Around the world, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space
Administration) is synonymous with air and space flight. This book covers NASA’s
space flight research from the agency’s beginnings as NACA (National Advisory
Committee for Aeronautics) in 1915 to the present-day NASA. Exciting projects
and developments are portrayed, such as the first supersonic flight of the X-1
in 1947, the flights of the fastest manned aircraft, the rocket-powered X-15,
which attained almost seven times the speed of sound in 1967, the flight-testing
of the lunar module for the moon landings, tipping-rotor aircraft, testing new
wing concepts, and much more. The emphasis of the book is in the realm of
air-flight research, but the boundaries between air and space research are often
fluid, so that the development of the Space Shuttle and its testing have been
included in this book. Besides project portrayals and descriptions of various
research trends, the development sites and important personnel of NASA are
portrayed.
