1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,000 Today, we're at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. 2 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:07,000 NASA Langley is the oldest of the nine NASA facilities. 3 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:09,000 Here's another Langley fact. 4 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:11,000 See this huge structure? 5 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:15,000 Its original name was the Lunar Landing Research Facility. 6 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:17,000 But today, we call it the gantry. 7 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:22,000 In the 1960s, Apollo astronauts trained right here at NASA Langley to land on the moon. 8 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:25,000 The title of today's show is Measurement, Ratios, and Graphing. 9 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:27,000 Three, two, one, crash. 10 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:32,000 And get this, measurement, ratios, and graphs are used every day by NASA researchers. 11 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:38,000 They make predictions and draw conclusions using the data they collect from their research and extreme tests. 12 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:42,000 Speaking of graphs, does this look familiar? 13 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:45,000 Of course, this grid would never fit on your desk. 14 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:47,000 It's huge. 15 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:52,000 Each square measures one meter by one meter. 16 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:56,000 Anyway, NASA researchers use this grid for film analysis. 17 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:59,000 An aircraft passes in front of the grid and is tracked by a camera. 18 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:03,000 Then engineers can measure the distance the aircraft travels in a certain amount of time. 19 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:07,000 NASA engineers analyze this data and make conclusions based on the test results. 20 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:12,000 Finally, they communicate what they've learned to aircraft companies so they can build safer aircraft. 21 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:16,000 We'll learn more about how NASA crashes aircraft from this gantry later on in the show. 22 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:20,000 Right, but first, let's learn more about NASA Langley. 23 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:25,000 Today's National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, was established in 1958. 24 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:29,000 But its historical roots reach back much farther to the early 1900s. 25 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:32,000 Powered flight was developed by the Wright Brothers in 1903. 26 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:38,000 However, during World War I, America realized how far it was behind other countries in developing air power. 27 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:43,000 So, Congress created the NACA, or the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. 28 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:45,000 What is aeronautics? 29 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:50,000 Aeronautics is simply the science of flight. 30 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:57,000 The NACA decided to build an aeronautical research facility, and they found the perfect location. 31 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:04,000 A site was chosen in Hampton, Virginia, and the facility was named the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, 32 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:08,000 after an early aviation pioneer, Samuel Pierpont Langley. 33 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:13,000 Later, in 1958, Congress changed the name of the NACA to NASA, 34 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:17,000 and NASA Langley Research Center helped give birth to the space program group. 35 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:22,000 America's first manned space program, Project Mercury, began at NASA Langley. 36 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:28,000 Today, NASA has grown to nine centers across the United States that are involved in aeronautics, 37 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:33,000 earth science, space science, and human exploration of space. 38 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:37,000 The knowledge gained from NASA research can be found in everyday objects, 39 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:43,000 like sunglasses, athletic shoes, cordless products, and even the highways we drive on. 40 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:49,000 So, the next time you fly in an airplane, remember that almost every American aircraft today 41 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:53,000 uses technology that was developed right here at NASA Langley Research Center.