The Future of Aviation
As a Palo Alto
Times editorial
pointed out, the
public had developed
a healthy appreciation
for the value
of the airplane
by the 1930's.
"The future
of aviation -
and the future
of the United
States, militarily
and commercially
- lies fundamentally
in the development
of aeronautical
research,"
the Times noted
in 1930.
With that purpose
in mind, the National
Advisory Committee
for Aeronautics
(NACA) set to
work building
a $10 million
laboratory at
Moffett Field
in late 1939.
In addition to
its prime location
at Moffett, the
site was selected
because of the
availability of
an abundance of
electric power
and its proximity
to Stanford University
and the brain
power available
there.
In April 1940,
on the 25th anniversary
of the establishment
of NACA by Congress,
the federal government
announced that
the new aeronautical
laboratory would
be named for Dr.
Joseph S. Ames,
president emeritus
of Johns Hopkins
University in
Baltimore, Md.
Ames had served
as chairman of
the committee
for 20 years before
retiring in 1939.
The Ames laboratory,
which employed
100 people a year
after opening,
specialized in
aerodynamics.
Within a few years,
the heart of the
laboratory consisted
of four wind tunnels,
including one
that was the largest
of its kind in
the world built
for $6.5 million.
While all of the
tunnels allowed
researchers to
study the effects
of metals and
propellers within
a jet of wind,
this large tunnel
allowed the testing
of a full-scale
two-engined bomber
with a wingspan
of 100 feet. The
only other location
in the United
States conduction
this kind of research
was at Langley
Field, Va., NACA's
original research
laboratory. Although
a civilian organization,
NACA did research
for all branches
of aviation and
government.
Through an act
of Congress on
Oct. 1, 1958,
NACA became the
National Aeronautics
and Space Administration
(NASA), an independent
agency of the
federal government
"devoted
to the exploration
of space for peaceful
purposes for the
benefit of all
mankind."
During the past
50 years, the
relationship between
NASA and Moffett
Field has indeed
flourished.
The NASA/Ames
Research Center
now covers 430
acres and has
50 major facilities
worth an estimated
$3 billion.
With its physical
plant, the scope
of the Ames Research
Center also has
expanded, now
involving research
and technological
development in
aeronautics as
well as space
science, life
science, and space
flight.
Just as the San
Jose Mercury Herald
editorial projected
in 1931, Moffett
also has contributed
to the growth
of many aviation
and high-tech
industries, from
Hiller Aircraft
Corp., a maker
of helicopters
once based in
Menlo Park, to
Lockheed Martin
Missiles and Space
Co. Inc. and ESL,
a subsidiary of
TRW in Sunnyvale.
Lockheed, in fact,
developed the
P-3 Orions, the
submarine hunter-killers
which have been
based at Moffett
since 1962.
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