The first ‘A’ in NASA stands for Aeronautics. Visit Langley’s aircraft hangar to learn more about the future of flight. You can see our work on unmanned aircraft, intelligent flight systems, our research aircraft like our Boeing 777, and take a pic with a 60% scale image of NASA’s quiet supersonic X-plane! This historic hangar also includes the Rendezvous Docking Simulator used during the Gemini and Apollo programs.
Meet ISAAC, a giant robot arm that helps NASA develop lighter yet stronger composite structures and materials for aerospace vehicles. Learn more about the large-scale metal additive manufacturing process which uses an electron beam to melt wire and create — or 3-D print — parts.
Advances in space travel and aeronautics require ingenuity. In this machining lab, learn how engineers and technicians carry out advanced manufacturing and create high-precision parts, and see machines in action.
It is important to protect the innovation happening at NASA Langley as well as the surrounding community. The Fire Station houses emergency equipment, including a 101-foot tower truck, a brush truck capable of pumping while moving, a fully equipped ambulance, and four, pre-packed, ready-to-go emergency trailers.
The Kids Zone is where young explorers find inspiration and fun through science, technology, engineering, and math activities and crafts – turning playtime into a fun learning experience for the next generation of STEM professionals.
A subsonic, open-return atmospheric wind tunnel, the Basic Aerodynamic Research Tunnel (BART) measures the fundamental characteristics of complex flow fields and gathers data for developing aerodynamic computer models.
Ever wonder what a sonic boom sounds like? Or heard the loud buzz of a drone overhead? Researchers here are conducting studies to better understand, predict, and control the noise of all types of aircraft. This work could help change the rules for commercial supersonic travel over land and for unmanned flight systems that could one day deliver people and goods all over town!
The 31-inch Mach 10 tunnel is NASA’s top wind tunnel for assessing spacecraft heating. Learn how researchers provide critical test data to programs including Orion, Apollo, Viking, NASA’s space shuttle, Hyper-X and the Mars Science Laboratory.
This supersonic wind tunnel features two test sections capable of speeds up to 4.6 times the speed of sound! Researchers here perform experiments involving jet effects, dynamic stability, heat transfer, and more.
As one of NASA’s premier low-speed wind tunnels it has tested everything from rockets to fighter jets and even race cars! This historic facility provides a broad range of aerodynamic research for NASA, industry, the Department of Defense and academia. Stop here and you can see the 14.5-foot scale model of the X-59.
Integrated Engineering Services Building Bldg.2102
NASA is returning to the Moon! Visit this location to learn more about our key contributions to the Artemis program, take a selfie with a moon rock from Apollo 14, hear from guest speakers, and visit our expo hall. Make sure to stop here for great NASA souvenirs, too!
As NASA returns to the Moon, there’s a greater need than ever for light, self-deploying structures. Learn how researchers in this lab are developing and testing those technologies and get a firsthand look at a full-sized model of a solar sail spacecraft that will be launched into space.
James H. Starnes Structures & Materials Laboratory Bldg.1148
Research in this lab will help people live and work on the Moon and beyond! See how engineers test the strength and stiffness of aerospace structures and materials, develop advanced manufacturing methods, and more. Walk through an inflatable habitat, which could house people during long-term space travel and exploration.
Tour NASA Langley’s state-of the art Measurement Systems Laboratory for developing, testing, and implementing new sensor and instrument technologies. Learn how the work happening here is advancing NASA’s missions in space exploration, science, and aeronautics.
High speed testing is critical as NASA journeys back to the Moon. The National Transonic Facility (NTF) serves NASA and its partners as the world’s largest pressurized cryogenic wind tunnel. Learn how it provided essential testing of the Artemis program’s Orion spacecraft, its Launch Abort System, and the Space Launch System.
Autonomy and robotics will be key to asteroid retrieval, planetary exploration, pollution measurement in inaccessible areas and the integration of unmanned flight into everyday life — like being able to take a self-flying taxi instead of driving through the Hampton Road Bridge Tunnel! Learn how researchers are using the Langley Autonomy Lab for Intelligent Flight Systems to shape the future of this exciting field.
Here you can dress like a scientist and see the clean rooms and equipment used to test spacecraft components and instruments to ensure they can withstand the conditions of space.
