Space Center Houston

Johnson Space Center has been the hub of American human spaceflight operations since 1961, managing missions from the Gemini program through the Space Shuttle era and the ongoing International Space Station operations. The Saturn V on display — one of only three surviving flight-ready examples — is 363 feet long and remains the most powerful rocket ever flown, capable of generating 7.6 million pounds of thrust. It carried twelve astronauts to the lunar surface between 1969 and 1972.

Tram tours from the visitor center bring guests onto the JSC campus itself, including the historic Mission Control facility where Gene Kranz and his flight controllers managed the Apollo 13 emergency in April 1970. The room has been meticulously restored to its Apollo-era configuration, down to the ashtrays on the consoles. Additional exhibits cover the Space Shuttle program, International Space Station hardware, and the future of human exploration beyond low Earth orbit.