The next time you get on a plane or watch a U.S. space launch, picture in your mind coastal Virginia and the city of Hampton, near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. It's the home of NASA's Langley Research Center, 800 acres of cutting edge aerospace technology.

Langley continues to forge new frontiers in aviation and space research as it has since 1917, when it was established as the nation's first civilian aeronautics laboratory. Langley's mission and contributions to aerospace, atmospheric sciences and technology commercialization are improving the way the world lives.

More than half of NASA Langley's research is in aeronautics. Many of the facility's 3800 civil service and contract employees focus on improving today's military and civilian aircraft, while designing tomorrow's jets. Not only does Langley develop Airframe Systems, scientists also examine the layers of air planes and spacecraft fly through in Atmospheric Sciences.

Researchers have expanded their studies into other atmospheres, the kind spacecraft will find on distant planets. Next generation spaceships will be able to survive unforgiving extraterrestrial environments, because of work done at Langley in NASA's Center of Excellence for Structures and Materials and in wind tunnels and test facilities.

Langley leads NASA initiatives in aviation safety, quiet aircraft technology, small aircraft transportation and aerospace vehicles system technology. It supports NASA space programs with atmospheric research and technology testing and development.

Its research has a significant impact on the global economy, making the skies safer, quieter and more efficient.