NASA Glenn's Historical Timeline https://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/about/history/timeline.html

NASA Glenn's Historical Timeline

NASA Content Administrator

In 1944, women work in the Fabrication Shop of the Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory (AERL) (now NASA Glenn) during World War II. These women were recruited to replace male employees serving in the military and were trained as machine operators, electricians, and other technical positions.

Credits: NASA

The NASA Glenn Research Center was originally established as the Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory (AERL), part of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in 1941.

The laboratory became a national resource for innovations in aircraft engine technology, which influenced commercial and military propulsion systems. The AERL was renamed the Lewis Research Center and became part of the new National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958. In 1999, NASA Lewis was renamed the John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field.

For decades, our scientists and engineers have advanced technology in both aviation and space exploration. These innovations have given the U.S. a leading role in the aerospace industry.

Timeline

1940s - The Beginning The site of the National Air Races in Cleveland is transformed into a world-class aircraft engine research laboratory and quickly makes contributions to the war effort.

1940 - The NACA announces on November 25 that it will build its new lab in Cleveland. 1941 - Groundbreaking ceremony for the AERL takes place on January 23. 1942 - E. Raymond Sharp officially named laboratory manager on December 1. 1943 - First research flight takes place on March 17 with a Martin B-26 . AERL dedication ceremony held on May 20. 1944 - First test is performed in the Altitude Wind Tunnel with a jet engine. The Icing Research Tunnel is completed. 1945 – Lab's first supersonic wind tunnels begin operation in June. AERL undergoes major reorganization in October to focus on jet propulsion. 1946 – Post-war visitors include Dwight Eisenhower , Curtis LeMay, Frank Whittle and James Doolittle. 1948 - In honor of the late George Lewis, the lab’s name changed to NACA Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory. 1949 - 8-by-6 Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel begins operation on April 3. First sponsored rocket testing at the lab is conducted for the Navy. Abe Silverstein is appointed chief of research on August 29 and reorganizes the staff.

A General Precision Laboratory television camera system filmed the firing of a 1,000-pound thrust rocket at a lab back in 1957.

Credits: NASA

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1950s – New Types of Propulsion Abe Silverstein becomes manager of the lab’s research activities and reorganizes to explore high energy rocket propellants and nuclear propulsion. The launch of Sputnik in the fall of 1957 led to an almost complete redirection into space-related studies.

1952 - Abe Silverstein is appointed associate director on August 8. The Propulsion Systems Laboratory No. 1 and 2 begins operation in October. 1953 - Lewis conducts full-scale crash tests on twin-engine cargo planes. Motion picture films of the crashes contribute to an understanding of aircraft (and eventually spacecraft) safety. 1954 – Rocket Lab conducts the lab’s first firing of a liquid hydrogen -oxygen engine on November 23. 1955 – Neil Armstrong begins his career at Lewis as a NACA test pilot. The 10x10 Supersonic Wind Tunnel is completed. The NACA breaks ground at Plum Brook for a nuclear test reactor on September 26. 1957 – Lewis’ Martin B-57B performs first successful flight of hydrogen-powered aircraft on February 4. 1958 – NASA officially begins operations on October 1 and the AERL becomes Lewis Research Center. 1959 - Launch of Big Joe capsule (assembled at Lewis) for Project Mercury on September 9. President Eisenhower approves official NASA seal designed by Jim Modarelli on November 29.

1960s – The Space Program The center contributes to space program with a series of tests for Project Mercury, an intensive study into the storage and handling of liquid hydrogen and management of the Centaur upper-stage rocket. By the late 1960s, the center was again shifting back toward aeronautics.

1960 - Mercury Astronauts train at Lewis' Multiple Axis Space Test Inertia Facility (MASTIF) to learn how to control tumbling spacecraft. Ohio's own John Glenn trained there. 1961 - Abe Silverstein named center director. Electric Propulsion Laboratory completed. 1962 – Centaur and Agena programs transferred to Lewis. These upper-stage boosters are to be used to launch planetary and lunar probes, and they're paving the way for a manned flight to the Moon. The Nuclear Research Reactor Facility begins operating. 1963 –Lewis manages first successful launch of Centaur rocket (AC-2) on November 27. NASA acquires Plum Brook Station from the Army. 1964 – First edition of Lewis News is issued on February 28. Launch of the Space Electric Rocket Test (SERT I) on July 20 is first in-space ion thruster test. 1966 – Atlas Centaur-8 becomes the first successful two-burn Centaur on April 7. Atlas-Centaur-10 launches the Surveyor spacecraft to the Moon on May 30. 1968 - 9-by 15-Foot Low Speed Wind Tunnel begins operation. 1969 - Atlas Centaur rockets launch Mariner 6 and 7 in the spring for flyby missions to Mars. Bruce Lundin becomes Lewis' third center director on November 1. On July 20, Apollo 11 lands first man on the moon; at the controls is Ohio astronaut Neil Armstrong. NASA Lewis takes pride in its contributions. Bruce T. Lundin is named center director. The Space Power Facility is completed.

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In 1960, Mercury astronaut John Glenn prepares for a test in the Multi-Axis Space Test Inertia Facility (MASTIF) inside the Altitude Wind Tunnel at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lewis Research Center.

Credits: NASA

NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft launched atop its Titan/Centaur-6 launch vehicle from the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex in Florida on September 5, 1977, at 8:56 a.m. local time.

Credits: NASA

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1970s - Quiet Engines and Loud Rockets The 1970s brought a series of cutbacks that spurred the center to explore new areas of research such as renewable energy and communication satellites. The aeropropulsion work concentrated on noise and emissions reductions. The center’s most high-profile successes during the 1970s were the Titan-Centaur launches of Viking and Voyager spacecraft.

1970 - Launch of the second Space Electric Rocket Test (SERT II) on February 3. 1972 - Launch (AC-27) of Pioneer 10, the first man-made object to leave the solar system and travel on a flight path into interstellar space. Over 700 layoffs among the Lewis space research staff. 1973 - The Nuclear Research Reactor Facility is closed. 1974 -First successful launch of a Titan-Centaur takes place on December 10. 1975 - Titan-Centaur launches of the Viking 1 and 2 spacecraft to Mars in the summer. Dedication of the Mod-0A wind turbine at Plum Brook held on October 29. 1976 - Launch of the Lewis-managed Communications Technology Satellite (CTS) on January 17. Prop testing for the Advanced Turboprop Program begins in August at the 8-by-6 Wind Tunnel. 1977 -Titan-Centaur launches Voyager 1 and 2 on missions to explore the outer solar system. 1978 - John McCarthy is named Lewis center director on October 1.

1980s – The Shuttle Era Begins NASA Lewis goes for major roles in mainstream programs. Research stresses the upper-stage propulsion system for the space shuttle, called the Shuttle/Centaur. Lewis engineers begin development of the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS).

1980 - The Research Analysis Center (RAC) dedication is held on May 29. Lewis begins collecting atmospheric data on June 4 from the Mount St. Helens eruption. 1981 – First space shuttle launched using technology developed by Lewis. 1982 – Andy Stofan becomes Lewis' fifth center director on June 22. 1983 - Lewis makes first significant staffing increase in 20 years during the summer. 1987 - The Icing Research Tunnel is designated an ASME Historic Engineering Landmark on May 20. John Klineberg becomes Lewis center director on May 29. NASA wins Emmy on September 16 for developing the Communications Technology Satellite. 1988 - The Advanced Turboprop team receives Robert J. Collier Trophy on May 13. 1989 – The Space Electric Rocket Test (SERT II) was reactivated nearly 20 years after its launch. Power Systems Facility dedication is held on January 9. Atlas-Centaur 68 launch on May 25 is the last Lewis-managed commercial Centaur launch.

A new era in spaceflight began with the April 12, 1981 liftoff of the space shuttle Columbia. Astronauts John Young and Bob Crippen opened a highway to space traveled by shuttle crews for more than 30 years.

Credits: NASA

1990s - A New Name Ongoing work leads the way in both aeronautics and aerospace, including aeropropulsion, space power and space propulsion. Lewis assumes a lead role in the microgravity program as the program manager for Fluid Physics and Combustion Microgravity Research.

1990 - Larry Ross becomes Lewis center director on July 1. 1991 - Center celebrates its 50th anniversary and issues Virginia Dawson’s Engines & Innovation . Dedication of new Edward R. Sharp Employee Center on September 17. 1993 -. NASA announces new High Speed Research (HSR) program on March 25. STS-51 deploys the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) on September 12. 1994 - Donald Campbell is appointed center director on January 6. 10x10 is renamed the Abe Silverstein 10′ x 10′ Supersonic Wind Tunnel on October 15. 1995 - The greatest attention for Ohio's astronauts came with the STS-70 mission in 1995. Four crew members (Nancy Currie, Tom Henricks, Don Thomas and Mary Ellen Weber) out of a five-member crew have hometowns in Ohio. Lewis-managed Mir Cooperative Solar Array (MCSA) was delivered to Russian space station by Shuttle Atlantis (STS-74)

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1996 - Deployment of Lewis-managed Mir Cooperative Solar Array on the Russian space station. 1997 - Mars Pathfinder lands on the Martian surface with Lewis experiments on July 4. Titan IV-Centaur launches the Cassini spacecraft toward Saturn on October 15. 1998 - Launch of Deep Space I powered by Lewis' NSTAR ion thruster on October24. 1999 - The center is renamed the John H. Glenn Research Center on March 1.

2000s – The 21 st Century The center makes key contributions to the Columbia Accident Investigation and Constellation Project. The campus also undergoes transformation as several historic facilities are removed and the Mission Integration Center is added.

The Space Communications and Navigation (SCAN) Testbed was installed on the International Space Station to serve as a test facility for NASA research on radio communications and the Global Positioning System (GPS).

NASA

2000 - The Ballistics Lab in the Materials and Structures Building is dedicated on January 14. Glenn-designed solar arrays delivered to the International Space Station on December 3. 2001 - STS-107 crew visits Glenn on January 30 to train on the Combustion Module-2. Julian Earls becomes center director on August 8. 2004 - Center formally acquires the S-3 Viking aircraft on March 26. 2005 - Woodrow Whitlow becomes Glenn center director in December. 2006 - NASA assigns Glenn responsibility for Orion service module on May 12. 2007 - Space Power Facility (SPF) is rededicated on June 11 for Orion vibration testing. 2008 - Demolition of the Altitude Wind Tunnel begins in September. Ares I-X segments leave Glenn on October 22 for journey to KSC. 2009 - Commercial Aviation Safety Team Robert J. Collier Trophy on May 28. The Glenn-designed Ares I-X Upper Stage Simulator is successfully launched on October 28. 2010 - NASA Glenn Visitor Center Moves to Great Lakes Science Center . Ramon Lugo becomes center director on July 18. 2011 - New main gate and security building dedicated on June 6. 2012 - Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) sent to the ISS on July 20. 2013 - Jim Free becomes Glenn center director on January 4. NEXT thruster completes long duration test in the EPL on September 1. 2014 - Glenn dedicates new Mission Integration Center building on July 30. 2015 - The center inducts first class into the Glenn Hall of Fame on September 25. 2016 - Janet Kavandi becomes center director on March 14. 2017 – Glenn celebrates its 75 th anniversary .

Last Updated: July 10, 2018

Editor: NASA Content Administrator

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