It was renamed in honor of the late U.S. president and Texas native, Lyndon B. Johnson, by an act of the United States Senate on February 19, 1973.

The original Manned Spacecraft Center grew out of the Space Task Group (STG) headed by Robert R. Gilruth that was formed to coordinate the U.S. crewed spaceflight program.

Starting on November 5, 1958, Langley Research Center engineers under Robert R. Gilruth directed Project Mercury and follow-on crewed space programs.

The STG originally reported to the Goddard Space Flight Center organization, with a total staff of 45, including 37 engineers, and eight secretaries and human "computers" (women who ran calculations on mechanical adding machines).

[2] NASA's first administrator, T. Keith Glennan, realized that the growth of the U.S. space program would cause the STG to outgrow the Langley and Goddard centers and require its own location.

[3] Later that year, when President John F. Kennedy set the goal to put a person on the Moon by the end of the decade, it became clear Gilruth would need a larger organization to lead the Apollo Program, with new test facilities and research laboratories.

[4] In 1961, Congress held hearings and passed a $1.7 billion 1962 NASA appropriations bill which included $60 million for the new crewed spaceflight laboratory.

These included: access to water transport by large barges, a moderate climate, availability of all-weather commercial jet service, a well-established industrial complex with supporting technical facilities and labor, close proximity to a culturally attractive community in the vicinity of an institution of higher education, a strong electric utility and water supply, at least 1,000 acres (400 ha) of land, and certain specified cost parameters.

[5] In August 1961, Webb asked Associate Director of the Ames Research Center John F. Parsons to head a site-selection team, which included Philip Miller, Wesley Hjornevik, and I. Edward Campagna, the construction engineer for the STG.

During these visits, Massachusetts Governor John A. Volpe and Senator Margaret Chase Smith headed a delegation which exerted particularly strong political pressure, prompting a personal inquiry to Webb from President Kennedy.

Before a decision could be made, however, the Air Force decided not to close MacDill, omitting it from consideration and moving the Rice University site to first place.

"[10] The land for the new facility was 1,000 acres (400 ha) donated to Rice by the Humble Oil company, situated in an undeveloped area 25 mi (40 km) southeast of Houston adjacent to Clear Lake near Galveston Bay.

[9] Immediately after Webb's announcement, Gilruth and his staff began planning the move from Langley to Houston, using what would grow to 295,996 sq ft (27,498.9 m2) of leased office and laboratory space in 11 scattered sites.

[15] Construction of the center, designed by Charles Luckman, began in April 1962, and Gilruth's new organization was formed and moved to the temporary locations by September.

During the next 5 years the National Aeronautics and Space Administration expects to double the number of scientists and engineers in this area, to increase its outlays for salaries and expenses to $60 million a year; to invest some $200 million in plant and laboratory facilities; and to direct or contract for new space efforts over $1 billion from this Center in this City.The 1,620-acre (6.6 km2) facility was officially opened for business in September 1963.

The center's Landing and Recovery Division operated MV Retriever in the Gulf of Mexico for Gemini and Apollo astronauts to practice water egress after splashdown.

[citation needed] On February 19, 1973, four weeks after Johnson's death, President Richard Nixon signed into law a Senate resolution renaming the Manned Spacecraft Center in his honor.

As Senate Majority Leader, Johnson had sponsored the 1958 legislation which created NASA;[23][24] dedication ceremonies were held six months later on August 27.

During the ceremony, an Air Force band led the singing of "God Bless America" as NASA T-38 Talon supersonic jets flew directly over the scene in the traditional missing-man formation.

Although that service was broadcast live by the national television and radio networks, it was geared mainly to NASA employees and the families of the astronauts.

Astronaut candidates receive training on spacecraft systems and in basic sciences including mathematics, guidance and navigation, oceanography, orbital dynamics, astronomy, and physics.

The responsibilities of ARES also include interaction with the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance and the Human Space Flight Programs.