JSC and LBJ....

I see that once again the old "LBJ just wanted NASA in Texas"
line has emerged on the newsgroup. While this is a little more space
history, it does help illustrate policy.

Firstly, LBJ was not even the major player in puting the JSC
in Texas. Secondly, it wasn't just a political move -- though clearly the
move had political factors in its favor. There was about zero chance
that the government would "concentrate" the space program around the
launch site at Cape Canaveral. Even *before* there was a NASA, the Army
had most of its facilities in Huntsville and only launched from Canaveral.
It often makes sense, particularly with large and complex projects, to
subdivide tasks in widely separated regions.
The decision to form a separate "manned space flight center" was
driven first by administrative and logistical concerns. NASA was afraid
that the manned program would "overwhelm" Goddard, and that the Virginia
area was not suitable for the program anyway. NASA had a list of
requirements -- access to barge traffic, a moderate climate, all weather
jet service, well established industry in the area (i.e. not a Siberia),
proximity to a major city with cultural and higher education resources.
In addition NASA needed "at least" 1,000 solid acres (a couple of square
miles when odds and ends thrown in), power and utilities, etc.
NASA came up with a list of possible sites, and Houston figured
prominently (indeed, with 3 different locations in/near the city). The
NASA officials of course realized that Texas had big political influence.
The main character was not LBJ, languishing as VP (not a traditional power
post). Rather, it was Albert Thomas, Chair of the House Appropriations
Sub-committee. It didn't hurt that Texan Sam Rayburn was Speaker of the
House and congressman Olin Teague headed the subcommittee for manned
space flight.
The most overt political pressure, however, came from Massachussetts.
Which just happened to be where president JFK was from ;-). Indeed,
JFK "personally enquired" to NASA on behalf of the Mass. delegation,
something that NASA could not ignore. But the state didn't have what NASA
needed. The initial decision, however, was Tampa, Florida. There was a
catch, however. NASA wanted to use MacDill AFB, which it thought that the
AF was going to shut down. When the AF decided it wanted to 'keep' MacDill,
Houston got the ultimate decision.
The ultimate Houston location "had it all". There was a lot of
available land. It had access to barge traffic -- connecting it with
Canaveral and the Mississipi/LA facilities (like Michaud). It had all
weather jet service and nearby Ellington field. Houston had a solid
industrial/technical base from petroleum and manufacturing. And the site
was near Houston, that "Paris on the Bayou" and home to both Rice University
and the University of Houston. The land was cheap, NASA got if from Rice
which had got it from Humble Oil (eventually, Exxon). And in addition
Brown and Root was there to take care of construction and facilities.

So, while politics played its part, it is certainly not true that
JSC ended up in Texas (let alone Houston) just because LBJ declared that
it should. The idea for a new, separate center came from NASA, and a
lot of sites were considered. Most didn't meet all the specs, and if the
USAF had been willing to give up MacDill that is most likely where the
manned space flight center would be to this day. NASA certainly realized
that Texas had a lot of pull, and enjoyed enlisting it, but LBJ was not
one of the major players. In addition, there was plenty of pull from other
directions that the President (JFK) was fond of.
There is a NASA history on-line at:I

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/sudd...w/suddenly.htm