Goddard Space Flight Center facts for kids
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 Aerial view of Goddard Space Flight Center (2010) |
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| Agency overview | |
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| Formed | May 1, 1959 |
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| Jurisdiction | Federal government of the United States |
| Headquarters | Greenbelt, Maryland, U.S. 38°59′32″N 76°51′9″W / 38.99222°N 76.85250°W |
| Employees | 10,000 civil service and contractor |
| Agency executives |
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| Parent agency | NASA |
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| Map | |
Goddard map
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The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a big NASA space research lab. It is located in Greenbelt, Maryland, in the United States. It is about 6.5 miles (10.5 km) northeast of Washington, D.C.
GSFC was started on May 1, 1959. It was NASA's very first space flight center. About 10,000 people work there, including government employees and contractors. The center is named after Robert H. Goddard, who was a pioneer in rocket science. It is one of ten main NASA centers.
Goddard is the largest group of scientists and engineers in the U.S. who study space. They learn about the Earth, the Solar System, and the Universe. They do this by using tools and spacecraft in space. GSFC builds and runs uncrewed (no people) scientific spacecraft.
Scientists at Goddard plan and support space missions. Engineers and technicians design and build the spacecraft for these missions. A Goddard scientist, John C. Mather, won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2006. He won it for his work on the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) mission.
Goddard also runs two networks that track spacecraft and collect data. These are the Space Network and the Near Earth Network. They also create and keep up-to-date systems for space and Earth science data. Goddard also helps develop satellites for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
GSFC helps manage many NASA and international missions. These include the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Other missions include the Explorers Program and the Discovery Program. They also manage the Earth Observing System (EOS). Some famous missions they manage are INTEGRAL, MAVEN, OSIRIS-REx, and the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). They also work on the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRS), Fermi, and Swift.
Past missions managed by GSFC include the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). They also managed the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and SMM. Other past missions are COBE, IUE, and ROSAT.
Contents
History of Goddard Space Flight Center
Goddard was first called the Beltsville Space Center. It was NASA's first of four space centers. Its main jobs were to develop technology, plan missions, do scientific research, run technical operations, and manage projects. The center is split into different groups, each with one of these key jobs.
On May 1, 1959, the center was renamed the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). It was named after Robert H. Goddard. Its first 157 employees came from the United States Navy's Project Vanguard missile program. They kept working at the Naval Research Laboratory while the new center was being built.
Goddard Space Flight Center helped with Project Mercury. This was America's first program to send humans into space. Goddard played a big role in the early days of Project Mercury. They managed the first 250 employees who worked on it. These employees were at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
But Project Mercury grew very quickly. So, NASA decided to build a new center for human spaceflight. This new center is now the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. All the Project Mercury staff and activities moved there in 1961.
Goddard Space Flight Center still helped with human spaceflight. They provided computer support and tracked flights with radar. They used a worldwide network of ground stations called the Spacecraft Tracking and Data Acquisition Network (STDN). However, Goddard mainly focused on designing uncrewed satellites and spacecraft. These were for scientific research missions.
Goddard was a leader in developing spacecraft. They created modular spacecraft, which means they could be built in parts. This made them cheaper and easier to repair in space. For example, Goddard's Solar Max satellite was launched in 1980. Astronauts on the Space Shuttle Challenger repaired it in 1984. The Hubble Space Telescope, launched in 1990, is still working today. It can do more and more because its modular design allows it to be upgraded by Space Shuttle missions.
Today, Goddard is still involved in all of NASA's main programs. Goddard has created more tools for planetary exploration than any other group. These tools have been sent to every planet in the Solar System. The center also helps with the Earth Science Enterprise. This includes several spacecraft in the Earth Observing System fleet. It also includes EOSDIS, which collects, processes, and shares science data. For human spaceflight, Goddard develops tools for astronauts to use during extra-vehicular activity (spacewalks). They also operate the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. This spacecraft studies the Moon to prepare for future human exploration.
Space Missions at Goddard
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Goddard has been involved in designing, building, and running spacecraft for a long time. This started with Explorer 1, which was America's first artificial satellite. The missions they have worked on have many different science goals.
Past Missions
The Landsat series of spacecraft has been studying Earth's resources since 1972. TIROS-1 launched in 1960. It was the first successful in a long line of weather satellites. The Spartan platform was released from the space shuttle. It allowed for simple, low-cost missions that lasted 2–3 days.
The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory was one of NASA's Great Observatories. It worked for nine years before returning to Earth in 2000. Another Goddard observatory, the Cosmic Background Explorer, gave important data about the early universe.
Current Missions
Goddard currently helps run many spacecraft that collect scientific data. These include Earth science projects like the Earth Observing System (EOS). EOS includes the Terra, Aqua, and Aura spacecraft. These fly alongside projects from other centers or countries.
Other big Earth science projects running now are the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission. These missions provide data that is very important for predicting hurricanes. Many Goddard projects also support other groups. For example, they help the US Geological Survey with Landsat-7 and -8. They also help the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) with the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) system for weather predictions.
Other Goddard missions support different areas of space science. Goddard's most famous project is the Hubble Space Telescope. This amazing science platform has been making new discoveries in astronomy for almost 20 years. Other missions like the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) study how the universe formed and changed.
Missions like the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) are studying the Sun. They look at how the Sun's behavior affects life on Earth. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is mapping the Moon's surface and what it's made of. The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) tracks the Sun's energy and its influence on Earth.
A very important mission is the James Webb Space Telescope. It was launched in 2022. It lets scientists explore many areas of astronomy and cosmology. For example, it can observe the first stars and how the first galaxies formed.
Future Missions
The Goddard team is always working on new projects. These projects have launch dates from the next year to a decade away. Scientists hope these future missions will uncover many new things.
Science at Goddard
Answering Big Science Questions
NASA's missions, including Goddard's, try to answer many science questions. These questions are usually in four main areas: Earth sciences, astrophysics, heliophysics, and the Solar System. Simply put, Goddard studies Earth and Space.
In Earth sciences, Goddard plays a big role in understanding our planet as a system. They look at how Earth's parts developed, how they interact, and how they change. This helps scientists understand how natural and human activities will affect Earth in the future.
In Space Sciences, Goddard is famous for the 2006 Nobel Physics Prize. This was given to John Mather and the COBE mission. Beyond COBE, Goddard studies how the universe formed, what it's made of, how its parts interact, and how it changes. The center also helps understand how stars and planets form and change. They also study how the Sun interacts with its surroundings.
From Questions to Missions
New science questions come from what we already know from past missions. Missions are developed like an experiment using the scientific method. Goddard works with the other 10 NASA centers to find answers to these questions.
Every mission starts with a set of science questions to answer. It also has a list of what the mission needs to do, based on past discoveries. These needs tell scientists what kind of data they need to collect. Then, these needs are turned into mission ideas. These ideas start to show what kind of spacecraft and scientific instruments are needed to answer the questions.
At Goddard, the Sciences and Exploration Directorate (SED) leads the center's science work. This includes developing technology for scientific goals.
Collecting Data in Space – Scientific Instruments
Some of the most important new technologies from Goddard (and NASA) come from needing new scientific instruments. These instruments help observe or measure things in space that have never been seen before. Instrument names are often known by their initials. Sometimes, the mission's name tells you about the instrument.
For example, the James Webb Space Telescope is a telescope. But it has four different scientific instruments inside: Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI); Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam); Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec); and Fine Guidance Sensor and Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (FGS-NIRISS). Scientists and engineers at Goddard work closely to build these instruments.
Usually, a mission has one spacecraft with several instruments. Sometimes, multiple spacecraft are needed. For example, the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS) studies magnetic reconnection. This is a 3-D process. To collect data about it, four spacecraft fly together in a pyramid shape. Each spacecraft has the same instruments. MMS is part of a bigger program that studies how the Sun affects the Solar System.
Working Together: Scientific Collaborations
Goddard often works with partners. These partners can be other U.S. government groups, aerospace companies, university research centers, or other countries. These partners might develop the scientific instruments. In other cases, Goddard develops some of the instruments itself. The individual instruments are then put together into a set. This set is then put onto the spacecraft.
For example, for MMS, the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) developed the instruments. Goddard managed the whole project, built the spacecraft, and ran the mission.
On the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), six instruments were developed by different partners. One instrument, the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA), was developed by Goddard. LOLA measures the Moon's surface to create a 3-D map. This helps find good landing spots.
Another mission managed by Goddard is MAVEN. MAVEN is exploring the atmosphere of Mars. This helps NASA's bigger plans to go to Mars. MAVEN has eight instruments. These measure Mars' atmospheric gases, upper atmosphere, solar wind, and ionosphere. Partners for instrument development include the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of California, Berkeley. Goddard managed the project and contributed two instruments: two magnetometers.
Managing Science Data
Once a mission launches and reaches its destination, its instruments start collecting data. This data is sent back to Earth. Then it needs to be analyzed and saved for later use. Goddard manages huge amounts of scientific data from past and current missions.
The Earth Science Division has the Goddard Earth Science Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC). It provides Earth science data, information, and services to scientists and students.
The NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive (NSSDCA) was created at Goddard in 1966. It keeps a permanent archive of space science data. This includes a large collection of images from space.
Spinoff Technologies
NASA was told to study how space activities could help people on Earth. Because of this, the Technology Utilization Program started in 1962. This program made sure that technologies developed for space could be used on Earth. This helps the U.S. economy and improves our lives.
NASA started writing about these "spinoff" technologies in 1976 with "Spinoff 1976". Since then, NASA has published a yearly book about these spinoff technologies.
Goddard Space Flight Center has made many important contributions to the U.S. economy and our quality of life. Here are some examples:
- Weather balloon technology has helped firefighters with short-range radios.
- Aluminized Mylar used in satellites has made sports equipment more insulated.
- Laser optics systems have changed the camera industry.
- Life detection missions for other planets help scientists find bacteria in contaminated food.
Facilities at Goddard
Goddard's campus is about 6.5 miles (10.5 km) northeast of Washington, D.C. It is in Prince George's County, Maryland. The center is on Greenbelt Road, which is Maryland Route 193. Baltimore, Annapolis, and NASA Headquarters in Washington are about 30–45 minutes away by highway. Greenbelt also has a train station. You can use the Washington Metro system and the MARC commuter train's Camden line from there.
Testing Chambers and Manufacturing Buildings
Building 29 has the High Bay Cleanroom. It is the world's largest ISO 7 cleanroom. It has 1.3 million cubic feet of space. Vacuum chambers in buildings 10 and 7 can be made very cold or very hot (±200°C or ±392°F). Building 15 has the High Capacity Centrifuge. It can create 30 Gs of force on a load up to 2.5 tons.
Parsons Corporation helped build the Class 10,000 cleanroom. This room supported the Hubble Space Telescope and other Goddard missions.
High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center
The High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC) is NASA's center for high-energy astronomy data. It keeps and shares information about X-ray and gamma ray astronomy. It also has related NASA mission archives for public and science use.
Goddard Visitor Center
The Goddard Visitor Center is open to the public from Tuesdays to Sundays. It is free to visit. It shows displays of spacecraft and technologies developed at Goddard. The Hubble Space Telescope is shown with models and amazing deep space images. The center also has a Science On A Sphere projection system.
The center also has an Educator's Resource Center for teachers and volunteers. These include Boy and Girl Scout leaders. It also hosts special events during the year. For example, in September 2008, the center held Goddard LaunchFest. This free event included robot competitions, tours of Goddard facilities, and live entertainment. GSFC also has a large ballroom for events like lectures and dinner parties.
Other Goddard Facilities
GSFC runs three facilities that are not at the Greenbelt site:
- The Wallops Flight Facility is in Wallops Island, Virginia. It started in 1945 and is one of the oldest launch sites in the world. Wallops manages NASA's sounding rocket program. It supports about 35 missions each year.
- The Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) is at Columbia University in New York City. Much of Goddard's theoretical research happens here. It works closely with Columbia and other universities. The institute supports research in Earth science, astrophysics, astronomy, and meteorology.
- The Katherine Johnson Independent Verification and Validation Facility (IV&V) is in Fairmont, West Virginia. It was started in 1993. Its goal is to make sure software used in NASA missions is safe, reliable, and high quality.
GSFC is also in charge of the White Sands Complex. This is a set of two sites in Las Cruces, NM. However, the Johnson Space Center owns the site as part of the White Sands Test Facility.
People at Goddard
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Goddard Space Flight Center has over 3,000 government employees. About 60% of them are engineers and scientists. There are also about 7,000 contractors who work on site every day. It is one of the largest groups of top space scientists and engineers in the world. The center is organized into 8 main groups. These include Applied Engineering and Technology, Flight Projects, Science and Exploration, and Safety & Mission Assurance.
Students from universities across the U.S. can work at Goddard through the Cooperative Education Program. In the summers, programs like SIECA and EXCEL offer internships. These programs allow students from the U.S. and places like Puerto Rico to learn and do challenging science and engineering work.
Community Connections
Goddard Space Flight Center connects with local communities. They do this through volunteer and education programs. Employees are encouraged to mentor students and speak at local schools. At the center, Goddard hosts regular talks on engineering, leadership, and science. These events are open to the public. However, visitors must sign up ahead of time to get a pass. Passes can be picked up at the security office at the main gate on Greenbelt Road.
Goddard also offers several internship opportunities. One example is NASA DEVELOP at Goddard Space Flight Center.
Queen Elizabeth II's Visit
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh visited Goddard Space Flight Center. This happened on Tuesday, May 8, 2007. The tour of Goddard was near the end of the Queen's visit to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Jamestown. The Queen even spoke with the crew aboard the International Space Station.
Images for kids
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Panoramic view of the Visitor's Center at Goddard Space Flight Center, with the top of a Delta rocket visible behind on right
See also
- Goddard Earth Observing System
- Marshall Space Flight Center
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory
