Discover a historic Apollo artifact in our Talon Park
Did you know Talon Park at the entrance to Space Center Houston is home to a “boilerplate” Apollo capsule? NASA built “boilerplate” (BP) capsules, or nonfunctional craft that simulated the basic size and weight of command modules, as part of the Apollo program to test equipment and procedures prior to
This day in history: Yuri Gagarin becomes first person in space
April 12 is a historic day. Not only is it the anniversary of the first shuttle mission, but it’s also the day Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space. In 1961, Gagarin did the impossible. He launched off the Earth into space and successfully orbited the planet. The flight
Apollo 13 Infographic: How did they make that CO2 scrubber?
In the movie Apollo 13, an engineer comes into a conference room and dumps a bunch of hardware onto a table. The goal? Fit a square peg into a round hole. The problem? After an explosion crippled the Apollo 13 spacecraft, the three astronauts went into the Lunar Module for
Flashback Friday: Goddard launches first liquid-fuel rocket in 1926
On March 16, 1926, Robert Goddard set out to do the impossible. He became the first person to launch a liquid-fuel rocket 93 years ago. Igniting a dream Although liquid-fuel rockets are mainstream today, in Goddard’s time they were a brand-new concept. Solid materials, namely gunpowder, were used for rocket
VIDEO: Thought Leader Series – Applications of lessons learned from human space flight tragedies
Space exploration takes courage, tenacity and innovation. Tragically, it also claimed the lives of 17 brave souls in the Apollo 1 fire, the Challenger explosion and Columbia disaster. In the Feb. 25, 2019 installment of our Thought Leader Series, former NASA flight director Wayne Hale, Jacobs vice president Lon Miller
Mission Apollo Minute – Saturn V rocket
The Saturn V rocket was the fuel that put the Apollo program on the moon. The giant rocket clocked in with the following measurements: 363 feet tall, weighing 6.2 million pounds and generating 34.5 million newtons of thrust. The most powerful rocket that has ever flown was made up of
This day in history: Friendship 7 launched
On Feb. 20, 1962, Friendship 7 launched. The mission made John Glenn the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth. It also reestablished the United States as a contender in the heated space race. Before Glenn made history, the Soviet Union led the space race. They had already launched Sputnik
Astronaut Friday: Ronald McNair
In honor of Black History month, today’s Astronaut Friday post is dedicated to remembering a truly remarkable space pioneer, astronaut Ronald McNair. In 1984, McNair became the second African American in space aboard Challenger for STS 41-B, just months after Guion Bluford had become the first aboard STS-8. An accomplished
This day in history: Johnson Space Center gets new name
It helps to have friends in high places. As the nascent space program under NASA was coalescing, its leader was Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson. A native Texan, Johnson took a special interest in the space race and positioned his home state as a beneficiary. Johnson served as chair of
Remembering those NASA lost
On Jan. 27, 1967, NASA lost astronauts Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Roger Chaffee and Ed White in the Apollo 1 fire. On Jan. 28, 1986, tragedy struck again as NASA lost astronauts Dick Scobee, Michael Smith, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Judy Resnik, Gregory Jarvis and Christa McAuliffe as part of the
Explorer Camps
Start a Lifetime of STEM learning with our Explorer Camps. Campers participate in innovative robotics challenges, take part in space-themed interactive experiences and explore all that Space Center Houston has to offer!
