NASA facilities

NASA has many special places where it works on exciting projects all around the United States and the world. These places are called NASA facilities. The main office, called NASA Headquarters, is in Washington, D.C., and it helps guide all of NASA's work. There are ten big centers that take charge of different NASA projects. These centers make sure all the smaller NASA places do their jobs properly.

Some of these important centers include the Goddard Space Flight Center, the Kennedy Space Center, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, among others. Each center has its own special job, like building rockets, studying space, or testing new technology.

In 2013, a report suggested that NASA could make better use of its many places by combining some that weren't being used much. It found that at least 33 of NASA's 155 facilities weren't very busy. This helped NASA think about how to use its spaces more wisely.

List of field centers

NASA has ten main centers. Four were taken from a group that studied airplanes before NASA, two came from the U.S. Army, and four were built by NASA after it started in 1958.

Inherited from NACA

The Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia was set up in 1917. It is named after Samuel Langley and studies airplanes and space travel. It has many wind tunnels to test how airplanes and spacecraft fly safely.

The Ames Research Center at Moffett Field in California started on December 20, 1939. It is named after Joseph Sweetman Ames and looks at airplanes, space travel, and computer science. It studies things like small satellites and robots in space.

The Glenn Research Center in Brook Park, Ohio began in 1942 to study airplane engines. It was renamed in 1999 for astronaut John Glenn. It works on engines, power, and communications for both airplanes and space travel.

The Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California started before 1946. It was renamed in 2014 for astronaut Neil Armstrong. It tests new airplanes and how they fly.

Transferred from the Army

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in La Cañada Flintridge in California became part of NASA when it started. It is managed by the California Institute of Technology and builds robots to explore space. JPL also runs NASA's network to talk to spacecraft far away, with stations in California, Spain, and Australia.

The Marshall Space Flight Center at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama joined NASA from the U.S. Army in 1958. It is named after George C. Marshall. The center helped build big rockets and supports space station work. It also looks after a big building in New Orleans.

Built by NASA

The Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland started on March 1, 1959. It is named after Robert H. Goddard. The center builds robots for science in space and studies Earth and faraway places. It also looks after a place in Virginia and a research group in New York.

The Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, Mississippi began on October 25, 1961. It is named after John C. Stennis. The center tests rocket engines for both government and companies.

The Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, started on November 1, 1961. It was renamed in 1973 for president Lyndon B. Johnson. The center trains astronauts and controls missions for human space travel. It also looks after a test place in New Mexico.

The Kennedy Space Center in Florida near Cape Canaveral began in 1962. It was renamed in 1963 for president John F. Kennedy. The center is NASA’s main place for launching people into space. It has a very big building to put rockets together.