The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is NASA's foremost field center for programs related to space science and observation from space of Earth and its environment. Founded in 1959, named after the rocket pioneer Robert Goddard, and located at Greenbelt, Maryland, 16 kilometers northeast of Washington, DC, Goddard Space Flight Center has designed, built and operated numerous near-Earth orbiting spacecraft, including members of the Explorer series, and controls several astronomy satellites, including the Hubble Space Telescope. It manages the National Space Science Data Center and is responsible for the Wallops Flight Facility.