113-409: The Chronicles is the first compilation album by American rapper E.S.G. from Houston , Texas . It was released on January 29, 2008 through Scarred 4 Life Entertainment with distribution via Select-O-Hits . This 2008 hip hop album–related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Houston Houston ( / ˈ h juː s t ən / HEW -stən )
226-593: A CAPCOM, SURGEON, and an engineer. Unlike the Cape CAPCOM, which was always staffed by an astronaut, the tracking station/tracking ship CAPCOMs were either a NASA engineer, or an astronaut, with the latter located at stations deemed "critical" by the flight director and operations director. After the move from the Cape MCC to the Houston MCC in 1965, the new MOCRs, which were larger and more sophisticated than
339-572: A city with zoning that flooded." On May 16, 2024, a strong derecho caused widespread damage across the city and surrounding metropolitan area. Houston is 165 miles (266 km) east of Austin , 88 miles (142 km) west of the Louisiana border, and 250 miles (400 km) south of Dallas . The city has a total area of 637.4 square miles (1,651 km ); this comprises over 599.59 square miles (1,552.9 km ) of land and 22.3 square miles (58 km ) covered by water. Most of Houston
452-553: A commercial center, forming a symbiosis with its Gulf Coast port, Galveston. Landlocked farmers brought their produce to Houston, using Buffalo Bayou to gain access to Galveston and the Gulf of Mexico. Houston merchants profited from selling staples to farmers and shipping the farmers' produce to Galveston. The great majority of enslaved people in Texas came with their owners from the older slave states. Sizable numbers, however, came through
565-649: A day of groundwater. Houston has four major bayous passing through the city that accept water from the extensive drainage system. Buffalo Bayou runs through Downtown and the Houston Ship Channel , and has three tributaries: White Oak Bayou, which runs through the Houston Heights community northwest of Downtown and then towards Downtown; Brays Bayou , which runs along the Texas Medical Center; and Sims Bayou , which runs through
678-515: A floodplain, a flowing flood-water stream termed a floodway runs through the development area, a most dangerous place to encounter during any future flooding event. Harris County , like other more rural counties, cannot direct developers where to build or not build via land use controls such as a zoning ordinance by Texas law, and instead can only impose general floodplain regulations for enforcement during subdivision approvals and building permit approvals. The 2020 U.S. census determined Houston had
791-468: A four-tier auditorium, dominated by a large map screen, which, with the exception of Apollo lunar flights, had a Mercator projection of the Earth, with locations of tracking stations, and a three-orbit " sine wave " track of the spacecraft in flight. Each MOCR tier was specialized, staffed by various controllers responsible for a specific spacecraft system. MOCR 1, housed on the second floor of Building 30,
904-568: A general or flag officer who could coordinate with the DOD on all search-and-rescue missions, and the PAO ( "Shorty" Powers during Mercury), who provided minute-by-minute mission commentary for the news media and public. In addition to the controllers in the Cape MCC, each of the crewed tracking stations and the Rose Knot Victor and Coastal Sentry Quebec tracking ships, had three controllers,
1017-611: A large and growing international community. Houston is the most diverse metropolitan area in Texas and has been described as the most racially and ethnically diverse major city in the U.S. It is home to many cultural institutions and exhibits, such as the Houston Museum District and the Houston Theater District . Present-day Houston sits on land that was once occupied by the Karankawa and
1130-441: A mortgage were $ 1,646, and $ 536 without a mortgage. Houston's median gross rent from 2015 to 2019 was $ 1,041. The median household income in 2019 was $ 52,338 and 20.1% of Houstonians lived at or below the poverty line . Houston is a majority-minority city. The Rice University Kinder Institute for Urban Research, a think tank , has described Greater Houston as "one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse metropolitan areas in
1243-454: A population of 2,304,580. In 2017, the census-estimated population was 2,312,717, and in 2018 it was 2,325,502. An estimated 600,000 undocumented immigrants resided in the Houston area in 2017, comprising nearly 9% of the city's metropolitan population. At the 2010 United States census , Houston had a population of 2,100,263 residents, up from the city's 2,396 at the 1850 census . Per
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#17327655234381356-595: A population of 2,314,157 in 2023, Houston is the fourth-most populous city in the United States after New York City , Los Angeles , and Chicago , and the sixth-most populous city in North America . Houston is the southeast anchor of the greater megaregion known as the Texas Triangle . Comprising a land area of 640.4 square miles (1,659 km ), Houston is the ninth-most expansive city in
1469-626: A presence in Mission Control. This project is known as Mission Control Center for the 21st Century, or MCC-21. The White FCR was officially completed and unveiled in April 2014. The modernized White FCR is used for flight controller training and occasionally for nominal ISS operations when FCR 1 is temporarily removed from service for repairs or upgrades. In 2019, the first of the Commercial Crew vehicles to be controlled from Houston
1582-482: A shelter to more than 150,000 people from New Orleans, who evacuated from Hurricane Katrina . One month later, about 2.5 million Houston-area residents evacuated when Hurricane Rita approached the Gulf Coast , leaving little damage to the Houston area. This was the largest urban evacuation in the history of the United States. In May 2015, seven people died after 12 inches of rain fell in 10 hours during what
1695-1087: A stop on the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex tours, in the late 1990s, the control room consoles were removed, refurbished, and relocated to a re-creation of the room in the Debus Center at the KSC Visitor Complex. Located in Building 30 at the Johnson Space Center (known as the Manned Spacecraft Center until 1973), the Houston MCC was first used in June 1965 for Gemini 4 . It housed two primary rooms known as Mission Operation Control Rooms (MOCR, pronounced "moh-ker"). These two rooms controlled all Gemini , Apollo , Skylab , and Space Shuttle flights up to 1998. Each consisted of
1808-593: Is also home to buildings designed by noted architects I. M. Pei , César Pelli , and Philip Johnson. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a mini-boom of midrise and highrise residential tower construction occurred, with several over 30 stories tall. Since 2000 over 30 skyscrapers have been developed in Houston; all told, 72 high-rises tower over the city, which adds up to about 8,300 units. In 2002, Uptown had more than 23 million square feet (2,100,000 m ) of office space with 16 million square feet (1,500,000 m ) of class A office space . Houston's climate
1921-628: Is classified as humid subtropical ( Cfa in the Köppen climate classification system ), typical of the Southern United States . While not in Tornado Alley , like much of Northern Texas , spring supercell thunderstorms sometimes bring tornadoes to the area. Prevailing winds are from the south and southeast during most of the year, which bring heat and tropical moisture from the nearby Gulf of Mexico and Galveston Bay. During
2034-516: Is known as the Memorial Day Flood. Eight people died in April 2016 during a storm that dropped 17 inches of rain. The worst came in late August 2017, when Hurricane Harvey stalled over southeastern Texas, much like Tropical Storm Allison did sixteen years earlier, causing severe flooding in the Houston area, with some areas receiving over 50 inches (1,300 mm) of rain. The rainfall exceeded 50 inches in several areas locally, breaking
2147-507: Is on the gulf coastal plain , and its vegetation is classified as Western Gulf coastal grasslands while further north, it transitions into a subtropical jungle, the Big Thicket . Much of the city was built on forested land, marshes, or swamps, and all are still visible in surrounding areas. Flat terrain and extensive greenfield development have combined to worsen flooding. Downtown stands about 50 feet (15 m) above sea level, and
2260-606: Is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the Southern United States . Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico , it is the seat of Harris County ; as well as the principal city of the Greater Houston metropolitan area, the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the second-most populous in Texas after Dallas–Fort Worth . With
2373-533: Is the 64-floor, 901-foot (275 m)-tall, Philip Johnson and John Burgee designed landmark Williams Tower (known as the Transco Tower until 1999). At the time of construction, it was believed to be the world's tallest skyscraper outside a central business district. The new 20-story Skanska building and BBVA Compass Plaza are the newest office buildings built in Uptown after 30 years. The Uptown District
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#17327655234382486-627: Is the facility at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston , Texas , that manages flight control for the United States human space program, currently involving astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The center is in Building 30 at the Johnson Space Center and is named after Christopher C. Kraft Jr. , a NASA engineer and manager who was instrumental in establishing the agency's Mission Control operation, and
2599-488: Is the largest city in the United States without formal zoning regulations, it has developed similarly to other Sun Belt cities because the city's land use regulations and legal covenants have played a similar role. Regulations include mandatory lot size for single-family houses and requirements that parking be available to tenants and customers. In 1998, Houston relaxed its mandatory lot sizes from 5,000 square feet to 3,500 square feet, which spurred housing construction in
2712-631: Is the only metropolitan area with less than ten million citizens where such a CO 2 dome can be detected by satellites. Because of Houston's wet season and proximity to the Gulf Coast , the city is prone to flooding from heavy rains; the most notable flooding events include Tropical Storm Allison in 2001 and Hurricane Harvey in 2017, along with most recent Tropical Storm Imelda in 2019 and Tropical Storm Beta in 2020. In response to Hurricane Harvey, Mayor Sylvester Turner of Houston initiated plans to require developers to build homes that will be less susceptible to flooding by raising them two feet above
2825-418: Is the tallest structure in Texas, 19th tallest building in the United States, and was previously 85th-tallest skyscraper in the world, based on highest architectural feature. In 1983, the 71-floor, 992-foot (302 m)-tall Wells Fargo Plaza (formerly Allied Bank Plaza) was completed, becoming the second-tallest building in Houston and Texas. Based on highest architectural feature, it is the 21st-tallest in
2938-515: Is ubiquitous in Houston; in 1981, annual spending on electricity for interior cooling exceeded $ 600 million (equivalent to $ 2.01 billion in 2023), and by the late 1990s, approximately 90% of Houston homes featured air conditioning systems. The record highest temperature recorded in Houston is 109 °F (43 °C) at Bush Intercontinental Airport, on four occasions: September 4, 2000; August 27, 2011; and August 24 and August 27, 2023. Houston has mild winters, with occasional cold spells. In January,
3051-405: The 500-year floodplain . Hurricane Harvey damaged hundreds of thousands of homes and dumped trillions of gallons of water into the city. In places this led to feet of standing water that blocked streets and flooded homes. The Houston City Council passed this regulation in 2018 with a vote of 9–7. Had these floodplain development rules had been in place all along, it is estimated that 84% of homes in
3164-479: The American Lung Association rating the metropolitan area's ozone level twelfth on the "Most Polluted Cities by Ozone" in 2017, after major cities such as Los Angeles , Phoenix , New York City , and Denver . The industries along the ship channel are a major cause of the city's air pollution. The rankings are in terms of peak-based standards, focusing strictly on the worst days of the year;
3277-701: The Atakapa indigenous peoples for at least 2,000 years before the first known settlers arrived. These tribes are almost nonexistent today; this was most likely caused by foreign disease, and competition with various settler groups in the 18th and 19th centuries. However, the land then remained largely uninhabited from the late 1700s until settlement in the 1830s. The Allen brothers— Augustus Chapman and John Kirby —explored town sites on Buffalo Bayou and Galveston Bay . According to historian David McComb, "[T]he brothers, on August 26, 1836, bought from Elizabeth E. Parrott, wife of T.F.L. Parrott and widow of John Austin,
3390-545: The Battle of Galveston . After the Civil War, Houston businessmen initiated efforts to widen the city's extensive system of bayous so the city could accept more commerce between Downtown and the nearby port of Galveston. By 1890, Houston was the railroad center of Texas. In 1900, after Galveston was struck by a devastating hurricane , efforts to make Houston into a viable deep-water port were accelerated. The following year,
3503-564: The Houston Dynamo soccer team was formed. In 2017 , the Houston Astros won their first World Series . Flooding has been a recurring problem in the Houston area. In June 2001, Tropical Storm Allison dumped up to 40 inches (1,000 mm) of rain on parts of Houston, causing what was then the worst flooding in the city's history and billions of dollars in damage, and killed 20 people in Texas. In August 2005, Houston became
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3616-726: The Houston Ship Channel , and the Texas oil boom . In the mid-20th century, Houston's economy diversified, as it became home to the Texas Medical Center —the world's largest concentration of healthcare and research institutions—and NASA 's Johnson Space Center , home to the Mission Control Center . Since the late 19th century, Houston's economy has had a broad industrial base in energy , manufacturing , aeronautics, and transportation . Leading in healthcare sectors and building oilfield equipment, Houston has
3729-828: The International Space Station Flight Control Room. The first ISS control room, originally named the Special Vehicles Operations Room (SVO), then the Blue FCR, was operational around the clock to support the ISS until the fall of 2006. FCR 1, meanwhile, had its original consoles and tiered decking removed after STS-71 , and was first converted to a "Life Sciences Center" for ISS payload control operations. After substantial remodelling, mainly with new technologies not available in 1998, ISS flight control moved into
3842-538: The Interstate 610 loop . The "Inner Loop" encompasses a 97-square-mile (250 km ) area which includes Downtown, pre–World War II residential neighborhoods and streetcar suburbs , and newer high-density apartment and townhouse developments. Outside the loop, the city's typology is more suburban , though many major business districts—such as Uptown , Westchase , and the Energy Corridor —lie well outside
3955-482: The capital of the Texas Republic in the late 1830s, Houston grew steadily into a regional trading center for the remainder of the 19th century. The 20th century brought a convergence of economic factors that fueled rapid growth in Houston, including a burgeoning port and railroad industry, the decline of Galveston as Texas's primary port following a devastating 1900 hurricane , the subsequent construction of
4068-627: The "voice" of MCC; MOD , a management representative, depending on the phase of flight; either RIO for MIR flights , a Russian-speaker who spoke with the Russian MCC, known as Цуп, (Tsup); BOOSTER responsible for the SRBs and the SSMEs during ascent, or EVA responsible for space suit systems and EVA tasks; and finally, SURGEON . All US International Space Station operations are currently controlled from FCR 1, remodeled in 2006. This FCR abandoned
4181-604: The 100-year and 500-year floodplains would have been spared damage. In a recent case testing these regulations, near the Brickhouse Gulley, an old golf course that long served as a floodplain and reservoir for floodwaters, announced a change of heart toward intensifying development. A nationwide developer, Meritage Homes , bought the land and planned to develop the 500-year floodplain into 900 new residential homes. Their plan would bring in $ 360 million in revenue and boost city population and tax revenue. In order to meet
4294-507: The 1960s, Downtown Houston consisted of a collection of mid-rise office structures. Downtown was on the threshold of an energy industry–led boom in 1970. A succession of skyscrapers was built throughout the 1970s—many by real estate developer Gerald D. Hines —culminating with Houston's tallest skyscraper, the 75-floor, 1,002-foot (305 m)-tall JPMorgan Chase Tower (formerly the Texas Commerce Tower), completed in 1982. It
4407-447: The 2019 American Community Survey , Houston's age distribution was 482,402 under 15; 144,196 aged 15 to 19; 594,477 aged 20 to 34; 591,561 aged 35 to 54; 402,804 aged 55 to 74; and 101,357 aged 75 and older. The median age of the city was 33.4. At the 2014-2018 census estimates, Houston's age distribution was 486,083 under 15; 147,710 aged 15 to 19; 603,586 aged 20 to 34; 726,877 aged 35 to 59; and 357,834 aged 60 and older. The median age
4520-703: The 21st century. In 2000, the Houston Astros opened their new baseball stadium, Daikin Park , in downtown adjacent to the old Union Station . The Houston Texans were formed in 2002 as an NFL expansion team, replacing the Houston Oilers , which had left the city in 1996. NRG Stadium opened the same year. In 2003, the Toyota Center opened as the home for the Houston Rockets . In 2005,
4633-574: The ENVIRONMENTAL, PROCEDURES , FLIGHT , SYSTEMS, and NETWORK. The ENVIRONMENTAL controller, later called EECOM, oversaw the consumption of spacecraft oxygen and monitored pressurization, while the SYSTEMS controller, later called EGIL, monitored all other spacecraft systems, including electrical consumption. The PROCEDURES controller, first held by Gene Kranz , handled the writing of all mission milestones, "GO/NO GO" decisions, and synchronized
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4746-730: The EXPERIMENTS controller monitored experiments and the telescopes in the Apollo Telescope Mount . The PAYLOAD and EXPERIMENTS controllers monitored Space Shuttle operations. Another controller, the INCO , monitored the spacecraft's communications and instrumentation. The third row consisted of the PAO, PROCEDURES, and the FAO (flight activities officer), who coordinated with the flight schedule. The AFD (assistant flight director) and
4859-680: The Gemini spacecraft and Atlas boosters launched Gemini-era Agena target vehicles (and several missions in Project Mercury). In 2010 after ISS assembly complete, the Gemini concept was removed and the six core disciplines were reduced to four. Those console positions are ETHOS (Environmental and Thermal Operating Systems) which consists of the ECLSS system as well as the internal thermal control system formerly held by THOR; SPARTAN (Station Power, ARticulation, Thermal, and ANalysis) which consists of
4972-410: The Houston area. In 2001, Enron Corporation , a Houston company with $ 100 billion in revenue, became engulfed in an accounting scandal which bankrupted the company in 2001. Healthcare has emerged as a major industry in Houston. The Texas Medical Center is now the largest medical complex in the world and employs over 120,000 people. Three new sports stadiums opened downtown in the first decade of
5085-623: The MCC with the launch countdowns and the Eastern Test Range . The PROCEDURES controller also handled communications, via teletype , between the MCC and the worldwide network of tracking stations and ships. The flight director, known as FLIGHT, was ultimate supervisor of the Mission Control Center, and gave the final orbit entrance/exit, and, in emergencies, mission abort decisions. During Mercury missions, this position
5198-603: The Marshall Space Flight Center. The second row, after Project Gemini , consisted of the SURGEON, EECOM , and CAPCOM. The EECOM, which replaced the ENVIRONMENTAL controller and some of the SYSTEMS controller's functions, monitored the spacecraft's electrical and environmental systems. Like the CAPCOMs during Mercury, all CAPCOMs in the Houston MCC were astronauts. On the other side of the aisle of
5311-553: The Mercury capsule was simple in design and construction, with missions lasting no more than 35 hours. The first row consisted of several controllers, the Booster Systems Engineer (BOOSTER), Flight Surgeon (SURGEON), capsule communicator (CAPCOM), Retrofire Officer (RETRO), Flight Dynamics Officer (FIDO), and Guidance Officer (GUIDO). The BOOSTER controller, depending upon the type of rocket being used,
5424-455: The North ; this resulted in an economic boom and produced a key shift in the city's economy toward the energy sector. The increased production of the expanded shipbuilding industry during World War II spurred Houston's growth, as did the establishment in 1961 of NASA's "Manned Spacecraft Center" (renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in 1973). This was the stimulus for the development of
5537-591: The Shuttle flight control team, can be set up for ISS operations should the need arise (e.g., during repairs or hardware upgrades in the main room), and also hosts training simulations. All Mercury–Redstone , Mercury-Atlas , the uncrewed Gemini 1 and Gemini 2 , and crewed Gemini 3 missions were controlled by the Mission Control Center (called the Mercury Control Center through 1963) at Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex , Florida . This facility
5650-475: The United States (including consolidated city-counties ). It is the largest city in the United States by total area whose government is not consolidated with a county, parish, or borough. Though primarily in Harris County, small portions of the city extend into Fort Bend and Montgomery counties, bordering other principal communities of Greater Houston such as Sugar Land and The Woodlands . Houston
5763-401: The United States. The majority of rainfall occurs between April and October (the wet season of Southeast Texas), when the moisture from the Gulf of Mexico evaporates extensively over the city. Houston has excessive ozone levels and is routinely ranked among the most ozone-polluted cities in the United States. Ground-level ozone, or smog, is Houston's predominant air pollution problem, with
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#17327655234385876-498: The United States. In 2007, Downtown had over 43 million square feet (4,000,000 m ) of office space. Centered on Post Oak Boulevard and Westheimer Road, the Uptown District boomed during the 1970s and early 1980s when a collection of midrise office buildings, hotels, and retail developments appeared along I-610 West. Uptown became one of the most prominent instances of an edge city . The tallest building in Uptown
5989-599: The astronaut's vital signs during the flight, and if a medical need arose, could recommend treatment. They could also talk directly to the astronaut crew if there was a medical need that the astronauts needed to discuss. The CAPCOM controller, filled by an astronaut, maintained nominal air-to-ground communications between the MCC and the orbiting spacecraft; the exception being the SURGEON or Flight Director, and only in an emergency. The RETRO, FIDO, and GUIDO controllers monitored spacecraft trajectory and handled course changes. The second row also consisted of several controllers,
6102-441: The average ozone levels in Houston are lower than what is seen in most other areas of the country, as dominant winds ensure clean, marine air from the Gulf. Excessive man-made emissions in the Houston area led to a persistent increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide over the city. Such an increase, often regarded as "CO 2 urban dome", is driven by a combination of strong emissions and stagnant atmospheric conditions. Moreover, Houston
6215-403: The city dramatically. Such restrictions have had mixed results. Though some have blamed the city's low density, urban sprawl , and lack of pedestrian-friendliness on these policies, others have credited the city's land use patterns with providing significant affordable housing, sparing Houston the worst effects of the 2008 real estate crisis . The city issued 42,697 building permits in 2008 and
6328-435: The city have a high risk of localized flooding due to flat topography, ubiquitous low- permeability clay-silt prairie soils, and inadequate infrastructure. During the mid-2010s, Greater Houston experienced consecutive major flood events in 2015 ( "Memorial Day" ), 2016 ( "Tax Day" ), and 2017 ( Hurricane Harvey ). Overall, there have been more casualties and property loss from floods in Houston than in any other locality in
6441-608: The city in addition to Downtown , which include Uptown, the Texas Medical Center , Midtown , Greenway Plaza , Memorial City , the Energy Corridor, Westchase , and Greenspoint . Houston had the fifth-tallest skyline in North America (after New York City, Chicago , Toronto and Miami ) and 36th-tallest in the world in 2015. A seven-mile (11 km) system of tunnels and skywalks links Downtown buildings containing shops and restaurants, enabling pedestrians to avoid summer heat and rain while walking between buildings. In
6554-584: The city's aerospace industry. The Astrodome , nicknamed the " Eighth Wonder of the World ", opened in 1965 as the world's first indoor domed sports stadium. During the late 1970s, Houston had a population boom as people from the Rust Belt states moved to Texas in large numbers. The new residents came for numerous employment opportunities in the petroleum industry, created as a result of the Arab oil embargo . With
6667-419: The city. Land in some areas southeast of Houston is sinking because water has been pumped out of the ground for many years. It may be associated with slip along the faults; however, the slippage is slow and not considered an earthquake, where stationary faults must slip suddenly enough to create seismic waves. These faults also tend to move at a smooth rate in what is termed " fault creep ", which further reduces
6780-502: The control room. On July 1, 2019, the newly restored Apollo-era Mission Control was reopened to the public, after a two-year long effort to restore the room to its configuration as seen during the Apollo Moon landings . Period-appropriate accents were acquired, from cigarette packs and ashtrays to wallpaper and carpeting. The room is accessible via the tram tour at the nearby Space Center Houston visitors' center, but only from behind
6893-524: The country". Houston's diversity, historically fueled by large waves of Hispanic and Latino Americans, and Asian immigrants, has been attributed to its relatively lower cost of living compared to most major cities, strong job market, and role as a hub for refugee resettlement . Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center NASA 's Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center (MCC-H, initially called Integrated Mission Control Center , or IMCC), also known by its radio callsign , Houston ,
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#17327655234387006-553: The discovery of oil at the Spindletop oil field near Beaumont prompted the development of the Texas petroleum industry. In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt approved a $ 1 million improvement project for the Houston Ship Channel. By 1910, the city's population had reached 78,800, almost doubling from a decade before. African Americans formed a large part of the city's population, numbering 23,929 people, which
7119-457: The domestic slave trade. New Orleans was the center of this trade in the Deep South, but slave dealers were in Houston. Thousands of enslaved black people lived near the city before the American Civil War . Many of them near the city worked on sugar and cotton plantations, while most of those in the city limits had domestic and artisan jobs. In 1840, the community established a chamber of commerce, in part to promote shipping and navigation at
7232-438: The electrical power and external thermal control systems; CRONUS (Communications RF Onboard Networks Utilization Specialist), a combination of the previous ODIN and CATO positions; and ADCO (Motion Control Systems). In the event that the MCC-H is unavailable due to a hurricane or other foreseeable event, NASA has the option of quickly relocating to a temporary Backup Control Center (BCC) offsite. In 2017 for Hurricane Harvey , BCC
7345-473: The erosion of the Rocky Mountains . These sediments consist of a series of sands and clays deposited on decaying organic marine matter, that over time, transformed into oil and natural gas. Beneath the layers of sediment is a water-deposited layer of halite , a rock salt. The porous layers were compressed over time and forced upward. As it pushed upward, the salt dragged surrounding sediments into salt dome formations, often trapping oil and gas that seeped from
7458-611: The first shuttle control room. FCR 2 was used mostly for classified Department of Defense shuttle flights, then was remodeled to its Apollo-era configuration. From the moment a Space Shuttle cleared its launch tower in Florida until it landed on Earth, it was in the hands of Mission Control. When a shuttle mission was underway, its control room was staffed around the clock, usually in three shifts. In 1992, JSC began building an extension to Building 30. The new five-story section (30 South) went operational in 1998 and houses two flight control rooms, designated White , and Blue . The White FCR
7571-443: The first time that May. The Republic of Texas granted Houston incorporation on June 5, 1837, as James S. Holman became its first mayor. In the same year, Houston became the county seat of Harrisburg County (now Harris County). In 1839, the Republic of Texas relocated its capital to Austin . The town suffered another setback that year when a yellow fever epidemic claimed about one life for every eight residents, yet it persisted as
7684-517: The flight control room for STS-53 and was subsequently converted back almost entirely to its Apollo -era configuration and preserved for historical purposes. Together with several support wings, it is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places as the "Apollo Mission Control Center". In January 2018, the first set of consoles in MOCR 2 were removed and sent to the Kansas Cosmosphere for archival cleaning, refurbishment, and restoration to Apollo-era configuration, for eventual display back in
7797-427: The flight controllers. Building 30 was named for Kraft on April 14, 2011. From 2012 to 2014, the rooms used during the Shuttle program underwent upgrades in preparation for future human space flight activities. The ISS FCR 1, the White FCR, the Blue FCR, the SCA, and the MPSRs all had their consoles removed and replaced with modern hardware, in part to support the new operational concept of commercial companies having
7910-452: The flight director were also located on the third row. The fourth row, like the old Cape MCC's third row, was reserved for NASA management, including the director of the Johnson Space Center, the director of flight operations, the director of flight crew operations (chief astronaut), and the Department of Defense officer. The Blue FCR, used primarily for ISS operations from 1998 to 2006, was arranged in five rows of three consoles, plus one in
8023-503: The glass in the restored Visitor's Gallery viewing room. In July 2010, air to ground voice recordings and film footage shot in Mission Control during the Apollo 11 powered descent and landing was re-synchronized and released for the first time. This audio was used in creating an audio-visual presentation for the 2019 Mission Control update. When the Space Shuttle program began, the MOCRs were re-designated flight control rooms (FCR, pronounced "ficker"); and FCR 1 (formerly MOCR 1) became
8136-436: The highest point in far northwest Houston is about 150 feet (46 m) in elevation. The city once relied on groundwater for its needs, but land subsidence forced the city to turn to ground-level water sources such as Lake Houston , Lake Conroe , and Lake Livingston . The city owns surface water rights for 1.20 billion U.S. gallons (4.5 Gl) of water a day in addition to 150 million U.S. gallons (570 Ml)
8249-616: The increase in professional jobs, Houston has become a destination for many college-educated persons, most recently including African Americans in a reverse Great Migration from northern areas. In 1997, Houstonians elected Lee P. Brown as the city's first African American mayor. Houston has continued to grow into the 21st century, with the population increasing 15.7% from 2000 to 2022. Oil and gas have continued to fuel Houston's economic growth, with major oil companies including Phillips 66 , ConocoPhillips , Occidental Petroleum , Halliburton , and ExxonMobil having their headquarters in
8362-449: The mechanical systems on the space craft, such as the payload bay doors and landing gear; and EGIL (pronounced "eagle"), responsible for the fuel cells, electrical distribution and O 2 & H 2 supplies. The third row had DPS , responsible for the computer systems; ACO or Payloads, responsible for all payload-related activities (depending on whether the shuttle flight supported an ISS assembly flight or not; FAO , responsible for
8475-570: The metro area, and an event on December 7, 2017, which precipitated 0.7 inches (2 cm) of snowfall. Snowfalls of at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) on both December 10, 2008, and December 4, 2009, marked the first time measurable snowfall had occurred in two consecutive years in the city's recorded history. Overall, Houston has seen measurable snowfall 38 times between 1895 and 2018. On February 14 and 15, 1895, Houston received 20 inches (51 cm) of snow, its largest snowfall from one storm on record. The coldest temperature officially recorded in Houston
8588-611: The national record for rainfall. The damage for the Houston area was estimated at up to $ 125 billion U.S. dollars , and was considered to be one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the United States , with the death toll exceeding 70 people. Houston's lack of zoning laws allowed unregulated building of residential homes and other structures in flood-prone areas. However, it also resulted in more concentrated development in already urban areas than in wetlands and suburbs. Mayor Sylvester Turner tweeted of Hurricane Harvey that "zoning wouldn't have changed anything. We would have been
8701-461: The new floodplain regulations, the developers needed to elevate the lowest floors two feet above the 500-year floodplain, equivalent to five or six feet above the 100-year base flood elevation, and build a channel to direct stormwater runoff toward detention basins. Before Hurricane Harvey, the city had bought $ 10.7 million in houses in this area specifically to take them out of danger. In addition to developing new streets and single-family housing within
8814-491: The newly created port on Buffalo Bayou. By 1860, Houston had emerged as a commercial and railroad hub for the export of cotton. Railroad spurs from the Texas inland converged in Houston, where they met rail lines to the ports of Galveston and Beaumont . During the American Civil War, Houston served as a headquarters for Confederate Major General John B. Magruder , who used the city as an organization point for
8927-423: The normal mean temperature at George Bush Intercontinental Airport is 53 °F (12 °C), with an average of 13 days per year with a low at or below 32 °F (0 °C), occurring on average between December 3 and February 20, allowing for a growing season of 286 days. Twenty-first century snow events in Houston include a storm on December 24, 2004 , which saw 1 inch (3 cm) of snow accumulate in parts of
9040-544: The notional town in honor of Sam Houston, who would become President later that year. They successfully lobbied the Republic of Texas Congress to designate Houston as the temporary capital, agreeing to provide the new government with a state capitol building. About a dozen persons resided in the town at the beginning of 1837, but that number grew to about 1,500 by the time the Texas Congress convened in Houston for
9153-569: The overall plans of activities for the entire flight; and EECOM responsible for the management of environmental systems. The fourth row had INCO , responsible for communications systems for uploading all systems commands to the vehicle; FLIGHT—the Flight Director , the person in charge of the flight; CAPCOM , an astronaut who is normally the only controller to talk to the astronauts on board; and PDRS , responsible for robot arm operations. The back row had PAO (Public Affairs Officer) ,
9266-553: The pad. The NETWORK controller, an Air Force officer, served as the "switchboard" between the MCC, the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland (as on-site real-time computing did not exist), and the worldwide tracking station and ship network. The back row, consisting primarily of NASA and Department of Defense (DOD) management, was the location of the operations director (held by Walt Williams),
9379-485: The port decreased and shipping activities were suspended; however, the war did provide economic benefits for the city. Petrochemical refineries and manufacturing plants were constructed along the ship channel because of the demand for petroleum and synthetic rubber products by the defense industry during the war. Ellington Field , initially built during World War I , was revitalized as an advanced training center for bombardiers and navigators. The Brown Shipbuilding Company
9492-448: The postwar years. In 1945, the M.D. Anderson Foundation formed the Texas Medical Center . After the war, Houston's economy reverted to being primarily port-driven. In 1948, the city annexed several unincorporated areas, more than doubling its size. Houston proper began to spread across the region. In 1950, the availability of air conditioning provided impetus for many companies to relocate to Houston, where wages were lower than those in
9605-433: The procedures of those two high-energy, fast-paced phases of flight or rendezvous , a specialist in orbital rendezvous procedures; and GC , the controller responsible for the computers and systems in MCC itself. The second row had PROP , responsible for the propulsion system; GNC , responsible for systems that determine the spacecraft's attitude and issue commands to control it; MMACS (pronounced "max"), responsible for
9718-412: The rear right corner. From left to right, as viewed from the rear of the room: The White FCR, which was used for Space Shuttle operations, was arranged in five rows. From left to right, as viewed from the rear of the room): The front row (the "trench") had FDO (pronounced "fido"), responsible for orbital guidance and orbital changes, depending on the phase of flight; either Guidance , a specialist in
9831-505: The risk of an earthquake. The city of Houston was incorporated in 1837 and adopted a ward system of representation shortly afterward, in 1840. The six original wards of Houston are the progenitors of the 11 modern-day geographically oriented Houston City Council districts, though the city abandoned the ward system in 1905 in favor of a commission government , and, later, the existing mayor–council government . Locations in Houston are generally classified as either being inside or outside
9944-723: The second row were controllers who monitored specific parts of Gemini, Apollo, Skylab , ASTP and Space Shuttle missions. During the Gemini program, the two Agena controllers monitored the Agena upper stage used as a docking target from Gemini 8 through Gemini 12 . For the Apollo lunar flights, the TELMU and CONTROL controllers monitored the Lunar Module. During Skylab, the EGIL (pronounced "eagle") monitored Skylab's solar panels, while
10057-481: The second-most Fortune 500 headquarters of any U.S. municipality within its city limits. The Port of Houston ranks first in the United States in international waterborne tonnage handled and second in total cargo tonnage handled. Nicknamed the "Bayou City", "Space City", "H-Town", and "the 713 ", Houston has become a global city , with strengths in culture, medicine, and research. The city's population comprises various ethnic and religious backgrounds, as well as
10170-672: The single Cape MCC, consisted of four rows, with the first row, later known as "the Trench" (a term coined by Apollo-era RETRO controller John Llewellyn, which, according to Flight Director Eugene Kranz , reminded him of the firing range during his years as a USAF officer). It was occupied by the BOOSTER, RETRO, FIDO, and GUIDO controllers. During Gemini, the BOOSTER position was handled by both an engineer from Martin Marietta and an astronaut, while all missions from Apollo 7 used engineers from
10283-515: The south half of the lower league [2,214-acre (896 ha) tract] granted to her by her late husband. They paid $ 5,000 total, but only $ 1,000 of this in cash; notes made up the remainder." This was financed by assets inherited by Augustus's wife, Charlotte Baldwin Allen . The Allen brothers ran their first advertisement for Houston just four days later in the Telegraph and Texas Register , naming
10396-475: The south of Houston and Downtown Houston. The ship channel continues past Galveston and then into the Gulf of Mexico. Houston is a flat, marshy area where an extensive drainage system has been built. The adjoining prairie land drains into the city, which is prone to flooding. Underpinning Houston's land surface are unconsolidated clays, clay shales, and poorly cemented sands up to several miles deep. The region's geology developed from river deposits formed from
10509-421: The summer, temperatures reach or exceed 90 °F (32 °C) an average of 106.5 days per year, including a majority of days from June to September. Additionally, an average of 4.6 days per year reach or exceed 100 °F (37.8 °C). Houston's characteristic subtropical humidity often results in a higher apparent temperature , and summer mornings average over 90% relative humidity . Air conditioning
10622-466: The surrounding porous sands. The thick, rich, sometimes black, surface soil is suitable for rice farming in suburban outskirts where the city continues to grow. The Houston area has over 150 active faults (estimated to be 300 active faults ) with an aggregate length of up to 310 miles (500 km), including the Long Point–Eureka Heights fault system which runs through the center of
10735-1049: The totally revamped FCR 1 in October 2006, due to the growth of the ISS and the international cooperation required among national control centers around the world. Other MCC facilities include the Training Flight Control Room, sometimes referred to as the Red FCR, a training area for flight controllers; a Life Sciences Control Room used to oversee various experiments; the Simulation Control Area (SCA), primarily used during shuttle astronaut and flight control training; and an Exploration Planning Operations Center, used to test new concepts for operations beyond low-Earth orbit. Additionally, there are multi-purpose support rooms (MPSRs) which are staffed by backup flight controllers, who analyze data and run simulations as well as provide information and advice for
10848-536: The traditional tiered floor layout, with all rows instead at the same level. A few engineering specialists are in the center of the front row, with the public affairs commentator at the right end behind a low partition. The space station trajectory position was moved to the third row. During early ISS operations, a scheme known as Gemini was used, which reduced staffing for real-time ISS support by consolidating six system disciplines into two positions. From these two "super-consoles", named Atlas and Titan, two people can do
10961-599: The urban core. In addition to Interstate 610, two additional loop highways encircle the city: Beltway 8 , with a radius of approximately 10 miles (16 km) from Downtown, and State Highway 99 (the Grand Parkway), with a radius of 25 miles (40 km). Approximately 470,000 people lived within the Interstate 610 loop, while 1.65 million lived between Interstate 610 and Beltway 8 and 2.25 million lived within Harris County outside Beltway 8 in 2015. Though Houston
11074-534: The work of up to eight other flight controllers during low-activity periods. One position, call sign TITAN (Telemetry, Information Transfer, and Attitude Navigation), was responsible for Communication & Tracking (CATO), Command & Data Handling (ODIN), and Motion Control Systems (ADCO). The other position, call sign ATLAS (Atmosphere, Thermal, Lighting and Articulation Specialist), was responsible for Thermal Control (THOR), Environmental Control & Life Support (ECLSS), and Electrical Power Systems (PHALCON). ATLAS
11187-481: Was 33.1, up from 32.9 in 2017 and down from 33.5 in 2014; the city's youthfulness has been attributed to an influx of an African American New Great Migration , Hispanic and Latino American, and Asian immigrants into Texas. For every 100 females, there were 98.5 males. There were 987,158 housing units in 2019 and 876,504 households. An estimated 42.3% of Houstonians owned housing units, with an average of 2.65 people per household. The median monthly owner costs with
11300-484: Was 5 °F (−15 °C) on January 18, 1930. The last time Houston saw single digit temperatures was on December 23, 1989. The temperature dropped to 7 °F (−14 °C) at Bush Airport, marking the coldest temperature ever recorded there. 1.7 inches of snow fell at George Bush Intercontinental Airport the previous day. Houston generally receives ample rainfall, averaging about 49.8 in (1,260 mm) annually based on records between 1981 and 2010. Many parts of
11413-935: Was a hotel in Round Rock, Texas, about four hours away, while in 2020 for Hurricane Laura the BCC was at the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Palestine, Texas, the designated backup site since 2017. For more long-term use, NASA will relocate to a more robust but farther control center at the Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) at Marshall Space Flight Center for ISS operations. In 2008 for Hurricane Ike , NASA activated Backup Control Centers in both Round Rock and Huntsville for specific duties. Uncrewed US civilian satellites are controlled from
11526-422: Was also responsible for monitoring Robotics (ROBO) and Mechanical Systems (OSO) heaters, as those consoles were not supported during the majority of Gemini shifts. While Gemini officially reflected the fact that two controllers act as "twins" during operations, the name was also an homage to the first missions (Project Gemini) controlled from that room. In addition, Titan was the type of booster rocket which launched
11639-524: Was either an engineer from the Marshall Space Flight Center (for Mercury-Redstone flights) or an Air Force engineer (for Mercury-Atlas and later Gemini-Titan flights) assigned for that mission. The BOOSTER controller's job would last no more than six hours total and he would vacate his console after the booster was jettisoned. The SURGEON controller, consisting of a flight surgeon (either a military or civilian physician), monitored
11752-446: Was founded by land investors on August 30, 1836, at the confluence of Buffalo Bayou and White Oak Bayou (a point now known as Allen's Landing ) and incorporated as a city on June 5, 1837. The city is named after former General Sam Houston , who was president of the Republic of Texas and had won Texas's independence from Mexico at the Battle of San Jacinto 25 miles (40 km) east of Allen's Landing. After briefly serving as
11865-582: Was founded in 1942 to build ships for the U.S. Navy during World War II. Due to the boom in defense jobs, thousands of new workers migrated to the city, both black, and white people competing for the higher-paying jobs. President Roosevelt had established a policy of nondiscrimination for defense contractors, and black people gained some opportunities, especially in shipbuilding, although not without resistance from white people and increasing social tensions that erupted into occasional violence. Economic gains of black people who entered defense industries continued in
11978-486: Was held by Christopher Kraft , with John Hodge , an Englishman who came to NASA after the cancellation of the Canadian Avro Arrow project, joining the flight director ranks for the 22-orbit Mercury 9 , requiring Kraft to divide Mission Control into two shifts. The flight director's console was also the only position in the Cape MCC to have a television monitor, allowing him to see the rocket lift off from
12091-699: Was in the Engineering Support Building at the east end of Mission Control Road, about 0.5 mile (0.8 km) east of Phillips Parkway. Mercury and Gemini launches were conducted from separate blockhouses at the Cape. The building, which was on the National Register of Historic Places , was demolished in May 2010 due to concerns about asbestos and the estimated $ 5 million cost of repairs after 40 years of exposure to salt air. Formerly
12204-549: Was launched: the Boeing CST-100 Starliner . The SpaceX Dragon 2 demo flight launched earlier in the year, but SpaceX Mission Control is at their headquarters in Hawthorne, CA. The Boeing Starliner missions use a number of control centers across the United States, several in Houston in the Mission Control building: During the early years at Cape Canaveral, the original MCC consisted only of three rows, as
12317-400: Was nearly one-third of Houston's residents. President Woodrow Wilson opened the deep-water Port of Houston in 1914, seven years after digging began. By 1930, Houston had become Texas's most populous city and Harris County the most populous county. In 1940, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Houston's population as 77.5% White and 22.4% black. When World War II started, tonnage levels at
12430-417: Was ranked first in the list of healthiest housing markets for 2009. In 2019, home sales reached a new record of $ 30 billion. In referendums in 1948, 1962, and 1993, voters rejected efforts to establish separate residential and commercial land-use districts. Consequently, rather than a single central business district as the center of the city's employment, multiple districts and skylines have grown throughout
12543-408: Was the first Flight Director. The MCC currently houses one operational control room in Building 30 from which flight controllers command, monitor, and plan operations for the ISS. This room has many computer and data-processing resources to monitor, command and communicate with the station. The ISS control room operates continuously. A second control room in the same building, which formerly hosted
12656-529: Was used for Apollo 5 , Apollo 7 , the Skylab and the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project ( Saturn IB ) missions. MOCR 2 was used for all other Gemini and Apollo ( Saturn V ) flights (except Gemini 3) and was located on the third floor. As the flight control room for Apollo 11 , the first crewed Moon landing, MOCR 2 was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1985. It was last used in 1992 as
12769-575: Was used in tandem with FCR 2 for seven Space Shuttle missions, STS-70 through STS-76 , and handled all following shuttle flights through the end of the program. When not in use for the shuttle program, the White FCR was reconfigured as a backup for the ISS FCR from time to time as needed (such as during periods of construction or upgrades in the ISS FCR). The newer section of Building 30 also houses
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