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Explore NASA’s History

Eugene A. Cernan, Commander, Apollo 17 salutes the flag on the lunar surface during NASA's final lunar mission.

Discover Our Past

Whether just getting the basics or diving into your research, we invite you to connect with our ever-expanding collection of mission profiles, biographies, articles, e-books, chronologies, and source documents spanning the history of the NACA and NASA.

NACA Center and Facility History

North American XP-51B Airplane in 16-foot Wind Tunnel

Ames Research Center

Five NACA engineers, headed by Walt Williams, arrived at Muroc Army Airfield (now Edwards AFB) about this date from Langley Memo

Armstrong Flight Research Center

A black and white photo of a NASA employee inspecting the NACA 16 inch RAM jet.

Glenn Research Center

TIROS

Goddard Space Flight Center

Exterior view of building.

Electronics Research Center

S69-40022 (24 July 1969) --- Overall view of the Mission Operations Control Room (MOCR) in the Mission Control Center (MCC), Building 30, Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), showing the flight controllers celebrating the successful conclusion of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission.

Johnson Space Center

Gordon Cooper walks with his space suit on for his Faith 7 flight

Kennedy Space Center

operators in the Plum Brook reactor control room

Neil Armstrong Test Facility

Two men stand at the end of a large circular honeycombed screen

Langley Research Center

A Saturn V lies on its side as a group of men stand in front of it in this black and white photo. A label of S-IC Flight Stage - Huntsville is at the top.

Marshall Space Flight Center

This week in 1961, Michoud Assembly Facility was selected as the production site for Saturn rockets.

Michoud Assembly Facility

This week in 1966, the Mississippi Test Facility – today’s NASA Stennis Space Center – successfully captive-fired S-II-T.

Stennis Space Center

Black and white image of a rocket on a metal structure with people working around it.

Wallops Flight Facility

Aerial view of the Apollo Service Module Test Area began in 1963.

White Sands Test Facility

The NACA

NASA's precursor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was established by Congress in 1915 to advance the United States' standing in flight. Over its 40-some years in existence, it pushed the frontiers of air technology through groundbreaking aeronautics research, preparing the country for its venturing steps into space.

Learn More About the NACA about The NACA

Recent NASA History Stories

Stay up-to-date with the latest NASA history content as we revisit the discoveries and challenges of NASA's past.

10 Years Ago: Orion Flies its First Mission

A new American human-rated spacecraft made its first foray into space on Dec. 5, 2014. Under contract to NASA, Lockheed…

Thanksgiving Celebrations in Space

The Thanksgiving holiday typically brings families and friends together in a celebration of common gratitude for all the good things…

NASA Plane Supported Innovative Microgravity Research in ‘90s

A bell rings and a strobe light flashes as a pilot pulls the nose of the DC-9 aircraft up sharply.…

15 Years Ago: STS-129 Delivers Cargo on the Third Utilization and Logistics Flight

On Nov. 16, 2009, space shuttle Atlantis began its 31st trip into space, on the third Utilization and Logistics Flight…

55 Years Ago: Apollo 12 Makes a Pinpoint Landing on the Moon

In November 1969, Apollo 12 astronauts Commander Charles “Pete” Conrad, Command Module Pilot (CMP) Richard F. Gordon, and Lunar Module…

40 Years Ago: STS-51A – “The Ace Repo Company”

Successfully deployed from the space shuttle Challenger during the February 1984 STS-41B mission, the Westar 6 and Palapa B2 communications…

Vignettes from NASA's History

Drawing from oral history interviews with the people who were there, read about the significant highlights and turning points of NASA missions and programs like Apollo, Opportunity, Hubble, and more.

This Month in NASA History about Vignettes from NASA's History
Capcom Charlie Duke at the console in Mission Control for the Apollo 11 landing

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