This is a reproduction of the Langley Medal posthumously awarded by the Smithsonian Institution to Dr. Robert H. Goddard in 1960. It is named after Samuel Pierpoint Langley, an aviation pioneer and Secretary of the Smithsonian from 1887 to 1906, and is given for pioneering achievements in aviation. The Smithsonian honored Dr. Goddard for his extensive research in rockets from the early 1900s until his death in 1945, including the building and launching of the first liquid fuel rocket.
The Office of the Secretary of the Smithsonian transferred this copy of the medal to the national collection in 1960.
This object is on display in Boeing Aviation Hangar at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA.