The
Armstrong Flight Research Center, located inside
Edwards Air Force Base, is an aeronautical research center operated by
NASA. It was originally named in honor of
Hugh L. Dryden, a prominent
aeronautical engineer who at the time of his death in 1965 was NASA's deputy administrator, and it is still variously known as
Dryden or the
Dryden Flight Research Center (
DFRC) while the details of the name change are decided (the name change to AFRC went into effect on March 1, 2014). First known as the
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics Muroc Flight Test Unit, the DFRC has also been known as the
High-Speed Flight Research Station (1949) and the
High-Speed Flight Station (1954). The facility was renamed, effective March 1, 2014, the Armstrong Flight Research Center in honor of
Neil Armstrong, the first human being to walk on the surface of the moon. Similarly the Western Aeronautical Test Range at the facility was renamed the NASA Hugh L. Dryden Aeronautical Test Range.