Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the Moon, may be recognized by NASA with the re-naming of a flight center in his honor. The Dryden Flight Research Center, where Armstrong trained from 1955 to 1962, is located 90 miles north of Los Angeles. That facility is where the sound barrier was first broken in 1947.
NASA does not yet have a center named after the legendary astronaut. There is, however, a crater on the Moon, an asteroid, several schools, a museum and more named after the legendary astronaut.
Neither NASA nor the administration of the center have the authority to re-name the facility. That power lies with the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. In February, the House voted unanimously to honor Armstrong with his name on a NASA center. The bill was sponsored by Kevin McCarthy, a Republican representing the district where the center is located.
The Dryden Flight Research Center was named in honor of Hugh Dryden, NASA's first deputy administrator, who passed away in 1965. That name change happened in 1976. Should the center in the Mojave Desert be re-named in honor of Armstrong, Dryden's name would become attached to the center's test range.
"I'm happy with the name Dryden Flight Research Center, but I'll be equally happy with Armstrong. Both men were leaders in the field," David McBride, director of the center, said.
While Armstrong was at the facility, he flew the X-15 aircraft, which had a top speed of over 4,500 MPH and helped pave the way to space for America. Costs for the name switchover would include the re-painting of aircraft logos, and new signs for the facility and highways, along with new stationary. When the Lewis Research Center in Ohio was re-branded in honor of John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, ceremonies included marching bands and floats. Total costs were around $260,000. Some in Congress question whether that price is worthwhile for the Dryden Center.
""I doubt in this era of declining funding for NASA that either Neil Armstrong or Hugh Dryden would want a single precious dollar to be spent on a cosmetic facility name change when that money could be spent instead on fulfilling NASA's mission to reach for the stars," Donna Edwards, Democratic representative from Maryland, said. Nevertheless, Edwards voted for the bill.
