Editing Langley Research Center (section)

== History ==
[[File:Langley Research Center aircraft - EL-1996-00055.jpeg|thumb|A variety of research aircraft at NASA Langley in 1994]]

After U.S.-German relations had deteriorated from neutral to hostile around 1916, the prospect of [[American entry into World War I|U.S. war entry]] became possible. On February 15, 1917, the newly established [[Aviation Week & Space Technology|''Aviation Week'']] warned that the [[Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps|U.S. military aviation]] capability was less than what was operating in the [[World War I|European war]].<ref>[http://archive.aviationweek.com/issue/19170215 Aviation & Aeronautical Engineering], February 15, 1917</ref> President [[Woodrow Wilson]] sent [[Jerome Clarke Hunsaker|Jerome Hunsaker]] to Europe to investigate, and Hunsaker's report prompted Wilson to command the creation of the nation's first aeronautics laboratory, which became NASA Langley.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://aviationweek.com/defense/aviation-week-s-warning-and-founding-nasa-langley |title=Aviation Week's Warning and the Founding of NASA Langley |author=Joe Anselmo |publisher=[[Aviation Week & Space Technology]] |date=February 17, 2017|access-date=March 7, 2017}}</ref> <!--war in April 1917 [[American_entry_into_World_War_I#Germany]] -->

In 1917, less than three years after it was created, the [[NACA]] established the '''Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory''' on [[Langley Air Force Base|Langley Field]]. Both '''Langley Field and the Langley Laboratory''' are named after aviation pioneer [[Samuel Pierpont Langley]].<ref name="vp110905">{{cite news |first=Diane |last=Tennant |work=[[The Virginian-Pilot]] |title=What's in a name? NASA Langley Research Center |url=http://hamptonroads.com/2011/09/whats-name-nasa-langley-research-center |date=September 5, 2011 |access-date=September 5, 2011}}</ref> The [[Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps]] had established a base there earlier that same year. The first research facilities were in place and aeronautical research was started by 1920. Initially, the laboratory included four researchers and 11 technicians.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://history.nasa.gov/monograph12/ch3.htm | title = Journey in Aeronautical Research: a Career at NASA-Langley Research Center, ch. 3 | publisher = NASA}}</ref>

[[File:14x22 Subsonic Tunnel NASA Langley.jpg|left|thumb|200px|LaRC's {{convert|14|x|22|ft|adj=on}} subsonic [[wind tunnel]]]]
Langley Field and NACA began parallel growth as air power proved its utility during [[World War I]]. The center was originally established to explore the field of aerodynamic research involving airframe and propulsion engine design and performance. In 1934 the world's largest wind tunnel was constructed at Langley Field with a {{convert|30|x|60|ft|adj=on}} test section; it was large enough to test full-scale aircraft.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=uSgDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA26 "Faster, Safer Planes, Developed In Biggest Wind Tunnels"] ''Popular Science'', April 1934</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=wt8DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA520 "Full-Size Planes Tested In Big Air Tunnel"] ''Popular Mechanics'', April 1935, pp. 520–521</ref> It remained the world's largest wind tunnel until the 1940s, when a {{convert|40|x|80|ft|adj=on}} tunnel was built at NASA's [[Ames Research Center]] in California.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://rotorcraft.arc.nasa.gov/Research/facilities/windtunnels.html |title=40 X 80 and 80 X 120 Foot Wind Tunnels |website=Rotorcraft.arc.nasa.gov |access-date=2016-02-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304210532/http://rotorcraft.arc.nasa.gov/Research/facilities/windtunnels.html |archive-date=2016-03-04 }}</ref>

The [[West Area Computers]] were [[African American]], female [[mathematician]]s who worked as [[human computer]]s at the Langley Research Center from 1943 through 1958.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/amst_humancomp/|title=Human Computers at Nasa}}</ref> The West Computers were originally subject to Virginia's [[Jim Crow laws]] and got their name because they worked at Langley's West Area, while the white mathematicians worked in the East section.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Fighting FOR Visibility|last=Haynes|first=Korey|date=February 2017|work=Astronomy|issue=2|volume=45|pages=44–49|issn=0091-6358}}</ref>

Early in 1945, the center expanded to include rocket research, leading to the establishment of [[Wallops Flight Facility|a flight station]] at [[Wallops Island, Virginia]]. A further expansion of the research program permitted Langley Research Center to orbit payloads, starting with NASA's [[Explorer 9]] [[balloon satellite]] in mid-February 1961. As rocket research grew, aeronautics research continued to expand and played an important part when subsonic flight was advanced and supersonic and hypersonic flight were introduced.{{citation needed|date=November 2011}}

Langley Research Center claims many historic firsts, some of which have proven to be revolutionary scientific breakthroughs. These accomplishments include: Development of the concept of research aircraft leading to supersonic flight, the world's first transonic wind tunnel, training the first crews of astronauts, the [[Lunar landing|Lunar Landing]] Facility which provides the simulation of lunar gravity, and the Viking program for Mars exploration.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://gis.larc.nasa.gov/historic | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090713112421/http://gis.larc.nasa.gov/historic/ | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2009-07-13 | title = NASA Langley History and Description: Initial Activities | publisher = NASA LaRC Master Plan}}</ref> The center also developed standards for the grooving of aircraft runways based on a previous British design used at [[Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=McGuire|first1=R.C.|title=REPORT ON GROOVED RUNWAY EXPERIENCE AT WASHINGTON NATIONAL AIRPORT|url=https://archive.org/details/nasa_techdoc_19690011108|website=Internet Archive|date=January 1969 |publisher=Federal Aviation Administration|access-date=5 February 2017}}</ref> [[Landing performance#Runway surface|Grooved runways]] reduce [[aquaplaning]] which permits better grip by aircraft tires in heavy rain. This grooving is now the international standard for all runways around the world.

Langley was also a contender for the site of [[Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center|NASA Mission Control]], prior to the eventual selection of Houston, due to Langley's prominence with NASA at the time, the large existing aerospace industry already present in the Hampton Roads region, and the proximity to Washington, D.C. The selection of Houston actually took many higher-ups at Langley by surprise and caused some lingering controversy in the surrounding area over the loss and transfer of so many jobs to Houston. Though they had lost out on the Manned Spacecraft Center, Langley still played an important role in conducting research and training during the Apollo Program.<ref name="Korsgaard"/>