loading image

The wind tunnel testing and research of NASA’s Ames Research Center, located in the Naval Air Station Moffett Field near Mountain View, California, has accomplished monumental achievements. Ames’ legacy includes developing the swept wing, testing numerous aircraft and spacecraft designs, and advancing our understanding of transonic (just below, at, and above the speed of sound), supersonic (above the speed of sound), and hypersonic (more than five times the speed of sound) aerodynamics. Completed in the 1940s, Ames’ first wind tunnels included several with supersonic testing capabilities and a gigantic complex to research full-scale aircraft designs. Since that time, NASA’s Ames Research Center has continued to construct and operate ever increasingly powerful and technologically sophisticated wind tunnels. Today, a broad range of advanced wind tunnel facilities are operated at NASA Ames, including the National Full Scale Aerodynamic Complex—with the largest full-scale wind tunnel in the world—and pressurized supersonic and hypersonic wind tunnels. See our photography essay on the Ames Research Center, “Pushing the Envelope: NASA’s Ames Research Center Wind Tunnels” on display, pre-security, in the Aviation Museum and Library. https://bit.ly/NASAAmesWind This image was posted on April 05, 2023.