EXPLORATION

vi
Preface
the public in 2013, to good reception. 3 The presentation
was then followed by overview articles in News
& Notes, the NASA History Program Office’s quarterly
newsletter. 4 As interest in the topic continued
to grow, and with the encouragement of the NASA
Headquarters History Program Office, the authors
expanded the story of the NASA emblems to include
additional research and discussion of the logos used by
NASA’s predecessor, the National Advisory Committee
for Aeronautics (NACA).
The expansion of the effort to document the complete
account of the design, evolution, and applications
of the NACA and NASA emblems was deemed particularly
appropriate in recognition of the 100th anniversary
of the NACA/NASA in 2015. The centennial
celebration includes numerous historical reviews, symposia,
and media coverage that will benefit from the
material herein.
Research on the NACA emblems was especially
challenging. The history and evolution of the symbols
had not been documented prior to the current
research. Tracking down official documents and photographs
for the period 1915–1958 required extensive
investigation of current archives at NASA Centers
and trips to the National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA) at College Park, Maryland,
where many of the documents and photographs of the
NACA laboratories are stored. Unfortunately, some of
3 Chambers, Joseph R., “Wings, Meatballs, Worms and
Swooshes,” Lecture presented at NASA Langley Research
Center Colloquium Series, 9 July 2013, http://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=uLRMNNQiE0Q&feature=youtu.be
(accessed on 11 August 2014).
4 Joseph Chambers, “The NASA Seal and Insignia, Part 1,”
News & Notes of the NASA History Program Office, 30,
no. 2 (2013), pp. 11–15; and “The NASA Seal and Insignia,
Part 2,” News & Notes, 30, no. 3 (2013), pp. 1–4. Back
issues of News & Notes are available at http://history.nasa.
gov/histnews.htm.
the photographs showing early applications of NACA
logos have deteriorated beyond repair with age or have
disappeared from archival collections. On the other
hand, the majority of textual records at NARA have
been preserved in excellent physical condition and thus
provided invaluable information for this effort.
As might be expected, surprises occurred in the
review of the NACA data. For example, it was found
that the NACA operated for its first 25 years without
an official insignia and for almost 40 years without a
seal during an age noted for heraldry and organizational
emblems. The historical data gathered to date do
not permit identification of the designer of the original
NACA logo. Fortunately, archived information did
permit identification of precise dates and descriptions
of changes that occurred during the evolution of the
NACA insignia and seal.
Documentation of the design, evolution, and applications
of NASA emblems proved to be a less difficult
task. Key individuals and agencies involved in the
design process were identified, the symbolism of certain
elements was determined, changes that occurred
over the years were documented, and examples of
applications were selected. Research on the NASA
logos also produced unexpected results and findings.
For example, the background behind the design of the
red “slash” exhibited in the NASA insignia revealed an
undocumented association with previously classified
research activities. Also surprising was the unwillingness
of organizations—especially flight research operations—to
follow directives regarding the application
and modification of logos.
The material presented herein is organized chronologically
and covers the subject from the first days of the
NACA in 1915 to the current-day situation of NASA.
Inputs from historical archivists at the current NASA
Centers have contributed a significant amount of
material on the logos of the NACA and NASA at their