In our highlight document, Flights of Discovery 50 Years at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center (NAS 1.21: 4309), you will read about the remarkable history of this place from many different perspectives. There have been many documents written to cover the history of the center but this is the first one to encompass so much in one volume. The beginning of our item tells a little about the place, when it was built and its purpose for being. It talks about the research they wanted to do. The document also describes the people who worked there, what conditions were like for them, what jobs they did and what their attitude was towards being there. In later chapters, they go into more depth about the actual research and the projects they worked on. You will learn about the different aircraft and what was developed at the research center. Several times pilots discovered problems during test flights that were solved before any real world emergencies thus averting many tragedies. One of the biggest achievements in NASA history happened at the Dryden Center. The breaking of the sound barrier occurred in October 1047 by the X-1. The X-1 was a joint project between the Army Air Force, NACA and the Bell Aircraft Corporation. Attempts to break the sound barrier previously led to some disastrous results including the death of one pilot. The team did their best to find solutions to any problems presented and eventually achieved their goal. While this was indeed a huge breakthrough, it was just one of many projects being worked on. There many things developed over the years.
Other sections of Flights of Discovery dealt with what projects are being worked on now and what they hoped to do in the future. There is also some behind the scenes stories about the difficulties they had and who they had them with. If you enjoy what you read, you might want to check out the rest of our NAS section which covers other similar material. Stop by and see!