An Unlikely Beginning For Johnson Space Center By Texas Senator John Cornyn You can’t judge a book by its cover. And if in 1961 you happened to be standing in the wind-battered cow pasture on the shores of Clear Lake, just southeast of downtown Houston, you could be forgiven for not believing that in a few short years, this would be the future home of an elite cadre of scientists and airmen, destined to leave this planet and set foot on another world. This year marks the 50th anniversary since NASA’s Johnson Space Center – originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center – opened its doors. As recently told to the Houston Chronicle, the effort to land the nation’s premiere space center in Houston was not your typical application process. But thanks to the foresight of a group of Houston businessmen and the deft political maneuvering of one powerful Texas politician, Space City was born. Interestingly, it wasn’t the politician whose name the Center now bears. Rather, it was longtime Houston Congressman Albert Thomas. As NASA’s site selection committee contemplated Baton Rouge, Jacksonville, Tampa, and even San Francisco, Thomas used his influence on the House Appropriations Committee to bring NASA to Houston. ...
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 19:57:08 +0000
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