The NASA Glenn Research Center originated in 1941 as the Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. The name was changed in 1999 in honor of John H. Glenn.
The NASA Glenn Research Center originated in 1941 as the Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. The name was changed in 1999 in honor of John H. Glenn.
In the late 1940s and the 1950s, Glenn performed aircraft crash tests in Ravenna, Ohio.
Between 1963 and 1998, Glenn managed more than 119 unmanned launches, including SOHO, Pioneer, Cassini and three GOES weather satellites.
Glenn perfected the Centaur rocket and used it for more than 100 launches. For almost 30 years, the center was responsible for the technical, cost and schedule management of Centaur.
All seven Mercury astronauts trained in Glenn's "Gimbal Rig," which simulated tumble-type maneuvers that could be encountered in space flight.
Glenn provided important early research and technical support to the Apollo moon missions.
In the 1970s, concerns about the environment and anxiety over fuel prices prompted unified energy planning within the federal government. Glenn helped to develop cleaner, more efficient solutions.
Glenn tested Skylab 3's payload shroud in it Space Power Facility at Plum Brook Station.
Glenn provided critical technologies for Deep Space 1, the first of NASA's New Millennium Program missions.
Glenn managed the Mir Cooperative Solar Array and contributed several experiments to the Mir mission.
Glenn was a key participant in Mars Pathfinder, an engineering proof-of-concept mission that sent a rover to Mars in 1997.
NASA Glenn's Altitude Wind Tunnel (AWT) is being demolished, but its legacy endures.
Five years ago NASA's Stardust spacecraft navigated through a cloud of ice and dust to return images of comet Wild 2. Read more historical facts in This Month in Exploration.