Portal:Spaceflight/Selected article/Week 14 2010

The Ames Research Center is a NASA center located at Moffett Field, California. Ames was founded on December 20, 1939 as the second National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) laboratory. The center was named after Joseph Sweetman Ames, a founding member and longtime chairman (1919–1939) of the NACA. Ames is one of NASA’s 10 major field centers, with over $3.0 billion in capital equipment, 2,300 research personnel and a $600 million annual budget.

Historically, Ames was founded to do wind-tunnel research on the aerodynamics of propeller-driven aircraft. Ames has since expanded its role to doing research and technology in aeronautics, spaceflight, and information technology. Ames plays a role in many of NASA missions in support of America's space and aeronautics programs. It provides leadership in astrobiology, small satellites, robotic lunar exploration, the search for habitable planets, supercomputing and airborne astronomy. Ames also develops tools for a safer, more efficient national airspace. (more...)