Neil Armstrong’s name is attached to a lunar crater, an asteroid, more than a dozen schools and a museum, but not a single NASA facility is christened in honor of the man whose “giant leap” made him the first to walk on the moon.
All that could soon change on the fringes of the Mojave Desert, where leaders at the space agency’s top flight research center, where the late Ohio native was a test pilot, are mulling the consequences of a proposed name change.
The push by some in Congress to strike the name of former NASA executive Hugh Dryden from the facility has brought with it some questions: Is it justified to substitute one accomplished figure for another? At a time of squeezed budgets, is it worth the cost?
Managers at the Dryden Flight Research Center have no say in what they’re called — final approval rests with lawmakers — and so they have left the soul-searching to others.
“I’m happy with the name Dryden Flight Research Center, but I’ll be equally happy with Armstrong,” center Director David McBride said.
Though the change is not a done deal, planning is already underway: Welcome signs bearing the Dryden logo would have to be updated. Research aircraft would need their identifying markings repainted. Letterhead and pamphlets would have to be recycled. And then there’s the obligatory dedication ceremony.
Dryden officials have not calculated a total makeover cost but don’t foresee receiving extra funds, meaning they would have to work within their $65 million operating budget to pay for the changes.
It wouldn’t be the first rebranding of a NASA facility. In 1999, the Lewis Research Center in Cleveland — named for George Lewis, the first executive officer of NASA’s predecessor agency — was changed to the John H. Glenn Research Center, after the former Ohio senator who was first American to orbit Earth. A daylong celebration was held, complete with an F-16 flyover and a parade filled with floats, marching bands and a cameo appearance by Glenn.
Any festivities marking a Dryden-to-Armstrong swap would likely be more muted to save money.
A name switch often occurs to raise a center’s profile and is not unlike what happens at universities, which shuffle the nameplate on buildings and stadiums as memories fade and institutions try to cash in on a bigger celebrity or generous donor.
“Dryden had a tremendous influence on the original space program,” said American University space policy professor Howard McCurdy. Still, he added: “With few exceptions, time diminishes everyone’s legacy.”
After the House in late February voted unanimously for a Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center, Dryden officials started a checklist of signs that would need replacing on buildings, highway exits and aircraft. The Glenn Center spent about $260,000 on a new website, fresh signs and updated printed materials. To cut down on costs, employees were encouraged to use up the old letterhead when communicating with one another.
This is the second attempt at a name change by Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy, whose district includes Dryden. The measure is awaiting consideration in the Senate, which failed to act last year.
Some in Congress have questioned the idea, given the fiscal climate.
“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,” Rep. Donna Edwards, D-Maryland, said during the bill’s debate. Edwards nonetheless voted for bill.
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