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NASA's Langley Research Center

The Langley Research Center (LaRC) is a fascinating place for anyone who is interested in aeronautics and space exploration. Established in 1917 by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the center has a rich history of groundbreaking research and pioneering scientific breakthroughs.

One of the key features of LaRC is the use of wind tunnels for studying and improving aircraft and spacecraft safety, performance, and efficiency. In fact, the center has over 40 wind tunnels that are used by researchers to conduct aeronautical research. It was at LaRC that the concept of research aircraft leading to supersonic flight was developed, which eventually led to the world’s first transonic wind tunnel.

Moreover, LaRC played a critical role in NASA’s early space missions. Many of the earliest high-profile space missions were planned and designed on-site, and the center was also the main office of the Space Task Group during the Project Mercury era. Langley was even considered a potential site for NASA’s Manned Spacecraft Center prior to the eventual selection of Houston, Texas.

Apart from these achievements, LaRC is also known for being the birthplace of the West Area Computers - where African American, female mathematicians who worked as human computers at the Langley Research Center from 1943 through 1958. These women played a crucial role in the success of NASA’s early space missions. Katherine Johnson, a former NASA mathematician who calculated the trajectory for the first American Human space flights, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack H. Obama on Tuesday, November 24, 2015.

The center has also developed standards for the grooving of aircraft runways, which is now the international standard for all runways around the world and even used on highways around the USA. Grooved runways reduce aquaplaning and provide better grip by aircraft tires in heavy rain, thus increasing the safety of takeoffs and landings.

Langley Research Center has a lot to offer to anyone interested in aeronautics and space exploration. From wind tunnels to groundbreaking research to the West Area Computers, LaRC has a rich history of scientific innovation that continues to this day. With Clayton P. Turner recently appointed as the center’s director, we can only imagine the new heights that Langley Research Center will reach in the years to come.

Author: J. Verne