NASA has 20 centers and major facilities across the United States. The combined annual budget for NASA exceeds $23.2 billion (Fiscal Year 2021). NASA supports more than 312,000 jobs nationwide; this includes government civil service employees plus contractors from private industry and academia. NASA's employs a civil service workforce of nearly 18,000 people.
NASA Centers and Major Facilities Nationwide
NASA Headquarters is located in Washington D.C. NASA Headquarters provides “overall guidance and direction to the agency, under the leadership of the NASA Administrator.” NASA has 10 field centers and a number of specialized facilities located across the United States.
Ames Research Center is located at Moffett Field, California (about 40 miles south of San Francisco). Ames Research Center conducts research and development in aeronautics, space exploration technology, space bioscience, earth science, and space science.
The Armstrong Flight Research Center conducts research for high-risk, atmospheric flight research and test projects. The center is located adjacent to Edwards Air Force Base in the western Mojave Desert. This important facility is considered NASA's premier site for aeronautical research.
The Glenn Research Center is located in Cleveland, Ohio. The Glenn Research Center “designs and develops innovative technologies to support and advance NASA’s missions in aeronautics and space exploration.”
The Goddard Space Flight Center is located in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Goddard Space Flight Center “studies Earth, the sun, our solar system and the universe.” Goddard is the operational home to many important NASA space systems.
The Katherine Johnson Facility (KJF) conducts Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) tests for NASA. This facility is located in Fairmont, West Virginia. This facility assures the correct performance of NASA mission software.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a “federally funded research and development center managed for NASA by Caltech.” JPL develops and carries out “robotic space and Earth science missions.” JPL is located in Pasadena, California.
Johnson Space Center (JSC), located in Houston, Texas, is the epicenter of NASA’s manned spaceflight operations. JSC is home to NASA’s astronaut corps, the International Space Station mission operations, and the new Orion Program.
The Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is located on Merritt Island, Florida. KSC is home to NASA’s space launch facilities. At KSC there are about 2,000 civil service employees (including co-ops and students) and 11,000 contractor employees.
Langley Research Center (LaRC) is located in Hampton, Virginia. “LaRC is comprised of nearly 200 facilities and employs about 3,400 civil servants and contractors.” LaRC conducts both aeronautics and space research. LaRC uses over 40 wind tunnels for research on aircraft and spacecraft safety, performance, and efficiency.
Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is located in Huntsville, Alabama. MSFC develops “propulsion systems and hardware, launch vehicles, space systems, engineering technologies, and science / research projects and solutions.” “MSFC has a total workforce of nearly 6,000 employees and an annual budget of approximately $2.8 billion.”
Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) is a NASA manufacturing facility is located in New Orleans. MAF is owned and managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center. MAF supports the Space Launch System (SLS) heavy-lift rocket and the new Orion spacecraft. MAF has one of the largest on-site production buildings in the United States.
The NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) provides NASA with independent technical assessments as well as with testing and analyses. Each NASA field center has a local NESC representative who serves as a point of contact for center-based issues related to the NESC mission.
The NASA Safety Center (NSC) provides a central repository of Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA) knowledge, expertise and education needed to help protect the safety of NASA’s people, equipment and property. The NSC is located in the Cleveland, Ohio area.
The NASA Shared Services Center (NSSC) provides expertise with: government procurement and contract administration, information technology business services, network enterprise services and document imaging, financial management, and human resources management.
The Stennis Space Center (SSC) is NASA’s premier rocket propulsion test facility. “SSC provides propulsion testing and engineering services for NASA, the Department of Defense, and for commercial customers.” SSC is located in Hancock County, Mississippi. SSC is one of NASA’s ten major space centers.
The Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) is a rocket launch site located on Wallops Island on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. WFF is operated by the Goddard Space Flight Center which is in Greenbelt, Maryland. WFF launch site supports “science and exploration missions for NASA as well as other federal agencies.”
The White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) "tests and analysis potentially hazardous materials, components, and systems." This includes the testing of Composite Pressure Systems, Critical Systems and Materials Flight Acceptance, Oxygen Systems, Propulsion Systems, etc.” WSTF is located east of Las Cruces, New Mexico.
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