The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, is one of ten NASA field centers and a crucial element to both the Agency and the region. The Center has been at the forefront of aeronautics and space research since it officially opened as a National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) laboratory in 1942. NASA Glenn began as an aircraft engine research laboratory during World War II, which was critical to development of the jet engine. It progressed into propulsion and power for space applications in the late-1950s and 1960s and terrestrial applications in the 1970s. Glenn has made contributions to airbreathing propulsion systems, communications technology, space propulsion and cryogenic propellants, power conversion and storage, materials and structures, and biomedical technologies.
The web version and the app, designed for iPad, provides a photographic retrospective of the first forty years of operation at the Center (1941–79). Drawn from a large collection of archived photographs, this gallery of images along with in-depth descriptions offers a unique look into the research, people, and activities that have generated numerous technological advancements over the years.