The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics dedicated 58 markers recognizing significant accomplishments made by the aerospace industry. Some 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 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
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
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
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
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
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 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
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 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
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 aerodynamics. . . . — — Map (db m182299) HM
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
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 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
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 America’s . . . — — Map (db m154077) HM
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 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
This Museum is the vision of a group of Navy and civilian personnel who in 1974 set out to formally organize a museum to preserve and celebrate the history of the Naval Air Test Center at Patuxent River.
They received support from the . . . — — Map (db m154154) HM
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
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 the . . . — — Map (db m140621) HM WM
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
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
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
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 Blended Winglet was test flown on a
Boeing 747-200 in 2000 to prove the viability
of Blended Winglets for big transport aircraft.
Blended Winglets are gracefully curved
wingtip extensions that measurably enhance
the aerodynamic . . . — — Map (db m155428) HM
