National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley is hosting an open house this Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, from 9am-4pm. The nearly 30,000 people who plan to visit NASA Langley will have the opportunity to take a look inside the base’s regular operations, as well as get a glimpse at a number of visiting exhibits, presentations, and hands-on activities.
Visitors will be able to explore the National Transonic Facility, home to the world’s largest pressurized cryogenic wind tunnel. It provides essential testing of the aerodynamics for vehicles going into space. The wind tunnel is one of two in the world, the other being in Germany. A single test run can take anywhere from one hour to a whole day, according to Aerodynamicist Jeremy Pinier.
At the Structures and Materials Lab, several exhibits display the different autonomous mechanisms that NASA utilizes to unload infrastructure ahead of a potential Mars mission, including a habitat module.
The Structural Dynamics Test Laboratory is responsible for the development of a solar sail spacecraft in preparation for NASA’s return to the moon. The solar sail resembles aluminum foil due to its lightweight, reflective material. Olive Stohlman, a Research Aerospace Engineer, has been working with solar sails since she started at NASA in 2014. Stohlman originally got into aerospace engineering because of her love of telescopes, which she works on in addition to contributing to solar sails.
“[Solar sails] are cutting edge work that is constantly changing,” she said.
At the center of building 1244 – a massive aircraft hanger and adjoining offices – sits NASA’s newest equipment: a repurposed Boeing 777 Airliner used within the airspace to collect atmospheric data. Research Scientist Katherine Travis explained that the plane can house some twenty or so crew members, fly for 18 hours at a time, and comes complete with bathrooms and a coffee bar. The first flight is set for sometime next year.
When asked about the desired audience for the Open House, Director Clayton P. Turner said that it’s designed for everyone.
“I want four year old children to be able to enjoy this just as much as their grandparents,” he said. There will be a kids zone Saturday, in which the NASA website states, “Young explorers find inspiration and fun through science, technology, engineering, and math activities and crafts”.
Turner related his purpose at NASA to other careers students might have, saying, “This is what I get to do everyday: reach for new heights and reveal the unknown for the benefit of humankind…I happen to get to do this here and you all will do it in different places…This isn’t the only place that can happen.”
The last Open House was held in 2017 for the 100th anniversary of NASA. The event occurs every five years, and is free to the public.
For more information on NASA Langley and the upcoming open house, visit https://oh.larc.nasa.gov/oh/openhouse/
