NASA Glenn Research Center’s Visitor Center will launch a new tour program that allows the general public an up-close and behind-the-scenes look at some of the Center’s world-class research facilities. The free one-hour tours will be offered throughout the spring and summer on the first Saturday of the month.
The facility tours will kick-off on Saturday, May 7, with tours of the Abe Silverstein Supersonic Wind Tunnel. The tours will begin in the Visitor Center auditorium at 10:30 a.m. and continue every hour on the half-hour through 1:30 p.m.
“NASA Glenn has some incredible facilities,” said Linda Dukes-Campbell, Chief of Glenn’s Community and Media Relations Office. “These monthly tours offer us a great opportunity to engage, educate and inspire the public with the outstanding research being done at the Center.”
The wind tunnel is the largest of five at Glenn with a test section measuring 10 ft. high by 10 ft. wide by 40 ft long. It is capable of creating wind speeds exceeding three times the speed of sound and can simulate varying altitude conditions up to 150,000 ft. This allows researchers to test large-scale models, full-scale engines and aircraft components in the same conditions an aircraft would encounter flying through the atmosphere.
During the tours visitors can walk through the wind tunnel test section and control room area where researchers explore the dynamics of flight. The tunnel has played a vital role in aerospace technology for almost 50 years contributing to the Apollo missions, the Space Shuttle and the Joint Strike fighter.
Tour space is limited. Visitors should call 216-433-9653 to register in advance. A tour bus will be provided to transport participants for the tour. Both the Visitor Center and the tour facility are wheelchair accessible. Handicapped visitors are welcome to use their own transportation vehicles and follow the tour bus to the tour stop and back. The use of cameras and cell phones during the tour may be limited.
Beginning May 1, 2005, access to the NASA Glenn Visitor Center is limited to U.S. citizens. All adult visitors are required to present government-issued photo identification.
For more information on Glenn’s Visitor Center including information on future tours, please visit:
