State
Site
Alabama
NASA Marshall
Space Flight Center,
Huntsville, AL
Year
chosen
Ceremony
Date
2002
10/02
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
Activated 1 July 1960 with the transfer of facilities and
personnel from the US Army Ballistic Missile Agency, the
center was named for General George C. Marshall, Army
Chief of Staff, Secretary of State, and author of the Marshall
Plan. Anchored by Dr. Wernher von Braun and his team of
German scientists, joined with hundreds of U.S. engineers and
scientists, the Center has been an integral part of the U.S.
Space Program from the development of the first Redstone
rocket through today.
2000
11/00
“The Rocket Site,”
Edwards AFB, CA
2000
11/00
Dutch Flats Airport,
San Diego, CA
2000
4/01
Air Force Flight Test
Center, Edwards
AFB, CA
2001
6/01
Rocketdyne, Canoga
Park, CA
2001
11/01
Aerojet Engineering Corporation First Plant
On this site in 1942, the Aerojet Manufacturing Company
founded the first manufacturing facility for the production of
rocket propulsion systems. This was done under the
leadership of Aerojet’s first president, Dr. Theodore van
Karman, world-renowned scientist and engineer from the
California Institute of Technology. The plant remained here
until 1945.
Rocket Site
Leading the vision and evolution of Air Force rocket
propulsion technology from its earliest days, the “Rocket
Site’s” men and women and their unique research,
development, and test facilities have provided the discoveries,
developments, and applications of scientific and engineering
answers to national defense rocket propulsion needs for more
than fifty years.
Dutch Flats Airport
On this site, which was the Dutch Flats Airport, Charles A.
Lindbergh made the first flight of his Spirit of St. Louis
airplane, constructed in 60 days by dedicated employees of
Ryan Airlines, Inc. The 20-minute flight on 28 April 1927
was witnessed by those who built the aircraft.
Air Force Flight Test Center
Called a “natural airdrome,” the Rodgers Dry Lakebed and
surrounding airspace, known as the Air Force Flight Test
Center, has been and continues to be the optimum location for
“first flights” and validation of high-performance and
experimental aerospace vehicles.
With the research,
development, test, evaluation, and other support of Flight Test
Center personnel, more major milestones in flight have
occurred here than anywhere else in the world.
Rocketdyne Santa Susana Field Laboratory
On 15 November 1950, the SSFL conducted its first official
test with a Rocketdyne-designed XLR43-NA-1 large liquid
propellant rocket engine, which later became the Redstone
engine. Encompassing 2558 acres, 18 large static test stands,
California
First Aerojet
Manufacturing Site,
Pasadena, CA
Plaque Wording
Oakland Municipal
Airport, Oakland,
CA
2002
9/02
NASA Ames
Research Center,
Moffett Field, CA
2009
8/09
North Island Naval
Air Station, San
Diego, CA
2002
3/03
Pt. Mugu Naval
Base, CA
2003
11/03
Rockwell/North
American Industrial
Site, Downey, CA
2009
5/10
5 component test laboratories and an advanced test facility,
the SSFL and its dedicated employees have provided
significant contributions to U.S. rocketry and space programs
for over 50 years.
Oakland Municipal Airport
This site, formerly known as Oakland Municipal Airport,
served as the gateway to the Pacific during aviation’s
pioneering age of trans-Pacific flight. Among other notable
events, Albert Hegenberger and Lester Maitland departed
from the airfield on 28 June 1927 on the first flight from the
mainland to Hawaii, and Amelia Earhart landed here on 13
January 1935, completing the first-ever solo flight from
Hawaii to the mainland.
NASA Ames Research Center
Ames Aeronautical Laboratory was established in 1939 as the
second laboratory of the National Advisory Committee for
Aeronautics. Ames achieved early fame in wind tunnel
design and testing, flight testing, and supersonic and
hypersonic aerodynamics. In 1958 Ames became a founding
part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration,
and did pioneering research in rotorcraft and vertical flight
aircraft, spacecraft engineering, supercomputing and
information technology, air traffic control, thermal protection
for re-entry vehicles, astrobiology and space life sciences, and
Earth and planetary sciences.
Naval Air Station North Island
Known as the birthplace of Naval Aviation, North Island was
the site of the first successful seaplane flight and the first
amphibious flight in the U.S., both made by Glenn Curtiss.
The first Naval pilot, Lt. T.G. Ellyson, was trained here at the
Curtiss Aviation Camp. A flight school established here by
Ellyson trained the next Naval aviators as well as the Navy’s
first aviation maintenance personnel. North Island was also
the site of the first night flight, and the home of the first
aircraft carrier, the USS Langley.
Point Mugu Missile Center
Established in 1946 to provide a comprehensive test and
evaluation site for tactical missiles, Point Mugu has been
instrumental in the development, test, evaluation and inservice support of systems including Regulus, Sparrow,
Phoenix, Bullpup, Harpoon, SLAM, Tomahawk, Standard,
and Rolling Airframe Missile. The first missile launch from
an operational submarine was also accomplished at Pt. Mugu.
Downey Industrial Site
This was the site of EMSCO Aircraft, Security Aircraft,
Champion Aircraft, Consolidated Vultee, North American
Aviation, Rockwell International, and Boeing North American
Rockwell from 1929 to 1999. It is here where pioneers of
California Aerospace designed and developed the
technologies and products which trained pilots for WWII and
established a foundation for a missile defense system. The
site’s final mission, as the home of Apollo and the Space
Shuttle, took America to the threshold of space and the moon.
Vandenburg AFB,
CA
2006
3/09
Vandenberg Air Force Base
Bearing witness to the birth of the Space Age, Vandenberg
Air Force Base has been the launch site of many of America’s
missiles and rockets, from military missions to voyages of
exploration. Here launched the first polar orbiting satellite
Discoverer I in 1959, the Discoverer series of satellites, and
Corona, the first photo reconnaissance satellite. This site has
also been home to the training of the crews and test flights of
many of America’s Intermediate-Range and Intercontinental
Ballistic Missile systems. From 1957 to the present day,
Vandenberg has been an integral part of America’s space and
defense programs.
China Lake, CA
2005
4/06
Space Park (TRW),
Hawthorne, CA
2012
12/11
Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake
China Lake is one of the nation’s premier weapons
laboratories. Established in 1943, China Lake supports Naval
aviation and warfighter requirements, and will continue to
arm the Fleet into the future. The Station conceived and
developed rockets during WWII; non-nuclear components for
the first atomic bomb; Sidewinder, Shrike, and Walleye
missiles; and the Polaris concept. China Lake developed
NOTSNIK in 1958 and vital components for the Mars Lander
in 2004. The Station, a world leader in aircraft-weapons
integration, testing, and electronic warfare, developed 75% of
the air-launched weapons used during Vietnam and jointly
developed 80% of those used during Iraqi Freedom.
Space Park
Beginning in 1961, at what was then the Ramo-Woodridge
Corporation, the dedicated employees of Space Park designed
and built more than 100 of the world’s most technically
challenging satellites, rocket engines and astronomical
observatories. The technologies they developed, and continue
to develop, led to such breakthroughs as NASA’s Pioneer 10,
the first spacecraft to leave our solar system; the descent
engine for the Apollo Lunar Excursion Module; the Defense
Department’s Milstar satellite communication network;
NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System
“Switchboard in the Sky.” and astronomy and science
satellites such as the Chandra X-ray observatory.
2009
9/13
Connecticut
Igor Sikorsky
Airport and VoughtSikorsky Plant,
Bridgeport, CT
Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Airport
Many important aircraft were developed and tested at this
field and the adjacent Vought-Sikorsky aircraft plant,
including a fighter, the XF4U, that later became the Corsair.
But this site is best known for the work done here from 19391942, with the design, construction, testing and demonstration
of the first practical helicopters flown in the United States.
Igor Sikorsky and his team pioneered the VS-300 helicopter,
Rentschler Field, CT
District of Columbia
Site of T.S. Lowe’s
1861 Balloon
Launch, National
Mall, Washington,
DC
Florida
Cape Canaveral Air
Force Base, FL
Eglin Air Force
Base, FL
featuring the configuration that has since become the
convention for most helicopters. Their work placed the
helicopter in the public consciousness to the degree that by
1943, the U.S. was experiencing a “helicopter craze,” with
literally hundreds of entrepreneurs seeking to imitate them,
thereby establishing the U.S. helicopter industry.
Rentschler Field
In 1925, Frederick B. Rentschler, former president of Wright
Aeronautical Corp., approached Pratt & Whitney, a large
tooling business founded in Hartford before the Civil War,
with a proposal for a revolutionary new air-cooled aircraft
engine. Under the name Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Co.,
Rentschler used a production site in Hartford and later in East
Hartford to develop and manufacture the Wasp engine, greatly
advancing the state of the art for aircraft propulsion.
Ultimately, his company went on to become United Aircraft
Corp. and later United Technologies Corp. “to connote the
breadth of its products, markets and activities.” Throughout
most of the 20th century, this airfield witnessed numerous
tests and successes in the development of aircraft engines, gas
turbines and space propulsion systems.
2006
7/08
2010
6/11
T.S.C. Lowe’s Observation Flight
On June 18, 1861, T.S.C. Lowe made a tethered observation
flight with his gas-filled balloon Enterprise from a spot on the
National Mall in front of where the National Air and Space
Museum now stands. During this flight, he sent the first
telegram ever dispatched from the air to President Lincoln in
the White House, describing what could be seen from an
altitude of 500 feet. The ascent marked the beginning of an
observation balloon corps for the U.S. Army, the first
American military aeronautical unit, and the birth of aerial
reconnaissance in the United States.
2006
1/08
2009
9/09
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Established by the United States Air Force in 1950 as the
Joint Long Range Proving Ground, this area supported the
initial development of America’s space program. The era of
the Space Age for the U.S. began on this site with the launch
of America’s first satellite, Explorer I, in 1958; followed soon
after with the launch of America’s first astronaut, Alan
Shepard, in 1961. Known today as Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station, the base has hosted more than three thousand
launches including manned missions, robotic voyages
exploring our solar system, and military missions designed to
protect the American way of life.
Eglin Air Force Base
The Valparaiso Bombing and Gunnery Base, activated 14
June 1935 under command of Capt Arnold H. Rich, was
renamed Eglin Field in 1937 for Lt Col Frederick I. Eglin,
U.S. Air Corps. The first missions of Eglin were to provide
both bombing and gunnery training for new pilots and testing
of Army Air Corps aircraft and other systems. Eglin’s dual
role of training and testing continued through World War II,
with the establishment of the Air Corps Specialized Flying
School and the Air Proving Ground Command. Today, Eglin
continues to provide state-of-the-art munitions testing,
personnel training and other combat support capabilities for
the Air Force, DOD, industry and U.S. allies.
First Commercial
2010
Transport Flight, St.
Petersburg, FL Yacht
Basin
Georgia
Delta Air Lines
World Headquarters,
Atlanta, GA
Indiana
Purdue University
Airport, W.
Lafayette, IN
Kansas
Travelair Airplane
Manufacturing Co.,
Wichita, KS
10/10
St. Petersburg Central Yacht Basin
On January 1, 1914, the “aeroplane” was demonstrated as a
viable means of commercial transportation with the inaugural
flight of the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line, the world’s
first regularly scheduled commercial airline. Piloted by Tony
H. Jannus, the Benoist Type XIV airboat departed for Tampa
from the St. Petersburg Central Yacht Basin, carrying freight
and one passenger across Tampa Bay, and initiating service of
two round-trips daily between St. Petersburg and Tampa.
Supported by the St. Petersburg Board of Trade, and including
a flight school, the airline maintained regular operation until
its last official flight on May 5, 1914.
2011
11/11
Delta Air Lines World Headquarters
This site commemorates the historic partnership between
Delta Air Lines, the City of Atlanta and Hartsfield-Jackson
Atlanta International Airport. On March 1, 1941, Delta
officially moved its corporate headquarters to Atlanta on
leased airport property, constructing offices and Hangar 1, the
largest aircraft hangar in the Southeast. In 1947, the complex
doubled in size, with Hangar 2 and an executive building,
housing the office of Delta founder C.E. Woolman. Today,
the original 1940s buildings of Delta’s headquarters are the
oldest existing facilities on Atlanta airport property.
2004
7/05
Purdue University Airport
The Purdue University Airport was the first collegiate owned
airport in the United States. It hosted Amelia Earhart for her
final adventure, was the training ground for test pilots such a
Jimmy Johnson and Ivan Kincheloe, balloonist Malcolm
Ross, and astronaut Neil Armstrong. Purdue University
Airport and its people and programs pushed aviation’s
evolution to new heights and helped expand the frontiers of
flight.
2005
9/06
Travel Air Manufacturing Company
On this site the Travel Air Airplane Manufacturing Company,
Inc. produced some of the most famous aircraft of the 1920s,
including the Travel Air 5000 and the sleek “Mystery Ship”
air racer, winner of the 1929 Thompson Trophy. Travel Air
also brought together for the first time four legends of world
aviation: Walter Beech, Olive Ann Mellor, Clyde Cessna, and
Lloyd Stearman. Together, the founders and employees of
Travel Air helped launch the general aviation industry and
firmly established Wichita, Kansas as the world’s Air Capital.
Maryland
College Park Airport, 2003
College Park, MD
First Thiokol
Manufacturing Plant,
Elkton, MD
10/03
2003
4/04
Patuxent River Naval 2006
Air Station, MD
6/06
Massachusetts
Goddard Rocket
2000
Launch Site, Auburn,
MA
Mississippi
NASA Stennis Space 2007
Center, Bay St.
Louis, MS
College Park Airport
College Park Airport was founded in 1909 when the Wright
Brothers came here to train the first military officers to fly.
Other significant events at this field include the first testing of
a bombsight (1911), the first testing of a machine gun from an
airplane (1912), as well as the first controlled helicopter flight
(1925). These and other achievements have earned College
Park the nickname “The Field of Firsts.”
Thiokol Corporation Elkton Division
Thiokol established its original rocket propulsion factory here
on in 1948 on a contract from U.S. Army Ordnance. Now a
part of ATK Tactical Systems, Elkton’s decades of innovation
for space and military programs using solid propellant rockets
established its reputation as one of the major suppliers of solid
propellant rocket motors in the country.
Naval Air Station Patuxent River
In 1942 the U.S. Navy purchased 6700 acres of land here to
establish the Naval Air Station Patuxent River. NAS Patuxent
River was born of a desire by the Navy to consolidate
disparate aircraft test and evaluation efforts into one
centralized location. In 1945, the Navy added the Naval Air
Test Center and the Navy Test Pilot School, from where five
of the seven original Mercury astronauts graduated. Patuxent
River is the only Navy installation dedicated to research,
development, test and evaluation of Naval aircraft.
7/01
On March 16, 1926 Dr. Robert H. Goddard launched the
world’s first liquid propellant rocket from a point 1000 feet
S.S.E. of this tablet on the property of the Asa M. Ward
Family. Erected by the American Rocket Society July 13,
1960 in recognition of this significant achievement in the
evolution of astronautics.
4/08
NASA John C. Stennis Space Center
This rocket propulsion test complex was created to flightcertify all first and second stages of the Apollo Saturn V
rocket. The first test-firing occurred on April 23, 1966.
Subsequent to the Apollo Program, these test stands were
modified to support the testing requirements of the Space
Shuttle Main Engine. Every astronaut who traveled to the
moon aboard Saturn V Rockets and into space aboard the
Space Shuttle, did so on rocket stages and engines that were
first proven flight-worthy on these test stands.
Missouri
Aeronautical
Concourse of the
Louisiana Purchase
Exposition, St.
Louis, MO
2004
11/04
The Aeronautic Concourse of the Louisiana Purchase
Exposition
The world’s first flying competition was organized and
conducted on this site during the Louisiana Purchase
Exposition (popularly known as the 1904 St. Louis World’s
Fair). Aviators and aeronauts came here from around the
world to participate in events held on the Aeronautic
Concourse, roughly 14 acres leased from Washington
University. These aeronautics events constituted some of the
highlights of the fair.
2003
5/04
FAA William J.
2008
Hughes Technical
Center, Atlantic City,
NJ
6/08
Reaction Motors,
Inc.
Denville, NJ
2004
9/05
Picatinny Arsenal,
NJ
2006
10/06
Bendix Aviation Corporation
This site, originally the home of the Eclipse-Pioneer Division
of the Bendix Aviation Corporation, has produced
navigational instruments and engine components since 1938.
Providing instruments that flew with Lindbergh across the
Atlantic, and Admiral Byrd in the cold of Antarctica; from
guiding American pilots in times of peace and war, to putting
men on the moon, the “Bendix Invisible Crew” has been a
leader in innovation and technology in the world of aviation
and space exploration.
The FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center
This Federal Laboratory has played a pivotal role in creating
our modern air traffic control system. Established as the
National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center in 1958, the
Technical Center’s research and engineering achievements,
and its direct support to airports and FAA air traffic control
facilities have led to the highest level of safety in air
transportation. For more than 50 years, the Technical Center’s
world-class laboratories and top-notch technical expertise
have made it the cornerstone for aviation advancements in air
traffic management, communications, navigation, airports,
aircraft safety, and security.
Reaction Motors, Incorporated
The first company in the United States dedicated solely to the
production of the liquid rocket engine, Reaction Motors, Inc.
(RMI) was formed in 1941. Its four founders were rocket
enthusiasts and members of the American Rocket Society.
RMI developed the rocket motors that powered the first
supersonic flight, that of the X-1; the retro rockets for five
NASA surveyor lunar soft landers; and prepackaged liquid
rocket engines for the U.S. Navy Bullpup A & B air to ground
missiles, among many other pioneering programs. RMI
became a division of Thiokol Chemical Corporation in 1958
and closed in 1972.
Picatinny Arsenal
Built in 1880 as the Piccatinny Powder Depot, this site was
the major supplier of smokeless powder to the military for
many years. Since World War II, Picatinny Arsenal has been
New Jersey
Bendix Aviation
Corporation,
Teterboro, NJ
at the forefront of research, design, and development of a
wide variety of advanced munitions for ground, airborne and
seaborne platforms, including precision and smart munitions,
artillery projectiles, submunitions, anti-tank projectiles,
shoulder fired rockets, advanced antitank warheads,
explosively formed penetrators, small and medium caliber
munitions and other specialized items contributing to the
security of the nation.
New Mexico
White Sands Missile
Range, NM
New York
Cornell Aeronautical
Laboratory/Calspan,
Buffalo, NY
Great Kills Park,
Staten Island, NY
Bell Aircraft,
Wheatfield, NY
2004
10/05
White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Proving Ground, as it was first called, is home to
America’s first large-scale rocket and missile launch facilities.
Established in 1945, the launching here of 67 V-2 rockets and
many other vehicles propelled the United States into the
Space Age. Scientists and military researchers learned to
handle large rockets and improved the emerging technology.
Vital experiments to learn about the nature of the upper
atmosphere and the fringes of outer space were conducted
here. Tests here also include those of the first air defense
missile system, the Nike Ajax, and the first U.S. ballistic
missile, the Corporal.
2007(?)
12/10
2006
10/06
Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory
“An Experiment in Research”
Established in 1943 as the research laboratory for the Curtiss
Wright Aircraft Company, the “Lab” was donated to Cornell
University in 1945. Its charter as the Cornell Aeronautical
Laboratory (C.A.L.) was to be “an instrument of service to
the aircraft industry – to education – to the public at large.”
C.A.L. conducted pioneering research that led to
revolutionary changes in the conception, understanding, and
treatment of aircraft stability and control. Now known as
Calspan, it has pioneered early research into aircraft safety
which in turn was applied to the automotive industry.
C.A.L. and Calspan innovated developments in entirely new
areas such as netted air defense systems, modern weather
prediction,
pattern
recognition,
automation,
and
transportation safety systems. As a pioneer of America’s
missile program, they contributed greatly to the exploration
of space and to the development of space transportation
systems. Their work in aviation and transportation safety
has improved the lives of countless people around the world.
No plaque at present
2012
10/12
Bell Aircraft
On October 14th, 1947, the Bell XS-1 became the first aircraft
to fly faster than the speed of sound. Designed and built by
Bell Aircraft, the XS-1 was one of many significant aerospace
achievements by Bell on this site. During World War II over
12,000 Bell fighter aircraft were built here, including the P59, America’s first jet. Other significant milestones include
the Bell 47, America’s first commercially certified helicopter,
the Lunar Lander Training Vehicle, without which Neil
Armstrong said he would not have been able to land safely on
the moon, and the Apollo Lunar Module ascent engine, which
lifted all twelve astronauts that walked on the Moon back into
lunar orbit to begin their return journey to the Earth.
North Carolina
Kitty Hawk, NC
2000
8/13
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
On this site on December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur
Wright made the first sustained, controlled heavier-than-air
flight of an aircraft, opening a new era of transportation
throughout the world. Their pioneering spirit continues to
inspire succeeding generations to dream, aspire, innovate, and
create without limits.
2007
7/07
Huffman Prairie,
Dayton, OH
2000
7/03
Lunken Field,
Cincinnati, OH
2012
9/13
The Cincinnati Observatory
The Cincinnati Observatory, “The Birthplace of American
Astronomy,” is the oldest professional observatory in the
United States. Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel, the “Father of
American Astronomy,” founded the observatory in 1842.
John Quincy Adams laid the cornerstone for the observatory
on Mt. Ida, later renamed Mt. Adams. The original Merz und
Mahler 11-inch refractor telescope was put into service in
1845 and is still in use here today on Mount Lookout. The
1873 Herget Building, which incorporates the original Adams’
cornerstone, was designed by famed architect Samuel
Hannaford.
Huffman Prairie Flying Field
On this 84-acre meadow in 1904 and 1905, the Wright
Brothers successfully mastered the mechanics of controlled,
powered, heavier-than-air flight. The brothers also built the
world’s first airport here, and in 1910 the Wright Company
School of Aviation established a flying school on the site and
trained many of the world’s first pilots, including some of the
first military pilots.
Lunken Field
Beginning in the 1920s with Dixie Davis’ barnstorming and
flying lessons, this site was a center of civil aviation activities.
Several aircraft companies started here, including the Lunken
Family’s Aeronautical Corporation of America (Aeronca) and
the Metal Aircraft Corporation. The Embry Riddle Company
delivered passengers and mail here, and it was the site of the
first government-approved U.S. flight school. Embry Riddle
formed the Aviation Company in 1928 here, which became
American Airways in 1930, the predecessor of American
Airlines.
2007
10/07
Ohio
Cincinnati
Observatory,
Cincinnati, OH
Pennsylvania
GE Re-entry
Systems,
Philadelphia
GE Re-entry Systems
From 1956 to 1993, employees of General Electric’s Re-Entry
Systems at this site solved great challenges of national
Pitcairn Field,
Willow Grove, PA
Tennessee
Arnold Engineering
Development
Company, Arnold
AFB, TN
Texas
1940 Air Terminal,
Hobby Airport,
Houston, TX
NASA Johnson
Space Center, TX
security, defense and manned space exploration; including
technologies used for the successful re-entry of Earth’s
atmosphere; the development of the first operational heat sink
and ablative reentry vehicles; the first successful recovery of a
man-made object from orbit from an intercontinental ballistic
missile flight; the development of the first ablative planetary
entry probes to Venus and Jupiter; and the creation of the first
operational multiple independently targeted re-entry system.
Pitcairn Field
On December 18, 1928, Arthur Rawson, followed by Harold
F. Pitcairn, flew a Cierva C.8W Autogiro. This was the first
successful rotary-wing aircraft to fly in America. Pitcairn
Field – Willow Grove became the center of American
Autogiro development and manufacture. The development of
the helicopter in America was made possible in part by the
rotary-wing patents held by Pitcairn. For their efforts, Pitcairn
and his associates were awarded the 1930 Collier Trophy.
2012
2001
6/07
Arnold Engineering Development Center
In recognition of Arnold Engineering Development Center
(AEDC) for its contributions to developing U.S. aircraft and
space systems. In the spirit of General of the Air Force Hap
Arnold, AEDC ensures America and its allies have air and
space power second to none.
2008
4/09
2005
6/06
Houston Air Terminal
The 1940 Air Terminal is a beautiful and rare example of
classic art deco airport architecture from the golden age of
flight. Designed by noted architect Joseph Finger, the
Terminal was built to meet Houston’s growing role as a major
center for air commerce in the 1930s. Its grand opening by the
City of Houston took place on September 28, 1940, at
Houston Municipal Airport, now known as Hobby Airport.
The 1940 Air Terminal was a destination for early airline
service from points across Texas and the United States and
international service, beginning in 1948. The 1940 Air
Terminal also was at the center of early business aviation and
general aviation. Within its walls, the 1940 Air Terminal
housed rapidly advancing air traffic control and
meteorological technology. It served as Houston’s primary
commercial air terminal until 1954.
NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center
Since its establishment in 1961, the NASA Lyndon B.
Johnson Space Center, formerly Manned Spacecraft Center,
has led America’s efforts in human space exploration. The
numerous contributions of this site include advances in life
and space sciences and spacecraft development, as well as the
hosting of Mission Control and the Astronaut Corps. The
Lyndon B. Johnson Center has played a vital role in all human
space exploration programs from Gemini and Apollo, through
Skylab and Space Shuttle, to the International Space Station;
and is at the forefront of making future expeditions to the
Moon, Mars, and beyond a reality.
Virginia
NASA Langley
Research Center
2001
4/02
The Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, now the core
of the Langley Research Center, was a unique facility that
served as the nexus of aerodynamic research in the U.S. from
its beginning in 1917 to its transformation into NASA’s
Langley Research Center in 1958. It achieved world renown
for its variety of specialized research tools and its staff’s
emphasis on practical solutions to the problems of flight.
Washington
The Boeing Red
Barn, Seattle, WA
2002
4/03
2012
9/12
The Red Barn
This former shipyard was the first home of the The Boeing
Company, founded in 1916. Affectionately called the Red
Barn, this structure, built in 1909, became the first home of
Boeing aircraft production. Starting with the Boeing Model C,
all early Boeing production took place in this building. Here,
the entrepreneurial spirit of William E. Boeing, coupled with
engineering innovation, ingenuity and perseverance, paved the
way for the quickly unfolding history of commercial aviation.
The Red Barn is believed to be the oldest surviving aircraft
manufacturing building in America.
Pearson Airfield
Pearson Field is the first airport in the Pacific Northwest and
one of the oldest operating airports in the United States. It
served as a major military airfield in the interwar years. In
1905, a dirigible originating from the nearby Lewis and Clark
Centennial Exposition landed at Fort Vancouver Polo
grounds, initiating an enduring and illustrious connection to
aeronautics and record-breaking endurance flights. Starting in
1923, the airport played a key role in the development of U.S.
Air Power and general aviation in the Pacific Northwest.
2001
10/02
Allegany Ballistics Laboratory
Established in 1944 on the site of a former ammunition plant,
this facility is one of the key locations that helped establish
the U.S. solid rocket industry after World War II. Numerous
tactical rocket motors and propulsion devices for the defense
weaponry of the nation have been manufactured and tested at
“Rocket Center,” including the case double base propellant
process and the second stage of the Polaris missile.
2009
5/10
Tidbinbilla, Honeysuckle Creek and Orroral Valley Tracking
Stations
Between 1964 and 1967 three complementary tracking
stations were established in the ACT, at Tidbinbilla,
Honeysuckle Creek and Orroral Valley, to support NASA's
Deep Space Network, Manned Space Flight Network and
Spacecraft Tracking and Data Acquisition Network. Amongst
other notable achievements, the Tidbinbilla and Honeysuckle
Pearson Airfield,
Vancouver, WA
West Virginia
Allegany Ballistics
Lab, Rocket Center,
WV
International Sites
Honeysuckle
Creek/Tidbinbilla
Tracking Array,
ACT, Australia
Creek stations played a key role in supporting the Apollo 11
Moon landing, with the Honeysuckle Creek station providing
the first historic pictures of man walking on the Moon on 21
July 1969 (20 July 1969, USA), as well as voice and telemetry
contact with the lunar module; the Orroral Valley station
provided telecommunication support to the joint ApolloSoyuz project in 1975, and in April 1981 supported the first
orbital flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia. While the
Honeysuckle Creek and Orroral Valley Tracking Stations
were closed in the 1980s, Tidbinbilla continues to provide
support for deep space missions today.
Woomera, South
Australia
2007
5/07
Home of Alberto
Santos Dumont,
Brazil
2005
9/06
Long Range Weapon Establishment
Established in 1947 as a joint project between Britain and
Australia, the Long Range Weapon Establishment, more
familiarly known as the Woomera Rocket Range, has a long
and distinguished history of weapon testing and missile
launches, including Skylark, Black Knight, and Europa. The
first Australian satellite was launched here in 1967. Woomera
also aided in the tracking of early satellites and the Mercury
manned spacecraft. For over 60 years, Woomera has been an
integral part of the defense and aerospace efforts in Australia
and around the world.
Local de nascimento de Alberto Santos Dummont
Nascido em 20 de julho de 1873 no estado de Minas Gerais,
Alberto Santos Dummont se mudou para Paris em 1891, sem
jamais esquecer sua terra natal. Logo após, ele deu início a
experimentos de vôo e projetou seu primeiro balão, o Brasil,
em 1898. Mais tarde, ele construiu e pilotou 11 dirigíveis,
incluindo o premiado Número 6. Ele voou sua primeira
aeronave, o 14 bis, em 23 de outubro de 1906, o primeiro
avião a decolar e a aterrissar sem qualquer ajuda externa. Suas
muitas outras contribuições à aviação incluem seu Demoiselle,
em 1909, o precursor das aeronaves leves modernas. Ele
retornou ao Brasil em 1928 e faleceu em 1932.
Birthplace of Alberto Santos-Dumont
Born 20 July 1873 in the state of Sao Paolo, Alberto Santos
Dumont moved to Paris in 1891 but never forgot his
birthplace. He soon began experimenting with flying, and
designed his first balloon, the Brasil, in 1898. He later built
and flew 11 dirigibles, including the prize-winning Number 6.
He flew his first airplane, the 14 bis, on 23 October 1906, the
first aircraft to take off and land without any external
assistance. His many other contributions to aviation included
his 1909 Demoiselle, the precursor to modern light airplanes.
He returned to Brazil in 1928 and died in 1932.
First Motorized
Flight in Canada,
Baddeck, Nova
2004
Plaque
awarded,
no
Baddeck, Nova Scotia
On February 23 , 1909, J.A. Douglas McCurdy, piloting the
Silver Dart, took off from the Bras d’Or Lake and flew for
rd
Scotia
First Balloon Launch
Site, Annonay,
France
2001
ceremony
close to one kilometer. The plane, made of steel tube,
bamboo, wire and wood with wings covered in rubberized
balloon silk silvered on one side, was created by Mabel and
Alexander Graham Bell's Aerial Experiment Association
formed in 1907 to build and fly experimental craft.. The Silver
Dart was the first powered, heavier-than-air vehicle to fly in
Canada.
6/02
On 4 June 1783, Joseph Michel and Jacques Etienne
Montgolfier captured the imagination of the world with their
first balloon flight at Cordeliers Square. There were no
passengers, but the Regional Council and the whole town
population saw the machine go up and stay aloft at 500 meters
for ten minutes. The scientific world raced to make use of the
Montgolfiers’ discovery, and all accomplishments made since
then by aeronauts, aviators, and astronauts can be traced
directly to this site.
Le premier envol public d’un ballon à air chaud a été réalisé
par les frères Joseph et Etienne Montgolfier le 4 Juin 1783 sur
la Place des Cordeliers, à Annonay, en présence des Etats
Généraux du Vivarais et d’une foule nombreuse. Le ballon
vola pendant 10 minutes à plus de 500 metres d’altitude. La
communauté
scientifique
internationale
s’empressa
d’exploiter les enseignements de cette découverte qui inspira
depuis les principales réalisations du monde aéronautique et
astronautique.
Bremen Airport,
Germany
2010
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Luft- und Raumfahrt
Historic Aerospace Site
City Airport Bremen
Der Grundstein wurde 1909 mit der Gründung des „Bremer
Vereins für Luftschifffahrt“ gelegt. Dieser erhielt 1913 vom
Senat den Auftrag, einen Flugstützpunkt zu eröffnen, der 1920
vollendet wurde. Nach seinem Ausbau nahm 1924 die FockeWulff-Flugzeugbau AG ihren Betrieb dort auf. Zwei Jahre
später entstand hier aus der Aero-Lloyd und der JunkersLuftverkehr AG die Deutsche Luft Hansa. 1936 fand der
Jungfernflug des weltweit ersten Hubschraubers statt.
Nach der Zerstörung des Flughafens im 2. Weltkrieg erhielt
die Stadt Bremen 1949 eine neue Betriebserlaubnis, die in den
folgenden Jahrzehnten zum Ausbau mit Verlängerungen der
Startbahn führte. Heute verzeichnet der City Airport Bremen
ein jährliches Passagieraufkommen von mehreren Millionen
Fluggästen.
Bremen Airport was founded in 1913 when the senate of
Bremen commissioned the Bremen Association for Air
Navigation, itself established in 1909, to operate a flight base.
The base opened in 1920. Aircraft manufacturers Focke-Wulff
Flugzeugbau AG began operating here in 1924, and the state
airline Deutsche Luft Hansa, formed from the merger of Aero
Lloyd and Junkers Aviation AG, began operating in 1926. On
June 26, 1936, the first fully operational helicopter of the
world, the Fw 61, made its successful maiden flight at the
Bremen Airport with test pilot Ewald Rohlfs at the controls.
The airport’s facilities were destroyed during World War II,
but were rebuilt soon after. Today, the airport serves the entire
region, with millions of passengers using the airport each
year.
Farnborough
Research
Establishment, UK
2004
4/05
Getafe Airbase,
Spain
2008
6/11
Farnborough's aeronautical history began in 1905 with the
arrival of HM Balloon Factory in 1905, headed by Lt Col
J.L.B. Templer. In 1908, the first powered aeroplane flight in
Great Britain took place here, piloted by Samuel Cody. In
1912, Lord Trenchard established the first headquarters of the
Royal Flying Corps and in 1918 the Royal Aircraft
Establishment was founded. Throughout the first century of
aviation, Farnborough has been a leading centre for
aeronautical research, with a worldwide reputation for
scientific advance and innovation in all aspects of aerospace
technology.
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Colegio Oficial de Ingenieros Aeronáuticos de España
Lugar Histórico del Aire y el Espacio
Historic Aerospace Site
Primer Vuelo del Autogiro
El 17 de enero del año 1923, el autogiro C.4, diseñado y
fabricado por el ingeniero Juan de la Cierva y Codorníu,
realizó su primer vuelo en Getafe al mando del teniente
Alejandro Gómez Spencer. El autogiro Cierva C.4 fue la
primera aeronave de alas giratorias de éxito operacional; y
fue, en muchos aspectos de su diseño, el precursor de los
modernos helicópteros y aeronaves de vuelo vertical. Entre
los años 1920 y 1924, Juan de la Cierva ensayó cuatro
prototipos de autogiros en el aeródromo de Getafe; incluyendo
el C.4, incorporando las importantes aspas articuladas.
First Flight of the Autogiro
On 17 January 1923, Juan de la Cierva’s C.4 Autogiro made
its first successful flight at this site with Lieutenant Alejandro
Gómez Spencer at the controls. The Cierva Autogiro was the
first practical rotorcraft, and many aspects of its design were
critical to the development of helicopters and other vertical
lift aircraft. Between 1920 and 1924, Juan de la Cierva tested
four prototype Autogiros at Getafe; and after numerous
attempts, solved his control problems with flapping blade
hinges.
Dunsfold
2008
No ceremony
Aerodrome, UK
Other
Tranquility Base,
The Moon
2000
No ceremony yet!