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NASA Langley Centennial Tribute Marks History, Progress with Music and Dance

Hundreds came out to celebrate 100 years of NASA Langley Research Center excellence through an evening of music, dance, reflections and more May 18 at Christopher Newport University’s Ferguson Center for the Arts in Newport News, Virginia. Credits: NASA/Gary Banziger

It was a night to celebrate the past and look forward to the future as NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, continued its 100th anniversary event with an evening of music, luminaries and a message from the International Space Station.

Christopher Newport University’s Ferguson Center for the Arts in Newport News, Virginia, played host May 18 to NASA Langley’s Centennial Tribute. The event attracted NASA employees, the public, elected officials and representatives from academia.

“This isn’t just a celebration for the NASA Langley family – it’s really a celebration for everyone connected to aerospace and anyone who dreams of a better, brighter future,” said Langley Center Director Dave Bowles.

The evening’s festivities were populated with historical multimedia tributes to inspire attendees about the future of the center and NASA’s mission of science, space exploration and aeronautics research.

Journalist Mile O'Brien was the master of ceremonies for NASA Langley's Centennial Tribute event.

“Langley engineers did nothing less than invent the building blocks of aeronautics,” said aviation and space journalist Miles O’Brien, who was the master of ceremonies for the tribute. “This is a place that has made the sky mighty.  It has lifted us literally and figuratively to the heavens.”

Dancers from Radford University perform an original dance at NASA Langley's Centennial Tribute event.
Former astronaut Leland Melvin speaks at NASA Langley's Centennial Tribute event.

Founded as the nation’s first civilian aeronautical research facility, Langley is NASA’s original field center and is lovingly called “the mother center,” O’Brien said.

The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, NASA’s precursor, broke ground on its first laboratory at Langley on July 17, 1917.

NASA Langley had a profound impact on the course of the life of the tribute’s featured presenter, a fact he touted with humor and seriousness.

“Throughout this journey, unbeknownst to me, I’ve been chasing space my entire life and I didn’t even know it,” said former astronaut and Langley alumnus Leland Melvin.

He added that NASA Langley’s journey isn’t primarily about technology, but the people who have worked at the center throughout the years – including those who saw something in him that he didn’t see in himself.

“I think about all the people in this community that believed in me, through the research we did in fiber optics, through all of the things we’ve done to advance our civilization – that’s what legacy is about,” he said. “That’s what a journey, this 100-year journey, is about – helping people, inspiring people, motivating that next generation of explorers.”

Space Station surprise

There was even a special surprise for attendees as astronaut and Air Force Col. Jack Fischer gave well wishes to NASA Langley for its centennial from the International Space Station.

“We all owe NASA’s Langley Research Center a debt of gratitude,” he said.

There were more than just speeches at the tribute, as song and dance performances added a showcase feel to the event.

Nashville-based singer-songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman, the U.S. Air Force Heritage of America Concert Band, and local musician Karl Werne took the Ferguson Center stage to perform original works.

Things came easily for the concert band, thanks to the vast historical content, said band spokesperson Raymond Landon.

He said the band’s focus was on the historical backstory and missions and the people that made them possible at NASA Langley.

“It’s a really good story,” Landon said.

Four dancers from Radford University in Radford, Virginia, premiered a new work, “Remember the Future,” that was inspired by the storied history and major accomplishments of NASA Langley.

“I’ve always been interested in space,” said Amy VanKirk, Radford University department of dance assistant professor. “This is really inspiring to me.”

Her students were in awe of the task at hand, as they gleaned inspiration for their performance from a lot of different historical avenues.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them,” VanKirk said. “It’s been fun to come together.”

At the end of the event, O’Brien quipped that if he can’t be cryogenically frozen to see the next advances in aeronautics and spaceflight, then he hopes the fire first lit in 1917 burns another 100 years.

The Centennial Tribute was one of a number of special events planned throughout this anniversary year. For more information about Langley’s centennial events, click here.

  • To see more images from the evening’s events, click here.
Musician Karl Werne, backed by the U.S. Air Force Heritage of America Concert Band, performs an original song.