Houston/Clear Lake Area

Aerial and Satellite Views

This page contains links to Aerial and Satellite photographs of the Houston and Clear Lake, Texas area. Most of the pictures and text descriptions come from the NASA JSC Digital Image Collection of press release photos.

Be sure to also check out the excellent collection of satellite photos at Microsoft's TerraServer.

The Aerial Views of Clear Lake collection primarily contains aerial photographs of Johnson Space Center. Several of the photographs depict the early days of the center and surrounding land, including progressive photographs of the Manned Spaceflight Center construction.

The Satellite Views of Houston/Clear Lake collection depicts shots of the Houston, Clear Lake, and Galveston area as seen by astronauts on Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle missions.

Click on the small picture to view the full size photograph

Aerial Views of the Clear Lake Area

Construction of the Manned Spaceflight Center (Johnson Space Center):

The NASA domestic satellite Earth Station complex at JSC is in the center of this aerial photograph taken from a low-flying NASA aircraft in 1978. The vibration and acoustic test facility is in extreme upper left hand corner. Parking area for the technical services facility and mockup and integration lab is in the lower right corner.

An aerial view of the complete Johnson Space Center facility. Part of Clear Lake can be seen at the top of the view.

(65k)

This aerial photograph provides a new perspective on the Johnson Space Center and its surroundings. The view is looking north from Clear Lake.

(44k)

The photo was taken with a Widelux camera, which has a lens that moves from side to side to enable it to provide a 150-degree field of view. Each exposure has the width of three Hasselblad film frames. The wide lens rotation exaggerates the curvature of Earth.

(74k)

This aerial photograph of Johnson Space Center includes the entire site with the exception of bldg 100, part of Manned Space Flight Exhibit Complex bldg 90 or "Rocket Park", and the Avenue B East Guardhouse bldg 204.

This aerial photograph of Johnson Space Center looks over the site from the NASA Rd 1 entrance.

(56k)

(59k)

This aerial photograph of Johnson Space Center looks west to east with Space Center Houston in the foreground and Clear Lake in background.

This aerial photograph of Johnson Space Center looks west to east with Space Center Blvd and Avenue B intersection in the background, and NASA Rd 1 and Space Center Houston in the foreground.

(62k)

(52k)

Aerial view of Space Center Houston (SCH) with exterior complete with last section of parking lot being laid where old Security bldg 100 was removed, and tramway is nearly complete.

Air to air view shows Endeavour, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 105, atop a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) NASA 911, a modified Boeing 747, flying over the Clear Lake / NASA JSC area prior to a brief stopover at Ellington Field, near JSC. JSC site appears behind and below the orbiter/aircraft combination with Clear Creek and Egret Bay Blvd in the foreground and Clear Lake and Galveston Bay in the background.

(57k)

OV-105 rolled out at Rockwell's Palmdale facility on 04-25-91 to once more bring to four the total of NASA Shuttles available for flight assignment. It left Houston later on this day headed for another stop in Mississippi before landing in Florida on 05-07-91. This photograph was taken from a T-38 aircraft by Sheri J. Dunnette of JSC's Image Sciences Division (ISD).

Satellite Views of the Houston Area

from the NASA Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle missions.

(32k)

U.S. Gulf coast area from Aransas Bay, Texas to Mobile Bay, Alabama, as seen from the Gemini 11 spacecraft during its 29th revolution of the earth. The Galveston Bay and Houston area is in center of photograph. Further eastward along the coast can be seen the Mississippi River delta and New Orleans area.

Gulf Coast area from Matagorda Bay, Texas to Vermillion Bay, Louisiana, looking east, as seen from the Gemini 12 spacecraft during its 44th revolution of the earth.

(42k)

Galveston Bay is in center of picture. Houston and its environs are clearly visible. Note network of freeways and superhighways. Large lake near left center of picture is the Sam Rayburn Reservoir.

The Houston, Texas and Gulf Coast area, looking southeast, as seen from the Apollo 7 spacecraft during its 91st revolution of the earth. Photographed from an altitude of 101 nautical miles, at ground elapsed time of 144 hours and 26 minutes. The morning sun causes a reflection on the water surfaces such as the Gulf of Mexico, Galveston Bay, Buffalo Bayou and the Brazos River and causes a unique reflection in the canals and fields west of Alvin. Some of the landmarks visible in this picture include highways and freeways, the Astrodome, the Intercontinental Airport and the Manned Spaceflight Center (now Johnson Space Center).

(44k)

(41k)

Oblique view of the Houston, Texas area as photographed from the Apollo 9 spacecraft during its earth-orbital mission. This picture was taken from an altitude of 103 nautical miles, at about 1:40 p.m., on March 9, 1969. Prominent features visible include highways leading out of the city, Lake Houston, San Jacinto River, Trinity Bay, Galveston Bay, Brazos River, Baytown, and Texas City.

The greater Houston/Galveston area is seen in this single oblique view from space, from the STS-51D mission.

(36k)

The most prominent feature of this photo is the Houston ship channel, seen as a dark line north across Galveston Bay connecting Houston and Galveston. NASA's Johnson Space Center and Mission Control, is located just north of Clear Lake off the channel. The extensive road and highway network of this great region can also be seen.

(39k)

Long regarded as two of the best photos of Houston, these views from the STS-51D mission show the entire greater Houston/Galveston region in remarkable detail and clarity. The dark north/south line in the water between Houston and Galveston is the Houston Ship Channel. NASA's Johnson Space Center and Mission Control is located on the north shore of Clear Lake west of the channel. The extensive road and highway network can be seen in great detail.

(46k)

Less than an hour before this photo was taken from STS-61A, a large explosion and fire occurred at a petrochemical plant in Mount Belvieu, just to the east of Houston. The fire has just started and the smoke plume is fairly small but by the end of the day, smoke obscured most of the area east of Houston.

(47k)

The spider-web network of highways radiating from the center of Houston is easily seen as well as the Astrodome and other features.

The upper Texas Gulf Coast, though mostly cloud covered in this view, is still readily identifiable because of the distinctive features of the Texas Gulf Coast. Galveston Island, Galveston Bay and the coastal prairie are in the clear. Most of the city of Houston is cloud covered but the Gulf Freeeway connecting Houston and Galveston can be traced for most of it's route. From the STS-30 mission.

(54k)

Most of the greater metropolitan Houston region is captured in this single photograph from the STS-34 mission. The continuing progress of construction of the outer beltway system enveloping the majority of the city is very evident.

(55k)

The downtown business district including the George R. Brown Convention Center, the Astrodome Stadium, Intercontinental Airport and Hobby International Airport as well as Johnson Space Center are all easily seen.

(60k)

In these views of the Houston/Galveston area from STS-39, heavy spring rains emphasize the several bodies of water in the area. The progressive nature of the Houston highway and freeway system can easily be observed in these highly detailed views. Houston Intercontiental Airport can be seen to the north and to the south, the NASA, Clear Lake area just off of Galveston Bay can easily be seen. The downtown business district is in the center.

(52k)

In this view of the Houston/Galveston area from STS-48, heavy spring rains emphasize the several bodies of water in the area. Even though partially cloud covered, the progressive nature of the Houston highway and freeway system can easily be observed in this highly detailed view.

(42k)

To the south, the NASA, Clear Lake area just off of Galveston Bay can easily be seen. The downtown business district is in the center.

(45k)

These photos of Houston were taken from STS-48 with a dual camera mount for comparitive film type testing. The photo on the left was taken with color film, best used for presenting the image as it appears to the human eye. The photo on the right was taken using infrared film, which is best at penetrating haze, detecting vegetation, and producing a sharp image. Comparative views such as this aids in determining the kinds of information unique to each film system, and evaluates and compares photography taken through hazy atmospheres.

(45k)

STS-48 Earth observation taken aboard Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, showing Galveston Bay and portions of Galveston Island was recorded on orbit 61 with the electronic still camera (ESC).

(35k)

The ESC image was stored on a removable hard disk or small optical disk and was converted to a format suitable for downlink transmission. The ESC documentation was part of Development Test Objective (DTO) 648, Electronic Still Photography.

STS-48 Earth observation taken on orbit 61 aboard Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, of the Greater Houston metropolitan area was captured with the electronic still camera (ESC). A portion of Upper Galveston Bay appears at bottom right. The image was stored on a removable hard disk or small optical disk and was converted to a format suitable for downlink transmission. The documentation was part of Development Test Objective (DTO) 648, Electronic Still Photography.

(36k)

In this view of the central and north Gulf Coast of Texas (30.0N, 96.0W), San Antonio Bay, Matagorda Bay and Galveston/Trinity Bay are clearly seen though small sediment plumes at the tidal passes are visible.

(55k)

The large field patterns of irrigated agriculture highlights an ancient deltaic plain formed by the Colorado and Brazos Rivers. Many manmade lakes and reservoirs, as far west as Lake Belton and Lake Waco and as far east as Toledo Bend are visible. From the STS-52 mission.

(43k)

STS-65 Earth observation taken aboard Columbia, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 102, shows the Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston Island in Texas. The peninsula and island form the seaward side of the Galveston Bay complex. The photograph is centered at approximately 29.3 degrees north and 94.8 degrees west. This view of the area shows typical summer clouds. Both coastal and bay current flows are prominent. Ship traffic is visible in Bolivar Roads. The Texas City Dike is near the center of the photograph and was designed to protect the upper bay from wave action. The heavily urbanized Galveston Island is in contrast to the lightly populated Bolivar Peninsula.

(63k)

The Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) provided these images of the Houston/Clear Lake area (left) and Galveston (right). Both were taken on October 10, 1994 at 17:16 GMT during the STS-68 mission.

(21k)

Please contact Allen Matheson for comments, corrections, or suggested additions to this page. For other photographs around the Clear Lake and Houston area, check out the Photography Exhibit.