When your adult group is planning a trip to Cleveland, you should visit the NASA Glenn Research Center as part of your experience. The location is where NASA tests and develops cutting-edge technologies in the areas of aeronautics, aerospace, and space. Your group can take a tour of the Research Facilities and learn how things are done. Your group tour will be 45 minutes in length. During the tour, visitors will have the opportunity to explore several areas of the Research Center. You will see areas such as the Electric Propulsion Laboratory, the Supersonic Wind Tunnel, the Large Hanger with the NASA Logo, the Dome of Silence and Glenn’s Portal to the Space Station. Your group will also learn about communicating in deep space as part of the experience. Specifically, you will learn about the fascinating ways NASA scientists are developing systems and devices which allow us to be able to communicate to and from deep space quickly.
The NASA Glenn Research Center was established in 1941. The location was originally known as the Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. In 1999, the name was changed to honor John H. Glenn who was the first American to orbit earth. During the early 1960s, John Glenn pioneered the use of liquid hydrogen for rocket aircraft propulsion which allowed the United States to win the race to the moon. The altitude Wind Tunnel was constructed in 1944. NASA engineers and scientists have made major technology contributions which have expanded horizons and opened frontiers in aviation and space exploration for over 60 years.