NASA: Space Flight Research and Pioneering Developments

Around the world, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is synonymous with air and space flight. This book covers NASA’s aerospaceresearch from the agency’s beginnings as NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) in 1915 to the present-day NASA. Exciting projects and developments are portrayed, such as the first supersonic flight of the X-1 in 1947, the flights of the fastest manned aircraft, the rocket-powered X-15, which attained almost seven times the speed of sound in 1967, the flight-testing of the lunar module for the moon landings, tipping-rotor aircraft, testing new wing concepts, and much more. The emphasis of the book is in the realm of aviation research, but the boundaries between air and space research are often fluid, so that the development of the Space Shuttle and its testing have been included in this book. Besides project portrayals and descriptions of various research trends, the development sites and important personnel of NASA are portrayed.