NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis
Field (see History for previous names) is a NASA
center,
located within the cities of Brook Park
, Cleveland
and Fairview Park
, Ohio
between
Cleveland
Hopkins International Airport
and the Cleveland
Metroparks's Rocky River Reservation, and has other subsidiary
facilities in Ohio
. Its
current director is
Woodrow Whitlow
Jr. and its deputy director is Ramon Lugo.Glenn Research Center
is one of ten major NASA field centers, whose primary mission is to
develop science and technology for use in aeronautics and
space.
History
The
installation was established in 1942 as part of the National Advisory
Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and was later incorporated
into the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA
) as a
laboratory for aircraft engine research.
It was initially named the
Aircraft Engine Research
Laboratory after funding approval was given in June 1940. It
was renamed the
Flight Propulsion Research Laboratory in
1947, the
Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory in 1948 and
the
NASA Lewis Research Center in 1958.
On March 1, 1999, the
Lewis Research Center was officially
renamed the
NASA John H. Glenn Research
Center at Lewis Field after John
Glenn (American
fighter
pilot, astronaut and politician) and George
W. Lewis (head of
NACA
from 1919 to 1947). Within NASA, Glenn is often referred to by the
acronym GRC.
As early as 1951, researchers at the Lewis Flight Propulsion
Laboratory were studying the combustion processes in
liquid rocket engines.
Facilities
- Plum Brook Station (PBS)

GRC Plum Brook Station Spacecraft
Propulsion Facility (B-2)
The Plum
Brook field station near Sandusky, Ohio
is also part of Glenn. It specializes in
very large-scale tests which would be hazardous within the confines
of the main campus. The Spacecraft Propulsion Facility at Plum
Brook Station (PBS) is the world's only facility capable of testing
full-scale upper-stage launch vehicles and rocket engines under
simulated high-altitude conditions. The PBS
Space Power Facility houses the world's
largest space environment simulation chamber. PBS also has
cryogenic test facilities and a hypersonic wind tunnel. In 2008
NASA agreed to pay $33.5 million to have its
Plum Brook Reactor Facility
decontaminated and decommissioned.
- Icing Tunnel
An icing tunnel is capable of simulating atmospheric icing
condition to test the effect of ice accretion on aircraft wings and
body as well as to test anti-icing systems for aircraft.
- Zero Gravity Research Facility

The Zero Gravity Research Facility is a vertical
vacuum chamber used for
microgravity experiments. It was designated a
National Historic
Landmark in 1985.
- Spacecraft
Propulsion Research Facility
(B-2)
- Rocket Engine Test
Facility
This is a facility that was designated a National Historic
Landmark, but de-designated later.
Significant developments
- in Aeronautics Science and Technology
- in Space Science and Technology
The Glenn Research Center, along with its partners in industry, are
credited with the following:
Significant contributions
- to Education
Glenn Research Center is home to the LERCIP (Lewis' Educational and
Research Collaborative Internship Program) program. It provides
internships for high school students, college students, and high
school teachers. The high school program is an 8 week internship
for sophomores and juniors with interests in science, technology,
engineering, math, or professional administration. The college
level consists of a 10 week internship and is open to college
students at all levels, from graduating high school seniors to PhD
candidates. Only residents of the Cleveland area are eligible for
high school LECIP, but college LECIP is open to students
nationwide. Interns work closely with their NASA mentors and are
involved in the day-to-day activities of the Center. They are
expected to be available to work 40 hours a week for the duration
of the internship. Pay is given biweekly, and is determined by
academic level for college students. The LERCIP Teacher program is
a 10 week internship for educators in STEM fields.
- Other
Future of Glenn
Since 2004, NASA has begun shifting its focus towards space
exploration as mandated by the
Vision for Space Exploration.
It has been perceived by some that in doing so, the regional NASA
centers focused on research and technology, such as Glenn, are
becoming more and more marginalized in terms of resources and
relevance
[45319]. The future of these research centers
is of course uncertain, and will have a lot to do with the
evolution of NASA itself over the coming decades.
On
May 13,
2006, it was
announced that NASA Glenn Research Center had secured management of
the
Crew Exploration
Vehicle's service module, which promises to generate billions
of dollars and hundreds of jobs for the center, which will control
management and budgeting for the project. This work will secure the
center's future in the near term, and signals a shift in priority
for the center from aeronautical research to space exploration,
aligning itself closer with NASA's new mission.
NASA Glenn Visitor Center
The NASA Glenn Visitor Center features six galleries with
interactive exhibits about NASA, space exploration, John Glenn and
other astronauts, satellites and the solar system. The center also
features an auditorium for lectures, movies and special programs,
and a gift shop. Admission is free. Adult visitors must be U.S.
citizens and present photo identification.
The NASA Glenn Research Center also offers public tours of its
research facilities on the first Saturday of each month.
Reservations must be made in advance.
In July 2009 it was announced that the Visitor Center would be
closing in September and negotiations were ongoing to shift some of
the displays to the Great Lakes Science Center. This move was being
done to reduce the public relations budget. It is hoped that
putting the displays at the much more visited science center will
bring the NASA Glenn facility more public exposure. The new display
area at the science center is being refereed to as the Glenn
Visitor Center, and the negotiating points appear to be over the
admissions cost, since the visitor center is currently free and the
science center charges admission.
References
- NASA Glenn Research Center, Official Web Site [1]
- LIQUID HYDROGREN AS A PROPULSION FUEL, 1945-1959, NASA [2]
- Innovative Engines, NASA [3]
-
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/education/LERCIP_GRC.html
-
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1247733104222090.xml&coll=2
-
http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2009/07/nasa_glenn.html
External links