Neil Armstrong Research Center
House Renames Flight Center After Neil Armstrong
“The House of Representatives today approved a resolution to rename the Dryden Flight Research Center, located in southern California, the “Neil Armstrong Research Center.” H.R. 667 also re-designates the surrounding test range to honor Hugh Dryden, a prominent aeronautical engineer.”
House Republicans are over the moon about sequestration, Washington Post
“The lone Democrat to speak, Rep. Donna Edwards (Md.), noted the irony in the vote. “We will do our renaming today,” she said, and then “we will take an ax hammer to NASA’s budget on March 1, at the end of this week, taking out $894 million from an already strapped budget. I dare say future generations will not be inspired by what this Congress will do.”
Keith’s update: What are the acronym implications of this? There is already an “ARC” at NASA. I do not think “NARC” will be used too often …
Politicians riding on the coat tails of heroes. Always a lovely site.
Armstrong Flight Research Center?
You may be close Keith. Go for NAARC. Maybe it will erode the “narc” slang term and make it obsolete. Slang drug acronyms are so 50+ years out of date, just like drugs are. It’s time to abandon the old use and move the acronym in to better use. Then one hundred years from now the dictionaries can read: definition: “narc”, slang, back alley term, <archaic>, term used by primitive man to refer to illegal chemical use.
What is the average age of NASA employees?
I heard the average age these days is around 47. But Post-Shuttle era I believe that accelerated decay has been occurring, so the average age may be 87 within a few days.
50+ years???
Urbandictionary:
narc1471 up, 171 down1. n. Short for a Narcotics officer. A member of Law Enforcement that enforces drug laws. 2. n. A person who is not a member of Law Enforcement but turns you into the police for doing or dealing drugs
I have respect for Mr Armstrong, but this is just Another WASTE of time and funds by our elected officials. Why do idiots always seem to think that renaming facilities to someone new is showing them respect? I think it’s more of a grandstanding form of stupidity and a waste of our taxes. If you want to immortalize these individuals how about a monument somewhere or a stamp. No instead we rename a facility to them for a decade then when someone more important to the next band of elected idiots comes along we rename it again. We tax payers get to pay to remake all of the signs and documents and all of the other bureaucratic BS that has to be dealt with. It would be really cool if Mr. Armstrong’s family stepped up and said no thank you. In a time where our nation has enough Waste, we’d rather not remember our family member by giving some idiot politicians something to claim credit for.
Didn’t Armstrong specifically reject this idea before he died? Out of respect for Dryden, whom he worked with and respected. The renaming shows disrespect not just for Dryden, but for Armstrong’s wishes too.
I respect Mr. Armstrong and his family, but is this how they want Neil to be remembered? Our politicians will leave it until they find a new hero they want to make a sound bite out of. Then they will rename the Center to something new. In the mean time the tax payers foot the bill for the renaming process of the Center and all the headaches involved with it. Thank our idiot politicians for wasting more of our tax dollars. It would be nice if the Armstrong family sent a nice letter to these elected idiots telling them to erect a nice monument somewhere that they can’t take down in a decade. Or how about a nice Stamp set of all the Astronauts with Neil as the main attraction. This would have a little more lasting significance than wasting the funds to rename DFRC….
I’m sorry, folks… It is just so right to rename Dryden after Neil. As the consummate engineer-test-pilot-astronaut, he embodied the soul of Edwards/Dryden. Three words: X-15 Flight 51.
Who cares about the acronym?
Neil Armstrong was not into big fanfares or monuments. Disregarding his wishes shouldn’t be done lightly.
I agree with the comments here. This re-naming makes no sense. It certainly sucks for the late Mr. Dryden. Neil Armstrong deserves all the accolades, and is a true American hero. Just wait until a new NASA / aeronautical facility or center is established, and name it after Armstrong. In the meanwhile, a mounument or memorial of some type would be nice. But yes, for Pete’s sake NASA, stop re-naming important science centers. When you give something a name, stick with it.
NASA doesn’t have a voice in this. This was a bill put forward by a Republican in the House.
From what I understand about him, I doubt Neil would have liked this.
Whether that means it should not be done, or it means that his humble personality (in light of his accomplishments) makes him even more deserving is a tough call to make.
In any case, I would have thought that the House would have more pressing issues to discuss these days.
Based on the personality that clearly came across in the very limited number of interviews that Armstrong gave during his career, I can’t imagine that he would have seen this as a worthwhile change. Quite possibly, Dryden was one of the people who Armstrong looked up to professinoally. Wouldn’t that make this pointless change ironic?
I’m sure Armstrong (and a X-15 pilot) had high regards for Dryden.
Who Was Hugh Dryden and Why Should We Care?Page 163, http://history.nasa.gov/sp4…
“Dryden and Briggs predicted the effects in a seminal NACA Report (Number 207) published in 1925, entitled Aerodynamic Characteristics of Airfoils at High Speeds.”
and
[1954]… “Dryden not only persuaded these officers to underwrite this [X15] expensive and risky venture (that offered no clear military value), but reserved the role of chairman for himself. Once in command, Hugh Dryden guided the fortunes of the first aircraft to fly hypersonically, to enter the realm of space, and to serve as a test bed for later, more daring activities outside of the atmosphere.”
Thank you, House, this is definitely the most pressing space exploration before us today. Tell you what, obviously I can’t speak for Armstrong, but pass a meaningful NASA budget 394 – 0 and you can call it the “Pelosi/Boehner Research Center” for all I care.
NARC => NArC or NAC (pronounced knack).
From Harrap’s English Pocket Dictionary – knack (~noun) talent/ability.