United States
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NASA is the U.S. federal agency responsible for the civil space program. It opened on October 1, 1958, and today runs human and robotic spaceflight, aeronautics research and science missions that study Earth and the wider universe. Its Glenn Research Center publishes a free Beginner’s Guide to Aeronautics.
We are not affiliated with NASA. The description above was checked against the organization's own website on 28 Sept 2026.
Its best free material
Short descriptions are our own summaries. The resources belong to, and are run by, their publishers.
- Beginner’s Guide to Aeronautics ↗
by NASA
NASA Glenn’s free, illustrated guide to how airplanes and rockets fly, from the four forces to engines and wind tunnels.
- Beginner’s Guide interactive simulators ↗
by NASA
Free NASA simulators for airfoils, kites, engines, nozzles, rockets and wind tunnels. Best on a desktop computer.
Trusted for
- UniversePlanets, stars, galaxies and the history of the cosmos, plus how we explore space with telescopes, rockets and satellites.5 branches
- Space ExplorationHow people explore beyond Earth with satellites, robotic probes and crewed missions, from Sputnik in 1957 to the International Space Station.3 branches
- AerodynamicsThe study of forces on objects moving through air, and the motion they cause. It explains what holds a plane up and what slows it down.2 branches
- Aerospace EngineeringThe engineering of aircraft, spacecraft, satellites and missiles, from first design to tested prototype. It splits into aeronautics and astronautics.5 branches
Pages on this site that cite it
- AerodynamicsThe study of forces on objects moving through air, and the motion they cause. It explains what holds a plane up and what slows it down.2 branches
- Aerospace EngineeringThe engineering of aircraft, spacecraft, satellites and missiles, from first design to tested prototype. It splits into aeronautics and astronautics.5 branches
- AircraftHow an airplane's parts work together: wings for lift, engines for thrust, and hinged surfaces that let the pilot steer in three directions.
- Bernoulli's PrincipleIn a flowing fluid, faster flow means lower pressure. It's a form of energy conservation, and one correct way to explain how wings make lift.
- BuoyancyWhy things float, sink or hover: the upward push of liquids and gases, Archimedes' principle, density, and how ships, balloons and divers use it.
- DragDrag is the air resistance that pushes back on anything moving through air. Its strength depends on shape, surface, speed and the air itself.
- DronesDrones are aircraft with no pilot on board, flown remotely or autonomously. What they are, how multirotors are studied, and the basic rules.
- Fluid MechanicsHow liquids and gases behave when they sit still and when they flow: pressure, buoyancy and the physics behind weather, pipes and flight.3 branches
- ForcesA force is a push or a pull with a size and a direction. Forces start, stop and steer every motion, including an airplane's flight.3 branches
- FrictionThe force that resists surfaces sliding over each other. Why it exists, why starting is harder than keeping going, and how we use it or fight it.
- Heat & ThermodynamicsHeat, temperature and the four laws of thermodynamics: how heat moves, why no engine is perfect, and how fridges and heat pumps work.
- LiftLift is the force that holds an airplane up. A wing makes it by turning the air flowing past it, so flight needs both air and motion.
- Light & WavesWhat waves are, how sound travels, the electromagnetic spectrum from radio waves to gamma rays, and how light reflects, bends and interferes.
- MagnetismWhy magnets attract and repel, why every magnet has two poles, and how Earth's own magnetic field guides a compass.
- MechanicsThe branch of physics that explains how and why things move: forces, motion, momentum and energy, from falling objects to orbiting planets.4 branches
- MomentumMomentum is mass times velocity. Why it is conserved in collisions, how an impulse changes it, and how airbags and rockets use it.
- Newton's Laws of MotionThree rules that explain how every object moves: inertia, force equals mass times acceleration, and every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
- SatellitesAnything that orbits a planet, natural like the Moon or artificial like Sputnik: how they stay up, how fast they travel, and what we learn from them.
- Solar SystemThe Sun and everything bound to it: eight planets, five dwarf planets, hundreds of moons, and more than a million asteroids and comets.4 branches
- Space ExplorationHow people explore beyond Earth with satellites, robotic probes and crewed missions, from Sputnik in 1957 to the International Space Station.3 branches
- Weather & ClimateWeather is what the sky does today; climate is the long-term pattern. How they differ, and what the evidence shows about today's warming.