Houston: Space Center Houston - Independence
The waste management system on the Space Shuttle Independence
Space Shuttle Independence, formerly known as Explorer, is a full-scale, high-fidelity replica of the Space Shuttle. It was built by Guard-Lee in Apopka, Florida, installed at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in 1993, and moved to Space Center Houston in 2012. It was built using schematics, blueprints and archival documents provided by NASA and by shuttle contractors such as Rockwell International. While many of the features on the replica are simulated, some parts, including the landing gear's Michelin tires, have been used in the Space Shuttle program.
Independence Plaza opened at Space Center Houston in 2016 and features an 80-ton shuttle mockup of the Independence, mounted on top of the actual 159-ton shuttle carrier aircraft NASA 905.
NASA 905 is one of two Shuttle Carrier Aircrafts (SCA) extensively modified Boeing 747's used to transport Shape Shuttle orbiters from landing sites back to Kennedy Space Center. The 905 was originally manufactured for American Airlines, acquired in 1974, and modified by Boeing in 1976. While first-class seats were kept for NASA passengers, its main cabin and insulation were stripped, mounting struts were added, and the fuselage was strengthened.
Space Center Houston is the official visitor center of NASA Johnson Space Center and a Smithsonian Affiliate Museum owned and operated by the nonprofit Manned Spaceflight Education Foundation. The center opened in 1992 and hosts more than 1 million visitors annually in its 250,000-square-foot educational complex with over 400 space artifacts, permanent and traveling exhibits, attractions, live shows and theaters dedicated to preserving the history of America's human spaceflight program.
The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Manned Spacecraft Center, where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. Construction of the center, designed by Charles Luckman, began in 1962 and the 1,620-acre facility officially opened for business in September 1963. The center is home to NASA's astronaut corps, and is responsible for training astronauts from both the U.S. and its international partners. It has become popularly known for its flight control function, identified as "Mission Control" during the Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, Apollo–Soyuz, and Space Shuttle program flights. It is also the site of the former Lunar Receiving Laboratory, where the first astronauts returning from the Moon were quarantined, and where the majority of lunar samples are stored.
Houston: Space Center Houston - Independence
The waste management system on the Space Shuttle Independence
Space Shuttle Independence, formerly known as Explorer, is a full-scale, high-fidelity replica of the Space Shuttle. It was built by Guard-Lee in Apopka, Florida, installed at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in 1993, and moved to Space Center Houston in 2012. It was built using schematics, blueprints and archival documents provided by NASA and by shuttle contractors such as Rockwell International. While many of the features on the replica are simulated, some parts, including the landing gear's Michelin tires, have been used in the Space Shuttle program.
Independence Plaza opened at Space Center Houston in 2016 and features an 80-ton shuttle mockup of the Independence, mounted on top of the actual 159-ton shuttle carrier aircraft NASA 905.
NASA 905 is one of two Shuttle Carrier Aircrafts (SCA) extensively modified Boeing 747's used to transport Shape Shuttle orbiters from landing sites back to Kennedy Space Center. The 905 was originally manufactured for American Airlines, acquired in 1974, and modified by Boeing in 1976. While first-class seats were kept for NASA passengers, its main cabin and insulation were stripped, mounting struts were added, and the fuselage was strengthened.
Space Center Houston is the official visitor center of NASA Johnson Space Center and a Smithsonian Affiliate Museum owned and operated by the nonprofit Manned Spaceflight Education Foundation. The center opened in 1992 and hosts more than 1 million visitors annually in its 250,000-square-foot educational complex with over 400 space artifacts, permanent and traveling exhibits, attractions, live shows and theaters dedicated to preserving the history of America's human spaceflight program.
The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Manned Spacecraft Center, where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. Construction of the center, designed by Charles Luckman, began in 1962 and the 1,620-acre facility officially opened for business in September 1963. The center is home to NASA's astronaut corps, and is responsible for training astronauts from both the U.S. and its international partners. It has become popularly known for its flight control function, identified as "Mission Control" during the Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, Apollo–Soyuz, and Space Shuttle program flights. It is also the site of the former Lunar Receiving Laboratory, where the first astronauts returning from the Moon were quarantined, and where the majority of lunar samples are stored.