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See the restored Apollo Mission Control Center with the actual flight control consoles brought back to life. The five large screens across the front of the room have been reactivated with projections to recreate the exact images seen during the Apollo 11 mission. See the console buttons illuminated and furnishings on the consoles including flight control manuals, ashtrays, pens, maps, coffee cups and headsets.
Space Center Houston, the city of Webster and NASA Johnson Space Center worked together over two years to restore the room that fueled the space race and innovation that changed the course of history. The restored Apollo Mission Control Center is part of Space Center Houston’s NASA Tram Tours and Level 9 VIP Tours.
A visit to the restored Apollo Mission Control Center is a must see at Space Center Houston. Inside the room, furnishings on the consoles, flight control manuals, ashtrays, coffee cups and headsets, depict an accurate look of the iconic room based on the Apollo era.
A visit to the restored Apollo Mission Control Center is a must see at Space Center Houston. Inside the room, furnishings on the consoles, flight control manuals, ashtrays, coffee cups and headsets, depict an accurate look of the iconic room based on the Apollo era.
The nonprofit Space Center Houston welcomes people from around the world to experience the historic room that helped land humans on the Moon.
A visit to the restored Apollo Mission Control Center is a must see at Space Center Houston. Inside the room, furnishings on the consoles, flight control manuals, ashtrays, coffee cups and headsets, depict an accurate look of the iconic room based on the Apollo era.
A visit to the restored Apollo Mission Control Center is a must see at Space Center Houston. Inside the room, furnishings on the consoles, flight control manuals, ashtrays, coffee cups and headsets, depict an accurate look of the iconic room based on the Apollo era.
The Apollo Mission Control Center, used during the Gemini, Apollo and Shuttle eras, underwent restoration beginning in July 2017.
The nonprofit Space Center Houston welcomes people from around the world to experience the historic room that helped land humans on the Moon.
NASA’s Apollo Mission Control Center celebrates human space exploration and inspires people from around the world who visit.
NASA’s Apollo Mission Control Center celebrates human space exploration and inspires people from around the world who visit.
A view of a worn-down console in Historic Mission Control. After decades of use, the buttons have gone missing or have become faded, the paint has become chipped and scratched and the monitor has become discolored.
Flight controllers in Historic Mission Control didn’t have text messages or email to communicate with each other during the Apollo era. They used a Private Automatic Branch Exchange panel complete with a rotary dial to communicate with other controllers within Mission Control. After decades of use, the buttons have become faded, the paint has become scratched and the metal components have become rusted.
Flight controllers in Historic Mission Control didn’t have the touch screen technologies that are prevalent today. They utilized notification panels like this to help track the information relayed from space to Earth.
A front view of the iconic green consoles in Historic Mission Control. After decades of use, the carpet in the room has become stained and is deteriorating.
The last row in Historic Mission Control hosted the stations of Public Affairs Office, Director of Flight Operations, Mission Operations Directorate and Department of Defense. The iconic red phone located at the Department of Defense station was used to directly call the Navy when a capsule returning to Earth was about to splashdown. On the right is the viewing room of 74 seats that hosted the families of astronauts and special guests.
Of the hundreds of buttons and controls located at these flight controller stations in Historic Mission Control, many have gone missing or have become faded after decades of use.
The front row of controllers in Historic Mission Control was referred to as “The Trench” by the flight controllers. Each control station was responsible for a different aspect of a mission. From left to right, the stations are Booster System Engineer, Retrofire Officer, Flight Dynamics Officer and Guidance Officer. Of the hundreds of buttons and controls located at these stations, many have gone missing or have become faded after decades of use. Some of the work stations are even held together by tape.
Located on the second-to-last row in Historic Mission Control, the flight director console station was home to several notable flight directors. They held the ultimate authority on ensuring the crew’s safety and the mission’s success. The flight director was one of only two consoles that could directly request an abort – a task that was never necessary during the Apollo era. Some flight directors who left their impact on the Apollo missions were Gerald Griffin, Christopher Kraft, Eugene Kranz and Glynn Lunney. Of the hundreds of buttons and controls located at this station, many have gone missing or have become faded after decades of use.
An overall view of the consoles used in Historic Mission Control. The consoles used by multiple flight directors contained no computing elements – they displayed only different information channels coming in from the mainframe. Of the hundreds of buttons, monitors and controls located at these flight controller stations, many have gone missing or have become faded after decades of use.
A front view of the iconic green consoles in Historic Mission Control. After decades of use, the carpet in the room has become stained, is deteriorating and is held together by tape.
An overall view of the consoles used in Historic Mission Control. The consoles used by multiple flight directors contained no computing elements – they displayed only different information channels coming in from the mainframe. Of the hundreds of buttons, monitors and controls located at these flight controller stations, many have gone missing or have become faded after decades of use.
An overall view of the consoles used in Historic Mission Control. The consoles used by multiple flight directors contained no computing elements – they displayed only different information channels coming in from the mainframe. Of the hundreds of buttons, monitors and controls located at these flight controller stations, many have gone missing or have become faded after decades of use.
An overall view of the consoles used in Historic Mission Control. The consoles used by multiple flight directors contained no computing elements – they displayed only different information channels coming in from the mainframe. Of the hundreds of buttons, monitors and controls located at these flight controller stations, many have gone missing or have become faded after decades of use.
An overall view of the consoles used in Historic Mission Control. The consoles used by multiple flight directors contained no computing elements – they displayed only different information channels coming in from the mainframe. On the left side of the console is a pneumatic tube station through which controllers passed papers between consoles. Of the hundreds of buttons, monitors and controls located at these flight controller stations, many have gone missing or have become faded after decades of use.
An overall view of the consoles used in Historic Mission Control. The consoles used by multiple flight directors contained no computing elements – they displayed only different information channels coming in from the mainframe. On the left side of the console is a pneumatic tube station through which controllers passed papers between consoles. Of the hundreds of buttons, monitors and controls located at these flight controller stations, many have gone missing or have become faded after decades of use.
A flown mission patch presented to the workers of Mission Control is featured in Historic Mission Control.
Historic Mission Control is decorated with emblems of past missions such as this one in remembrance of Apollo 1. The Apollo 1 crew, Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee, died in a cabin fire during a launch rehearsal test in 1967.
Date Created: 1968-12-21 Clifford E. Charlesworth, Apollo 8 “Green Team” flight director, is seated at his console in the Mission Operations Control Room in the Mission Control Center, Building 30, during the launch of the Apollo 8 (Spacecraft 103/Saturn 503) manned lunar orbit space mission.
Date Created: 1969-05-19 View of activity at the flight director’s console in the Mission Operations Control Room in the Mission Control Center, Building 30, on the first day of the Apollo 10 lunar orbit mission. Seated are Gerald D. Griffin (foreground) and Glynn S. Lunney, Shift 1 (Black Team) flight directors. Milton L. Windler, standing behind them, is the flight director of Shift 2 (Maroon Team). In the center background, standing, is Dr. Christopher C. Kraft Jr., MSC Director of Flight Operations.
Date Created: 1969-05-18 Replicas of Snoopy and Charlie Brown, the two characters from Charles Schulz’s syndicated comic strip, “Peanuts,” decorate the top of a console in the Mission Operations Control Room in the Mission Control Center, Building 30, on the first day of the Apollo 10 lunar orbit mission. During lunar orbit operations, the Lunar Module will be called “Snoopy” when it is separated from the Command and Service Modules. The code words for the Command Module will be “Charlie Brown.”
Date Created: 1969-05-19 View of activity at the flight director’s console in the Mission Operations Control Room in the Mission Control Center, Building 30, on the first day of the Apollo 10 lunar orbit mission. Seated are Gerald D. Griffin (foreground) and Glynn S. Lunney, Shift 1 (Black Team) flight directors. Milton L. Windler, standing behind them, is the flight director of Shift 2 (Maroon Team). In the center background, standing, is Dr. Christopher C. Kraft Jr., MSC Director of Flight Operations.
Date Created: 1969-07-20 Overall view of the Mission Operations Control Room in the Mission Control Center, bldg 30, during the lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) of Apollo 11 Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr.
Date Created: 1969-07-20 Interior view of the Mission Operations Control Room (MOCR) in the Mission Control Center (MCC), Building 30, during the Apollo 11 lunar extravehicular activity (EVA). The television monitor shows astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. on the surface of the moon.
Date Created: 1969-07-24 Overall view of the Mission Operations Control Room (MOCR) in the Mission Control Center (MCC), Building 30, Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), at the conclusion of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission. The television monitor shows President Richard M. Nixon greeting the Apollo 11 astronauts aboard the USS Hornet in the Pacific recovery area. Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. are inside the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF).
Date Created: 1970-04-16 Overall view showing some of the feverish activity in the Mission Operations Control Room (MOCR) of the Mission Control Center (MCC) during the final 24 hours of the problem-plagued Apollo 13 mission. Here, flight controllers and several NASA/MSC officials confer at the flight director’s console. When this picture was made, the Apollo 13 lunar landing had already been canceled, and the Apollo 13 crewmembers were in trans-Earth trajectory attempting to bring their crippled spacecraft back home.
Date Created: 1969-07-24 Overall view of the Mission Operations Control Room (MOCR) in the Mission Control Center (MCC), Building 30, Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), at the conclusion of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission. The television monitor shows President Richard M. Nixon greeting the Apollo 11 astronauts aboard the USS Hornet in the Pacific recovery area. Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. are inside the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF).
Date Created: 1972-04-16 Flight director Eugene F. Kranz is seated at his console in the mission operations control room in the Manned Spacecraft Center’s Mission Control Center on the morning of the launch of the Apollo 16 lunar landing mission. Partially visible in the background is flight director Gerald D. Griffin.
Date Created: 1981-11-13 President Ronald Reagan is briefed by JSC Director Christopher C. Kraft Jr., who points toward the orbiter spotter on the projection plotter in the front of the mission operations control room in the Johnson Space Center’s Mission Control Center. This picture was taken just prior to a space-to-ground conversation between STS-2 crew members Joe H. Engle and Richard H. Truly, who were orbiting Earth in the space shuttle Columbia.
Vice President George Bush talks to the Earth-orbiting STS-6 astronauts from the spacecraft communicators; (CAPCOM) console in the mission operations control room (MOCR) of the Johnson Space Center’s mission control center. Astronaut Roy D. Bridges, is one of the CAPCOM personnel on duty. JSC Director Gerald D. Griffin, left, watches a large monitor (out of frame) on which the TV scene of the four-member Challenger crew is visible.
Webster Challenge commemorative mission patch, designed by Michael Okuda, celebrates the iconic control center from which the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing was controlled.
NASA sticker and logo
Andy Weir’s novel “Artemis” set for release Nov. 14
Mission Control: The Unsung Heroes of Apollo documentary film poster
NASA sticker on landscape
NASA sticker and mural
Metal Earth Lunar Module
Metal Earth Lunar Rover
Sticker and models on console
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