Space Center Houston - March 1st, 2018
Finally visit Space Center Houston after the addition of a new attraction
The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and Concilation are excellent additions
Behold! Columbia! The command module for the Apollo 11 mission
Columbia is on a 2 year field trip across the country w/Houston its 1st stop
Columbia will move on to St. Louis, Pittsburg & Seattle the next 18 months
Inside view of Columbia's hatch door
Outside view of Columbia's hatch door
Saturn V's massive F1 engine's injector plate
Actual Apollo 11 injector plate recovered from the ocean floor in 2013
The ISS is a permanent display within the SCH Main Plaza
The next generation Orion Capsule is on display
Orion has more spacious room for four astronauts
Space Launch System (SLS) stack using Shuttle SRBs and External Tanks
Five upgraded shuttle engines will propel the SLS external tank
Diagram of the next generation Orion Capsule
Kid Zone features a horizontal shuttle and launch pad structure
The 1st production, man-rated lunar module LTA-8 on display
Launch simulation rides have kids lining up for a turn
Visit the Astronaut Gallery to see Ed White perform a Gemini spacewalk
John Young's ejection suit for the STS-1 first shuttle flight
Kathryn Sullivan's EMU for the first woman's space walk in 1984
Judy Resnik's T-38 flightsuit
STS-26 Return to Flight Pilot Dick Covey's Hawaiian shirt
Sally Ride's in-orbit spacesuit for the 1984 STS-41G mission
RX-5 prototype spacesuit was too bulky to take on Apollo
Deke Slayton's space suit for the 1975 Apollo Soyuz Test Project
Wally Schirra's 1968 Apollo 7 spacesuit
Pete Conrad's moonwalk suit for the 1969 Apollo 12 mission
Mike Collins' Biological Isolation Garment worn after Apollo 11 splashdown
Paul Weitz' Liquid Cooling Garment for his Skylab repair EVA
Apollo Spacecraft artifacts including the CSM to LEM docking beacon, flashlight, EVA glove, tool kit and 56Kb of computer memory
Prototype Manned Maneuvering Unit tested onboard Skylab 3
Fred Haise's blue pressure suit as backup crew for Apollo 16
Outer layer for Apollo spacesuits which covers the pressure suit
Scott Kelly's suits for his year long stay on the ISS, 2015-16
Shuttle model with Texas A&M's Mike Fossum during STS-121
STS-129's Randy Bresnik became a dad while on the ISS in 2009
Zero-G space toilet . . . AKA shopvac set at 5% power
ISS Crew Quarters with personal belongings and sleep station
Enter the Starship Gallery after watching the Destiny Theater movie
Find Gordon Cooper's Faith 7 Mercury Spacecraft
The final Mercury program flight occurred May 15-16, 1963
Cooper orbited the earth 22 times over 34 hours in space
Next see the scalded heat shield of Gemini 5
Gordon Cooper & Pete Conrad spent almost 8 days in space in 1965
The mission lasted the length of an Apollo moon landing mission
Think Gene Cernan's Gemini 9 EVA spacewalk is represented here
And on permanent display, Apollo 17's command module, America
America brought Cernan, Evans, & Schmitt home from the moon
The final Apollo trip to the moon splashed down on December 11, 1972
America orbited the moon 75 times over six days
Geologist Schmitt and last man Cernan spent 22 hours on the surface
Three slightly used LRVs await mans next arrival to the lunar surface
Four lunar rock samples on display near the America capsule
The lunar rock sample available for the public to touch
Understanding the composition and mineral breakdown of lunar soil
Model of the next Apollo Command Module mission usage, Skylab
Skylab 3's Alan Bean does gymnastics near the Saturn Workshop airlock
Skylab 3's Jack Lousma takes a zero-G shower onboard Skylab
Skylab 3's Owen Garriot enjoys a meal in the station's wardroom
Garriot's Apollo Telescope Mount EVA depicted above 1st Gen Robonaut
Apollo Command Module linking up with the Skylab
Stafford in the Mockup Apollo-Soyuz Test Project Docking Module
Space shuttle wind tunnel model on display near the Skylab trainer
Space Shuttle ejection seat available on its first 4 flights
1965 Mission Control Console hardwired for each mission, retired in 1996
Space Shuttle Astronaut launch and entry suits
15 foot capture bar that was unable to corral the Intelsat 603
Find the entrance to the new Indepence Plaza with SCA 905 & Concilation
Reminscent to when 905 stopped withEndeavour on the way to California
Do get to get a little closer to 905 than back in September 2012
The Orbiter Access Arm is now on display at SCH
Inside the "White Room" now protected by glass
Right side did not have a video monitor twelve years ago
Many astronauts climbed through this opening on the way to space
Take the elevator to the 4th level to enter the space shuttle
Look down on the 747's starboard wing and outer engine
Great view of shuttle on top of SCA with JSC in the background
Overlook the cockpit windows toward Building 1
Realist tiles among the not so much Reaction Control System thrusters
Look toward the entrance of Space Center Houston & Independence Plaza
The same faux Intelsat in the shuttle payload when it was in Florida
Shuttle avionic displays were upgraded for the Independence display
Exit the shuttle and prepare to walk down a level
Descend to level 3 and look straight at shuttle wing leading edge
Look down at the Orbiter Access Arm and White Room
Step into the shuttle payload bay and view the Intelsat at ground level
Check out the shuttle airlock hatch opposite the Intelsat
Now at Level 2 and view all the missions 905 completed
Step inside the SCA for the first time and find 6 passenger seats
Displays line the walls of the stripped out 747
Access to the cockpit is restricted for now
Lessons learned: Commit to a culture that encourages diverse opinions
Kids lower a shuttle on the back of the SCA
How the 747 was stripped for flight and reinforced with several bulkheads
One of the 3 bulkheads added to support the weight of the space shuttle
Finally make our way to the exit at the rear of the aircraft
Check out the staggered landing gear once back on the ground
Used alot of tires landing with this heavy load over the years
Look up at one of the three supports that hold the shuttle to the SCA
View the three levels of access to the shuttle and SCA
Walk around the stack for views from the port side
Capture the tail number, additional vertical stabilizer & bathrooms
One more shot of the shuttle before heading to the JSC Tram
Take the tram to B30 Mission control Center (MCC)
I walked this way toward my office in MCC twenty plus years ago
Apollo Mission Control Center is a National Historic Landmark
Step inside the VIP Visitor viewing area for history talk on the MCC
The door to my office in the RaPID Lab across the hall
The consoles are being refurbished for the 50th Apollo 11 anniversary
Apollo 17 flag brought back from the moon, Apollo 13 flag was left instead
View of the VIP Visitor's room once most the tour heads back down
See a lonesome Mercury capsule behind Building 56 on the drive to to the Building 9 Mockup Facility
Enter the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility on the Space Station side
All the different space station modules are neatly labeled
The Russian Zarya module has all the ISS mission patches displayed
Now far enough along to get a wide angle view of ISS
Layout of the SVMG with ISS, right most Shuttle trainer, and robotics technology left; note that two shuttle trainers are now removed
The first ISS module Zvezda and a Soyuz capsule trainer
Shuttle trainers will eventually be moved to museums to make more space
Pass by the final ISS trainers at the facility halfway point
Now come to the Orion next generation capsule mockup area
Two Orion capsule mockups are in the facility
View both Orions & 6 Degrees of Freedom Dynamic Test System on the left
Behold, the Six Degree of Freedom Dynamic Test System (SDTS)
Lunar/Mars Rovers are tested where the larger Shuttle mockup once stood
Wheeled and spider-legged robotics are tested down below
The Space Station Arm mockup with view back of of rovers, SDTS & Orions
Next Gen Robonauts are being outfitted with legs
ARGOS is the Active Response Gravity Off-load System
Final view of two more Robonauts & then depart B9 Mockup Facility
Head to Rocket Park and stop beside the Longhorn Facility
Space Center Houston with the SCA/Shuttle display lies beyond the Longhorn Facility and across Saturn Lane
Walk towards the Saturn V building nicely painted with hints of inside
First is Little Joe II, launched from 1963-1966 at White Sands
A Mercury Redstone (MR) with a Saturn V F1 engine are to the right
Little Joe tested the Apollo Capsule launch escape system
Six MRs were launched, 3 empty, Ham, Alan Shepard & Gus Grissom
Five S-II engines propelled the Saturn V second stage to earth orbit
Four fins of Little Joe inspired the name, slang for a craps roll of 4
Step inside the Saturn V building & feast upon the 5 F1 1st stage engines
Recall the Apollo 11 F1 engine injector plate shown at the top of this album
So much power is so little a space!
Look toward the top of the stack down the length of the building
The five S-II engines that propel the second stage to earth orbit
Single S-II engine on the 3rd stage sends the vehicle to the moon
The 2nd stage (left) and 3rd stage (right)
Looking down the stack as the tour ends and guests return to the tram
Capture the Command and Service Modules with cowling over the LEM
Nixon canceled Apollo 18 to have more fun in Vietnam
Tour ends back at SCH at the Apollo CSM playground - FUN!