Space Flight Operations Facility, Mission control center at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, US.

The Space Flight Operations Facility is a control center at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena that processes signals and data from spacecraft throughout the solar system. The building contains an extensive network of computers and communication systems designed to receive and analyze these data streams from across space.

NASA began construction of the permanent facility in July 1961, and it was completed in October 1963 and dedicated on May 14, 1964. Its initial setup of 31 consoles, 100 closed-circuit television cameras and more than 200 television displays supported Ranger 6 to Ranger 9 and Mariner 4. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1985 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The engineers and scientists working here monitor unmanned spacecraft in real time, making it possible to explore distant planets and moons. Visitors can see how teams collaborate daily at consoles and screens to guide these missions.

Public tours of the facility can be arranged, but they require advance planning; access is not open on a walk-in basis. The control room is a working operations area, so visits are organized around the active consoles and screens rather than free wandering. As of 2012, 22 spacecraft were monitored from here, each scheduled online for 1 to 10 hours at a time.

Inside the building sits a plaque calling it 'The Center of the Universe,' a tongue-in-cheek nod to its central role in communicating with the distant cosmos. This lighthearted label reflects how crucial this location is for staying connected to spacecraft everywhere in the solar system.