Houston (January 2024) - Part 1
I had not really spend much time previously in Houston other than the airport. Got an opportunity to spend a few days here at the start of 2024 and my takeaways are:
Houston is very spread out
Roads are terrible
Food is great
People are friendly
Maria Rita’s
Because the CFP National Championship game was in town, the hotel prices were through the roof so I had to stay out by Hobby Airport to get an affordable room. This restaurant was out by the hotel on the east side of town.
It was very popular. I was lucky to grab a seat at the bar as someone left. I think the happy hour is what brought this crowd in at this time as it was $2 beers. The free chips and salsa were also very good - chips were fresh and the dips were tasty. Also got the mole to try and it wound up being too much food since I gorged on the chips.
This is how I started pretty much every day
Space Center Houston
Space Center Houston is an easy drive south from central Houston and worth the trip. You book the entry ticket online and they do have timed entries. It seems like a lot people do the early arrival like myself so you can spend more time at the exhibits.
You have to do this self pay parking on your phone there which I did but I don’t know how they would verify it since the gates were just open. I assume there is some way that they check that you pay but not really sure.
The building itself is pretty big with various sections dedicated to programs for returning to the moon and going to Mars. There is also a section for the ISS, past programs such as Apollo, Mercury, and Spacelab. They have schedule educational talks by docents and astronauts.
The tram tours they have included with the entry ticket go to Johnson Space Center to see the rocket park and the astronaut training center. They also have a tour that you pay extra for that takes you to Mission Control.
There is also an outside park where you can see a used Falcon rocket as well as a Space Shuttle that you can walk into.
Piece of Martian meteorite that you can touch
Actual used Apollo spacesuits
Explaining how to go to the bathroom on the ISS
Astronaut Training Facility Tour
One of the tours I went on was to the astronaut training facility. The trams take you from the museum part of the center to the operating parts of the Johnson Space Center complex.
The part that you get to see is a big warehouse that contains all the possible space modules that astronauts may use in space. They train in these duplicate modules to practice all the possible scenarios that they face in space. It was hard to take photos of them because of their location but they had a few rover vehicles in there as well.
I was here on a weekend so the space was quiet but I guess if you take the tour during the week you’ll see people working in the warehouse.
Mission Control
I did not go on the tour to inside Mission Control. That is a separate tour that you have to pay extra for and I already had a full day. The tram guide noted that the American flag always flies above the building when there is an American in space which has been pretty continuous since the ISS.
Space Shuttle and 747 Transport Plane
Used Falcon Rocket
Moon Rocks
Moon Landing Displays
Mission Team Photo Wall
Every mission team has their photo on this wall
George W.S. Abbey Rocket Park Tour
Inside the warehouse building here sits one of three existing Saturn V rockets. The one here is Houston is the only that was spec, meaning that it met all qualifications at the time to actually be used in a launch. It is also cool that they break up each of the sections so you can see the propulsion of each stage. The thing is huge and very difficult to get in one photo.
It’s amazing how small the early rockets were
Here you can compare a Mercury rocket next to just one Saturn V engine
An interesting note - the center is also a nature preserve so you’ll see some wild animals on the grounds. There is also a Texas Longhorn ranch on site.
