In this historical photo from the U.S. space agency, goggles at the ready, this Langley test pilot and engineer conducted research business high above the ground. In the early years the flight research team was usually made up of a test pilot (Thomas Carroll, front cockpit) and an engineer (John W. Gus Crowley, Jr.).
The National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) was a precursor to NASA. NACA was created by Congress in 1915.
Each weekday, SPACE.com looks back at the history of spaceflight through photos (archive).