EXPLORATION

116 CHAPTER 6 Back to the Future, 1992–Today
meatball insignia. 23 During back-to-back hurricanes in
2004, the building lost nearly 850 of its panels that
each measure 14 by 6 feet, and both the flag and meatball
were damaged. The facility underwent a major
repair and refurbishment project in 2007.
On 1 March 2014, NASA renamed its Dryden
Flight Research Center the NASA Armstrong Flight
Research Center (AFRC) in honor of the legendary
astronaut Neil A. Armstrong. The Center continues to
exhibit the NASA meatball insignia on virtually every
building and research vehicle. The dominance of the
meatball on display is common to all other Centers,
with infrequent uses of the seal. An example of the seal
can be seen at AFRC on the display of the HL-10 lifting
body at the entrance to the Center.
AIRCRAFT
Even a cursory review of the markings and insignia
carried by current-day NASA research and support aircraft
reveals a wide array of practices and applications.
The NACA maintained relatively disciplined markings
on its aircraft. Today, however, NASA’s aircraft are typically
marked with program-specific logos determined
by the resident research center.
FIGURE 6-14.
The NASA seal is prominently exhibited on the HL-10 display at the entrance to the
NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center. (NASA ED14-0081-128)
23 “Restoring Old Glory and a Massive Meatball,” available
online at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/
behindscenes/vab_flag.html (accessed 3 September 2014).
FIGURE 6-15.
The meatball on the Glenn
Research Center’s hangar
gets a touch-up in 2006.
(NASA C-2006-1777)