To commemorate the 100th anniversary of NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA, the Chrysler Museum mined the agency’s photographic archive, selecting pictures that highlight its rich history.
With more than 100 images, the exhibition depicts many of Langley’s pioneering innovations—from pilots testing experimental planes, to engineers operating the facility’s famous wind tunnels, to astronauts preparing to take the first steps on the moon.
A tribute to Langley’s advancements in aviation, atmospheric understanding, and extraterrestrial exploration, Picturing Innovation explores how photographs not only document innovations but also launch them ahead.
Picturing Innovation: The First 100 Years at NASA Langley
October 7, 2017 – March 11, 2018
Chrysler Museum of Art
1 Memorial Place Norfolk, VA 23510
www.chrysler.org
A researcher inspects a Gemini spacecraft mounted on a sting in the 11-Inch Hypersonic Tunnel in 1962. Courtesy NASA Langley Research Center
John H. Glenn, one of the Mercury Seven Astronauts, runs through a training exercise in the Mercury Procedures Trainer at the Space Task Group at Langley Field in 1960. This spacecraft simulator allowed the astronaut the practice of both normal and emergency modes of systems operations.
Courtesy NASA Langley Research Center
Langley’s First Wind Tunnel, ca. 1920
The honeycombed, screened center of this open-circuit air intake for Langley’s first wind tunnel insured a steady, non-turbulent flow of air. Two mechanics pose near the entrance end of the actual tunnel, where air was pulled into the test section through a honeycomb arrangement to smoothen the flow.
Courtesy NASA Langley Research Center
