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Stem Activity 05 12 23
Stem Activity 05 12 23
Stem Activity 05 12 23
The virtual field trip I took was at NASA Langley Research Center and they have many places to
look around and learn about their history and what they do. The first place I visited and now my
all-time favorite with the history behind it, was The Katherine G. Johnson Computational
Research Facility (CRF). It’s a state-of-the-art facility that enables innovative research and
development supporting NASA Langley Research Center’s 20-year revitalization. The building
was also named after Katherine G. Johnson who was the first black American mathematician
whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the
first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights. There wasn’t much to see in the building but there
were other buildings with interesting research and engineering happening, like the Integrated
center, theater, and rooms for meetings and conferences large and small.
The NASA Langley Research Center was very interesting in the many research and engineering
they made with their planes, spaceships, and the history of their work. It was also interesting that
before NASA was formed, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was
started by President Woodrow Wilson to supervise and direct the scientific study of the problems
of flight. Another was about The X-15 aircraft making a total of 199 flights over a period of
nearly 10 years from 1959 to 1968. It set unofficial world speed and altitude records of 4,520
mph (Mach 6.7) and 354,200 feet. The information gained from the highly successful program
contributed to the development of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo spacecraft and the Space
Shuttle program.
Current Article
11.10.22
On September 12, 1962, then-U.S. President John F. Kennedy informed the public of his
plan to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. It was the height of the Cold War and
America needed a big victory to demonstrate its space superiority after the Soviet Union had
launched the first satellite and put the first man in orbit. Sixty years on they decided to launch the
first mission of its return program to the moon. The reason for that is that NASA wants to
develop a sustainable human presence on the moon, with missions lasting several weeks. While
the Apollo missions brought back to Earth nearly 400 kilograms of lunar rock, new samples will
make it possible to further deepen our knowledge of this celestial object and its formation.