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This is a photo of a large group of people, attendees at the 8th Annual Aircraft Engineering Research Conference, sitting in bleachers in the Full-Scale Tunnel. A U.S. Navy scouting aircraft hangs from the ceiling above the attendees.

History of NASA Langley

NASA Langley Research Center is a place where past discoveries meet future innovations. Welcome to NASA’s first field center.

OVER A CENTURY OF INNOVATION

106

years since Langley’s founding

200+

facilities

Historic Facilities

Get to Know Past Facilities at Langley

For over a century, NASA Langley Research Center has been home to groundbreaking facilities where history was made. As new facilities are built on center to help usher in the next century of innovation, over the years, these historic facilities have been demolished. Learn about some of these past Langley facilities and the scientific achievements they lead to.

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A NASA Langley employee stands in front of the 16 Foot Transonic Tunnel. The guide vanes of the tunnel, which form an ellipse 58-feet high and 82-feet wide, cut across each cylindrical tube at a 45-degree angle.
A NASA Langley employee stands in front of the 16 Foot Transonic Tunnel. The guide vanes of the tunnel, which form an ellipse 58-feet high and 82-feet wide, cut across each cylindrical tube at a 45-degree angle.
NASA

Langley Research Center Directors

Leigh Griffith (far right)

Engineer in Charge, Nov. 1922–Dec. 1925

Henry J. E. Reid

Jan. 1926–May 1960

Floyd L. Thompson

May 1660–May 1968

Ed Cortwright at his desk

May 1968–Sept. 1975

Portrait of Donald Hearth

Sept. 1975–Nov. 1984

Portrait of Richard H. Petersen

Dec. 1984–Dec. 1991

A portrait of Paul F. Holloway.

Oct. 1991–Aug. 1996

Aug. 1996–June 2002

Portrait of Delma Freeman

June 2002–June 2003 (Acting)

Studio portrait of Roy D. Bridges, Jr.

June 2003–Oct. 2005

Portrait of Lesa Roe

Oct. 2005–Apr. 2014

Portrait of Steve Jurczyk

Apr. 2014–Mar. 2015

Dr. David E. Bowles, director of NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia

Mar. 2014–Sept. 2019

Clayton Turner, director of NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia

Sept. 2019–present

Katherine Johnson: A NASA Trailblazer

One of NASA's famous "human computers," Katherine G. Johnson stands among NASA’s most inspirational figures.

Learn More about Katherine Johnson: A NASA Trailblazer
NASA research mathematician Katherine Johnson is photographed at her desk at Langley Research Center in Hampton