Space Center Houston Entrance Johnson Space Center sign

The visit begins at the modern visitor center that is operated by a vendor and is a combination of science and amusement centers. The new visitor center and amusements opened in 1992, and with it the cost went up, but so too the time most people spend there increased. The cost on 11/10/02 was $21.95 for adults & $15.95 for seniors.

Children's area Shuttle mockup Apollo capsule Walking in space This Apollo capsule actually flew in space and is displayed to appear, as it would have when in space. In this display the support section is still attached to the capsule. It is separated just prior to re-entry. This is a shot of the interior of an Apollo capsule that shows the restricted space the astronaut occupied.

Most of your time will be spent in the visitor center and it is the location of most of the displays. The visit to the Johnson Center is by guided tour and is very restricted since 9/11/2001. You do get to visit the training lab where the crews train for space, and also the old mission control from the early days up through the first of the shuttle missions. The current operation control center has been removed from the tour since 9/11. With two couples visiting, we spent about five hours in the center. The following is a collection of pictures from our visit and if you place your mouse on each, a description of what it is will appear. Double click and it will enlarge.

Using the jetpack used to maneuver in space by modern astronauts. Men walking on the moon. A Mercury capsule that once flew in space. This was This was the last Atlas rocket ever built and was scheduled to launch. It was not used because of the canceling of the Apollo program, and is now on display at Johnson Space Center. Sign in Rocket Park, Johnson Space center. Saturn V, second stage Sign in Rocket Park, Johnson Space center. The payload portion of a Saturn V Sign in Rocket Park, Johnson Space center. This is the largest rocket ever built by the USA. It propelled all of the moon missions. This is the training laboratory used by the astronauts when preparing for a mission. It is one of the places visited on the tour of the Johnson Space Center. This is one of the mock-ups of the shuttle payload bay. It is used to prepare for all current missions to the new space station. Mock-ups of the new space station occupy the major share of the lab. These sections are of the portion of the station built by Russia. The lab also has many different types of simulator for training the crews about conditions in space. There are many training areas for the shuttle missions. The crews spend many hours in training for each hour actually spent in space. The shuttle flight deck. Skylab was the first space station built by the USA, and was second to the Mir built by Russia. This is a model of the space station that is currently under construction in space, as it appears at this time. It will be about three times this size when completed. Note the shuttle that is attached to the station. This is a picture of the space station as it is now. These are rocks that we brought back from the moon by the manned missions. This display allows you to actually touch a small slice of a rock that was brought back from the moon! This is the actual Mission Control center that was used for all space flights from the very first, through the early shuttle missions. This picture was taken of a TV monitor that shows the current mission control center as it is in use for the countdown for Mock-up of the Lunar Module that took the men to the moon's surface. This is a collection of patches worn by the Apollo astronauts. This room is made to look like the current Mission Control and is where they give a briefing to visitors about the status of the current mission that is happening, or about to happen.