Space Center Houston

Space Center Houston
Entrance to the Space Center Houston
Location1601 NASA Parkway
Houston, Texas 77058 US
Coordinates29°33′07″N 95°05′54″W / 29.5518812°N 95.0983429°W / 29.5518812; -95.0983429
StatusOperating
OpenedOctober 16, 1992[1]
OwnerNASA
Operated byManned Spaceflight Education Foundation[2]
ThemeNASA and space exploration
Operating seasonClosed on Christmas Day and Thanksgiving
Attendance>1 million (2022)
Websitespacecenter.org
The Apollo 17 command module America is on exhibit at the Space Center

Space Center Houston is a science museum that serves as the official visitor center of NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. It was designated a Smithsonian Affiliate museum in 2014. The organization is owned by NASA, and operated under a contract by the nonprofit Manned Spaceflight Education Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization. The Johnson Space Center is the home of Mission Control and astronaut training.[3]

The center opened in 1992[4] replacing the former Visitor Center in Johnson Space Center Building 2. The museum is 250,000 square feet (23,000 m2) and displays over 400 space artifacts, including the Mercury 9, Gemini 5, and Apollo 17 space capsules.

  1. ^ Davis, Clint (October 4, 2022). "In 1992, Space Center Houston's opening gave the space program a needed boost". Houston Chronicle.
  2. ^ "Space Center Houston - About Us". Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  3. ^ "MSEFI History". Manned Spaceflight Educational Foundation Incorporated. Archived from the original on December 23, 2010.
  4. ^ "Foundation History". Space Center Houston. Retrieved January 22, 2018.