The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics recognizes significant accomplishments made by the aerospace industry. AIAA dedicated 58 plaques between 2000 and 2013, and they began dedicating new plaques again in 2025. Some markers have not been installed yet, including one for Tranquility Base - The Moon.
By Barry Swackhamer, January 9, 2014
First Successful Non-stop Trans-Pacific Air Flight Marker
On Earhart Road, on the left when traveling north.
On Tuesday, June 28, 1927, at 7:08 a.m. Lieutenant Lester J. Maitland and Lieutenant Albert F. Hegenberger, Air Corps United States Army, took off from Oakland Municipal Airport on the first successful non-stop trans-Pacific air flight arriving at . . . — — Map (db m71200) HM
On Rosamond Boulevard 4.8 miles east of West Gate, on the left when traveling east.
Called a “natural airdrome,” the Rogers Dry Lakebed and surrounding airspace, known as the Air Force Flight Test Center, has been and continues to be the optimum location for “first flights” and validation of high-performance and experimental . . . — — Map (db m152144) HM
Near Mercury Boulevard 2.5 miles east of Rocket Site Road.
Leading the vision and evolution of Air Force rocket propulsion
technology from its earliest days, the Rocket Site's men and
women and their unique research, development, and test facilities
have provided the discoveries, developments, and . . . — — Map (db m153378) HM
On Las Flores Avenue east of China Lake Boulevard, on the left when traveling east.
China Lake is one of the nation’s premier weapons laboratories. Established in 1943, China Lake supports Naval aviation and warfighter requirements, and will continue to arm the Fleet into the future. The Station conceived of and developed rockets . . . — — Map (db m168225) HM
On Columbia Way 0.1 miles south of Lakewood Boulevard, on the left when traveling south.
The Apollo Boilerplate 12 was the first full-sized
capsule used to test the launch escape
system of the Apollo spacecraft program.
It was launched atop a Little Joe II booster
rocket at the White Sands Missile Range in
New Mexico on May 13, . . . — — Map (db m204946) HM
Near De Soto Avenue 0.2 miles south of Nordhoff Street, on the left when traveling south.
On 15 November 1950, the SSFL conducted its first official test with a Rocketdyne-designed XLR43-NA-1 large liquid propellant rocket engine, which later became the Redstone engine. Encompassing 2558 acres, 18 large static test stands, 5 component . . . — — Map (db m145228) HM
On Colorado Boulevard just west of St John Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
On this site in 1942, the Aerojet Engineering Company founded the
first manufacturing facility for the production of rocket propulsion
systems. This was done under the leadership of Aerojet's first
president, Dr. Theodore von Kármán, . . . — — Map (db m151793) HM
Near Marine Avenue 0.2 miles east of Aviation Boulevard, on the right when traveling east.
Beginning in 1961, at what was then the Ramo-Wooldridge Corporation, the
dedicated employees of Space Park designed and built more than 100 of the
world's most technically challenging satellites, rocket engines and astronomical observatories. The . . . — — Map (db m141124) HM
On Midway Drive at Barnett Avenue, on the left when traveling north on Midway Drive. Reported missing.
On this site, which was the Dutch Flats Airport,
Charles A. Lindbergh made the first flight of his
Spirit of St. Louis airplane,
constructed in 60 days by dedicated employees of
Ryan Airlines, Inc. The 20-minute flight on 28 April 1927
was . . . — — Map (db m186364) HM
On California Boulevard at Oregon Avenue, on the right when traveling south on California Boulevard.
Bearing witness to the birth of the Space Age, Vandenberg Air Force Base has been the launch site of many of America's missiles and rockets, from military missions to voyages of exploration. Here launched the first polar orbiting satellite . . . — — Map (db m140556) HM
Ames Aeronautical Laboratory was established in 1939 as the second laboratory of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. Ames achieved early fame in wind tunnel design and testing, flight testing, and supersonic and hypersonic . . . — — Map (db m182299) HM
On Mugu Road at Naval Air Road, on the right when traveling south on Mugu Road.
Established in 1946 to provide a comprehensive test and evaluation site for tactical missiles, Point Mugu has been instrumental in the development, test, evaluation and inservice support of systems including Regulus, Sparrow, Phoenix, Bullpup, . . . — — Map (db m214304) HM
Near Facility Road south of Woolsey Canyon Road, on the left when traveling south.
On 15 November 1950, the SSFL conducted its first official test with a Rocketdyne-designed XLR43-NA-1 large liquid propellant rocket engine, which later became the Redstone engine. Encompassing 2558 acres, 18 large static test stands, 5 component . . . — — Map (db m145188) HM
On Jefferson Drive Southwest east of 7th Street Southwest, on the right when traveling east.
On June 18, 1861, T.S.C. Lowe made a tethered observation flight with his gas-filled balloon Enterprise from a spot on the National Mall in front of where the National Air and Space Museum now stands. During this flight, he sent the first telegram . . . — — Map (db m140624) HM
Near Museum Circle 0.2 miles south of Lighthouse Road, on the left when traveling south.
Established by the United States Air Force in 1950 as the Joint Long Range Proving Ground, this area supported the initial development of America’s space program. The era of the Space Age for the U.S. began on this site with the launch of . . . — — Map (db m154077) HM
Near Museum Drive at Eglin Parkway (State Route 85), on the left when traveling south.
The Valparaiso Bombing and Gunnery Base, activated 14 Jun 1935 under command of Capt Arnold H. Rich, was renamed Eglin Field in 1937 for Lt Col Frederick I. Eglin, U.S. Air Corps. The first missions of Eglin were to provide both bombing and gunnery . . . — — Map (db m140623) HM WM
On 2nd Avenue Northeast east of Bayshore Drive Northeast, on the left when traveling east.
On January 1, 1914, the "aeroplane" was demonstrated as a viable means of commercial transportation with the inaugural flight of the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line, the world's first regularly scheduled commercial airline. Piloted by Tony H. . . . — — Map (db m140622) HM
Near Woolman Place 0.1 miles south of North Inner Loop Road, on the right when traveling south.
This site commemorates the historic partnership between Delta Air Lines, the City
of Atlanta and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. On March 1, 1941,
Delta officially moved its corporate headquarters to Atlanta on leased airport . . . — — Map (db m251596) HM
Near Three Notch Road just north of Buse Road, on the right when traveling north.
In 1942 the U.S. Navy purchased 6700 acres of land here to establish the
Naval Air Station Patuxent River. NAS Patuxent River was commissioned
by the Navy in 1943 to consolidate aircraft test and evaluation efforts at a
centralized location. . . . — — Map (db m294211) HM
On Upland Street 0.4 miles east of Pakachoag Street, on the right when traveling east.
On March 16 1926 Dr. Robert H. Goddard launched the world’s first liquid propellant rocket from a point 100 feet south-southeast of this tablet on the property of the Asa M. Ward family. Erected by The American Rocket Society July 13, 1960 in . . . — — Map (db m155448) HM
This rocket propulsion test complex was created to flight-certify all first and
second stages of the Apollo Saturn V rocket. The first test-firing occurred
on April 23, 1966. Subsequent to the Apollo Program, these test stands were
modified . . . — — Map (db m267434) HM
Near Throop Drive east of Big Bend Boulevard, on the right when traveling east.
The world's first flying competition was organized and conducted on this site during the
Louisiana Purchase Exposition (popularly known as the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair).
Aviators and aeronauts came here from around the world to . . . — — Map (db m271619) HM
White Sands Proving Ground, as it was first called, is home to America’s first large-scale rocket and missile launch facilities. Established in 1945, the launching here of 67 V-2 rockets and many other vehicles propelled the United States into . . . — — Map (db m140621) HM WM
Hammondsport is the proud hometown of Glenn H. Curtiss,
a legendary figure in early flight and the Father of Naval Aviation.
It was here, between 1904 and 1915, that Curtiss collaborated
with other aviation pioneers, including Alexander . . . — — Map (db m278102) HM
On Symmes Road just east of Marl Road, on the right when traveling east.
On this 84-acre meadow in 1904 and 1905, the Wright Brothers successfully mastered the
mechanics of controlled, powered, heavier-than-air flight. The brothers also built the
world's first airport here, and in 1910 the Wright Company School of . . . — — Map (db m171606) HM
On Chestnut Street at 32nd Street, on the right when traveling east on Chestnut Street.
From 1956 to 1993, employees of General Electric's Re-Entry Systems at this
site solved great challenges of national security, defense and manned space
exploration, including technologies used for the successful re-entry of . . . — — Map (db m291378) HM
Near Second Street just north of Saturn Lane, on the left when traveling north.
Since its establishment in 1961, the NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, formerly Manned Spacecraft Center, has led America’s efforts in human space exploration. The numerous contributions of this site include advances in life and space sciences . . . — — Map (db m163134) HM
On Spencer Highway at Texas Street, on the right when traveling east on Spencer Highway.
The first documented flight of a heavier-than-air flying machine in Texas occurred over this site on February 18, 1910, two weeks before the first military airplane flight by Lt. Benjamin Foulois at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. The South . . . — — Map (db m62908) HM
On 5th Street 0.1 miles west of Reserve Street, on the left when traveling west.
Pearson Field is the first airport in the Pacific Northwest and one of the
oldest operating airports in the United States. It served as a major military
airfield in the interwar years. In 1905, a dirigible originating from the
nearby Lewis and . . . — — Map (db m153216) HM
This former shipyard was the first home of The Boeing Company, founded
in 1916. Affectionately called the Red Barn, this structure, built in 1909,
produced the first Boeing aircraft. Starting with the Model C, all early
Boeing production took . . . — — Map (db m291254) HM
Near Plant 1 Access Road 0.3 miles north of Rocket Center Road (State Route 956).
Established in 1944 on the site of a former ammunition plant, this facility is one of the key locations that helped establish the U.S. solid rocket industry after World War II. Numerous tactical rocket motors and propulsion devices for the . . . — — Map (db m267685) HM
Near Discovery Drive 6.8 kilometers east of Paddys River Road.
Between 1964 and 1967 three complementary tracking stations were established in the ACT, at Tidbinbilla, Honeysuckle Creek and Orroral Valley, to support NASA's Deep Space Network, Manned Space Flight Network and Spacecraft Tracking and Data . . . — — Map (db m296080) HM
Near Am Gollenberg south of Otto-Lilienthal-Straße, on the left when traveling south.
Otto Lilienthal (23. Mai 1848 in Anklam) flog hier mit
selbstkonstruierten Gleitflugzeugen erfolgreich über Distanzen von
bis zu 250 Metern, bevor er am 9. August 1896 tödlich abstürzte.
Wilbur Wright schrieb 15 Jahre später:
"... . . . — — Map (db m311333) HM
