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Open House Tour Stops
09.22.12
What You Need to Know...
Date: Saturday, September 22, 2012
Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
What: NASA Langley Research Center Open House. See the latest cool stuff Langley is working on, talk with researchers and take part in hands-on activities related to science, technology, engineering and math. You can also be able to see some of the historic landmarks that made Langley famous in the 95 years since we were created as the nation's first civilian aeronautics research lab.
Connect: If you'd like to talk about the Open House or share your experience and pictures from the event in real time, our Twitter ID is @NASA_Langley and our Facebook page is facebook.com/nasalarc. Look us up!
› Directions
› Questions?
› More About NASA Langley
Notes:
Date: Saturday, September 22, 2012
Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
What: NASA Langley Research Center Open House. See the latest cool stuff Langley is working on, talk with researchers and take part in hands-on activities related to science, technology, engineering and math. You can also be able to see some of the historic landmarks that made Langley famous in the 95 years since we were created as the nation's first civilian aeronautics research lab.
Connect: If you'd like to talk about the Open House or share your experience and pictures from the event in real time, our Twitter ID is @NASA_Langley and our Facebook page is facebook.com/nasalarc. Look us up!
› Directions
› Questions?
› More About NASA Langley
Notes:
- Comfortable, closed-toe walking shoes are highly recommended.
- NASA Langley is a federal facility; all vehicles and people entering are subject to search.
- NOT ALLOWED
› Weapons of any kind, including firearms and knives
› Shoulder bags except for women's purses and infant diaper bags
› Coolers
› Alcoholic beverages
› Computers. Cell phones, smart phones and PDA-type devices (e.g., iPads) are permitted.
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A ceramic aerothermodynamic heat transfer model of the X-34 is being prepared for testing in the 31-Inch Mach 10 Wind Tunnel. Credit: NASA
Spacecraft Entry HeatingSpacecraft entry heating was recently described on the successful Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission as "seven minutes of terror." Engineers and technicians in Langley's Research Directorate predict how hot a vehicle will get during entry into a planet's atmosphere using computer predictions, flight tests, and experiments in high speed facilities like the 31-Inch Mach 10 Tunnel (78.74 cm).
Did you know?
The 31-Inch Mach 10 Tunnel is NASA's premiere facility for assessing spacecraft heating. It provides 1,400-degree (760 degrees Celsius) air flowing 10 times the speed of sound (3,200 miles per hour, or 5,150 kilometers per hour) over a wind tunnel model. It was commissioned during the Apollo Program in the mid 1960s and still provides critical information for the nation's spacecraft.
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Langley Exhibits Specialist Dustin Hitt dons an astronaut suit to hang with kids. Credit: NASA/Sean Smith
Hands-On ActivitiesReid Conference Center
See our flight simulation technology in action. Find out about our work with Sierra Nevada Corporation on the commercial spacecraft Dream Chaser. See the latest technology for inflatable heat shields, developed to protect large loads landing on other planets. Talk with Langley history author Joe Chambers.
Make some slime!!!!!
On the grounds, take a break in the tent and listen to live music provided by the Air Force Brass Band, some local high school jazz musicians and some talented Langley people.
In the Gym
Rockets, robots, face painting, racecars and rovers.
- Build your own race car and see how fast it goes using Newton's Laws;
- Try your hand at landing safely on the Red Planet with NASA’s Mars Rover Landing game for XBox;
- Design a balloon-powered rocket and see how much it can carry;
- Stomp a rocket out of this world!;
- Make and take a part of the Solar System;
- Think you know about Mars? Then try your luck at the Mars Jeopardy game;
- Make a comet out of dry ice;
- Meet Robonaut, the most unique crew member aboard the International Space Station;
- Find out how robots work and program a Lego robot to help you explore;
- See how the same forces that lift planes into the air, help Racecars travel around the track at amazing speeds; and
- See a full scale model of Curiosity, the latest rover to land on Mars
- Funky Physics Show -- A high-energy interactive physics show inspired by the twists and turns of roller coasters and the amazing mission to Mars.
Show Times: 11:00 am, noon, 2:00pm - Mysteries of Aerospace -- An interactive show exploring how things fly and what it is like to be in space.
Show Times: 10:30am, 1:30, 3:00pm
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Quadcopters flying in the AVR Lab. Credit: NASA
Autonomous Vehicle Research LaboratoryThis indoor/outdoor lab is used to perform studies on different Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) flying together in the same space.
Did you know?
The AVR was envisioned as an area where innovative air traffic management tools could be tested, but it has found other uses. In 2012, the lab was used to test new vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft designs and there are plans to test robotic systems designed for space exploration.
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Mach 7 wind tunnel test of the full-scale X-43A model with spare flight engine. Credit: NASA
8-Foot High Temperature TunnelThe 8-Foot High Temperature Tunnel is used to test high speed and high temperature operation and endurance of large items ranging from inflatable heat shields for Mars bound NASA probes to scramjet engines that can power vehicles to Mach 7 and beyond.
Did you know?
This tunnel provides air flow at speeds up to Mach 7, or one and a half miles per second. There is no bigger and faster high-temperature facility anywhere in the world.
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An aerial view of the 14- by 22-Foot Subsonic Tunnel complex. Credit: NASA
14-by-22-Foot Subsonic TunnelThis wind tunnel tests model aircraft for low-speed aerodynamic performance, especially during takeoff and landing. The facility has supported numerous NASA programs, as well as industry and university projects.
Did you know?
One of the carts used to support models in the test section can weigh as much as two fully-loaded fighter aircraft (84,000 lb, or 38,102 kg).
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Electromagnetic testing being performed on antennas inside a C-17 radome. Credit: NASA
Antenna Research FacilityElectromagnetic waves, such as radio and light, are integral components of modern aerospace systems. Researchers in this facility design and develop advanced electromagnetic technologies that are used on most commercial and some military aircraft, as well as NASA spacecraft.
Did you know?
Nearly every commercial radar being flown today, including those on the aircraft in which you travel, had its prototype design developed by researchers and tested in this facility.
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DLN Education Specialist Karen Ricks presents a live event to students. Credit: NASA
Digital Learning NetworkThe NASA Digital Learning Network™ Studio at Langley is used to connect students and educators directly to NASA education specialists and experts for real-time interaction.
Did you know?
NASA's DLN won the 2012 Platinum Award for Excellence in Distance Learning Programming from the United States Distance Learning Association, the largest and most well-known distance learning professional organization in the world.
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NASA Langley's Hawker Beechcraft B200 King Air (left) and UC-12B Huron (right) research aircraft. Both aircraft are extensively instrumented for airborne science research. Credit: NASA
Flight Research HangarThe NASA Langley Flight Research Hangar houses the Center's flight assets and the associated personnel. The Hangar has 85,200 square feet (7,915 square meters) of open hangar space and large door dimensions allow for entry of big aircraft such as Boeing 757s and other commercial or military transport-class aircraft.
Did you know?
The Gemini Rendezvous Docking Simulator used by Gemini and Apollo astronauts to practice docking space capsules with other vessels is still suspended from the hangar bay ceiling. It is a National Historic Landmark.
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Langley's Headquarters illuminated at night. Credit: NASA
Headquarters BuildingThe new Langley Headquarters Building is one of the greenest buildings at any NASA Center. It uses 60 percent less energy and 40 percent less water than a typical office building. A large portion of the building's energy comes from renewable resources.
Did you know?
The building was awarded a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum certification (the highest category) by the U.S. Green Building Council.
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A Blended Wing Body model being tested in the NTF. Credit: NASA
National Transonic FacilityAs the world's largest pressurized cryogenic wind tunnel, the NTF has unique capabilities to test model aircraft in actual flight conditions. Aircraft and spacecraft designs are evaluated here for a variety of reasons, including stability and control, cruise performance, stall buffet onset, and configuration aerodynamic efficiency.
Did you know?
It's not just aerospace structures that are tested in the National Transonic Facility; a Sea Wolf Submarine has been evaluated here as well.
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Composite Crew Module simulated launch abort and pressure test. Credit: NASA
Combined Loads Test System FacilityThe Combined Loads Test System (COLTS) facility tests advanced aircraft and spacecraft structure technologies by applying mechanical, thermal, and pressure design loads to full-scale aerospace structures.
Did you know?
Future designs for supersonic transport vehicles, commercial aircraft and manned spacecraft have all been tested at the COLTS facility.
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Initial plunge of capsule during water landing test. Credit: NASA
Landing and Impact Research FacilityResearchers at this facility conduct landing and impact tests of aircraft and space vehicles onto concrete, soil and water surfaces. The test data is used to improve occupant safety.
Did you know?
This facility was designated as a National Historic Landmark due to its contributions to the Apollo Moon Landing Program. Approximately 25 astronauts trained at the facility to practice the last 150 feet (46 meters) of landing on the moon.
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Spacewalking astronaut prepares to perform infrared nondestructive evaluation on the International Space Station. Credit: NASA
Nondestructive EvaluationThe 30 members of the Nondestructive Evaluation Sciences Branch are a mix of scientists, engineers and technicians with diverse backgrounds in experimentation, computation and physics-based modeling. We investigate the interactions of energy with materials and structures in order to extract useful information on their physical, chemical, mechanical or metallurgical state, without damaging the test object (i.e., nondestructive evaluation) to address critical NASA needs in aerospace applications.
Did you know?
Langley's Nondestructive Evaluation Sciences Branch continues to be the only branch level organization for nondestructive evaluation within NASA.
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Langley researchers use data from the CERES (Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System) instrument to measure energy leaving the Earth-atmosphere system.. Credit: NASA
Science DirectorateFor more than 30 years, the Science Directorate at Langley Research Center has conducted pioneering research. We've managed and mined our vast data sets to understand how the Earth's atmosphere is changing -- and how that affects things like public health, air quality and national security. From the air, land and space, we study climate change, the quality of the air we breathe, the depletion of the ozone layer, and many other aspects of the environment we all inhabit.
Did you know?
The Science Directorate is home to world-renowned researchers and our data is used to help solve some of Earth's biggest problems. We have had five researchers contribute to the United Nations International Panel on Climate Change assessment reports, which represent the largest and most detailed international assessment of climate change from a technical, scientific and socio-economic perspective.
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The anechoic chamber in the Structural Acoustics Loads and Transmission (SALT) facility. Credit: NASA
Acoustics LaboratoryIn this facility, aerospace engineers research acoustics to understand and reduce noise associated with all kinds of aircraft, including jets, helicopters, propellers, and supersonic transports.
Did you know?
The Acoustics Research Laboratory houses unique experimental facilities that can let you hear what future aircraft will sound like.
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The Expandable Habitat Engineering Development Unit undergoing deployment trials. Credit: NASA
Structures and Materials LaboratoryResearch done in this laboratory supports structural and material development for advanced aircraft, aerospace vehicles and space structures. Equipment such as space habitats and robotic cranes are developed here for future human space exploration missions.
Did you know?
Built in 1939 to help develop and validate aircraft structural designs during World War II, this was the first building constructed on what is now Langley Research Center's main campus.
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Technician Steve Whit performing the fit-up on the Crew Module skin. Credit: NASA
Flight Test Article Development LaboratoryIn this lab, flight test articles and mockups are fabricated so that NASA researchers and engineers can perform tests on new designs and, ultimately, ensure the safety of humans in flight.
Did you know?
A rocket Launch Abort System designed to separate the crew module from the launch vehicle in the event of an emergency was fabricated in this facility. The system was successfully tested at the White Sands Missile Range in 2010.
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Testing composites. Credit: NASA
Materials Research LaboratoryLangley researchers use this facility to better understand and improve the durability of structures and materials. The results of this research are used to make current and next generation aircraft and spacecraft safer and more efficient.
Did you know?
An aluminum lithium alloy characterized in this lab led to the redesign of the Space Shuttle external fuel tank to incorporate the material, significantly reducing weight and operating costs.