Space Center Houston

During a recent trip to Texas to visit SpaceX's Starbase, I had a chance to see NASA's Space Center Houston for the first time. Space Center Houston is a science museum that is also the official visitor center for the NASA Johnson Space Center. First opened in 1992, the center has an amazing collection of artifacts from the history of America's space program.

One of the highlights for me was seeing the Space Shuttle Independence (which is a full-scale, high-fidelity replica of the actual Space Shuttle) on top of the Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft NASA 905. Being able to walk inside the Shuttle was amazing, giving you a feel for how huge the Shuttle payload bay is. It was cool being inside the 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, knowing that this actual airplane had carried a Space Shuttle on its back 223 times.

Other highlights of the visit included the Apollo Lunar Spacesuit worn by Pete Conrad during the Apollo 12 mission, a Falcon 9 rocket that flew to space twice, a Moon rock brought back by the Apollo 17 crew that you can actually touch, the Apollo 17 Command Module, and the actual lectern that President John F. Kennedy stood behind and gave his famous "We choose to go to the Moon" speech at Rice University on September 12, 1962.

I only had a couple of hours, so I wasn't able to take any of the three available tram tours. The most popular tram tour is the "Historic Mission Control Tour", which allows you to visit the iconic Christopher C. Kraft Mission Control and see the room from which NASA led the Gemini and Apollo missions, including Apollo 11 where humans first set foot on the Moon, fulfilling President Kennedy's vision. The second tram tour is the "Astronaut Training Facility Tour", where you get to see the Astronaut Training Facility where NASA astronauts train for current missions and the next generation of space vehicles are developed. Finally there is the "George W.S. Abbey Rocket Park Tour", the highlight of which is the massive Saturn V rocket on display, one of only three on display in the world.

If you are ever in the Houston area, make sure you take the time to visit Space Center Houston. I can't wait to go back to explore it in more detail and take the tram tours.

Basic info:
Space Center Houston
1601 E NASA Parkway, Houston, TX 77058
https://spacecenter.org/
Open daily, check the website for hours and other useful information
I highly recommend buying admission tickets online ahead of time, as you can save $5 per ticket and you can avoid standing in line at the ticket windows.
Popular tram tours, like the Historic Mission Control center tour, often sell out days in advance during weekends, holidays, and school breaks, so be sure to book well in advance.

Until next time, keep looking to the sky and keep dreaming.

- Matt