Langley Field: Discovering Aerospace

WY-97

The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), created in 1915 to revitalize American aviation, was a pivotal force behind opening Langley Field in 1917 nearby to the north. It was named for the late Smithsonian Secretary Samuel P. Langley. The NACA's first research facility, Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, opened in 1918. Over the years it solved complex problems of atmospheric flight, yielding ongoing advances in aircraft design. After World War II, the laboratory also laid the foundation for space flight. When the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) emerged in 1958, Langley trained America's first astronauts.

Department of Historic Resources, 2005

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References/Bibliographic Citation:

Sources Consulted Include: Jody Cook, “A Place Called Langley,” in CRM: Cultural Resource Management 23, no. 2 (2000): 27-31; Robert I. Curtis, John Mitchell, DeWitt S. Copp, Frank M. Andrews: Marshall’s Airman (Washington, D.C.: Air Force History and Museums Program, 2003), 10-16; Martin Copp, Langley Field, The Early Years (Langley AFB, Va.: Office of History, 1977); Exploring NASA’s Roots: The History of Langley Research Center, http://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/news/factsheets/LaRC_History.html , 28 December 2004; Langley AFB Historic District (Proposed), VDHR Archives File (114-0165), Richmond, Virginia; James R. Hansen, Engineer in Charge: A History of Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, 1917-1958 (Washington, D.C.: Scientific and Technical Information Office, National Aeronautics and Space Administration: For sale by the Sup. Of Docs., U.S. G.P.O., 1987); James R. Hansen, Spaceflight Revolution: NASA Langley Research Center from Sputnik to Apollo (Washington, D.C.: Scientific and Technical Information Office, National Aeronautics and Space Administration: For sale by the Sup. Of Docs., U.S. G.P.O., 1995); Alfred F. Hurley, Billy Mitchell: Crusader for Air Power (New York: Franklin Watts, Inc., 1964), 56-72;Calder Loth, ed., The Virginia Landmarks Register, 4th. ed. (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1999), 210, 211, 212, 213; Man in Space Thematic, National Historic Landmark Archives File (114-139/143), Richmond, Virginia; Vera A. Foster Rollo and Norman L. Crabill, Virginia Airports: A Historical Survey of Airports and Aviation From The Earliest Days (Richmond, Va.: Virginia Aeronautical Historical Society, 2003), 3-18; James Schultz, Winds of Change: Expanding the Frontier of Flight: Langley Research Center’s 75 Years of Accomplishment 1917-1992 (Washington, D.C.: National Aeronautics and Space Administration: For sale by the U.S.G.P.O., Sup. Of Docs, [1992?]).