[NARRATOR]
HI, I’M BILL BARRY, NASA’S CHIEF HISTORIAN.
WE’RE HERE IN THE NASA HEADQUARTERS HISTORICAL
REFERENCE COLLECTION – A PLACE WHERE WE
MAINTAIN AN ARCHIVE OF DOCUMENTS, RECORDS,
AND REFERENCE BOOKS THAT RESEARCHERS CAN USE
AND THAT WE USE TO ANSWER ALL SORTS OF QUESTIONS.
IN ADDITION TO NASA RECORDS, WE ALSO HAVE
RECORDS FROM THE NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
FOR AERONAUTICS – THE NACA.
WE’VE BEEN PRETTY BUSY HERE FOR THE LAST
YEAR GETTING READY TO MARK THE CENTENNIAL
OF THE
CREATION OF THE NACA.
BUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THE NACA IS NOT JUST
A MATTER OF OLD BOOKS AND DUSTY RECORDS – THE
STORY OF THE N-A-C-A IS
ONE OF INCREDIBLY DEDICATED PEOPLE PUSHING
THE CUTTING EDGE OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND DOING
THAT IN NEW AND CREATIVE WAYS.
IT HAD SUCH A REVOLUTIONARY IMPACT ON OUR
WORLD THAT WE HARDLY NOTICE IT THESE DAYS.
BUT, YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE GUESSED THIS FROM
ITS MODEST BEGINNINGS.
WITH THE PASSAGE OF THE NAVAL APPROPRIATIONS
ACT ON MARCH 3, 1915, THE NACA CAME INTO EXISTENCE.
IT’S MISSION: TO SUPERVISE AND DIRECT THE
SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF THE PROBLEMS OF FLIGHT
WITH A VIEW TO THEIR PRACTICAL SOLUTION, AND
TO DETERMINE THE PROBLEMS WHICH SHOULD BE
EXPERIMENTALLY ATTACKED, AND TO DISCUSS THEIR
SOLUTION AND THEIR APPLICATION TO PRACTICAL
QUESTIONS.
ORIGINALLY THE COMMITTEE WAS JUST THAT – A
12 MEMBER GROUP APPOINTED FROM THE MILITARY
AND OTHER PARTS OF THE GOVERNMENT, AS WELL
AS ACADEMIA AND INDUSTRY EXPERTS.
ALTHOUGH IT WOULD BE 2 YEARS BEFORE THE UNITED
STATES JOINED THE CONFLICT, IN 1915 WAR WAS
ALREADY RAGING ACROSS EUROPE AND GROWING ON
THE OCEANS.
WAR HAD ALSO MOVED INTO THE AIR…
IT WAS JUST ABOUT A DOZEN YEARS SINCE THE
WRIGHT BROTHERS FIRST SUCCESSFUL FLIGHTS AT
KITTY HAWK.
BUT, MUCH TO OUR SURPRISE, THE UNITED STATES
FOUND ITSELF TO BE FAR BEHIND EUROPE IN AERONAUTICS.
HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?
WELL, AFTER THE WRIGHTS DEMONSTRATED THEIR
FLYER IN FRANCE IN 1908 EUROPEAN GOVERNMENTS
AND INDIVIDUALS BEGAN TO INVEST MILLIONS IN
AERONAUTICS RESEARCH.
BY 1912 THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT WAS SPENDING
$6.4 MILLION DOLLARS ANNUALLY ON AIRCRAFT
RESEARCH AND CONSTRUCTION.
THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE WASN’T FAR BEHIND THAT
YEAR AT $5 MILLION.
IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT SPENDING ON
AVIATION IN 1912 WAS ONLY $140,000.
BY 1911 EVERY MAJOR COUNTRY IN EUROPE HAD
A GOVERNMENT FUNDED AERONAUTICS LABORATORY.
AS A RESULT, BY THE START OF WORLD WAR I,
EUROPE WAS FAR AHEAD IN AIRCRAFT TECHNOLOGY
AND EVEN SHEER NUMBERS OF MILITARY PLANES.
WHEN THE WAR STARTED THE FRENCH FIELDED 1,400
MILITARY AIRPLANES, GERMANY 1,000, IMPERIAL
RUSSIA 800, AND GREAT BRITAIN 400.
THE US HAD JUST 23 MILITARY AIRCRAFT.
THE UNITED STATES WAS CERTAINLY NOT AGAINST
TECHNOLOGY – AFTER ALL BY DECEMBER OF 1915
HENRY FORD HAD ROLLED HIS 1 MILLIONTH CAR
OFF THE ASSEMBLY LINE.
SILENT FILMS WERE ALL THE RAGE – BUT BETWEEN
THE WRIGHT BROTHER’S PATENTS AND A LACK
OF GOVERNMENT INTEREST, WE LAGGED FAR BEHIND
EUROPE IN AERONAUTICS – AND WOUND UP HAVING
TO USE EUROPEAN AIRCRAFT WHEN WE ENTERED THE
WAR.
AT THE FIRST MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE ON APRIL
23, 1915, THEY SELECTED AN EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
TO MANAGE DAY-TO-DAY ISSUES.
CHARLES WALCOTT, SECRETARY OF THE SMITHSONIAN,
WAS CHOSEN AS CHAIRMAN OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
EVEN THOUGH THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS WERE NOT
PAID, THE MEAGER $5,000 BUDGET DID NOT GO
VERY FAR.
FOR THE MOST PART IT WENT TO PAY RESEARCHERS
IN ACADEMIA AND OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.
THE COMMITTEE WOULD ISSUE A RESEARCH AUTHORIZATION
ON A TOPIC IT THOUGHT WAS OF INTEREST AND
OTHERS WOULD DO THE WORK.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN WALCOTT, AND
A GROUP OF OTHERS, HAD MUCH GREATER HOPES.
WALCOTT MADE IT HIS BUSINESS TO PUSH FOR THE
CONSTRUCTION OF NACA RESEARCH FACILITIES.
IT WAS AN UPHILL STRUGGLE – WITH PRESIDENT
WILSON HIMSELF OPPOSED TO IT, BUT CONGRESS
VOTED IN FAVOR OF ADDING $85,000 TO THE NACA
BUDGET FOR A LABORATORY IN 1916 AND WORK ON
IT FINALLY BEGAN IN 1917.
IT WAS NAMED IN HONOR OF WALCOTT’S PREDECESSOR
AS SECRETARY OF THE SMITHSONIAN, THE LANGLEY
MEMORIAL AERONAUTICAL LABORATORY AND IT ROSE
SLOWLY NEAR HAMPTON, VIRGINIA.
EVENTUALLY THE NACA WOULD GROW TO A TOTAL
OF 3 MAJOR LABORATORIES AND 2 MAJOR TEST FACILITIES.
JUST BEFORE WORLD WAR II AMES RESEARCH CENTER
WAS BUILT IN CALIFORNIA’S BAY AREA.
THIS WAS QUICKLY FOLLOWED BY THE AIRCRAFT
ENGINE RESEARCH LABORATORY IN CLEVELAND OHIO.
AFTER THE WAR, IT WAS RENAMED IN HONOR OF
THE LATE NACA DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH GEORGE
LEWIS – THE LEWIS LABORATORY.
IT HAS SINCE BEEN RENAMED IN HONOR OF OHIO
NATIVE JOHN GLENN.
AFTER THE WAR THE NACA ALSO ESTABLISHED A
TEST FACILITY AT WALLOPS ISLAND, VIRGINIA,
AND A HIGH SPEED FLIGHT TEST FACILITY IN THE
HIGH
DESERT OF CALIFORNIA – NOW KNOWN AS THE
ARMSTRONG FLIGHT RESEARCH CENTER.
THESE FACILITIES, AND THE AMAZING PEOPLE WHO
WORKED AT THEM, WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR MANY
BREAKTHROUGHS IN AERONAUTICS AND SPACE.
BUT FOR THE 200 HUNDRED OR SO PEOPLE THAT
WORKED AT LANGLEY, the FIRST BIG BREAKTHROUGH
CAME IN THE LATE 1920S.
USING WHAT WAS THEN THE WORLD’S LARGEST
WIND TUNNEL, AND ONE DESIGNED TO STUDY PROPELLERS,
NACA RESEARCHERS LED BY FRED WEICK DISCOVERED
THAT WRAPPING AIRPLANE ENGINES IN A PROPERLY
SHAPED METAL COWLING NOT ONLY GREATLY REDUCED
THE DRAG ON THE AIRPLANE, BUT IT ACTUALLY
IMPROVED ENGINE COOLING.
UP TO THAT POINT AIRPLANE ENGINES HAD USUALLY
BEEN FULLY EXPOSED, IN THE BELIEF THAT THIS
WAS THE ONLY WAY TO KEEP THEM FROM OVERHEATING.
THIS FINDING HAD HUGE EFFECTS – INCREASING
THE SPEED AND RANGE OF AIRCRAFT, AT AN EXTREMELY
SMALL COST TO MANUFACTURERS.
IN 1929 THE NACA WAS AWARDED THE FIRST OF
5 COLLIER TROPHIES – AN AWARD PRESENTED
FOR THE GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT IN AERONAUTICS
EACH YEAR.
IT ALSO LED TO A SIGNFICANT BUDGET INCREASE
FOR THE NACA WHICH ALLOWED IT TO BUILD MANY
MORE FACILITIES AT LANGLEY.
THE NACA IS PROBABLY BEST KNOWN FOR ITS MANY
WIND TUNNELS – ONES THAT COULD SIMULATE
VARIOUS SPEEDS AND ALTITUDES AND THAT RANGED
FROM SMALL MODELS TO FULL SIZE AIRPLANES.
BUT THE NACA ALSO USED TOW TANKS TO STUDY
AMPHIBIOUS AND FLOAT PLANES.
THE NACA ALSO PIONEERED THE FIELD OF SYSTEMATIC
FLIGHT RESEARCH.
STARTING WITH A COUPLE OF BORROWED ARMY JN-4
JENNIES, NACA TECHNICIANS DEVELOPED THE TOOLS
AND EQUIPMENT NEEDED TO TAKE PRECISE MEASUREMENTS
IN THE AIR – FREEING THE RESEARCH PILOTS
FROM HAVING TO TAKE HANDWRITTEN NOTES.
THEY USED THIS EQUIPMENT TO STUDY THE PERFORMANCE
OF AIRFOILS – WINGS – AND ALSO THE STRUCTURE
OF AIRPLANES, TO MAKE SURE THEY DIDN’T BREAK
UP UNDER THE STRESSES OF FLIGHT.
IN ESSENCE THE VERY SHAPE OF MODERN AIRCRAFT
IS A RESULT OF THE RESEARCH DONE BY THE COMMITTEE.
THE FRENCH CAUDRON G-4 WAS REPRESENTED THE
PEAK OF DESIGN IN 1915 – IT WAS A PLANE
USED BY ALL OF THE ALLIES IN WORLD WAR I – INCLUDING
THE UNITED STATES.
BUT IN ABOUT 2 DOZEN YEARS AIRPLANE DESIGN
HAD CHANGED DRAMATICALLY – AND TO THE SHAPE
WE ALL RECOGNIZE NOW.
THE METAL TUBULAR BODY, ENGINES MOUNTED ON
THE FRONT OF THE WINGS, A SINGLE WING, AND
ONE THAT IS PLACED LOW DOWN TO THE BODY.
ALL OF THESE ELEMENTS WERE TESTED AND PROVEN
BY NACA RESEARCH IN THE 1920’S AND 30’S.
NACA SHARED THIS RESEARCH WITH THE WORLD AND
DID ITS WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH INDUSTRY.
AS A RESULT, NACA RESEARCH WAS EMBEDDED IN
THE AIRPLANE AS WE KNOW IT.
IT IS PART OF THE DNA OF THE AIRPLANE.
IN FACT, NACA DESIGNED WINGS WERE NOT ONLY
ON US AIRCRAFT DURING WORLD WAR II, BUT ON
ALLIED AIRCRAFT LIKE THE BRITISH SPITFIRE,
AND EVEN ENEMY AIRCRAFT LIKE THE GERMAN FOCKE
WULF 190.
IN ADDITION TO INNOVATIONS IN AIRCRAFT AND
RESEARCH, THE NACA ALSO BEGAN TO TRY NEW THINGS
WITH ITS STAFF PRIOR TO WORLD WAR II.
IN THE MID-1930S THE NACA HIRED COMPUTERS
TO DEAL WITH THE HUGE FLOW OF DATA COMING
FROM ALL OF THE WIND TUNNELS AND FLIGHT RESEARCH.
THESE WEREN’T COMPUTERS LIKE WE THINK OF
THEM – THEY WERE WOMEN.
INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, AS LABOR SHORTAGES GREW
DURING THE WAR, THE NACA ALSO REACHED ACROSS
THE RACIAL BARRIER AND HIRED AFRICAN AMERICAN
WOMEN TO SERVE AS COMPUTUERS.
WHILE THIS WAS A SMALL STEP, IT REPRESENTED
A MAJOR SHIFT WITH REPERCUSSIONS THAT WOULD
ECHO LONG AFTER.
WORLD WAR II CHANGED LOTS OF THINGS – INCLUDING
THE PACE OF WORK AT THE NACA, AND THE KIND
OF WORK BEING DONE AS WELL.
VIRTUALLY EVERY AIRCRAFT FLOWN BY THE UNITED
STATES IN THE WAR WAS TESTED AND IMPROVED
IN THE WIND TUNNELS AT LANGLEY AND AMES.
ENGINE PERFORMANCE AND RELIABILITY WAS ALSO
RAISED TO NEW LEVELS BY WORK IN CLEVELAND
AT WHAT IS NOW GLENN RESEARCH CENTER.
THE CUMULATIVE EFFECT OF THIS WORK HAD A HUGE
IMPACT ON THE COURSE OF WORLD WAR II AND GAVE
THE ALLIES AN IMPORTANT MARGIN IN ENSURING
VICTORY IN THE AIR.
AFTER THE CONCLUSION OF TWO WORLD WARS THE
JET AGE ARRIVED AND NACA WAS AT THE CUTTING
EDGE OF THIS TECHNOLOGY WITH FLIGHT TEST,
IMPROVEMENTS AND DEVELOPMENT.
THE NACA ESTABLISHED A NEW TYPE OF PARTNERSHIP
WITH THE AIR FORCE AND BELL AIRCRAFT TO BUILD
A RESEARCH CRAFT AIMED AT ACHIEVING SUPERSONIC
FLIGHT.
IN 1947, AIR FORCE PILOT CHUCK YEAGER WOULD
BE THE FIRST PERSON TO FLY SUPERSONIC IN THE
BELL X-1.
THIS WORK WON THE NACA (ALONG WITH THE AIR
FORCE AND BELL) ITS THIRD COLLIER TROPHY IN
1947.
WITH WIND TUNNELS NOT YET ABLE TO OPERATE
RELIABLY AT SUPERSONIC SPEEDS, FLIGHT TEST
BECAME A CRITICALLY IMPORTANT TOOL.
THE NACA, OFTEN IN COLLABORATION WITH THE
MILITARY SERVICES AND INDUSTRY BUILT A SERIES
OF EXPERIMENTAL OR “X” PLANES TO FURTHER
PUSH THE BOUNDARIES.
THE BEST AND BRIGHTEST WERE TACKLING THESE
PROBLEMS AND MOVING FORWARDS TOWARDS CONQUERING
THE HURDLES OF HIGH SPEED FLIGHT.
BUT OTHER NACA RESEARCHERS WERE TURNING THEIR
MINDS TO THE EDGE OF SPACE AND BEYOND.
EVEN IN THE LATE 1940S, THE NACA WAS BECOMING
A SPACE AGENCY…
ONE OF THE MOST CRITICAL BREAKTHROUGHS IN
THAT SPACE RESEARCH WAS MADE BY HARVEY ALLEN.
ONE OF THE LANGLEY CADRE THAT HAD HELPED SET
UP AMES RESEARCH CENTER IN 1940, ALLEN WAS
CHIEF OF THE HIGH SPEED RESEARCH DIVISION
AT AMES BY 1945.
IN THE SUMMER OF 1952, HE DEVELOPED THE BLUNT
BODY CONCEPT.
IT HAD LONG BEEN ASSUMED THAT RE-ENTERING
SPACECRAFT WOULD BE POINTED, LIKE ARTILLERY
SHELLS.
OR LIKE BUCK ROGERS SPACECRAFT OF THE 1930S.
BUT, EARLY EXPERIMENTS WITH DESIGNS OF THIS
SORT PROVED DISASTROUS, AS
RE-ENTRY VEHICLES WERE UNABLE TO SURVIVE THE
INTENSE HEAT.
IN ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE COUNTERINTUITIVE NACA
INSIGHTS, ALLEN PROPOSED THAT A BLUNT SHAPE
WOULD SET UP A SHOCK WAVE AHEAD OF ITSELF
AND THEREFORE KEEP THE HEAT FROM REACHING
THE VEHICLE INSTEAD IT WOULD BE DISSIPATED
ON THE SHOCKWAVE .
HIS 1952 PAPER ON THIS PROVED QUITE CONTROVERSIAL,
BUT SINCE THE MILITARY WAS ALSO INTERESTED
IN THIS QUESTION FOR BUILDING NUCLEAR MISSILE
WARHEADS THE WORK WAS CLASSIFIED AND NOT WELL
KNOWN UNTIL THE LATE 1950S.
NONETHELESS, ALLEN AND HIS TEAM PROVED HIS
THEORIES IN THE WIND TUNNELS AT AMES AND,
IN THE PROCESS, DEFINED THE SHAPE OF ALL SPACECRAFT
THAT FOLLOWED.
ALLEN’S BLUNT BODY WORK WAS NOT ONLY OBVIOUS
IN THE SPACE CAPSULES OF THE 1960S, BUT WAS
ALSO INCORPORATED INTO THE X-15, VARIOUS LIFTING
BODIES, THE SPACE SHUTTLE AND TODAY WITH COMMERCIAL
CREW VEHICLE DESIGNS OF THE CST-100 AND DRAGON
CAPSULES AND THE FUTURE CAPSULE FOR DEEP SPACE
EXPLORATION NASA’S ORION.
BETWEEN IT’S CREATION IN 1915 AND ITS RE-CREATION
AS NASA IN 1958, THE NACA’S SYSTEMATIC APPROACH
TO “THE PROBLEMS OF FLIGHT” MADE FUNDAMENTAL
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE WORLDWIDE DEVELOPMENT
OF AERONAUTICS AND BEYOND.
[DRYDEN]
“THE NACA IS IN THE PROCESS OF GREAT CHANGE.
AS YOU KNOW, THE FINAL DECISIONS ARE BEING
MADE BY THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES OF OUR CHOSEN
FORM OF GOVERNMENT THAT WILL RESULT IN THE
ESTABLISHMENT OF A NEW AGENCY, THE NATIONAL
AERONAUTICS AND SPACE AGENCY, BUILT AROUND
THE PRESENT NACA WITH RESPONSIBILITIES FOR
THE NON-MILITARY ASPECTS OF SPACE ACTIVITIES.”
[NARRATOR]
THE CULTURE THAT IS THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS
AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION IS BUILT UPON THE
TENACITY AND EXPERTISE OF THOSE THAT TRANSITIONED
FROM NACA TO NASA IN 1958.
IT’S A PART OF THE DRIVE BEHIND EVERYONE
WITH A PASSION FOR SPACE TRAVEL AND MODERN
FLIGHT.
DURING THE 50’S AND 60’S AERONAUTICS ENGINEERS
TRANSITIONED INTO SPACE FLIGHT DIRECTORS.
WIND TUNNELS ONCE USED FOR AIRCRAFT TEST NOW
WERE BEING USED TO TEST BOTH ROCKETS AND AIRCRAFT.
CENTERS OF AVIATION NOW BUILT, DESIGNED AND
TESTED SPACE CRAFT.
CLOSE:
IN LESS THAN 70 YEARS WE AS A NATION AND A
WORLD HAD GONE FROM A FLEDGLING MOTORIZED
FLIGHT ON A SAND DUNE IN NORTH CAROLINA , TO
SUPER SONIC FLIGHT ABOVE CALIFORNIA’S MOJAVE
DESERT TO WALKING OUT OF A SPACECRAFT ONTO
THE LUNAR SURFACE, THESE ACCOMPLISHMENT AND
MANY MORE REST VERY SQUARELY ON THE SHOULDERS
OF THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE NATIONAL ADVISORY
COMMITTEE FOR AERONAUTICS.
NASA WAS FOUNDED IN OCTOBER OF 1958 BUT IT
WAS BORN ON THE THIRD OF MARCH 1915
THIS LEGACY OF EXCELLENCE CONTINUES IN NASA
WHERE NOT ONLY ARE WE ON A JOURNEY TO MARS
BUILDING ON THE LEGACY OF NACA ENGINEERS BUT
WE CONTINUE TO PUSH THE BOUNDARIES OF PERFORMANCE
AND EFFICIENCY IN THE AIR - NASA’S WITH
YOU WHEN YOU FLY.
[GLENNAN]
BUT NOW WE HAVE COME TO A NEW DAY.
NACA IS TO BECOME PART OF A NEW AGENCY, THE
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION.
BUT, AND THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT BOTH
TO YOU AND TO ME AS INDIVIDUALS AND TO THE
SUCCESS OF OUR MISSION.
NASA MUST BE LIKE NACA IN THE QUALITIES OF
STRENGTH AND CHARACTER THAT MAKE AN ORGANIZATION
GREAT
[KENNEDY]
WE CHOOSE TO GO TO THE MOON IN THIS DECADE
AND DO THE OTHER THINGS.
NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE EASY BUT BECAUSE THEY
ARE HARD.
[ARMSTRONG]
TRANQUILITY BASE HERE, THE EAGLE HAS LANDED.
THIS IS A LEGACY; THIS IS A HISTORY WELL WORTH
CELEBRATING.
