 With the X-1, flight testing at Muroc began to assume two distinct identities.Highly experimental research programs—such as the X-3, X-4, X-5 and XF-92A—were typically flown in conjunction with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, or NACA, and were conducted in a methodical fashion to answer largely theoretical questions.Then, as now, the great bulk of flight testing at Muroc focused on evaluations of the capabilities of aircraft and systems proposed for the operational inventory.In December 1949, Muroc was renamed Edwards Air Force Base in honor of Captain Glen Edwards (1918–1948), who was killed a year earlier in the crash of the Northrop YB-49 Flying Wing.