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Inside the world's largest wind tunnel

The United States Air Force operates the 80x120-foot wind tunnel at Moffett Field in Mountain View, Calif., where researchers put aeronautics to the test.

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James Martin Managing Editor, Photography
James Martin is the Managing Editor of Photography at CNET. His photos capture technology's impact on society - from the widening wealth gap in San Francisco, to the European refugee crisis and Rwanda's efforts to improve health care. From the technology pioneers of Google and Facebook, photographing Apple's Steve Jobs and Tim Cook, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Google's Sundar Pichai, to the most groundbreaking launches at Apple and NASA, his is a dream job for any documentary photography and journalist with a love for technology. Exhibited widely, syndicated and reprinted thousands of times over the years, James follows the people and places behind the technology changing our world, bringing their stories and ideas to life.
Expertise photojournalism, portrait photography, behind-the-scenes Credentials
  • 2021 Graphis Photography Awards, Gold Award, Journalism, 'The Doorway' Graphis Photography Awards, Silver Award, Portrait, 'Cast of film '1917'' Graphis Photography Awards, Silver Award, Environmental, 'Upper Lola Montez' ND Awards, Architecture, 'Taj Mah
James Martin
Only U.S. citizens are allowed to see inside the huge facility located at Moffett Field in Mountain View, Calif.
Only U.S. citizens are allowed inside the wind tunnel facility at NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field in Mountain View, Calif., where researchers put aeronautics to the test. James Martin/CNET
Branch Chief of the Aeromechanics Branch Flight Vehicle Research and Technology Division Dr. William Warmbrodt talks about some of the advanced helicopter research which takes place there.
William Warmbrodt, branch chief of the Aeromechanics Branch Flight Vehicle Research and Technology Division, talks about some of the advanced helicopter research taking place there. James Martin/CNET
The wind tunnel is the largest in the world at 80x120 feet. It was built in the 1940s and uses 100 megawatts of power to generate the 100-knot winds.
The wind tunnel is the largest in the world at 80x120 feet. It was built in the 1940s and uses 100 megawatts of power to generate the 100-knot winds. James Martin/CNET