About NASA
The director of NASA is appointed by the President of the United States, after consultation and agreement of the U.S. Senate . The incumbent director since May 2009 is Charles F. Bolden former astronaut. The NASA Headquarters is in Washington (DC) . Four directions (directorate) are responsible for defining space policy and monitor its implementation by the various NASA centers: the direction of the Aeronautics Research (ARMD directorate), the Science (SMD) in charge of scientific exploration Earth, the solar system and the universe, the direction of Exploration Systems (EMSD) which performs the necessary developments in human flight and robotic and finally the lead Space (Somda) responsible for launching and monitoring missions 45 .
The NASA space centers
Mission Control Centre of the space shuttle to the center Johnson
NASA has 10 space centers that directly employ 23 000 people (5000 at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory 45 ) and a large number of subcontractors on site:
Space Center Lyndon B. Johnson
The Space Center Lyndon B. Johnson (or MSC Manned Spacecraft Center) near Houston in Texas , is responsible for the design and qualification of manned spacecraft (space station, space ships), the training of astronauts and monitoring missions from take-off . Among the facilities on the site, there is the control center manned missions (International Space Station, Space Shuttle), flight simulators and equipment to simulate conditions in space and used to test the components delivered by suppliers NASA. The Center manages the White Sands facility in New Mexico that is used to test different equipment was essentially part of the space shuttle program.
Marshall Space Flight Center
The Marshall Space Flight Center (George C. Marshall Space Flight Center and MSFC) located near Huntsville in the Alabama specializes in civil propulsion launch vehicles and spacecraft. Today, the Marshall Center is responsible for the propulsion of the Space Shuttle and payload of the latter as well as launch vehicles and vessels of the Constellation program . The center is responsible for the establishment of Michoud is assembled when the external tank of the Space Shuttle. It also manages the program of lunar probes. This former installation of the Army (Redstone Arsenal) formerly led by Wernher von Braun developed the family of launchers Saturn 46 .