As the NASA Ames Research Center approached its 70th anniversary in
December 2009, there was interest in updating the 60th anniversary
history Atmosphere of Freedom: Sixty Years at the NASA Ames
Research Center (NASA SP-4314). Much had happened in the decade
from 1999 to 2009.Ames stayed focused on its historical mission of
basic research and forward-thinking technologies-in information
technology, aeronautics, reentry systems, space life sciences, and
planetary science. Still, the Center confronted new challenges and
new programs emerged. Notable was the growth of astrobiology, the
birth and death of nanotechnology, the establishment of the NASA
Research Park, the LCROSS mission to the Moon and the Kepler
mission to hunt for Earth-sized planets. Perhaps the most important
challenge was NASA's Constellation program, a full-bore effort to
create a transportation system for human spaceflight to replace the
Space Shuttle and return America to the Moon. Furthermore, events
of the most recent decade shed new light on parts of NASA Ames'
legacy. The renewed emphasis on small spacecraft, for example,
prompted renewed interest in Ames' historical strengths in
spacecraft engineering dating back to the1960s. The renewed
emphasis on NASA research to resolve the common concerns of
commercial space, likewise, prompted renewed interest in Ames work
to support the information technology industry. This update also
allowed for a reconfiguration of the text. The story here starts
in1958 when the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA),
of which Ames was apart, was incorporated into the new National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The first twenty years
of Ames' history-back to 1939, its NACA years-remains relevant. The
NACA culture is firmly fixed with in Ames and often colored its
work in the NASA years, especially in its continuing efforts in
aeronautics and in how it provides research support to firms and
other Centers pursuing larger projects. For those interested in
Ames during the NACA years, that story is told well in Edwin P.
Hartman, Adventures in Research: A History of the Ames Research
Center, 1940-1965 (NASASP-4302, 1970). The 60th anniversary edition
of Atmosphere of Freedom was organized largely chronologically,
with topical areas broken into larges watches of time. This 70th
anniversary edition begins with a history of the Center from the
perspective of the Center directors- there have been ten since
1958.This ties the history of Ames into its larger context of space
policy and politics, and addresses the impact of leadership on the
history of the Center. Then the chapters are organized by the
subjects that persisted throughout Ames' history: spacecraft
projects, human exploration, planetary sciences, space life
sciences, information technology, and aeronautical research. Each
of these stories has a history dating back to at least 1958, so
issues of overlap in the narrative remain-in that what Ames has
done best is explore the fruitful interchanges of disciplines and
capabilities. Computational fluid dynamics, for example, developed
from iterative advances in aerodynamics, supercomputing and
software development, and so will be addressed in various chapters.
Astrobiology, likewise, grew along the shifting border between the
space life sciences and planetary science. However, the larger
themes relevant on its 60th anniversary remain relevant on the 70th
anniversary of NASA Ames: the complex and constant intermingling
and convergence of people, tools and ideas. Ames people value the
perpetual reinvention of their careers and the cross-fertilization
of ideas. Ames stands as an extraordinary repository of high-tech
equipment, research laboratories, and facilities. That physical
infrastructure supports what Ames truly is-a growing and evolving
community of researchers and support staff who have given birth to
new technologies, and thus enabled the human conquest of the
atmosphere and the exploration of spa
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