operations from the 1980s to 2011 when the program was shuttered. It’s the storied home of mission control, where greats like Gene Kranz - famous for his role in saving the Apollo 13 crew in 1970 as flight director - and first flight director Christopher Kraft lived and worked. Murals were painted, signs were hung and famous NASA slogans - “The Eagle Has Landed” and “Houston, we have a problem” - adorned banners and signs everywhere.Īnd for the last five decades, the region has thrived, holding firmly onto its role as home to the nation's astronaut corps and as a hub for human spaceflight research and training. Schools, streets and buildings adopted the space moniker, hailing a time when easily recognizable astronauts and their families settled in the area. MISSION MOON: Read our entire series here Businesses proudly endorsed the space program, adopting space-related names that to this day evoke images of grand adventures and boundless opportunity. The Houston area quickly embraced the fervor of the space race, developing an Astrodomain that included the Astrodome and nearby Astroworld. Rice donated the land to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Smith was manager of the Clear Lake ranch, owned by Humble Oil Company, which gave the 1,000-acre site to Rice University on condition it be used for a space center. Smith points out the future site for the Johnson Space Center, which as the time was America’s largest space lab. ![]()
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