|
m Reverted edits by 188.162.254.220 (talk) to last version by Abductive
|
mNo edit summary
|
||
Line 23:
It consists of a complex of 100 buildings constructed on {{convert|1,620|acre|ha}} in the [[Clear Lake Area]] of [[Houston]], which acquired the official [[Nicknames of Houston|nickname]] "Space City" in 1967. The center is home to [[NASA Astronaut Corps|NASA's astronaut corps]], and is responsible for training astronauts from both the US and its international partners. It houses the [[Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center]], which has provided the [[flight controller|flight control]] function for every NASA human spaceflight since [[Gemini 4]] (including [[Apollo program|Apollo]], [[Skylab]], [[Apollo–Soyuz Test Project|Apollo–Soyuz]], and [[Space Shuttle program|Space Shuttle]]). It is popularly known by its radio call signs "Mission Control" and "Houston".
The original Manned Spacecraft Center grew out of the [[Space Task Group]] (STG) headed by [[Robert R. Gilruth]] that was formed to coordinate the US crewed spaceflight program. The STG was based at the [[Langley Research Center]] in [[Hampton, Virginia]], but reported organizationally to the [[Goddard Space Flight Center]] just outside [[Washington, DC|Washington, D.C]]. To meet the growing needs of the US human spaceflight program, plans began in 1961 to expand its staff to its own organization, and move it to a new facility. This was constructed in 1962 and 1963 on land donated by the [[Humble Oil]] company through [[Rice University]], and officially opened its doors in September 1963. Today, JSC is one of ten major [[NASA facilities#NASA field centers|NASA field centers]].
==History==
[[File:Robert_Gilruth_S87-26820.jpg|thumb|upright|Robert R. Gilruth, leader of the Space Task Group, became NASA's first director of the Manned Spacecraft Center in 1961.]]
Johnson Space Center has its origins in [[NASA]]'s [[Space Task Group]] (STG). Starting on November 5, 1958, Langley Research Center engineers under [[Robert R. Gilruth]] directed [[Project Mercury]] and follow-on crewed space programs. The STG originally reported to the [[Goddard Space Flight Center]] organization, with a total staff of 45, including 37 engineers, and eight secretaries and [[Human computer|human "computers"]] (women who ran calculations on mechanical adding machines). In 1959, the center added 32 Canadian engineers put out of work by the cancellation of the [[Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow]] project.{{sfnp|Murray|Bly Cox|1989|pp=33-35}} NASA's first administrator, [[T. Keith Glennan]], realized that the growth of the US space program would cause the STG to outgrow the Langley and Goddard centers and require its own location. On January 1, 1961, he wrote a memo to his yet-unnamed successor (who turned out to be [[James E. Webb]]), recommending a new site be chosen.{{sfnp|Dethloff|1993|p=36}} Later that year, when President [[John F. Kennedy]] set the goal to put a person on the [[Moon]] by the end of the decade, it became clear Gilruth would need a larger organization to lead the [[Apollo Program]], with new test facilities and research laboratories.<ref name=JSC>{{Cite web
| title = JSC History
| access-date = 2008-03-25
Line 129:
[[File:NASA Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory Astronaut Training.jpg|thumb|left|A shuttle astronaut training in the [[Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory]]]]
About 3,200 civil servants, including 110 [[astronaut]]s, are employed at Johnson Space Center. The bulk of the workforce consists of over 11,000 [[General contractor|contractors]]. As of October 2014, Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies took over [[United Space Alliance]]'s primary contract.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/july/nasa-awards-mission-operations-support-contract|title = NASA Awards Mission Operations Support Contract|date = 14 July 2014|website = NASA.gov|publisher = NASA}}</ref> As of May 2018, the center's 12th director is Mark S Geyer,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-announces-new-director-of-johnson-space-center |title=NASA Announces New Director of Johnson Space Center (Release 18-036, May 15, 2018) |author=NASA |access-date=2019-05-14|date=May 14, 2018 }}</ref> the first being [[Robert R. Gilruth]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}
NASA's astronaut training is conducted at the Johnson Space Center. Astronaut candidates receive training on spacecraft systems and in basic sciences including mathematics, guidance and navigation, oceanography, orbital dynamics, astronomy, and physics.<ref name=history>{{cite web |url=http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/reference/factsheets/asseltrn.html |title= Astronaut Selection and Training |author=NASA |access-date=2008-08-27}}</ref> Candidates are required to complete military water survival prior to beginning their flying instruction. Candidates are also required to become [[Scuba diving|scuba]]-qualified for extravehicular training and are required to pass a swimming test.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Fitzpatrick DT, Conkin J |title=Improved pulmonary function in working divers breathing nitrox at shallow depths |journal=Undersea Hyperb Med Abstract |volume=30 |issue=Supplement |pages=763–7 |year=2003 |pmid= 12862332|url=http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/1273 |access-date=2008-08-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Fitzpatrick DT, Conkin J |title=Improved pulmonary function in working divers breathing nitrox at shallow depths |journal=Aviat Space Environ Med |volume=74 |issue=7 |pages=763–7 |date=July 2003 |pmid=12862332 |url=http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/asma/asem/2003/00000074/00000007/art00011 |access-date=2008-08-27}}</ref> EVA training is conducted at the [[Sonny Carter Training Facility]]. Candidates are also trained to deal with emergencies associated with [[hyperbaric]] and [[hypobaric]] atmospheric pressures and are given exposure to the microgravity of space flight.<ref name=history/> Candidates maintain their flying proficiency by flying 15 hours per month in NASA's fleet of T-38 jets based at nearby Ellington Field.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}
| |||