LABORATORY SERIES. No.03. Skunk Works hanger in Palmdale, CA. Founded by Kelly Johnson in 1943 under the motto “quick, quiet, quality,” Skunk Works is the official alias for Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Program (ADP). The secret research-cum-development facility developed a working model that granted small teams space to work in undisclosed locations, with relative autonomy from corporate bureaucracy and standard procedures. The rules of engagement are outlined by Kelly in “14 Rules and Practices.” Today, the term Skunk Works has become synonymous with the “space of innovation” coopted by corporate tech giants. Photo: Wikipedia.


LABORATORY SERIES. No.19. Aerial image of the XB-70 Valkyrie crash site 12 miles north of Barstow, CA. Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert has been the test site and crash site for military aircrafts since the 1940s.Though the military recovers as much from the wreckage as possible, the landscape still bears evidence of these crashes. The XB-70 Valkyrie was wrecked during a photo shoot following a routine test mission in 1966. Photo Courtesy of Center for Land Use Interpretation