Where the Metal Gets Bent—

Flights of Discovery:
50 Years at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center

By Lane E. Wallace

This beautifully illustrated history spans a variety of flight research projects at Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Research first began at the Muroc site in 1946 with work on the famous X-1 aircraft, which broke the sound barrier in October 1947. Groundbreaking projects such as the X-15 rocket-powered airplane, the F-8 fly-by-wire aircraft, and the MD-11 thrust-controlled aircraft followed in later years. Flights of Discovery describes how a small organization in the middle of the Mojave Desert has significantly influenced progress in aeronautics. This is important reading for anyone interested in experimental aircraft and aerospace research in general. 212 pages, illustrated, hardcover.

GPO #033-000-01167-9 $42.00

Suddenly Tomorrow Came . . .
A History of the Johnson Space Center

By Henry C. Dethloff

Born in 1961 as the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, the home base for NASA astronauts and mission control for human spaceflight was renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in 1973. Dramatic and comprehensive, this book traces the center's role in the exciting story of U.S. human spaceflight-the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Apollo-Soyuz, Skylab, and Space Shuttle programs through 1993. It also takes a look at future programs, such as the International Space Station. This is important reading for anyone interested in U.S. human spaceflight. 409 pages, illustrated, hardcover.

GPO #033-000-01134-2 $28.00

Engines and Innovation:
Lewis Laboratory and American Propulsion Technology

By Virginia P. Dawson

This is a history of NASA's premier laboratory for aeronautical and spacecraft propulsion, located in Cleveland. Named after George W. Lewis, Director of Aeronautical Research for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the center was founded in 1941. Published to commemorate the center's fiftieth anniversary, this book focuses on efforts to develop jet engine technologies. 276 pages, illustrated, paperback.

"[The author] succeeds admirably in a well-written book which captures the essence of technology transfer in the NACA and NASA eras."
— Issues in NASA Program and Project Management

GPO #033-000-01095-8 $16.00

Spaceflight Revolution:
NASA Langley Research Center From Sputnik to Apollo

By James R. Hansen

Established in 1917, Langley (in Hampton, Virginia) was the original laboratory of NASA's predecessor organization, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). Auburn University history professor James Hansen describes how the flight of Sputnik I broadened Langley's research from cutting-edge aeronautics to the many facets of space travel. This study focuses on the transformation of Langley's mission during the late 1950s and 1960s. (Langley became part of NASA in 1958.) This is must reading for anyone seeking to understand the development of aerospace research during this formative period. 542 pages, illustrated, hardcover.

GPO #033-000-01149-1 $30.00