This photograph by Joseph J. Scherschel shows scenes from President Lyndon B. Johnson’s visit to NASA’s Manned Spaceflight Center in Houston, Texas. The purpose of the visit was a speech to honor the crew of the Gemini 4 mission and the nomination of astronauts James McDivitt and Edward White for promotion to the rank of lieutenant colonel. The Gemini 4 mission spanned four days and 62 Earth orbits, and included the first American spacewalk. Here, the president and first lady are posing for photographs with the astronauts. The Manned Spaceflight Center was established in 1961 where it served the Mission Control Center for NASA’s spaceflight program and led the Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab missions. In 1973, it was renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in honor of the former president whose home state is Texas. Today, the center continues to serve as Mission Control and leads NASA’s International Space Station operations.

This photograph by Joseph J. Scherschel shows scenes from President Lyndon B. Johnson’s visit to NASA’s Manned Spaceflight Center in Houston, Texas. The purpose of the visit was a speech to honor the crew of the Gemini 4 mission and the nomination of astronauts James McDivitt and Edward White for promotion to the rank of lieutenant colonel. The Gemini 4 mission spanned four days and 62 Earth orbits, and included the first American spacewalk. Here, the president and first lady are posing for photographs with the astronauts. The Manned Spaceflight Center was established in 1961 where it served the Mission Control Center for NASA’s spaceflight program and led the Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab missions. In 1973, it was renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in honor of the former president whose home state is Texas. Today, the center continues to serve as Mission Control and leads NASA’s International Space Station operations.