NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia turns 100 this year. In celebration, the space agency produced this short documentary and enlisted Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner, to narrate. Here are just a few highlights from NASA Langley's incredible history: <\/p>\n
In times of peace and war, NASA Langley helped to create a better airplane, including unique wing shapes, sturdier structures, the first engine cowlings, and drag cleanup that enabled the Allies to win World War II. <\/p>\n
Langley broke new ground in aeronautical research with a suite of first-of-their-kind wind tunnels that led to numerous advances in commercial, military and vertical flight, such as helicopters and other rotorcraft. <\/p>\n
Langley researchers laid the foundation for the U.S. manned space program, played a critical role in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs, and developed the lunar-orbit rendezvous concept that made the Moon landing possible. <\/p>\n
Development by Langley of a variety of satellite-borne instrumentation has enabled real-time monitoring of planet-wide atmospheric chemistry, air quality, upper-atmosphere ozone concentrations, the effects of clouds and air-suspended particles on climate, and other conditions affecting Earths biosphere. <\/p>\n
Protecting astronauts from harm is the aim of Langleys work on the Orion Launch Abort System, while its work on materials and structures for lightweight and affordable space transportation and habitation will keep future space travelers safe. <\/p>\n
Helping to create environmentally benign aeronautical technologies has been a focus of Langley research, including concepts to reduce drag, weight, fuel consumption, emissions, and lessen noise. <\/p>\n
NASA Langley: Innovation at 100 <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Rio Celeste is a gorgeous Costa Rican river with a length thats famous for its unusual turquoise waters. After decades of guessing, scientists finally determined the cause was aluminosilicate: <\/p>\n
AntsCanada (previously) has an overpopulation problem in his yellow crazy ant colony, so he added two kinds of carnivorous pitcher plants. The resulting relationship between ant versus plant turned out to be quite fascinating. <\/p>\n
NASAs Juno probe just completed the closest ever flyby of Jupiters Giant Red Spot. The above is a processed version of an image created by Gerald Eichstdt from the Juno imaging data. Juno was passing about 5,600 miles (9,000 kilometers) above the Red Spot. See many more images here. From NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory: The [] <\/p>\n
The PiCar-V learning kit comes with everything you need to build a Python-powered robot, and its currently being offered in the Boing Boing Store. <\/p>\n
New business ideas are a dime a dozen; everyone and their cousin has a concept for a new app or service that may or may not revolutionize a small slice of the world. Whether its novel ways of ordering food, or time savers that only apathetic wealthy people would pay for, coming up with your [] <\/p>\n
The Metasploit framework is an open source tool that lets you simulate real attacks against your system. You can get introduced to this essential cyber security software with this Penetration Testing & Ethical Hacking course, available now in the Boing Boing Store.Throughout these 23 lessons, youll exploit vulnerabilities, evade antivirus software, and gain unauthorized access [] <\/p>\n
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Watch: A new NASA documentary narrated by William Shatner - Boing Boing<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia turns 100 this year. In celebration, the space agency produced this short documentary and enlisted Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner, to narrate. Continue reading