Introduction--Rocky birth for research facility--Wind tunnel breakthroughs--The center of aviation's future--World War II brings changes--Testing ground to launch range--Women of Langley--'No brick wall to smash into' breaking sound barrier--Space planes--Project Mercury--'Hidden Figures'--Atmospheric science--The lunar-orbit rendezvous option--Apollo--Viking--Space shuttle--NASA Langley, a famous face--Improving air travel--Pushing new technology into the world--Next stop: Mars--Langley's legacy and next 100 years
Summary:
"What was it like to land on the moon? 'Like Langley, ' Neil Armstrong replied. The first man to walk on the moon trained for him mission at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, as had so many before him. This is the laboratory where America's space program was launched, and where its pioneering work helped change the course of military and commercial aviation. Today, it is taking aim at Mars. For a century, the men and women of Langley--first as the NACA, and later as part of NASA--have been conquering the unknown and achieving the impossible."-- Page [4] of cover
