The V-2 rocket, first used in World War II by the Germans and later used by the United States in its early rocketry work, was the first manufactured object to achieve hypersonic flight in February 1949.

The acceleration of an object toward the ground caused by gravity alone, near the surface of Earth, is called "normal gravity," or 1g. This acceleration is equal to 32.2 ft/sec2 (9.8 m/sec2).

NASA stands for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; there are ten NASA centers nationwide, not including NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

INSPIRE stands for Interdisciplinary National Science Project Incorporating Research and Education Experience and is a national program for students in 9th through 12th grade, but that’s nothing new. The INSPIRE program is. In its second year of the Online Community, the INSPIRE OLC currently has over 1300 students.

INSPIRE also includes the Summer STEM Experience, a program designed for students entering the 9th through 12th grades. Last year 356 students were accepted for the Summer Experience. Be sure to apply early if you want to be a part of this exciting program.

The X-48B is an unmanned research the uses a blended wing/fuselage to reduce both exhaust and noise pollution.

Astronaut Ed White became the first American to walk in space on June 3, 1965. Since White’s historic EVA (Extravehicular Activity), astronauts have used spacewalks to retrieve satellites, repair the Hubble space telescope, and assemble portions of the International Space Station.