In this historical photo from the U.S. space agency, Mr. Abe Silverstein, Chief of the Wind Tunnel and Flight Research Division at the Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, Cleveland, Ohio, now known as John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field, demonstrates the operation of a model ramjet aircraft engine on June 26, 1945.
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).