On March 3, 2015, hundreds gathered at an AIAA-organized event at the National Air & Space Museum in Washington, DC, to celebrate 100 years since the founding of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, or NACA.
The NACA was the main institutional basis for creating NASA in 1958.
From humble beginnings with a $5000 budget, no paid staff and no facilities, the NACA won the Collier trophy five times. Its researchers made critical contributions to victory in World War II, spawned a world-leading civil aviation manufacturing industry, propelled supersonic flight, supported national security during the Cold War, and laid the foundation for modern air travel and the space age.
Learn more about the 100th anniversary of the founding of the NACA at www.nasa.gov/naca100.
