E-33718
The employees of the NACA High-Speed Flight Station are gathered for a 1954 photo shoot on the front steps of building 4800, the new NACA Facility at Edwards, CA.
This new building was considerably larger than the earlier NACA buildings on South Base, but then the staff had increased and the extra space was needed. From 1950 when an earlier group picture was taken (E-33717) until 1954 the staff at the NACA increased from 132 to 250. As the workload increased and more research flights were completed the complement of employees grew to 662 in 1966.
More changes took place in 1954 with the Station being called the NACA High-Speed Flight Station. A further name change occurred in October 1958 to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) High-Speed Flight Station and again in September 1959 to the NASA Flight Research Center. There would be two more name changes before the next group photo (EC85-33160-2) would be made. On March 1976 to NASA Hugh L. Dryden Flight Research Center and in October 1981 when the Center became the Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility (reverting to Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994).Aug. 1954NASA Photo / › People Description