Suggested Searches

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.

50 Years Ago: Final Saturn Rocket Rolls Out to Launch Pad 39 

On March 24, 1975, the last in a long line of super successful Saturn rockets rolled out from the vehicle…

60 Years Ago: Gemini III, America’s First Two-Person Flight 

On March 23, 1965, the United States launched the Gemini III spacecraft with astronauts Virgil “Gus” Grissom and John Young…

Fallout from the Unauthorized Gemini III Space Sandwich

“I hid a sandwich in my spacesuit,” Astronaut John W. Young confessed in the April 2, 1965, issue of Life…

Observing Storms from Skylab

Skylab 3 astronauts witnessed many spectacular sights during their 858 orbital trips around the Earth in the summer of 1973.…

NASA’s Chevron Technology Quiets the Skies

Shortly after dawn on March 27, 2001, NASA pilot Bill Rieke took off from an airfield just outside of Phoenix…

40 Years Ago: Space Shuttle Atlantis Makes its Public Debut 

On March 6, 1985, NASA’s newest space shuttle, Atlantis, made its public debut during a rollout ceremony at the Rockwell…

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

Get Your Daily Dose of NASA History

Celebrate the pivotal events in the NACA and NASA’s history with us on social media.