Orville Wright and National Aviation Day

2 Min Read Orville Wright and National Aviation Day This mural by famed aviation and space artist Bob McCall was created to celebrate the achievements of Wilbur and Orville Wright and to commemorate a century of powered flight. Central to the composition is the 1903 Wright Flyer. Credits: <br> Orville Wright wasn’t sure exactly how long his first flight lasted. He and his brother, Wilbur, think it was about 12 seconds, but according to what Orville wrote in his diary of that December day in 1903 at Kill Devil Hills,…

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Ideas for Celebrating National Aviation Day

9 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Research pilot Greg Slover “spreads his wings” at NASA’s Langley Research Center. On August 19, tag your posts with #SpreadYourWings or #NationalAviationDay. NASA / David C. Bowman It was in 1939 that President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued the first presidential proclamation designating Aug. 19 – Orville Wright’s birthday – as a day in which citizens are encouraged to participate in activities that promote interest in aviation. So how will you be a good citizen and observe the day as…

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Collegiate Teams to Focus on Aviation Solutions for Agriculture in 2025 Gateways to Blue Skies Competition  

4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Students attending the 2024 Blue Skies Competition Forum toured NASA’s Ames Research Center in California.  NASA In the 2025 Gateways to Blue Skies Competition, the theme is AgAir: Aviation Solutions for Agriculture. NASA asks collegiate teams to investigate either new or improved aviation capabilities that could assist the agriculture industry by improving production, efficiency, environmental impact and extreme weather/climate resilience.  The agriculture industry plays a vital role in providing food, fuel, and fiber for the global population. However, it…

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NASA Streams First 4K Video from Aircraft to Space Station, Back

3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) A graphic representation of a laser communications relay between the International Space Station, the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration spacecraft, and the Earth. Credit: NASA/Dave Ryan A team at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland streamed 4K video footage from an aircraft to the International Space Station and back for the first time using optical, or laser, communications. The feat was part of a series of tests on new technology that could provide live video coverage of astronauts on the…

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LIVE: NASA is with you from Oshkosh

2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA / Maria Werries Meet Nils and Clue Monday, July 22 at 2:30 p.m. EDT NASA’s pavilion at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2024 airshow is home to a number of aeronautics- and space-related exhibits. NASA / John Gould Visitors to the NASA pavilion are finding plenty to do during this first full day of the airshow. Activities inside include collecting informational handouts, trying out a flight simulator, and chatting with NASA researchers and engineers.  A popular attraction today is…

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NASA to Host Panels, Forums, and More at Oshkosh 2024

3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA’s pavilion as it will look at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2024 is seen in this illustration, Flying into the graphic, clockwise from upper left: the X-66 sustainable flight demonstrator, X-59 quiet supersonic demonstrator, Saab 340B, a small drone, an air taxi concept, and a DeHavillland “Dash 7.” Both the Saaab and Dash 7 are part of the Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration project. NASA / Maria Werries Each summer, aviation enthusiasts and experts from around the planet – including NASA’s…

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NASA Cloud-Based Platform Could Help Streamline, Improve Air Traffic

4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) This image shows an aviation version of a smartphone navigation app that makes suggestions for an aircraft to fly an alternate, more efficient route. The new trajectories are based on information available from NASA’s Digital Information Platform and processed by the Collaborative Departure Digital Rerouting tool. NASA Just like your smartphone navigation app can instantly analyze information from many sources to suggest the best route to follow, a NASA-developed resource is now making data available to help the aviation…

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NASA Remembers Retired Astronaut, US Air Force Pilot Joe Engle

Portrait of retired NASA astronaut Joe Engle wearing flight suit in front of an X-15 fighter circa 1963. Retired NASA astronaut and U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Joe Engle died July 10, surrounded by his family at home in Houston. Among his many honors, he is the only astronaut to pilot both the X-15 and space shuttle. He was 91. Engle became an astronaut at age 32 while flying the X-15 for the U.S. Air Force, becoming the youngest pilot ever to qualify as an astronaut. When selected as a…

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NASA Engineer Honored as Girl Scouts ‘Woman of Distinction’

4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Danielle Koch, an aerospace engineer at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, was honored by the Girl Scouts of North East Ohio as a 2024 Woman of Distinction. She accepted the award during a ceremony on May 16. Credit: Girl Scouts of North East Ohio/Andrew Jordan You’d think a NASA aerospace engineer who spends her days inside a giant dome researching how to make plane engines quieter and spacecraft systems more efficient would have a pretty booked schedule. Still,…

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Globetrotting NASA Research Model Increases Accuracy

4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The NASA 5.2% scale, semi-span version of the High Lift Common Research Model installed in the German-Dutch Wind Tunnels – Braunschweig Low-Speed Wind Tunnel in Braunschweig, Germany on May 4, 2023. NASA NASA and its international partners are using the same generically shaped wing design to create physical and digital research models to better understand how air moves around an aircraft during takeoff and landing. Various organizations are doing computer modeling with computational tools and conducting wind tunnel tests…

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