Downloaded from NASA Spacelink!
NASA (The National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is the civilian space agency of of the United States Federal Government. It reports directly to the White House and is not a Cabinetpost such as the military Department of Defense. Its 20K+ employeesare civil servants and hence US citizens. Another 100K+ contractorsalso work for NASA.
NASA CENTERS
NASA Headquarters (NASA HQ) Washington DC 20546
Ask them questions about policy, money, and things of political nature. Direct specific questions to the appropriate center.
NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) Moffett Field, CA 94035
Some aeronautical research, atmosphere reentry, Mars and Venus planetary atmospheres. "Lead center" for Helicopter research, V/STOL, etc. Runs Pioneer series of space probes.
NASA Ames Research Center Dryden Flight Research Facility [DFRF] P. O. Box 273 Edwards, CA 93523
Aircraft, mostly. Tested the shuttle orbiter landing characteristics. Developed X-1, D-558, X-3, X-4, X-5, XB-70, and of course, the X-15.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Greenbelt, MD 20771 [Outside of Washington DC]
Earth orbiting unmanned satellites and sounding rockets. Developed LANDSAT.
NASA Lewis Research Center (LeRC) 21000 Brookpark Rd. Cleveland, OH 44135
Aircraft/Rocket propulsion. Space power generation. Materials research.
NASA Johnson Manned Space Center (JSC) Houston, TX 77058
JSC manages Space Shuttle, ground control of manned missions. Astronaut training. Manned mission simulators.
NASA Kennedy Space Flight Center (KSC) Titusville, FL 32899
Space launch center. You know this one.
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Huntsville, AL 35812
Development, production, delivery of Solid Rocket Boosters, External Tank, Orbiter main engines. Propulsion and launchers.
NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) Hampton, VA 23665 [Near Newport News, VA]
Original NASA site. Specializes in theoretical and experimental flight dynamics. Viking. Long Duration Exposure Facility.
Wallops Flight Center Wallops Island, Virginia 23337
Aeronautical research, sounding rockets, Scout launcher.
Jet Propulsion Laboratory [JPL/CIT] California Institute of Technology 4800 Oak Grove Dr. Pasadena, CA 91109
The "heavies" in planetary research probes and other unmanned projects (they also had a lot to do with IRAS). They run Voyager, Magellan, Galileo, and will run Cassini, CRAF, etc. etc.. For images, probe navigation, and other info about unmanned exploration, this is the place to go.
JPL is run under contract for NASA by the nearby California Institute of Technology, unlike the NASA centers above. This distinction is subtle but critical. JPL has different requirements for unsolicited research proposals and summer hires. For instance in the latter, an SF 171 is useless. Employees are Caltech employees, contractors, and for the most part have similar responsibilities. They offer an alternative to funding after other NASA Centers.
Manager, Technology Utilization Office NASA Scientific and Technical Information Facility Post Office Box 8757 Baltimore, Maryland 21240
Specific requests for software must go thru COSMIC at the Univ. of Georgia, NASA's contracted software redistribution service. You can reach them at cosmic@uga.bitnet.
NOTE: Foreign nationals requesting information must go through their Embassies in Washington DC. These are facilities of the US Government and are regarded with some degree of economic sensitivity. Centers cannot directly return information without high Center approval. Allow at least 1 month for clearance. This includes COSMIC.