Early History of NACA

Before there was NASA, there was the NACA. On March 3, 1915, Congress established the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, or N-A-C-A, “to separate the real from the imagined and make known the overlooked and unexpected” in the quest for flight. In 1958, the NACA's staff, research facilities, and know-how were transitioned to the new NASA.

This What's New in Aerospace? program is presented as part of the NACA Centenary,  a symposium by the National Air and Space Museum, and the NASA History Program Office in commemoration of the aerospace research and development that has occurred in the 100 years since the NACA was established.

Moderated by Stephen Garber from NASA Headquarters, this program will explore the early history of the NACA and includes the following presentations:

• Bringing Aerodynamics – and Aeronautical Engineering – to the American University; Presenter: Deborah G. Douglas, MIT Museum

• NACA, Naval Aviation and MIT: Establishing the Practice of Aeronautical Engineering; Presenter: John Tylko, MIT

• Transplanting Göttingen to the Tidewater: The NACA and German Aerodynamics, 1919-1926; Presenter: Richard P. Hallion, Florida Polytechnic University

• The War, the NACA and the Convention: Laying the Ideological Foundation for Federal Regulation during the Wilson Administration; Presenter: Sean Seyer, University of Kansas

For more information about the symposium, including other sessions and presentations, visit the NACA Centenary: A Symposium on 100 Years of Aerospace Research and Development website.

This program is made possible through the generous support of Boeing.