VOLUME 23 • ISSUE 4 • APRIL 2021

Lean Six Sigma’s

Virtual Success 

Pages 2–3

NASA, Industry

Partner Up,

Power Up

Page 5

Women Unite,

Ignite

Page 9

Glenn’s Perseverance 

Connection

Pages 6–7
AeroSpace Frontiers

is an official publication of Glenn Research 

Center, National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration. It is published the second 

Friday of each month by the Office of 

Communications in the interest of the 

Glenn workforce, retirees, government 

officials, business leaders and the general 

public. 

Submit short articles and calendar items 

to the editor at doreen.b.zudell@nasa.gov. 

Editor: Doreen B. Zudell, ATS, 

 216–433–5317

Assistant Editor: Adam Schabel, ATS, 

 216-433-2888

Design: Rhys Sampson, ATS

Managing Editor: Kelly R. DiFrancesco

Circulation: Angela Williams, ATS, 

 216–433–8921

Staying Vigilant

Recently we marked the 1-year point 

of the pandemic. I am hopeful with 

increasing vaccinations, continuing to 

practice the COVID–19 protocols, and 

the resulting decrease in new cases, that 

we are approaching a turning point. We 

are beginning to see changes to guidelines 

nationally as well as within the state of 

Ohio. I would like to remind you that we 

need to continue to follow agency and 

center guidelines as a federal facility. 

Please continue to frequently monitor 

guidance at the agency website (https://

nasapeople.nasa.gov/coronavirus/), the 

Glenn website (https://www.grc.nasa.gov/

smad/rtow-covid/), and Today@Glenn for 

any new information. 

Thank you for your continued 

commitment to our mission.

Can We Work

Effectively in a

Virtual Environment? 

Can a process that relies on interactive classroom training survive in 

a virtual environment? For NASA’s Lean Six Sigma (LSS) program—

operating exclusively online for over a year— the answer is yes. Not 

only is the program surviving, it is thriving.

“Lean Six Sigma principles and methodologies have helped hundreds 

of employees improve efficiencies and decrease waste since 2005,” 

said Program Manager Peggy Raines who took over the program in 

2018. The LSS Program Office, which has resided at Glenn in the 

Center Operations Directorate since 2011, is responsible for planning, 

developing, evaluating, and deploying LSS activities agencywide.

When centers transitioned to Stage 4 under the NASA Response 

Framework in March 2020, Raines knew it was vital to adapt LSS 

processes to a virtual platform. She, along with Master Black Belt Mark 

Adrian of Adrian Technologies, reviewed, revised, and deployed unified 

training methods to adjust to an electronic platform. Establishing this 

capability will help to accomplish a major program goal to establish inhouse process-improvement experts at each NASA center.

The transition to a virtual environment dovetailed with the needs of a 

workforce adjusting to a telework environment. “Although employees 

across the agency are experiencing increased workloads in a virtual 

environment, there are still opportunities for process improvements in 

DIRECTOR’S

SAFETY CORNER
their organizations,” Raines said. “These organizations 

can benefit from implementing LSS methodologies for 

process improvement.”

The LSS team’s new electronic platform enables class 

access across the agency, with larger class sizes 

and increased course availability. Raines has seen 

a tremendous response in agencywide participation, 

which has resulted in increases in employee 

certification levels.

Want to learn more about how the LSS program could 

help you implement process improvements? Contact 

the program office to learn how LSS can help your 

organization. Training is open to civil servant and 

support contract employees.

Contact Peggy Raines or Erin Bukach via email or 

through Microsoft Teams.

By Doreen B. Zudell

Goals of Lean Six Sigma Program

Apply Lean principles and Six Sigma methodology to 

respective projects and work areas to:

• Remove non-value-added activities from existing 

 processes.

• Reduce costs and increase quality.

• Reduces variability and “downtime.”

• Deliver consistent high-quality products and services.

• Design new processes.

• Develop in-house LSS Green Belts and Black Belts to 

 serve as facilitators and part-time leaders of process

 improvement team activities to help NASA 

 improve NASA.

APRIL 2021

3

Lean Six Sigma Classes

(Virtual and Offered Agencywide)

• White Belt: Introduction to LSS

• Champions and Sponsors Training: Targeted

 audience—managers and leads

• Green Belt: Certification 

• Black Belt: Certification 

• Master Black Belt: Certification

Agencywide

Certifications

to Date

• 1,750 Green Belts

• 180 Black Belts

• 14 Master Black Belts
4

Have You Filed Any Records Lately?

Electronic Records Are Here To Stay

Under the requirements in the Office of Management 

and Budget’s M–19–21 memo, federal agencies must 

make a full transition to electronic recordkeeping by 

the end of 2022. The National Archives and

Records Administration will stop accepting

new paper records at that time.

Thinking of Retiring?

You Can’t Take It With You

Before you retire, check out this brief video 

from Records Management on your records 

management responsibilities. It is important to 

pass along all of your records before you go, not 

just records you feel are important. Questions? 

Records Management staff are happy to provide 

guidance on how to best manage your records in 

preparation for retirement. https://ltidportal.grc.

nasa.gov/Resources/Records/WhenYouGo.mov

Over the past year, you may have mastered Microsoft Teams, 

uncovered the secret to intermittent virtual private network (VPN) 

connection, and discovered how to deter your dog from barking 

during meetings, but have you once thought about filing your records? 

April is Records Management Month—a great time to review your 

papers and electronic files to determine their potential value for years 

to come. 

Like it or not, every civil servant and contractor who works for NASA 

Glenn is responsible for preserving agency records. In addition to 

those monthly reports to your supervisor, you need to schedule time 

for creating and managing the records necessary to document your 

official activities. 

What is a record? Records are defined as recorded information, 

regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by 

an agency of the U.S. government, and needed to document agency 

activities or actions.

Here are some important points to remember when storing your 

electronic records:

• Records should always be stored in an accessible location (with 

 appropriate permissions, if applicable) like SharePoint, a content 

 management system, or the database where they are created. 

 Shared drives are also an option, but the agency is working to 

 move away from those in favor of SharePoint.

• Only personal working notes and reference copies should be kept 

 on your hard drive, MyDocs, or OneDrive. Although MyDocs and 

 OneDrive are backed up, they are personal spaces. When you 

 leave the agency, they will be wiped shortly after your departure. 

 If items stored there are the only documentation or evidence of a 

 process or event, then you are at risk of losing records.

• Speaking of OneDrive, have you noticed when you go to save a 

 Word document, Excel spreadsheet, or other Microsoft Office 

 product that the default “save” is to your OneDrive space? If you 

 are simply creating a few notes, a job aid, or a reference just for 

 yourself, OneDrive is fair game. If you are creating meeting minutes, 

 a memo, or the like—those are records. Get that stuff to a 

 SharePoint location!

Still not sure what to do? You do not have to go it alone. Glenn’s 

records management specialists, Deborah Demaline and Suzanne 

Kelley, can do this stuff with their eyes closed. Contact them via email 

or Microsoft Teams. Additionally, each organization has a records 

liaison officer (RLO) who can help. Visit Glenn’s Records website, 

https://ltidportal.grc.nasa.gov/Records.aspx, for a list of RLOs and to 

learn about services provided, training and education, and NASA’s 

records retention schedule. 

By Doreen B. Zudell
NASA envisions a future where supersonic airliners and highly 

efficient aircraft all fly in the same ultrasafe skies. The agency 

is already sprinting toward that end goal by developing the X–59 

Quiet Supersonic Technology (QueSST) jet and exploring alternative 

aircraft propulsion systems that can reduce costs, noise, and 

emissions.

“Our program develops technologies that help NASA and industry 

change the paradigm of aviation by opening the way to everyday 

supersonic flight, environmentally sustainable transport-class 

aircraft, and widespread advanced air mobility vehicles,” said James 

Kenyon, NASA’s Advanced Air Vehicles Program (AAVP) director.

NASA cannot change the future of flight alone, so the agency has 

teamed up with two industry partners to transform its approach to 

aircraft propulsion. These agreements are aimed at designing more 

efficient aircraft engines, while also addressing several technical 

challenges: weight, power extraction and storage, and thermal 

management.

The power extraction challenge is especially important for future 

hybrid-electric aircraft concepts where the energy requirement 

becomes even greater, as extra power is needed to drive electric 

fans used for additional in-flight thrust.

Through its Hybrid Thermally Efficient Core (HyTEC) project, NASA 

is aggressively pursuing next-generation aircraft engines that use 

less fuel and produce more power, by increasing the bypass ratio. 

This means making the fan—the one on the front of the engine—

bigger, thereby increasing airflow, while shrinking the engine’s core, 

which reduces fuel consumption.

“The question becomes how do we shrink the core of the engine, 

while maintaining performance and increasing the electric power 

available?” said Tony Nerone, HyTEC project manager at Glenn. 

“As aircraft become more electric, we’ll need to address the 

traditional power needs—running subsystems like flight controls, 

air conditioning, and so on—but we also need to tap more power 

for the newer electric systems that we’ll be adding to the aircraft. 

NASA, Industry

Partner Up To Power Up

APRIL 2021

5

GRC-2021-CN-00016

An artist’s rendering of NASA’s truss-braced wing concept aircraft called 

the Subsonic Ultra Green Aircraft Research (SUGAR). 

GRC-2017-C-09976 Photo by Bridget Caswell

The NASA Electric Aircraft Testbed at NASA’s Neil A. Armstrong Test 

Facility is a world-class, reconfigurable facility that can accommodate 

power systems for large passenger airplanes with megawatts of power.

Current state-of-the-art engines can extract about 5% of power 

and we’ll need to jump up to 10% to 20% in the future.”

Through a Space Act Agreement with Honeywell, NASA engineers 

will work with a Honeywell team, to perform technology 

development and testing on an advanced low-pressure turbine. 

The data from the test will allow the combined engineering team 

to establish a turbofan power extraction baseline while also 

developing computational prediction tools. Ultimately, this test 

will provide essential data for the HyTEC project and advance 

Honeywell’s technology development of higher efficiency turbines 

that could impact its future gas turbine product line.

NASA has also entered into a contract with General Electric to 

demonstrate and assess turbofan power extraction and integrating 

electric machines like motors and generators. The goal is to 

significantly increase power extraction at relevant commercial 

engine operating conditions from a thrust, weight, efficiency, 

operability, and durability for future electric propulsion systems.

These efforts aim to introduce cleaner, more efficient and 

cost-effective aircraft in the near future. Core power systems 

technology development and testing are just the start. NASA 

will need to demonstrate the benefits in flight before eventual 

commercial aircraft integration.

“Once HyTEC and its partners demonstrate power extraction, 

these new engines can be combined with other megawatt-class 

components we’re developing for electrified aircraft propulsion,” 

said Barbara Esker, AAVP’s deputy program director. “Together 

with advances in high-rate composite aircraft manufacturing and 

innovative configurations like the transonic truss-based wing, 

NASA can transform the long-term sustainability of commercial 

aircraft.”

By Jimi Russell
6

After a 203-day journey traversing 293 million miles, 

NASA’s Perseverance rover—the largest, most advanced 

rover NASA has sent to another world—successfully 

touched down on Mars Feb. 18. NASA’s live broadcast 

of the landing, shared across 14 streaming platforms, 

garnered over 4.2 million viewers. 

In anticipation of the landing, cities across the United 

States—including Cleveland and its iconic Terminal 

Tower—lit up the night in “Mars red” on Feb. 17 and 18. 

On the day of the landing, Glenn shared the excitement 

with local audiences through a virtual event hosted in 

Glenn, Community Celebrate

Perseverance Rover’s Landing

GRC-2021-C-00255 Photo by Bridget Caswell

Clayman shares details on NASA’s Radioisotope Power Systems program. 

GRC-2021-C-00257

Foster oversaw rover parachute testing several years ago in Glenn’s 

10- by 10-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel. 

collaboration with Great Lakes Science Center. The 

event featured discussions with experts and a hands-on 

challenge activity for teachers and families to conduct from 

their classrooms or homes during the virtual broadcast. 

Glenn staff highlighted several rover technologies during the 

virtual celebration.

Dr. Daniel Raible, electronics engineer and co-principal 

investigator of the Integrated Radio and Optical 

Communications project of NASA’s Space Communications 

and Navigation program, shared how NASA communicates 

with Mars and described the challenges of sending and 

receiving messages through the solar system.

Lauren Clayman, chief safety and mission assurance officer 

for the Radioisotope Power Systems program, shared 

details on the system that powers both the Curiosity and 

Perseverance rovers.

Lancert Foster, the research aerospace engineer who 

oversaw rover parachute testing several years ago in 

Glenn’s 10- by 10-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel, described 

Glenn’s role in testing and validating models for the 

parachute decelerator system used on both Curiosity and 

Perseverance.

6

Photo by Bridget Caswell
APRIL 2021

7

GRC-2021-C-00262

Storm facilitates a parachute design activity that aligns to the research 

and testing work performed at Glenn. 

When NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover made its successful 

descent to the Red Planet, it took Glenn contributions along

for the ride!

Entry–Descent System

In 2008, Glenn tested a scaled-down version of the parachute 

that helped the Curiosity rover land on Mars. Testing in Glenn’s 

10- by 10-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel captured high-speed 

video of the parachute’s release and deployment and measured 

the parachute’s drag (pulling force on the capsule). The same 

type of parachute was used for the Perseverance landing.

The Glenn Connection

On the Cover: 

Sherri Mohn, left, and John Ingram 

make final adjustments to a small-scale 

parachute model for testing in Glenn’s 

10- by 10-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel 

in 2008. The tests were connected with 

the Curiosity rover landing system. The 

same type of parachute was used for 

the Perseverance rover.

GRC-2008-C-04245

Photo by Marvin Smith

After the presentations, Roger Storm (Paragon TEC), STEM 

educator supporting Glenn’s Office of STEM Engagement, 

facilitated a parachute design activity that aligned to the research 

and testing work performed at Glenn. Students went live as they 

built and tested a model parachute drag device to slow the descent 

of a simulated rover. Designs created by the broadcast audience 

were shared via social media platforms.

“The first photos from a new rover on Mars and all the shared 

photos of aspiring explorers are a great reminder of the important 

work we do at Glenn,” said Chris Hartenstine, Public Engagement 

Team lead, Office of Communications.

Glenn’s virtual event transitioned directly into the live NASA 

broadcast of Perseverance’s landing and culminated with the 

rover’s breathtaking touchdown in the Jezero Crater on Mars.

By Doreen B. Zudell

Christine Pastor-Barsi prepares a small-scale parachute for testing in 

Glenn’s 10- by 10-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel in 2008 in preparation 

for the Curiosity rover landing system. The same type of parachute was 

used for the Perseverance rover.

GRC-2008-C-04252 Photo by Marvin Smith

Glenn’s shape memory alloy spring tires will be used on the proposed 

Mars Sample Return Mission, which will bring back the samples that 

Perseverance collects. 

GRC-2020-CN-00023 Photo by Colin Creager

7

APRIL 2021

Radioisotope Power System

The Perseverance rover is powered by a multimission radioisotope 

thermoelectric generator (MMRTG) provided by the Department of 

Energy (DOE). The MMRTG, a type of radioisotope power system, 

is the same system the Curiosity rover has been using successfully 

since its launch in 2001. Glenn manages the Radioisotope Power 

Systems (RPS) program for the agency and also manages NASA’s 

relationship with the DOE. The team in Glenn’s RPS Program Office 

has been helping to plan this mission for years. The Perseverance 

MMRTG is expected to operate for at least 14 years.

Tires

Was there ever ancient life on Mars? To answer that question, the 

Perseverance rover will collect and store the most compelling rock 

and soil samples for return to Earth by a future mission. Plans 

for the Mars Sample Return Mission include the use of incredibly 

durable and flexible new tires developed at NASA Glenn. These 

shape memory alloy spring tires are ideal for the rugged, rocky 

Martian terrain.

Photo by Bridget Caswell
The “Do You Know This Person?” (DYKTP) project, which began 

appearing on Today@Glenn (T@G) in November 2019, has had 

a major makeover. The Logistics and Technical Information 

Division (LTID), Center Operations, oversees the data collection 

program in which Glenn employees help to identify people, 

places, and research in photos dating back as far as 1942. 

Due to the popularity of the project and participant feedback, 

DYKTP 2.0 has many new functions and features. While looking 

at the images, you can provide immediate feedback by clicking 

on the link, “Hey, I know that person!” The pictures will be 

populated in a new tab with a form you can directly edit, adding 

as much or as little information as you would like. The site will 

Do You Know, 2.0

8

Technology Transfer License Highlight: 

Research License

Glenn’s Technology Transfer Office (TTO) offers a variety of ways 

to license a NASA technology. TTO identifies the ideal license 

and technology that fits a company based on criteria under four 

different licenses: commercial, research, government use, and 

the Startup NASA license. 

The research license is an option that allows short-term 

permission to explore the potential of a technology and learn if it 

will fit into a potential licensee’s business development goals. It 

allows licensees to “test drive” the commercial viability of NASA 

technologies with minimal risk.

Glenn signed a research license with JVEX Systems in 2019 for 

the Double-Acting Extremely Light Thermo-Acoustic (DELTA) 

convertor. JVEX Systems plans on using the technology to 

create a portable and low-maintenance generator that can run 

on a variety of heat sources, from fossil fuels to solar thermal. 

Because of the generator’s flexible nature, it could be used in 

remote locations for efforts such as disaster relief and could 

eventually have space applications.

still be posted on T@G as a reminder to check back weekly for 

new pictures. 

Now you can also visit previous editions and submit your 

suggestions to help fill in the gaps. As a bonus, LTID has a 

monthly group photo! There are many images that still need your 

input, so keep an eye out on T@G for the new SharePoint site! 

LTID staff is looking forward to your participation and hopes you 

enjoy helping them update Glenn’s records.

https://nasa.sharepoint.com/sites/doyouknowthisperson/

SitePages/Do-You-Know-This-Person.aspx

TTO aims to connect businesses with NASA technologies 

through the right licensing options by working with the company 

and making sure the license fits their needs. “Working with 

Glenn’s Technology Transfer Office for the DELTA convertor 

licensing was easy. They were friendly and informative every 

step of the way,” said Dennis Ragsdale, JVEX Systems president. 

TTO will be sharing more information about the different types 

of licenses in future issues of AeroSpace Frontiers. For more 

information on NASA Glenn’s technologies available for licensing, 

visit https://technology.grc.nasa.gov.
APRIL 2021

9

NEWS AND EVENTS

Glenn’s 2021 Women IGNITE Workshop, 

March 3, focused on the theme “IGNITE the 

Power Within.” Keynote speaker Michelle 

Reugebrink, a mindfulness and resilience 

coach at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Forest Service, discussed several important 

topics women face in today’s environment. 

The event encouraged participants to reflect, 

rejuvenate, and connect with other women 

on topics such as finding purpose, stress 

management, work/life balance, self-care, 

fitness, nutrition, health education, and 

mindfulness/meditation. 

Collaboratively Reaching New Heights 

Workshop Connects and Ignites Women’s Power

GRC-CN-2021-00017 Photo by Jo Byrne

An illustrator captures highlights of the 2021 Women IGNITE Workshop.

GRC-2021-C-00909 Photo by Ashley Cantor

During the virtual event, Lueders shares her NASA experiences and highlights exciting work ahead for the agency.

Kathryn Lueders, the first female associate 

administrator of the Human Exploration and Operations 

Mission Directorate, has embraced a philosophy 

throughout her NASA career: Find a problem and try to 

solve it. Lueders discussed her proactive approach on 

March 11 in NASA’s first-ever agencywide collaborative 

virtual event for Women’s History Month. Women’s 

employee resource groups (ERGs) from seven NASA 

centers and NASA Headquarters coordinated the 

event, including the Glenn Women’s Advisory Group. 

Lueders described some of her NASA experiences 

as well as exciting work ahead, all tied to the event’s 

theme, “Making History and Reaching New Heights.”
10

Thank You For Your CFC Contributions 

NASA Glenn’s Combined Federal 

Campaign (CFC) 2020 has come to a 

successful conclusion. Although the goal 

was $300,000, Glenn donors raised 

a respectable $252,520, despite this 

challenging year. 

IN APPRECIATION RETIREMENTS

Robert Romero, Innovation and 

Integration Office chief, Office of 

Technology Incubation and Innovation, 

retired March 31, 2021, with 37 years 

of federal service, including 31 with 

NASA.

I would like to thank everyone at Glenn for the cards, 

flowers, and expressions of sympathy shown to me and my 

daughter following the passing of my husband Luis Gomez. 

There are not enough words to express my gratitude during 

this time.

 —Diana Centeno-Gomez

I would like to express my sincere thanks to my GRC 

co-workers for their support after the passing of my father. 

Your cards, words of encouragement, and flowers were 

greatly appreciated.

 —Darlene Walker

Romero

C. Robert Finkelstein, 92, a 1998 retiree with 35 years of service, died Jan. 20. He was on the launch team 

for several Atlas–Agena launches, including Orbiting Astronomical Observatory–1, Mariner Venus ‘67, and 

Lunar Orbiter IV. Finkelstein worked on the Titan/Centaur program and Space Station Freedom. He received 

a Cost Reduction Award (1972) and two Special Achievement Awards (group and individual, 1983). He retired 

from the Space Experiments Division, where he worked with the application of the Space Acceleration 

Measurement System for the Mir space station.

Lyle A. Hoffman, 84, a 1994 retiree with 32 years of service, died Feb. 12. He began his NASA career in the 

Machine Shop and later worked as a model maker in the Fabrication Division’s Experimental Models Branch. 

He served as an advisor in the Apprentice Program and earned a Sustained Superior Performance Award in 

1988. He retired as a senior production controller in the Fabrication Procurement Branch of the Fabrication 

Support Division.

Finkelstein

Hoffman

MORE THAN A MEMORY

Dr. Robert M. Manning, System 

Architectures and Analytical Studies 

Branch, Communications and 

Intelligent Systems Division, retired 

March 31, 2021, with 34 1⁄2 years of 

NASA service.

“I am so proud to be a part of GRC,” said 

CFC Chair Mark Sorrells. “Employees 

stepped up, showed some love, and gave 

during a pandemic. Other organizations 

claimed they were lucky to only get half of 

the donations collected from last year. On 

behalf of the CFC, thank you so very much!” 
APRIL 2021

11 NASA Glenn Employees: For more calendar information, visit https://wing.grc.nasa.gov/event-calendar/.

Glenn’s 80th Anniversary 

Merchandise Has Arrived!

Earth Day 2021 INFORMATION CAFÉ

On Wednesday, April 21, from 11:00 

to 11:45 a.m., the library will host a 

mini lesson about “Filing Your New 

Technology Report (NTR) With Tech 

Transfer.” Check Today@Glenn for

the link. 

POC: Robin Pertz, 3–5776

Deadline for next calendar

section is Wednesday, April 21,

noon. News and feature stories 

require additional time.

CALLING ALL ARTISTS! 

This month, Glenn’s 80th Anniversary 

planning team invites you to join in 

some virtual fun by participating in 

the GRC Historic Photo Recreation 

Contest! Staff are encouraged to enter 

an artistic creation, and/or vote for 

your favorite entries in both categories. 

Watch Today@Glenn for details.

Glenn is hosting a virtual public tour 

season, featuring seven world-class 

facilities, from April to October. To

learn more about the featured 

facilities, visit https://www.nasa.

gov/nasaglenntours. The next two 

tours include—April 21: 8- by 6-Foot 

Supersonic Wind Tunnel, May 19:

Ballistics Impact Laboratory. 

Registration opens 1 month before the 

tour date. Space is limited. Tell your 

friends and family! 

VIRTUAL TOURS

Celebrate NASA Glenn’s 80th 

Anniversary with new merchandise 

available at NASAShop.com! Shop 

at the URL below to add specialty 

t-shirts and polos to your 

NASA apparel collection.

Emergency Management Office staff 

will conduct an audible siren test 

on the “shelter and aid stations” on 

Saturday, May 1, at Lewis Field. A 

mass notification voice test will 

be conducted at Building 87 on 

Wednesday, May 5.

POC: Allen Turner, 3–6826

OUTDOOR SIREN TESTING

Greening Your Space One Event at a 

Time: Earth Day Photos From Home

In celebration of Earth Day on April 22, Glenn’s Sustainability 

Working Group will highlight pictures of employees doing 

great things for the planet—planting a tree, recycling 

or composting, or riding a bike. 

The group encourages all employees to continue to focus on 

waste reduction in 2021. Stay tuned all year long for 

Earth Day event announcements that 

will help you reduce the environmental 

footprint wherever your

“space” may be!

www.NASAShop.com
National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration

John H. Glenn Research Center 

Lewis Field

21000 Brookpark Road 

Cleveland, Ohio 44135

Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility

3597 E. Scheid Road

Sandusky, Ohio 44870

www.nasa.gov

Read AeroSpace Frontiers online at http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/news/AF/index.html.

Emergency and Inclement Weather Lines 

Lewis Field: 216–433–9328 (WEAT) 

Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility: 419–621–3333

Connect With Glenn

GRC-1957-C-45019

A General Precision Laboratory television camera system filmed the firing of 

a 1,000-pound thrust in the Rocket Laboratory in 1957. The center tested a 

variety of high-energy propellants in the 1950s, including liquid hydrogen.

Celebrating 80 Years 

Looking Back Through the Decades

NASA Glenn was originally established in 1941 as the Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory (AERL), part of the 

National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). The laboratory became a national resource for innovations in 

aircraft engine technology that transformed commercial and military propulsion systems. 

Over the decades, NASA’s Cleveland-based scientists and engineers advanced technology in both aviation and 

space exploration, propelling the U.S. into a leading role in the aerospace industry. These innovations have given the 

U.S. a leading role in the aerospace industry.

New Types of Propulsion: 1950s

The laboratory’s research activities 

are reorganized to focus on highenergy rocket propellants and nuclear 

propulsion. The launch of Sputnik 

in the fall of 1957 leads to the 

laboratory’s incorporation into the new 

NASA space agency.