Armstrong Flight Research Center advances NASA’s aeronautics mission

Nestled in the Mojave Desert, Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, pushes the boundaries of flight to advance NASA’s aeronautics mission. It is the site where Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier, and where engineers now pioneer high-speed, autonomous and electrified aircraft.

The center’s story begins in 1947, when 13 engineers and technicians from the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics arrived at Muroc Army Airfield to establish the Station for High-Speed Research and prepare for the X-1 supersonic flights. The Bell X-1 became the first aircraft to fly faster than the speed of sound in level flight, a milestone that helped cement Edwards as a cornerstone of flight research.

Armstrong’s location at Edwards Air Force Base offers access to the nation’s largest secure flight test range, roughly 470 square miles including Rogers Dry Lake’s 44-square-mile surface.

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