During the late 1950s, Brooks was transformed from a flying training center to a center for modern medical research and development and education.
The transition started in the summer of 1959 when the School of Aviation Medicine returned to Brooks from Randolph AFB.
Brooks became the headquarters for the School of Aerospace Medicine (SAM).
In 1957, SAM scientists moved into the newly completed center at Brooks AFB.
SAM aided the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with Project Mercury and served as a back-up site for lunar samples brought back to Earth on the Apollo missions between 1969–1972.
The air evacuation program at Brooks AFB proved vital to the care of wounded personnel in the Vietnam War.

On November 1, 1961, Air Training Command transferred jurisdiction of Brooks AFB to Air Force Systems Command (AFSC).
This was all part of an Air Force plan to reorganize aerospace medical research.
Along with the transfer of Brooks, ATC passed to AFSC (and its newly formed Aerospace Medical Division at Brooks) control of the USAF Aerospace Medical Center, the School of Aerospace Medicine, the USAF Hospital Lackland, and the 3790th Epidemiological Laboratory. (
The School of Aviation Medicine had been re-designated as the School of Aerospace Medicine on May 8, 1961.)
However, the Medical Service School at Gunter AFB, Alabama remained in the command, reassigned from the medical center to Headquarters ATC on October 1.

United States President John F. Kennedy dedicated the School of Aerospace Medicine on November 21, 1963, the day before he was assassinated in Dallas.
This was Kennedy's last official act as president.

In 1962, USAF Colonel B. Dean Smith was conducting a test of the Gemini space suit with a colleague in a pure oxygen chamber at Brooks when a fire broke out, destroying the chamber.
Smith and his partner narrowly escaped.
On January 31, 1967, Airman 2/C William F. Bartley, Jr., and Airman 3/C Richard G. Harmon were killed in a flash fire while tending laboratory rabbits in the Two Man Space Environment Simulator, a pure oxygen chamber at the School of Aerospace Medicine.
Like the Apollo 1 spacecraft fire, which occurred four days earlier, the SAM fire was caused by an electrical spark in a pure oxygen environment.
The widows of the Apollo 1 crew sent condolence letters to Bartley and Harmon's families.

After the Vietnam War, the base's mission narrowed to one centered on specific research related to aeronautically rated U.S. Air Force personnel (e.g., pilots and navigators, to include USAF astronauts) and enlisted aircrew.
The aerospace era placed new demands on medical research and education, particularly in space medicine.
Research efforts at the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine were instrumental in making manned space flight a reality.
Researchers continued to study man's interaction with the aerospace environment, seeking ways to maximize a pilot's ability to use modern, high performance aircraft.
Flight simulation devices, the centrifuge, altitude chambers, lasers and other specially developed equipment, enabled researchers to perform laboratory studies of man's tolerances in the aerospace environment.

In the early 1980s, other organizations relocated to Brooks AFB.
Among them were the Air Force Human Resources Laboratory and the USAF Occupational and Environmental Health Laboratory.
In addition to the Air Force Office of Medical Support, Brooks became home to the Air Force Drug Testing Laboratory and the Air Force Systems Command's Systems Acquisition School.

A new Schriever Heritage Park, named for General Bernard A. Schriever, first commander of Air Force Systems Command, was dedicated on October 7, 1986, during the celebration of Aerospace Medical Division's 25th Anniversary.
The Aerospace Medical Division was redesignated the Human Systems Division on February 6, 1987.

In November 1987, Brooks celebrated its 70th anniversary.
During the celebration the Sidney J. Brooks Jr. Memorial Park was dedicated.
This area, along with Schriever Heritage Park, provides a quiet beauty to the base and of
During the late 1950s, Brooks was transformed from a flying training center to a center for modern medical research and development and education. The transition started in the summer of 1959 when the School of Aviation Medicine returned to Brooks from Randolph AFB. Brooks became the headquarters for the School of Aerospace Medicine (SAM). In 1957, SAM scientists moved into the newly completed center at Brooks AFB. SAM aided the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with Project Mercury and served as a back-up site for lunar samples brought back to Earth on the Apollo missions between 1969–1972. The air evacuation program at Brooks AFB proved vital to the care of wounded personnel in the Vietnam War.
On November 1, 1961, Air Training Command transferred jurisdiction of Brooks AFB to Air Force Systems Command (AFSC). This was all part of an Air Force plan to reorganize aerospace medical research. Along with the transfer of Brooks, ATC passed to AFSC (and its newly formed Aerospace Medical Division at Brooks) control of the USAF Aerospace Medical Center, the School of Aerospace Medicine, the USAF Hospital Lackland, and the 3790th Epidemiological Laboratory. (The School of Aviation Medicine had been re-designated as the School of Aerospace Medicine on May 8, 1961.) However, the Medical Service School at Gunter AFB, Alabama remained in the command, reassigned from the medical center to Headquarters ATC on October 1.
United States President John F. Kennedy dedicated the School of Aerospace Medicine on November 21, 1963, the day before he was assassinated in Dallas. This was Kennedy's last official act as president.
In 1962, USAF Colonel B. Dean Smith was conducting a test of the Gemini space suit with a colleague in a pure oxygen chamber at Brooks when a fire broke out, destroying the chamber. Smith and his partner narrowly escaped. On January 31, 1967, Airman 2/C William F. Bartley, Jr., and Airman 3/C Richard G. Harmon were killed in a flash fire while tending laboratory rabbits in the Two Man Space Environment Simulator, a pure oxygen chamber at the School of Aerospace Medicine. Like the Apollo 1 spacecraft fire, which occurred four days earlier, the SAM fire was caused by an electrical spark in a pure oxygen environment. The widows of the Apollo 1 crew sent condolence letters to Bartley and Harmon's families.
After the Vietnam War, the base's mission narrowed to one centered on specific research related to aeronautically rated U.S. Air Force personnel (e.g., pilots and navigators, to include USAF astronauts) and enlisted aircrew. The aerospace era placed new demands on medical research and education, particularly in space medicine. Research efforts at the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine were instrumental in making manned space flight a reality. Researchers continued to study man's interaction with the aerospace environment, seeking ways to maximize a pilot's ability to use modern, high performance aircraft. Flight simulation devices, the centrifuge, altitude chambers, lasers and other specially developed equipment, enabled researchers to perform laboratory studies of man's tolerances in the aerospace environment.
In the early 1980s, other organizations relocated to Brooks AFB. Among them were the Air Force Human Resources Laboratory and the USAF Occupational and Environmental Health Laboratory. In addition to the Air Force Office of Medical Support, Brooks became home to the Air Force Drug Testing Laboratory and the Air Force Systems Command's Systems Acquisition School.
A new Schriever Heritage Park, named for General Bernard A. Schriever, first commander of Air Force Systems Command, was dedicated on October 7, 1986, during the celebration of Aerospace Medical Division's 25th Anniversary. The Aerospace Medical Division was redesignated the Human Systems Division on February 6, 1987.
In November 1987, Brooks celebrated its 70th anniversary. During the celebration the Sidney J. Brooks Jr. Memorial Park was dedicated. This area, along with Schriever Heritage Park, provides a quiet beauty to the base and of
Brooks Air Force Base