A Self-Guided Tour at NASA Ames Research Center

NASA Ames Research Center is a research facility operated by America's space agency on the grounds of the fomer Moffett Naval Air Station (Now known as Moffett Federal Airfield) in Silicon Valley, California. Most of the NASA infrastructure is clustered around the northwest corner of the airfield, in the shadow of the gigantic Hangar One. Ames has been a research center since 1939, when it was founded under the auspices of NASA's predecessor agency, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. Some of the surviving buildings still recall that history:

Today, Ames does a lot of work on far-out disciplines such as astrobiology, robotics, airborne astronomy, and information technology. Ames is also home to the world's largest wind tunnel, so the center is also active in materials and aerodynamic research.

No rockets depart from Ames, however, and it's not used for Mission Control, so the facility normally has the air of a sedate university campus.  But in April, Ames hosts a trippy science fair, called Yuri's Night, to honor Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin's 1961 spaceflight — the first time a human reached orbit. Sociologically, Yuri's Night feels a lot like Burning Man or the Maker's Faire, with more of a space-hippie vibe. Consider: Former Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh performed at Yuri's Night in a band called... wait for it... Telstar! (If we had lawyers, they'd have something to say about this.)

But never mind all that. For this Telstar, Telstar Logistics, the big attraction of Yuri's Night is the opportunity it affords to explore parts of Ames that are normally off-limits, such as Hangar 211, which will soon be home to the Boeing 747SP-based SOFIA airborne observatory. Here's the interior of Hangar 211:

Far less sexxxy is the area where the SOFIA team works. It looks sort of like a nightmare from The Matrix:

NASA also puts some of its more tasty bits of hardware on display, such as SOFIA's predecessor, the C-141 Starlifter-based Kuiper Airborne Observatory, which was retired in 1995.  You can see the hatch for the airborne telescope, just forward of the wing root, in the top photo:

Aircraft 846, one of NASA's still-active F-18 Hornet chase planes, was also on display. As you may recall, No. 846 made a cameo while flying wingman for the X-45A, a prototype unmanned combat air vehicle.

Want more photos? Follow the links below.

LINKS:
Moffett Field and NASA Ames (Photos by Telstar Logistics)

Yuri’s Night Bay Area 2008, A World Space Party at NASA (Excellent crowd photos of Yuri's Night by Scott Beale/Laughing Squid)

Tour of NASA Ames Research Center (Excellent 2007 Ames photos from Scott Beale/Laughing Squid)

PREVIOUSLY:
The Fight to Save Hangar One, Silicon Valley's Monument to the Age of the Airships

Former Pan Am 747SP Becomes NASA's Newest Airborne Telescope

Larry and Sergey Cleared to Land at Uncle Sam's Private Airport in Silicon Valley

Over Silicon Valley in a B-17 Flying Fortress

(IMAGES: All photos above by Telstar Logistics)

Comments

[The Idiot]

Man, I love that NACA picture. Thanks for the tour.

[Bot.builder]

Hey thanks for the laugh! Hanger 211 maybe SOFIA's home in about 20 years after it has been retired from Dryden Flight Research Center. I think there's some wishful thinking on the part of the Ames folks. For now, Hanger 211 is the home of Google's Boeing 767.

[Alex Stall]

Thanks for all of the great pictures. I didn't realize they had been doing research at this facility since 1939. Amazing.