The Space Shuttle fleet set high marks of achievement and endurance through 30 years of missions, from its first, when STS-1 launched on April 12, 1981, to its last, when STS-135 landed on July 21, 2011. Beginning with the orbiter Columbia and continuing with Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s […]

Pursuit of Power: NASA’s Propulsion Systems Laboratory No. 1 and 2 The NASA Glenn History Office has undertaken the task of documenting many of its historic facilities. Histories of the Icing Research Tunnel, Plum Brook Reactor Facility, Rocket Engine Test Facility, and Altitude Wind Tunnel have been published. These books demonstrate the significance of each […]

Toward a History of the Space Shuttle: An Annotated Bibliography Part 2, 1992–2011 This annotated bibliography is a continuation of Toward a History of the Space Shuttle: An Annotated Bibliography, published by NASA in December 1992. (This publication is available here.) This volume includes key articles, books, hearings, and U.S. government publications published on the […]

The X-15 was the ultimate “X” vehicle. Built in the 1950s, she became the fastest and highest-flying winged aircraft of its time. During 199 flights from 1959 through 1968, she collected data about hypersonic flight that was invaluable to aeronautics and to developers of the space shuttle. This e-book describes the genesis of the program, […]

NASA’s Aircraft Energy Efficiency Program, 1973-1987 The fuel crisis of the 1970s threatened not only the airline industry but also the future of American prosperity itself. It also served as the genesis of technological ingenuity and innovation from a group of scientists and engineers at NASA, who initiated planning exercises to explore new fuel-saving technologies. […]

For years, NASA has used subscale models of aircraft to test how they would perform at full size. In fact, since the 1920s during the days of the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics, scientists have continually refined testing techniques including building and using new facilities, making models more sophisticated and learning how to best interpret […]

Unmanned Aircraft System, Western States Fire Missions The story of the Ikhana, a remotely piloted vehicle used by NASA researchers to conduct Earth science research and which became an unexpected flying and imaging helper to emergency workers battling California wildfires.

The second volume includes case studies and essays on NACA-NASA research for contributions including wind shear and lightning research, flight operations, human factors, wind tunnels, composite structures, general aviation aircraft safety, supersonic cruise aircraft research and atmospheric icing.

Since its creation, NASA has steadily advanced flight within the atmosphere, repeatedly influencing aviation’s evolution by extending the rich legacy of its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, or NACA. This first volume in a two-volume set includes case studies and essays on NACA-NASA research for contributions such as high-speed wing design, the area […]

Human Factors Lessons Learned from Aerospace Accidents and Incidents in Research, Flight Test, and Development This volume contains a collection of case studies of mishaps involving experimental aircraft, aerospace vehicles, and spacecraft in which human factors played a significant role. In all cases the engineers involved, the leaders and managers, and the operators (i.e., pilots […]