Space Center Houston lifts off with new health protocols
SpaceX rocket display, brand-new exhibits welcome back visitors
After watching live coverage of the history-making SpaceX Endeavour launch in May, people drove to Space Center Houston to get a glimpse of the SpaceX rocket displayed at the educational facility’s entrance.
The visitor center was closed due to the health crisis, as was its parking lot, so when they couldn’t get close enough, Space Center Houston president and CEO William Harris says the public drove to NASA Parkway to take snapshots of the rocket to post on social media.
Perhaps hungrier than ever to learn about space exploration, the public can now visit Space Center Houston again. The official visitor center of NASA Johnson Space Center reopened Sunday.
With a mask requirement and new timed entry tickets, Harris says about 90 percent of the museum is on view, including brandnew artifacts, equipment and
exhibits.
Acting as a hype team, staff shouts a 10-to-zero countdown before a guest’s “mission” begins, adding friendly reminders for everyone ages 2 and older to “visor up” (secure masks).
Changes for the new era
Appliques throughout the indoor-outdoor facility — in the shape of a pair of moon boots — serve as a reminder to socially distance, along with educators who tell attendees to “maintain their 6-foot orbit.”
At the entrance, a 3D-printed replica of Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 spacesuit is a new photo op. Given to Space Center Houston by the Smithsonian, the suit — made of fiberglass and resin — was previously on view at Minute Maid Park in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing.
Just before guests walk inside the 250,000-square-foot facility — which is currently open at 25 percent capacity — they pose in front of a new green screen for a photo. When they leave, a complimentary printout with a space-themed background serves as a memento.
Space Center Houston’s app allows for contactless entry, at which point guests select a sticker that signifies what role they’d like to explore further during their visit: astronaut, engineer, science officer or mission controller.
A new, one-way path weaves throughout the galleries, which have been opened up and reconfigured to allow distancing. Color-coded signage provides information about how each of the four careers in the space program tie to objects on view.
For example, in the new “Apollo 13: Failure is not an option” exhibit, those who are learning about the role of mission controller will see how astronauts improvised to fashion together duct tape, cardboard from a binder and other materials on board the spacecraft to make an emergency life-saving carbon dioxide filter.
Housed in the central gallery, the exhibit focuses on the ingenuity and innovation that made the 1970 mission “NASA’s most successful failure,” Harris says, adding that the 50th anniversary exhibit of the aborted mission is designed to show the public “how NASA uses innovation to address crises.”
Nearby, a U.S. flag is planted inside a prototype lunar rover that is new to the center. The surface exploration vehicle has a spacesuit attached, displaying how technology is used to help astronauts get in and out of their cumbersome gear.
During Space Center Houston’s closure, staff updated and revamped the “New Perspective” and “Combustion” live shows, which are walk-up attractions that don’t require reservations.
Kids in particular will enjoy the “New Perspective” show, which takes place on a full-scale replica of a module on the International Space Station.
They’ll see an exercise bike on board and learn that in order to maintain peak physical shape, astronauts exercise two hours a day during their mission. They’ll also see a funnylooking sleeping bag with a forehead strap that aids in sleeping without gravity.
The same gallery houses a humanoid robot.
Pop-up science labs throughout the facility have been reformatted so that guests watch a demo of hands-on experiments, such as a DIY rocket or lunar lander, then take the kits home.
In the “Mission Mars” exhibit, the Mars touchstone — one of only about 150 in the world — is no longer touchable. There is not a CDC-recommended sanitization method that is safe for the specimen, so guests are able to get just as close to the rock as they could before, but they can no longer stick their hand between the layers of glass to feel its surface.
Same goes for the moon rock located in Starship Gallery.
The lure of SpaceX
Many of the guests who visited Space Center Houston on opening day made a beeline for Independence Plaza. The outdoor area houses the SpaceX Falcon 9, which was on display for just two weeks before the institution shut down due to health concerns.
The only Falcon 9 on view outside the headquarters of SpaceX, one of NASA’s commercial partners, the reusable spacecraft was flown twice in 2017, fulfilling resupply missions to the International Space Station. It is the first booster to be reused by NASA.
Meridyth Moore, communications supervisor at Space Center Houston, says the spacecraft provides “the ultimate selfie.” Babies crawl on the grass below the rocket for photos, she says. Parents hike their children to their shoulders, allowing the kids to reach overhead and pretend to hold up the rocket.
Harris says his favorite element is the now-iconic blue SpaceX logo that is visibly charred from the combustion of the launches.
“We asked SpaceX not to clean it,” he says, adding that the team displayed the rocket — which is a permanent addition to the collection — horizontally so guests could walk beneath the entire length.
The landing gear is still attached and visitors can get close enough to count all nine Merlin engines and see the size of the fins.
“It really is awe-inspiring,” Harris says.
Space Center Houston has a verbal commitment from SpaceX to add a Dragon capsule to the outdoor exhibit, Moore says.
“Commercial space is the new frontier, and it’s the first commercial exhibit for us, which has generated a lot of excitement from the public,” she says.
Visitors impressed
When guests arrive at Space Center Houston, they can use the app to schedule their tram tour to Johnson Space Center. The app notifies the party when it’s time to board, cutting down on the long tram lines of the pre-pandemic era. Guests show their boarding pass via the app before they are escorted to their tram row, where staff is distancing guests.
Currently, the open-air tram goes to Rocket Park. Other behind-the-scenes tours remain closed, including the Apollo 11 Mission Control Center.
Chris and Lisa Wingo and daughter Olivia Wingo, who live in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, visited Space Center Houston on opening day. They began their visit with the 30minute tram experience to Rocket Park.
The family happened to be vacationing in Galveston when Space Center Houston announced its reopening plans, and they jumped at the chance to reserve tickets.
Olivia’s overnight seventh grade class trip to Space Center Houston this spring was canceled due to the pandemic, and she was disappointed to miss the experience.
To celebrate their visit, mom and daughter wore matching NASA T-shirts. Olivia and her father chose to explore the facility in the Engineer role.
“I like to build things,” explained Olivia, who hopes to one day be a forensic scientist.
Inside Rocket Park’s massive air-conditioned facility that houses a Saturn V rocket, the Wingos read placards that detailed how engineers built a launch facility in Florida where the rocket was originally assembled.
After the tram tour, the Wingos headed to Independence Plaza to see the Falcon 9 and climb inside the shuttle replica mounted atop a shuttle aircraft carrier.
After the SpaceX Endeavour launch this spring, Harris says Space Center Houston saw an unprecedented spike in web traffic, which he believes will lead to more first-time visitors to the facility.
“I think the public is absolutely intrigued with what’s going on with commercial space travel, and you’re just seeing the beginning,” he says.
The center beefed up its virtual programming during the closure, and virtual educator talks and presentations will continue. But, says Harris, “You can’t replicate seeing these space artifacts in person.”
“Nothing replaces seeing a lunar sample or Scott Kelly’s suit or a rocket in person … and getting that sense of scale.”