Search Results: All Fields similar to 'Dryden or Langley'

Printer Friendly
1 2 3 4 539 40
251-500 of 9,827
     
     
M2-F1 car tow test with 1963 …
Dale Reed's home movie of an …
Mothership Drop Test of an M …
Mothership Drop Test of an M …
X-38 Arrival at NASA Dryden …
Photo Description NASA's first X-38 Advanced Technology Demonstrator for the proposed Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) arrives at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, in June 1997. The vehicle arrived aboard a USAF C-17 transport aircraft from NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC). Captive-carry flights attached under the wing of Dryden's B-52 are scheduled to begin in July, with unpiloted free-flights from the B-52 scheduled to begin in the fall.
Project Description The X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) research project is designed to develop the technology for a prototype emergency crew return vehicle, or lifeboat, for the International Space Station. The project is also intended to develop a crew return vehicle design that could be modified for other uses, such as a joint U.S. and international human spacecraft that could be launched on the French Ariane-5 Booster. The X-38 project is using available technology and off-the-shelf equipment to significantly decrease development costs. Original estimates to develop a capsule-type crew return vehicle were estimated at more than $2 billion. X-38 project officials have estimated that development costs for the X-38 concept will be approximately one quarter of the original estimate. Off-the-shelf technology is not necessarily "old" technology. Many of the technologies being used in the X-38 project have never before been applied to a human-flight spacecraft. For example, the X-38 flight computer is commercial equipment currently used in aircraft and the flight software operating system is a commercial system already in use in many aerospace applications. The video equipment for the X-38 is existing equipment, some of which has already flown on the space shuttle for previous NASA experiments. The X-38's primary navigational equipment, the Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System, is a unit already in use on Navy fighters. The X-38 electromechanical actuators come from previous joint NASA, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Navy research and development projects. Finally, an existing special coating developed by NASA will be used on the X-38 thermal tiles to make them more durable than those used on the space shuttles. The X-38 itself was an unpiloted lifting body designed at 80 percent of the size of a projected emergency crew return vehicle for the International Space Station, although two later versions were planned at 100 percent of the CRV size. The X-38 and the actual CRV are patterned after a lifting-body shape first employed in the Air Force-NASA X-24 lifting-body project in the early to mid-1970s. The current vehicle design is base lined with life support supplies for about nine hours of orbital free flight from the space station. It's landing will be fully automated with backup systems which allow the crew to control orientation in orbit, select a deorbit site, and steer the parafoil, if necessary. The X-38 vehicles (designated V131, V132, and V-131R) are 28.5 feet long, 14.5 feet wide, and weigh approximately 16,000 pounds on average. The vehicles have a nitrogen-gas-operated attitude control system and a bank of batteries for internal power. The actual CRV to be flown in space was expected to be 30 feet long. The X-38 project is a joint effort between the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas (JSC), Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia (LaRC) and Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California (DFRC) with the program office located at JSC. A, contract was awarded to Scaled Composites, Inc., Mojave, California, for construction of the X-38 test airframes. The first vehicle was delivered to the JSC in September 1996. The vehicle was fitted with avionics, computer systems and other hardware at Johnson. A second vehicle was delivered to JSC in December 1996. Flight research with the X-38 at Dryden began with an unpiloted captive-carry flight in which the vehicle remained attached to its future launch vehicle, Dryden's B-52 008. There were four captive flights in 1997 and three in 1998, plus the first drop test on March 12, 1998, using the parachutes and parafoil. Further captive and drop tests occurred in 1999. In March 2000 Vehicle 132 completed its third and final free flight in the highest, fastest, and longest X-38 flight to date. It was released at an altitude of 39,000 feet and flew freely for 45 seconds, reaching a speed of over 500 miles per hour before deploying its parachutes for a landing on Rogers Dry Lakebed. In the drop tests, the X-38 vehicles have been autonomous after airlaunch from the B-52. After they deploy the parafoil, they have remained autonomous, but there is also a manual mode with controls from the ground.
Photo Date June 1997
M2-F1 in flight
Photo Description The M2-F1 Lifting Body is seen here under tow, high above Rogers Dry Lake near the Flight Research Center (later redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California. R. Dale Reed effectively advocated the project with the support of NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Together, they gained the support of Flight Research Center Director Paul Bikle. After a six-month feasibility study, Bikle gave approval in the fall of 1962 for the M2-F1 to be built.
Project Description The wingless, lifting body aircraft design was initially concieved as a means of landing an aircraft horizontally after atmospheric reentry. The absence of wings would make the extreme heat of re-entry less damaging to the vehicle. In 1962, Flight Research Center management approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to flight test the wingless concept. It would look like a "flying bathtub," and was designated the M2-F1, the "M" referring to "manned" and "F" referring to "flight" version. It featured a plywood shell placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at Dryden. Construction was completed in 1963. The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were over Rogers Dry Lake at the end of a tow rope attached to a hopped-up Pontiac convertible driven at speeds up to about 120 mph. These initial tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind a NASA C-47 tow plane at greater altitudes. The C-47 took the craft to an altitude of 12,000 where free flights back to Rogers Dry Lake began. Pilot for the first series of flights of the M2-F1 was NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Typical glide flights with the M2-F1 lasted about two minutes and reached speeds of 110 to 120 mph. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, and the U.S. Air Force's X-24 program. The Lifting Body program also heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program. The M2-F1 program demonstrated the feasibility of the lifting body concept for horizontal landings of atmospheric entry vehicles. It also demonstrated a procurement and management concept for prototype flight research vehicles that produced rapid results at very low cost (approximately $50,000, excluding salaries of government employees assigned to the project).
Photo Date October 15, 1963
DFRC F-16 aircraft fleet and …
Photo Date February 2, 1995
Discovery Lands at Edwards
Dryden Deputy Director Steve …
1/6/09
Description Dryden Deputy Director Steve Schmidt and Dryden Shuttle Program Manager Joe D'Agostino greet Discovery Commander Eileen Collins and the crew. NASA Photo by Jim Ross EC05-0166-08
Date 1/6/09
Autonomous Formation Flight …
EC01-0328-11 Smoke generator …
4/23/09
Description EC01-0328-11 Smoke generators show the twisting paths of wingtip vortices behind two NASA Dryden F/A-18's used in the Autonomous Formation Flight (AFF) program during flight #743. The lead aircraft, F-18 #845 (NASA Dryden's Systems Research Aircraft), piloted by Craig Bomben, is followed closely by another F-18, #847, piloted by Dick Ewers. &#8250, Read Project Description November 9, 2001 NASA Photo / Carla Thomas
Date 4/23/09
Autonomous Formation Flight …
EC01-0328-12 Smoke generator …
4/23/09
Description EC01-0328-12 Smoke generators show the twisting paths of wingtip vortices behind two NASA Dryden F/A-18's used in the Autonomous Formation Flight (AFF) program during flight #743. The lead aircraft, F-18 #845 (NASA Dryden's Systems Research Aircraft), piloted by Craig Bomben, is followed closely by another F-18, #847, piloted by Dick Ewers. &#8250, Read Project Description November 9, 2001 NASA Photo / Carla Thomas
Date 4/23/09
Autonomous Formation Flight …
EC01-0328-17 Smoke generator …
4/23/09
Description EC01-0328-17 Smoke generators show the twisting paths of wingtip vortices behind two NASA Dryden F/A-18's used in the Autonomous Formation Flight (AFF) program during flight #743. The lead aircraft, F-18 #845 (NASA Dryden's Systems Research Aircraft), piloted by Craig Bomben, is followed closely by another F-18, #847, piloted by Dick Ewers. &#8250, Read Project Description November 9, 2001 NASA Photo / Carla Thomas
Date 4/23/09
DC-8
Alternative Jet Fuels Put to …
1/29/09
Description Alternative Jet Fuels Put to the Test at NASA Dryden &#8250, Read Feature Test instrumentation is set up behind the inboard engines of NASA's DC-8 airborne science laboratory during alternative fuels emissions and performance testing at NASA's Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif. January 22, 2009 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida ED09-0015-18
Date 1/29/09
DC-8
Alternative Jet Fuels Put to …
1/29/09
Description Alternative Jet Fuels Put to the Test at NASA Dryden &#8250, Read Feature Harvard graduate student Ben Lee tunes the optics on the quantum-cascade-laser methane isotope sensor during synthetic fuel performance and emissions testing at NASA's Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif. January 22, 2009 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida ED09-0015-25
Date 1/29/09
DC-8
Alternative Jet Fuels Put to …
1/30/09
Description Alternative Jet Fuels Put to the Test at NASA Dryden &#8250, Read Feature Alternative fuels experimenters inspect and service the multitude of sampling tubing and instrumentation control cables laid out on the pavement beside NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory in between synthetic fuels emission and engine performance tests at the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif. January 27, 2009 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida ED09-0015-54
Date 1/30/09
DC-8
Alternative Jet Fuels Put to …
1/30/09
Description Alternative Jet Fuels Put to the Test at NASA Dryden &#8250, Read Feature This complex tripod-mounted array of tubes and orifices set up 200 meters behind the right inboard engine of NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory was used to sample aerosols and reactive gases during synthetic fuels emission and engine performance tests at the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif. January 27, 2009 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida ED09-0015-71
Date 1/30/09
DC-8
Alternative Jet Fuels Put to …
2/2/09
Description Alternative Jet Fuels Put to the Test at NASA Dryden &#8250, Read Feature This multi-tipped engine exhaust sampling rake instrument was set up immediately behind the left inboard engine of NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory during synthetic fuels emission and performance testing at the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif. January 27, 2009 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida ED09-0015-41
Date 2/2/09
Local University Student Int …
Read News Release 09-12 NASA …
3/24/09
Description Read News Release 09-12 NASA Dryden intern Shawn Georg (right) monitors temperature and strain gauges during the testing of a structural article in Dryden's Flight Loads Laboratory. George, from Sabetha, Kansas, is an aerospace engineering student at Wichita State University. March 19, 2009 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida ED09-0061-15
Date 3/24/09
Power Beaming
EC02-0179-2 Dryden Model Sho …
08/01/02
Description EC02-0179-2 Dryden Model Shop's Tony Frakowiak remotely flies an experimental model aircraft being powered by a spotlight operated by student intern Derrick Barrett. August 1, 2002 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida Power Beaming Project Description
Date 08/01/02
Power Beaming
EC02-0232-13 An experimental …
10/02/02
Description EC02-0232-13 An experimental radio-controlled model aircraft casts two unique shadows as it flies inside a Dryden hangar using two spotlights as energy sources. This phase of testing was used to develop procedures and operations for ''handing off'' the aircraft between different sources of power. October 2, 2002 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida Power Beaming Project Description
Date 10/02/02
Power Beaming
EC03-0249-36NASA Dryden proj …
09/17/03
Description EC03-0249-36NASA Dryden project engineer Dave Bushman carefully aims the optics of a laser device at a solar cell panel on a model aircraft during the first flight demonstration of an aircraft powered by laser light. September 17, 2003 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida Power Beaming Project Description
Date 09/17/03
YF-12A Coldwall Ground Separ …
YF-12C mid-air refueling
YF-12C approach and landing …
YF-12A landing at Edwards Ai …
YF-12C takeoff from Edwards …
Harrier Cockpit Restoration …
The Harrier cockpit arrives …
8/20/08
Description The Harrier cockpit arrives at Dryden's Structural Fabrication and Repair Shop to begin transformation into its new life as a hands-on public display.
Date 8/20/08
Machine Shop Lathe Area
Machine Shop Lathe Area
4/2/09
Description Machine Shop Lathe Area
Date 4/2/09
Sheet Metal Shop
Sheet Metal Shop
4/2/09
Description Sheet Metal Shop
Date 4/2/09
Overhead view of the Sheet M …
Overhead view of the Sheet M …
4/2/09
Description Overhead view of the Sheet Metal Shop
Date 4/2/09
Additional overhead view of …
Additional overhead view of …
4/2/09
Description Additional overhead view of the Sheet Metal Shop.
Date 4/2/09
Laser Cutter and Engraver
Laser Cutter and Engraver
4/2/09
Description Laser Cutter and Engraver
Date 4/2/09
Fiberglass Fairing Made in t …
Fiberglass Fairing Made in t …
4/2/09
Description Fiberglass Fairing Made in the Composite Shop
Date 4/2/09
Computer Numeric Control (CN …
Computer Numeric Control (CN …
4/2/09
Description Computer Numeric Control (CNC) Lathe
Date 4/2/09
175-ton Hydraulic Bending Br …
175-ton Hydraulic Bending Br …
4/2/09
Description 175-ton Hydraulic Bending Brake
Date 4/2/09
100-ton Hydraulic Bending Br …
100-ton Hydraulic Bending Br …
4/2/09
Description 100-ton Hydraulic Bending Brake
Date 4/2/09
Turret Punch Press
Turret Punch Press
4/2/09
Description Turret Punch Press
Date 4/2/09
X-15A-2
NB-52 launches the X-15A-2 w …
1/6/09
Description NB-52 launches the X-15A-2 with its ablative coating and external tanks. NASA Photo EC68-1889
Date 1/6/09
HL-10 approach and landing a …
HL-10 after landing with pil …
HL-10 cockpit view of approa …
HL-10 landing with F5D-1 Sky …
Dryden's two T-38A Aircraft …
NASA Dryden Flight Research …
10/3/08
Description NASA Dryden Flight Research Center's two T-38A Talon mission support aircraft flew together for the first time on Sept. 26, 2007 while conducting pitot-static airspeed calibration checks during routine pilot proficiency flights. The two aircraft, flown by NASA research pilots Kelly Latimer and Frank Batteas, joined up with a NASA Dryden F/A-18 flown by NASA research pilot Dick Ewers to fly the airspeed calibrations at several speeds and altitudes that would be flown by the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) Boeing 747SP during its initial flight test phase.The T-38s, along with F/A-18s, serve in a safety chase role during those test missions, providing critical instrument and visual monitoring for the flight test series. ED07-0222-13
Date 10/3/08
X-43A/Hyper-X Vehicle Arrive …
Title X-43A/Hyper-X Vehicle Arrives at NASA Dryden
Description A close-up of the X-43A Hypersonic Experimental Vehicle, or "Hyper-X," in its protective shipping framework as it arrives at the Dryden Flight Research Center in October 1999. The X-43A was developed to research a dual-mode ramjet/scramjet propulsion system at speeds from Mach 7 up to Mach 10 (7 to 10 times the speed of sound, which varies with temperature and altitude). Hyper-X, the flight vehicle for which is designated as X-43A, is an experimental flight-research program seeking to demonstrate airframe-integrated, "air-breathing" engine technologies that promise to increase payload capacity for future vehicles, including hypersonic aircraft (faster than Mach 5) and reusable space launchers. This multiyear program is currently underway at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The Hyper-X schedule calls for its first flight later this year (2000). Hyper-X is a joint program, with Dryden sharing responsibility with NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia. Dryden's primary role is to fly three unpiloted X-43A research vehicles to validate engine technologies and hypersonic design tools as well as the hypersonic test facility at Langley. Langley manages the program and leads the technology development effort. The Hyper-X Program seeks to significantly expand the speed boundaries of air-breathing propulsion by being the first aircraft to demonstrate an airframe-integrated, scramjet-powered free flight. Scramjets (supersonic-combustion ramjets) are ramjet engines in which the airflow through the whole engine remains supersonic. Scramjet technology is challenging because only limited testing can be performed in ground facilities. Long duration, full-scale testing requires flight research. Scramjet engines are air-breathing, capturing their oxygen from the atmosphere. Current spacecraft, such as the Space Shuttle, are rocket powered, so they must carry both fuel and oxygen for propulsion. Scramjet technology-based vehicles need to carry only fuel. By eliminating the need to carry oxygen, future hypersonic vehicles will be able to carry heavier payloads. Another unique aspect of the X-43A vehicle is the airframe integration. The body of the vehicle itself forms critical elements of the engine. The forebody acts as part of the intake for airflow and the aft section serves as the nozzle. The X-43A vehicles were manufactured by Micro Craft, Inc., Tullahoma, Tennessee. Orbital Sciences Corporation, Chandler, Arizona, built the Pegasus rocket booster used to launch the X-43 vehicles. For the Dryden research flights, the Pegasus rocket booster and attached X-43 will be air launched by Dryden's B-52 "Mothership." After release from the B-52, the booster will accelerate the X-43A vehicle to the established test conditions (Mach 7 to 10) at an altitude of approximately 100,000 feet where the X-43 will separate from the booster and fly under its own power and preprogrammed control.
Date 10.01.1999
X-43A/Hyper-X Vehicle Arrive …
Title X-43A/Hyper-X Vehicle Arrives at NASA Dryden
Description The X-43A Hypersonic Experimental Vehicle, or "Hyper-X," carefully packed in a protective shipping framework, is unloaded from a container after its arrival at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in October 1999. The X-43A was developed to research a dual-mode ramjet/scramjet propulsion system at speeds from Mach 7 up to Mach 10 (7 to 10 times the speed of sound, which varies with temperature and altitude). Hyper-X, the flight vehicle for which is designated as X-43A, is an experimental flight-research program seeking to demonstrate airframe-integrated, "air-breathing" engine technologies that promise to increase payload capacity for future vehicles, including hypersonic aircraft (faster than Mach 5) and reusable space launchers. This multiyear program is currently underway at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The Hyper-X schedule calls for its first flight later this year (2000). Hyper-X is a joint program, with Dryden sharing responsibility with NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia. Dryden's primary role is to fly three unpiloted X-43A research vehicles to validate engine technologies and hypersonic design tools as well as the hypersonic test facility at Langley. Langley manages the program and leads the technology development effort. The Hyper-X Program seeks to significantly expand the speed boundaries of air-breathing propulsion by being the first aircraft to demonstrate an airframe-integrated, scramjet-powered free flight. Scramjets (supersonic-combustion ramjets) are ramjet engines in which the airflow through the whole engine remains supersonic. Scramjet technology is challenging because only limited testing can be performed in ground facilities. Long duration, full-scale testing requires flight research. Scramjet engines are air-breathing, capturing their oxygen from the atmosphere. Current spacecraft, such as the Space Shuttle, are rocket powered, so they must carry both fuel and oxygen for propulsion. Scramjet technology-based vehicles need to carry only fuel. By eliminating the need to carry oxygen, future hypersonic vehicles will be able to carry heavier payloads. Another unique aspect of the X-43A vehicle is the airframe integration. The body of the vehicle itself forms critical elements of the engine. The forebody acts as part of the intake for airflow and the aft section serves as the nozzle. The X-43A vehicles were manufactured by Micro Craft, Inc., Tullahoma, Tennessee. Orbital Sciences Corporation, Chandler, Arizona, built the Pegasus rocket booster used to launch the X-43 vehicles. For the Dryden research flights, the Pegasus rocket booster and attached X-43 will be air launched by Dryden's B-52 "Mothership." After release from the B-52, the booster will accelerate the X-43A vehicle to the established test conditions (Mach 7 to 10) at an altitude of approximately 100,000 feet where the X-43 will separate from the booster and fly under its own power and preprogrammed control.
Date 10.01.1999
X-43A/Hyper-X Vehicle Arrive …
Title X-43A/Hyper-X Vehicle Arrives at NASA Dryden
Description A head-on view of the X-43A Hypersonic Experimental Vehicle, or "Hyper-X," in its protective shipping framework as it arrives at the Dryden Flight Research Center in October 1999. The X-43A was developed to research a dual-mode ramjet/scramjet propulsion system at speeds from Mach 7 up to Mach 10 (7 to 10 times the speed of sound, which varies with temperature and altitude). Hyper-X, the flight vehicle for which is designated as X-43A, is an experimental flight-research program seeking to demonstrate airframe-integrated, "air-breathing" engine technologies that promise to increase payload capacity for future vehicles, including hypersonic aircraft (faster than Mach 5) and reusable space launchers. This multiyear program is currently underway at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The Hyper-X schedule calls for its first flight later this year (2000). Hyper-X is a joint program, with Dryden sharing responsibility with NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia. Dryden's primary role is to fly three unpiloted X-43A research vehicles to validate engine technologies and hypersonic design tools as well as the hypersonic test facility at Langley. Langley manages the program and leads the technology development effort. The Hyper-X Program seeks to significantly expand the speed boundaries of air-breathing propulsion by being the first aircraft to demonstrate an airframe-integrated, scramjet-powered free flight. Scramjets (supersonic-combustion ramjets) are ramjet engines in which the airflow through the whole engine remains supersonic. Scramjet technology is challenging because only limited testing can be performed in ground facilities. Long duration, full-scale testing requires flight research. Scramjet engines are air-breathing, capturing their oxygen from the atmosphere. Current spacecraft, such as the Space Shuttle, are rocket powered, so they must carry both fuel and oxygen for propulsion. Scramjet technology-based vehicles need to carry only fuel. By eliminating the need to carry oxygen, future hypersonic vehicles will be able to carry heavier payloads. Another unique aspect of the X-43A vehicle is the airframe integration. The body of the vehicle itself forms critical elements of the engine. The forebody acts as part of the intake for airflow and the aft section serves as the nozzle. The X-43A vehicles were manufactured by Micro Craft, Inc., Tullahoma, Tennessee. Orbital Sciences Corporation, Chandler, Arizona, built the Pegasus rocket booster used to launch the X-43 vehicles. For the Dryden research flights, the Pegasus rocket booster and attached X-43 will be air launched by Dryden's B-52 "Mothership." After release from the B-52, the booster will accelerate the X-43A vehicle to the established test conditions (Mach 7 to 10) at an altitude of approximately 100,000 feet where the X-43 will separate from the booster and fly under its own power and preprogrammed control.
Date 10.01.1999
Global Hawk
In its new white-and-blue NA …
6/23/08
Description In its new white-and-blue NASA livery, an early development model of the Global Hawk unmanned aircraft rests on the ramp at the Dryden Flight Research Center. December 3, 2007 NASA Photo / Tony Landis ED07-0244-78
Date 6/23/08
Global Hawk
NASA's two Global Hawks, one …
1/8/09
Description NASA's two Global Hawks, one sporting a NASA paint scheme, the other in its prior Air Force livery, are shown on the ramp at the Dryden Flight Research Center. December 3, 2007 NASA Photo / Tony Landis ED07-0244-74
Date 1/8/09
Global Hawk
The above-the-fuselage engin …
6/23/08
Description The above-the-fuselage engine and V-tail distinguish one of NASA's two Global Hawk unmanned aircraft parked on the ramp at the Dryden Flight Research Center. December 3, 2007 NASA Photo / Tony Landis ED07-0244-058
Date 6/23/08
Global Hawk
One of NASA's two Global Haw …
1/8/09
Description One of NASA's two Global Hawk high-altitude unmanned science aircraft displays its contours outside its hangar at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center. December 11, 2008 NASA Photo / Tony Landis ED08-0309-12
Date 1/8/09
X-48B
A pristine blue sky backdrop …
7/3/08
Description A pristine blue sky backdrops the X-48B Blended Wing Body aircraft during the aircraft's first flight July 20, 2007, from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center. July 20, 2007 NASA / Carla Thomas ED07-0164-05
Date 7/3/08
Global Hawk
One of NASA's two Global Haw …
1/8/09
Description One of NASA's two Global Hawk unmanned high-altitude aircraft shows off its blue-and-white livery in front of its hangar at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center. December 11, 2008 NASA Photo / Tony Landis ED08-0309-18
Date 1/8/09
Global Hawk
Read News Release 09-03 NASA …
1/21/09
Description Read News Release 09-03 NASA Dryden Flight Research Center director Kevin L. Petersen addresses dignitaries and news media representatives during unveiling of NASA's first Global Hawk autonomously operated aircraft at the center Jan. 15. This is one of two that will be used by NASA for Earth science missions and by Northrop Grumman Corp. for follow-on developmental testing. January 15, 2009 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida ED09-0010-023
Date 1/21/09
Global Hawk
Read News Release 09-03 Now …
1/21/09
Description Read News Release 09-03 Now in NASA's blue-and-white livery, this Northrop Grumman Global Hawk autonomously operated aircraft is the first of two Global Hawks obtained by NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center for environmental science missions that require its long-endurance, high-altitude capability. January 15, 2009 NASA Photo / Tony Landis ED09-0010-087
Date 1/21/09
Global Hawk
Read News Release 09-03 NASA …
1/21/09
Description Read News Release 09-03 NASA pilot / operator Mark Pestana points out graphic displays of flight data in the Global Hawk Operations Center at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center. The center obtained two early-model Northrop Grumman Global Hawk autonomously operated aircraft from the Air Force for use on environmental science missions requiring the aircraft's high-altitude, long-endurance capabilities. January 15, 2009 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida ED09-0010-074
Date 1/21/09
Orion Crew Module
NASA Dryden Flight Research …
7/15/08
Description NASA Dryden Flight Research Center personnel accompany NASA's first Orion full-scale abort flight test crew module as it heads to it's new home. April 3, 2008 NASA / Tony Landis ED08-0085-145
Date 7/15/08
Orion Crew Module
NASA Dryden Flight Research …
7/15/08
Description NASA Dryden Flight Research Center technicians accompany NASA's first Orion full-scale abort flight test crew module as it heads to it's new home. April 1, 2008 NASA / Tony Landis ED08-0085-111
Date 7/15/08
F-15B #836 Research Testbed
Read News Release 09-04 NASA …
2/9/09
Description Read News Release 09-04 NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center has flown this modified F-15B Eagle as a research test bed and mission support aircraft since the early 1990s. The aircraft has been used as the platform for a wide range of experiments and research projects requiring an aircraft with supersonic capability. January 30, 2009 NASA Photo / Tony Landis ED09-0011-13
Date 2/9/09
NF-15B #837 Final Flight
Read News Release 09-04 Rese …
2/17/09
Description Read News Release 09-04 Research Pilot Jim Smolka checks the air data probe on the nose of NASA's highly modified NF-15B No. 837 prior to its final flight. The aircraft flew 251 missions in a variety of research projects during its 14-year stint at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center. January 30, 2009 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida ED09-0023-06
Date 2/17/09
F-15B #837 Final Flight
Read News Release 09-04 Rese …
2/17/09
Description Read News Release 09-04 Research Pilot Jim Smolka checks the air data probe on the nose of NASA's highly modified NF-15B No. 837 prior to its final flight. The aircraft flew 251 missions in a variety of research projects during its 14-year stint at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center. January 30, 2009 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida ED09-0023-07
Date 2/17/09
ER-2
One of NASA's ER-2 high-alti …
2/19/09
Description One of NASA's ER-2 high-altitude Earth science aircraft banks away from the photo chase plane during a flight over a southern Sierra Nevada snowscape. NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center operates two of the Lockheed-built aircraft on a wide variety of environmental science, atmospheric sampling and satellite data verification missions. February 26, 2008 NASA Photo / Carla Thomas ED08-0053-07
Date 2/19/09
Intern Steven Humphrey
Steven Humphrey, a mechanica …
3/20/09
Description Steven Humphrey, a mechanical engineering graduate of the University of South Florida in Tampa, is interning at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center located on Edwards Air Force Base in California. He operates displays used for an interactive computer software system that gathers, retains and interprets flight data from sensors installed on NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy 747SP aircraft. (NASA photo / Tom Tschida) March 18, 2009 NASA Photo ED09-0061-08
Date 3/20/09
HiMAT
EC79-12055 <b /> The HiMAT ( …
4/20/09
Description EC79-12055 <b /> The HiMAT (Highly Maneuverable Aircraft Technology) subscale research vehicle, seen here after landing to conclude a research flight, was flown by the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, from mid 1979 to January 1983. The aircraft demonstrated advanced fighter technologies that have been used in the development of many modern high performance military aircraft. HiMAT Project Description January 3, 1980 NASA photo
Date 4/20/09
HiMAT
EC80-14281 The HiMAT (Highly …
4/21/09
Description EC80-14281 The HiMAT (Highly Maneuverable Aircraft Technology) subscale research vehicle, seen here during a research flight, was flown by the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, from mid 1979 to January 1983. The aircraft demonstrated advanced fighter technologies that have been used in the development of many modern high performance military aircraft. HiMAT Project Description December 30, 1980 NASA photo
Date 4/21/09
HiMAT
ECN-14273 The HiMAT (Highly …
4/20/09
Description ECN-14273 The HiMAT (Highly Maneuverable Aircraft Technology) subscale research vehicle, seen here during a research flight, was flown by the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, from mid 1979 to January 1983. The aircraft demonstrated advanced fighter technologies that have been used in the development of many modern high performance military aircraft. HiMAT Project Description December 30, 1980 NASA photo
Date 4/20/09
HiMAT
ECN-14280 The HiMAT (Highly …
4/21/09
Description ECN-14280 The HiMAT (Highly Maneuverable Aircraft Technology) subscale research vehicle, seen here during a research flight, was flown by the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, from mid 1979 to January 1983. The aircraft demonstrated advanced fighter technologies that have been used in the development of many modern high performance military aircraft. HiMAT Project Description December 30, 1980 NASA photo
Date 4/21/09
HiMAT
ECN-14283 HiMAT Subscale Res …
4/21/09
Description ECN-14283 HiMAT Subscale Research Vehicle Mated to B-52 Mothership in Flight The HiMAT (Highly Maneuverable Aircraft Technology) subscale research vehicle, seen here after landing to conclude a research flight, was flown by the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, from mid 1979 to January 1983. The aircraft demonstrated advanced fighter technologies that have been used in the development of many modern high performance military aircraft. HiMAT Project Description December 30, 1980 NASA photo
Date 4/21/09
Shuttle Discovery Night Land …
Space Shuttle Discovery land …
10/9/08
Description Space Shuttle Discovery landed safely at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in Calif. at 5:11 a.m. this morning, following the very successful 14-day STS-114 return to flight mission. August 9, 2005 NASA / Photo Carla Thomas ED05-0166-01
Date 10/9/08
Guppy
EC00-0212-2NASA's B377SGT Su …
4/20/09
Description EC00-0212-2NASA's B377SGT Super Guppy Turbine cargo aircraft touches down at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. on June 11, 2000 to deliver the latest version of the X-38 flight test vehicle to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center.July 11, 2000NASA Photo / Tom Tschida
Date 4/20/09
Guppy
EC05-0091-02 NASA's outsize …
4/20/09
Description EC05-0091-02 NASA's outsize Super Guppy cargo plane dwarfs its flight crew after its arrival at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center for a landing gear change. April 14, 2005 NASA Photo / Tony Landis
Date 4/20/09
Automatic Collision Avoidanc …
ED09-0070-02 The U.S. Air Fo …
4/22/09
Description ED09-0070-02 The U.S. Air Force's F-16D Automatic Collision Avoidance Technology (ACAT) aircraft eclipsed the sun during a flight in March 2009. NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center is working with the Air Force Research Laboratory in the ACAT Fighter Risk Reduction Project to develop collision avoidance technologies for fighter/attack aircraft that would reduce the risk of ground and mid-air collisions. March 24, 2009 NASA Photo / Jim Ross
Date 4/22/09
Automatic Collision Avoidanc …
ED09-0070-21 The U.S. Air Fo …
4/22/09
Description ED09-0070-21 The U.S. Air Force's F-16D Automatic Collision Avoidance Technology (ACAT) aircraft flies over Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center is working with the Air Force Research Laboratory in the ACAT Fighter Risk Reduction Project to develop collision avoidance technologies for fighter/attack aircraft that would reduce the risk of ground and mid-air collisions. March 24, 2009 NASA Photo / Jim Ross
Date 4/22/09
Automatic Collision Avoidanc …
ED09-0070-39 The U.S. Air Fo …
4/22/09
Description ED09-0070-39 The U.S. Air Force's F-16D Automatic Collision Avoidance Technology (ACAT) aircraft crew takes a close look at a Mojave Desert hill during a March 2009 flight. NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center is working with the Air Force Research Laboratory in the ACAT Fighter Risk Reduction Project to develop collision avoidance technologies for fighter/attack aircraft that would reduce the risk of ground and mid-air collisions. March 24, 2009 NASA Photo / Jim Ross
Date 4/22/09
Shuttle Carrier Aircraft
EC01-0032-02The sun begins t …
02/13/2001
Description EC01-0032-02The sun begins to break through the clouds over NASA's two 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft on the NASA Dryden ramp after a rain shower in February 2001. February 13, 2001 NASA Photo / Tony LandisSCA Project Description
Date 02/13/2001
Shuttle Carrier Aircraft
EC95-43339-01The NASA logo o …
11/08/1995
Description EC95-43339-01The NASA logo on a hangar is framed by the noses of NASA's two modified 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft on the ramp at NASA Dryden in this 1995 photo. November 8, 1995 NASA Photo / Tony Landis SCA Project Description
Date 11/08/1995
Shuttle Carrier Aircraft
EC95-43339-03NASA's two modi …
11/08/1995
Description EC95-43339-03NASA's two modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft #911 left and #905 right were nose-to-nose on the ramp at NASA Dryden in this 1995 photo. November 8,1995 NASA Photo / Tony Landis SCA Project Description
Date 11/08/1995
STS-125
ED09-0127-099 Space Shuttle …
6/1/09
Description ED09-0127-099 Space Shuttle Atlantis is carried by one of NASA's modified 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft over California's high desert after leaving NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base on a ferry flight back to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. June 1, 2009 NASA Photo / Jim Ross
Date 6/1/09
STS-125
ED09-0127-110 Southern Calif …
6/1/09
Description ED09-0127-110 Southern California's high desert provides the backdrop as one of NASA's two modified 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft ferries Space Shuttle Atlantis back to the Kennedy Space Center after departing NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base. Atlantis had landed at Edwards to conclude shuttle mission STS-125, the final servicing mission of the Hubble Space Telescope. June 1, 2009 NASA Photo / Jim Ross
Date 6/1/09
STS-126
Puffy pink clouds form a can …
12/8/08
Description Puffy pink clouds form a canopy over the Space Shuttle Endeavour as processing continues in the Mate-Demate Device at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center in preparation for its ferry flight back to the Kennedy Space Center. &#8250, Read STS-126 Status Report December 7, 2008 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida ED08-0306-86
Date 12/8/08
STS-126
Technicians fasten down the …
12/11/08
Description Technicians fasten down the flanges of the aerodynamic tail cone after installation on NASA's Space Shuttle Endeavour prior to its ferry flight from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. &#8250, Read STS-126 Status Report December 8, 2008 NASA Photo / Tony Landis ED08-0306-91
Date 12/11/08
STS-117
ED07-0137-18 The Space Shutt …
7/1/09
Description ED07-0137-18 The Space Shuttle Atlantis receives post-flight servicing in the Mate-Demate Device (MDD) at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif. NASA Photo / Tom Tschida June 23, 2007
Date 7/1/09
STS-126
Under soggy skies on a Sunda …
12/8/08
Description Under soggy skies on a Sunday morning, the Space Shuttle Endeavour is encased in the Mate-DeMate gantry during turnaround processing at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center following its STS-126 landing at Edwards Air Force Base a week earlier. Read STS-126 Status Report December 7, 2008 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida ED08-0306-84
Date 12/8/08
STS-117
ED07-0137-20 The Space Shutt …
7/1/09
Description ED07-0137-20 The Space Shuttle Atlantis receives post-flight servicing in the Mate-Demate Device (MDD) at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif. NASA Photo / Carla Thomas June 23, 2007
Date 7/1/09
Active Aeroelastic Wing (AAW …
EC01-0076-1 Structural loads …
4/22/09
Description EC01-0076-1 Structural loads testing on the Active Aeroelastic Wing F-18 in the Flight Loads Laboratory at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California &#8250, Read Project Description March 15, 2001 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida
Date 4/22/09
Active Aeroelastic Wing (AAW …
EC01-0288-3 A modified F/A-1 …
4/22/09
Description EC01-0288-3 A modified F/A-18A sporting a distinctive red, white and blue paint scheme is the test aircraft for the Active Aeroelastic Wing (AAW) project at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. &#8250, Read Project Description October 24, 2001 NASA Photo / Tony Landis
Date 4/22/09
Active Aeroelastic Wing (AAW …
EC01-0288-5 A modified F/A-1 …
4/22/09
Description EC01-0288-5 A modified F/A-18A sporting a distinctive red, white and blue paint scheme is the test aircraft for the Active Aeroelastic Wing (AAW) project at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. &#8250, Read Project Description October 24, 2001 NASA Photo / Tony Landis
Date 4/22/09
Active Aeroelastic Wing (AAW …
EC02-0264-01 The Active Aero …
4/23/09
Description EC02-0264-01 The Active Aeroelastic Wing F-18A lifts off on its first checkout flight November 15, 2002, from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. &#8250, Read Project Description November 15, 2002 NASA Photo / Tony Landis
Date 4/23/09
Active Aeroelastic Wing (AAW …
EC04-0361-08 NASA's modified …
4/23/09
Description EC04-0361-08 NASA's modified Active Aeroelastic Wing F/A-18 skims over portions of the U.S. Borax mine during a recent mission from the Dryden Flight Research Center. &#8250, Read Project Description December 15, 2004 NASA Photo / Jim Ross
Date 4/23/09
Autonomous Aerial Refueling …
EC02-0282-1 A NASA F/A-18 fl …
4/24/09
Description EC02-0282-1 A NASA F/A-18 flies over the Dryden Flight Research Center and Rogers Dry Lake on December 11, 2002. The aircraft participated in the Automated Aerial Refueling (AAR) project. The 300-gallon aerial refueling store seen on the belly of the aircraft carries fuel and a refueling drogue. This aircraft acted as a tanker in the study to develop an aerodynamic model for future automated aerial refueling, especially of unmanned vehicles. &#8250, Read Project Description December 11, 2002 NASA Photo / Carla Thomas
Date 4/24/09
F-15B Research Testbed aircr …
ED09-0183-28 NASA's Dryden F …
8/7/09
Description ED09-0183-28 NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center recently conducted a flight test of an airflow measurement device mounted underneath its F-15B research aircraft in the Rake Airflow Gage Experiment, or RAGE. August 5, 2009 NASA photo / Tony Landis
Date 8/7/09
Orion CM with Adapter Cone
ED09-0102-272 The Orion flig …
8/13/09
Description ED09-0102-272 The Orion flight test crew module that will be used for the Orion Launch Abort System Pad Abort 1 flight test is shown with its adapter cone that attaches the abort system's rocket motor to the module. Instrumentation installation and integration was conducted at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center over an 18-month period in 2008 and 2009 in preparation for the pad abort flight test. May 6, 2009 NASA Photo / Tony Landis
Date 8/13/09
Autonomous Aerial Refueling …
EC02-0282-3 A NASA F/A-18 fl …
4/23/09
Description EC02-0282-3 A NASA F/A-18 flies over the Dryden Flight Research Center and Rogers Dry Lake on December 11, 2002. The aircraft participated in the Automated Aerial Refueling (AAR) project. The 300-gallon aerial refueling store seen on the belly of the aircraft carries fuel and a refueling drogue. This aircraft acted as a tanker in the study to develop an aerodynamic model for future automated aerial refueling, especially of unmanned vehicles. &#8250, Read Project Description December 11, 2002 NASA Photo / Carla Thomas
Date 4/23/09
Autonomous Aerial Refueling …
EC02-0282-5 A NASA F/A-18 fl …
4/23/09
Description EC02-0282-5 A NASA F/A-18 flies over the Dryden Flight Research Center and Rogers Dry Lake on December 11, 2002. The aircraft participated in the Automated Aerial Refueling (AAR) project. The 300-gallon aerial refueling store seen on the belly of the aircraft carries fuel and a refueling drogue. This aircraft acted as a tanker in the study to develop an aerodynamic model for future automated aerial refueling, especially of unmanned vehicles. &#8250, Read Project Description December 11, 2002 NASA Photo / Carla Thomas
Date 4/23/09
STS-128
ED09-0253-13 Mission special …
9/12/09
Description ED09-0253-13 Mission specialist Jose Hernandez waves as Space Shuttle Discovery's crew board a Gulfstream II Shuttle Training Aircraft for the trip back to Houston from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base. Discovery had landed at Edwards the preceding evening to conclude mission STS-128 to the International Space Station. September 12, 2009 NASA photo / Jim Ross
Date 9/12/09
STS-128
ED09-0253-15 The Space Shutt …
9/14/09
Description ED09-0253-15 The Space Shuttle Discovery is parked within the Mate-Demate Device gantry at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center prior to beginning turnaround processing for its ferry flight back to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Discoloration on Discovery's reinforced carbon-carbon nose cap gives evidence of the extreme heating it encountered during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere prior to landing Sept. 11. September 12, 2009 NASA Photo / Tony Landis
Date 9/14/09
Orion Crew Module for the Or …
Photo Description The boiler …
11/5/08
Description Photo Description The boilerplate Orion crew module for the Orion Launch Abort System Pad Abort-1 flight test is tilted on jacks during weight and balance testing at NASA Dryden. Project Description NASA Dryden Flight Research Center has a critical role in the early development of the Constellation systems. Applying Dryden's expertise with testing unique flight configurations, Dryden is helping to manage and implement the abort flight tests for the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle. Dryden will lead the development and integration of the full-size Orion test articles along with development of the ground support equipment, flight instrumentation and launch facility construction for the early pad abort and all ascent abort flight tests. The Orion Abort Flight Test effort includes two pad abort tests, simulating aborts during a launch pad emergency, and four ascent aborts, simulating aborts during first stage flight of Orion spacecraft. Dryden manages procurement and oversees development of the solid fuel abort test booster rockets used for ascent abort testing, and is responsible for the integration of the Orion test articles with their booster rockets. NASA Dryden is also supporting Constellation program technical integration activities. Future Dryden support roles include assisting with the development of lunar lander test and verification support and flight simulation support of the Constellation training facility. Other potential support include west coast recovery operations, and operation of a lunar / Mars surface analog test site. The Orion Abort Flight Test project is managed by NASA Dryden under the leadership of the Project Orion Flight Test Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas. Part of NASA's fleet of next generation spacecraft, Orion is being designed to take astronauts to the International Space Station and then back to the moon by 2020. November 5, 2008 NASA / Photo Tony Landis ED08-0230-236
Date 11/5/08
F-14 #991 cockpit
Photo Description View of the cockpit of NASA's F-14, tail number 991. This aircraft was the first of a series of post-Vietnam fighters, followed by the F-15, F-16, and F-18. They were designed for maneuverability in air-to-air combat. The F-14s had a spin problem that posed problems for its ability to engage successfully in a dogfight, since it tended to depart from controlled flight at the high angles of attack that frequently occur in close-in engagements.
Project Description Following their initial deployment to the fleet in October 1972, the Navy?s F-14s began to experience out-of-control mishaps. As it turned out, the analog automatic flight-control system on the aircraft had a simple control-law architecture that caused departures from the intended flight path under certain flight conditions. Furthermore, the control system did not provide the pilots full control authority (flight-control-surface deflections) for a recovery from spins and other departures, resulting in the loss of several aircraft and crews. In the course of the project, a NASA-Grumman-Navy team updated the F-14 simulator model since the one the Navy was using was inaccurate. The Navy then used the updated model to upgrade the fleet trainer. In partnership with Grumman and Honeywell, Langley engineers developed new control laws involving what was called an aileron/rudder interconnect (ARI) that succeeded in limiting departures and providing recoveries from spins. The F-14 with the new control laws proved to be "very responsive and maneuverable above 30 degrees angle-of-attack, with no abrupt departure or spin tendencies." The program was an unqualified success, but the Navy did not immediately incorporate the new control laws into its F-14s because of insufficient funding. As a result, mishaps with the Tomcats continued. Finally, the Navy contracted with GEC Marconi Avionics of the United Kingdom to incorporate the control laws into a digital flight-control system with minimal changes, and this was deployed on fleet F-14Ds aboard the USS Kitty Hawk and USS Roosevelt in March of 1999, decreasing the danger of out-of-control flight and making powered approaches to carrier landings much safer. Meanwhile, already in 1980 Dryden research pilot Einar Enevoldson had received the NASA Exceptional Service Medal for his contributions as project pilot on the F-14 stall and spin resistance tests.
Photo Date July 2, 1980
Walter C. Williams
Photo Date Oct. 1949
HL-10 first flight landing
Photo Description The HL-10 Lifting Body completes its first research flight with a landing on Rogers Dry Lake. Due to control problems, pilot Bruce Peterson had to land at a higher speed than originally planned in order to keep the vehicle under control. The actual touchdown speed was about 280 knots. This was 30 knots above the speed called for in the flight plan. The HL-10's first flight had lasted 3 minutes and 9 seconds.
Project Description The HL-10 was one of five heavyweight lifting-body designs flown at NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC--later Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California, from July 1966 to November 1975 to study and validate the concept of safely maneuvering and landing a low lift-over-drag vehicle designed for reentry from space. Northrop Corporation built the HL-10 and M2-F2, the first two of the fleet of "heavy" lifting bodies flown by the NASA Flight Research Center. The contract for construction of the HL-10 and the M2-F2 was $1.8 million. "HL" stands for horizontal landing, and "10" refers to the tenth design studied by engineers at NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. After delivery to NASA in January 1966, the HL-10 made its first flight on Dec. 22, 1966, with research pilot Bruce Peterson in the cockpit. Although an XLR-11 rocket engine was installed in the vehicle, the first 11 drop flights from the B-52 launch aircraft were powerless glide flights to assess handling qualities, stability, and control. In the end, the HL-10 was judged to be the best handling of the three original heavy-weight lifting bodies (M2-F2/F3, HL-10, X-24A). The HL-10 was flown 37 times during the lifting body research program and logged the highest altitude and fastest speed in the Lifting Body program. On Feb. 18, 1970, Air Force test pilot Peter Hoag piloted the HL-10 to Mach 1.86 (1,228 mph). Nine days later, NASA pilot Bill Dana flew the vehicle to 90,030 feet, which became the highest altitude reached in the program. Some new and different lessons were learned through the successful flight testing of the HL-10. These lessons, when combined with information from it's sister ship, the M2-F2/F3, provided an excellent starting point for designers of future entry vehicles, including the Space Shuttle.
Photo Date December 22, 1966
HL-10 on lakebed with pilot …
Photo Description This photo shows the HL-10 on Rogers Dry Lakebed with pilot Bill Dana in the foreground. Bill joined the HL-10 program in 1969 after flying the M2-F1 and the X-15, among other aircraft. His first glide flight was on April 25, 1969. Some months later, on September 3, 1969, he reached an altitude of 77,960 feet. This was one of a series of HL-10 flights to collect stability and control data at higher speeds and altitudes and at different angles of attack.
Project Description The HL-10 was one of five heavyweight lifting-body designs flown at NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC--later Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California, from July 1966 to November 1975 to study and validate the concept of safely maneuvering and landing a low lift-over-drag vehicle designed for reentry from space. Northrop Corporation built the HL-10 and M2-F2, the first two of the fleet of "heavy" lifting bodies flown by the NASA Flight Research Center. The contract for construction of the HL-10 and the M2-F2 was $1.8 million. "HL" stands for horizontal landing, and "10" refers to the tenth design studied by engineers at NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. After delivery to NASA in January 1966, the HL-10 made its first flight on Dec. 22, 1966, with research pilot Bruce Peterson in the cockpit. Although an XLR-11 rocket engine was installed in the vehicle, the first 11 drop flights from the B-52 launch aircraft were powerless glide flights to assess handling qualities, stability, and control. In the end, the HL-10 was judged to be the best handling of the three original heavy-weight lifting bodies (M2-F2/F3, HL-10, X-24A). The HL-10 was flown 37 times during the lifting body research program and logged the highest altitude and fastest speed in the Lifting Body program. On Feb. 18, 1970, Air Force test pilot Peter Hoag piloted the HL-10 to Mach 1.86 (1,228 mph). Nine days later, NASA pilot Bill Dana flew the vehicle to 90,030 feet, which became the highest altitude reached in the program. Some new and different lessons were learned through the successful flight testing of the HL-10. These lessons, when combined with information from it's sister ship, the M2-F2/F3, provided an excellent starting point for designers of future entry vehicles, including the Space Shuttle.
Photo Date 25 Apr 1969
HL-10 first flight landing
Photo Description The HL-10 Lifting Body completes its first research flight with a landing on Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards AFB, California, on December 22, 1966. The HL-10 suffered from buffeting and poor control during the flight. Pilot Bruce Peterson was able to make a successful landing despite the severe problems. These were traced to airflow separation from the fins. As a result, the fins were no longer able to stabilize the vehicle. A small reshaping of the fins' leading edges cured the airflow separation, but it was not until March 15, 1968, that the second HL-10 flight occurred.
Project Description The HL-10 was one of five heavyweight lifting-body designs flown at NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC--later Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California, from July 1966 to November 1975 to study and validate the concept of safely maneuvering and landing a low lift-over-drag vehicle designed for reentry from space. Northrop Corporation built the HL-10 and M2-F2, the first two of the fleet of "heavy" lifting bodies flown by the NASA Flight Research Center. The contract for construction of the HL-10 and the M2-F2 was $1.8 million. "HL" stands for horizontal landing, and "10" refers to the tenth design studied by engineers at NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. After delivery to NASA in January 1966, the HL-10 made its first flight on Dec. 22, 1966, with research pilot Bruce Peterson in the cockpit. Although an XLR-11 rocket engine was installed in the vehicle, the first 11 drop flights from the B-52 launch aircraft were powerless glide flights to assess handling qualities, stability, and control. In the end, the HL-10 was judged to be the best handling of the three original heavy-weight lifting bodies (M2-F2/F3, HL-10, X-24A). The HL-10 was flown 37 times during the lifting body research program and logged the highest altitude and fastest speed in the Lifting Body program. On Feb. 18, 1970, Air Force test pilot Peter Hoag piloted the HL-10 to Mach 1.86 (1,228 mph). Nine days later, NASA pilot Bill Dana flew the vehicle to 90,030 feet, which became the highest altitude reached in the program. Some new and different lessons were learned through the successful flight testing of the HL-10. These lessons, when combined with information from it's sister ship, the M2-F2/F3, provided an excellent starting point for designers of future entry vehicles, including the Space Shuttle.
Photo Date December 22, 1966
HL-10 in flight after launch
Photo Description The HL-10 Lifting Body is seen here in powered flight shortly after launch from the B-52 mothership. When HL-10 powered flights began on October 23, 1968, the vehicle used the same basic XLR-11 rocket engine that powered the original X-1s. A total of five powered flights were made before the HL-10 first flew supersonically on May 9, 1969, with John Manke in the pilot's seat.
Project Description The HL-10 was one of five heavyweight lifting-body designs flown at NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC--later Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California, from July 1966 to November 1975 to study and validate the concept of safely maneuvering and landing a low lift-over-drag vehicle designed for reentry from space. Northrop Corporation built the HL-10 and M2-F2, the first two of the fleet of "heavy" lifting bodies flown by the NASA Flight Research Center. The contract for construction of the HL-10 and the M2-F2 was $1.8 million. "HL" stands for horizontal landing, and "10" refers to the tenth design studied by engineers at NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. After delivery to NASA in January 1966, the HL-10 made its first flight on Dec. 22, 1966, with research pilot Bruce Peterson in the cockpit. Although an XLR-11 rocket engine was installed in the vehicle, the first 11 drop flights from the B-52 launch aircraft were powerless glide flights to assess handling qualities, stability, and control. In the end, the HL-10 was judged to be the best handling of the three original heavy-weight lifting bodies (M2-F2/F3, HL-10, X-24A). The HL-10 was flown 37 times during the lifting body research program and logged the highest altitude and fastest speed in the Lifting Body program. On Feb. 18, 1970, Air Force test pilot Peter Hoag piloted the HL-10 to Mach 1.86 (1,228 mph). Nine days later, NASA pilot Bill Dana flew the vehicle to 90,030 feet, which became the highest altitude reached in the program. Some new and different lessons were learned through the successful flight testing of the HL-10. These lessons, when combined with information from it's sister ship, the M2-F2/F3, provided an excellent starting point for designers of future entry vehicles, including the Space Shuttle.
Photo Date November 18, 1969
HL-10 on lakebed showing sub …
Photo Description This photo shows the HL-10 on lakebed with its subsonic control surface configuration. The unusual shapes of the lifting bodies, as well as the demands of flying a re-entry shape to comparative low-speed landings, required a complex set of control surfaces. The rudders also served as speed brakes, allowing the pilot to adjust his speed during descent. Moving the flaps at the rear of the fuselage in the same direction pitched the nose up, while moving them in opposite directions rolled the vehicle to the right or left. After the HL-10's fins were modified to improve its handling qualities, the vehicle proved to be the best handling of the original heavy-weight lifting bodies.
Project Description The HL-10 was one of five heavyweight lifting-body designs flown at NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC--later Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California, from July 1966 to November 1975 to study and validate the concept of safely maneuvering and landing a low lift-over-drag vehicle designed for reentry from space. Northrop Corporation built the HL-10 and M2-F2, the first two of the fleet of "heavy" lifting bodies flown by the NASA Flight Research Center. The contract for construction of the HL-10 and the M2-F2 was $1.8 million. "HL" stands for horizontal landing, and "10" refers to the tenth design studied by engineers at NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. After delivery to NASA in January 1966, the HL-10 made its first flight on Dec. 22, 1966, with research pilot Bruce Peterson in the cockpit. Although an XLR-11 rocket engine was installed in the vehicle, the first 11 drop flights from the B-52 launch aircraft were powerless glide flights to assess handling qualities, stability, and control. In the end, the HL-10 was judged to be the best handling of the three original heavy-weight lifting bodies (M2-F2/F3, HL-10, X-24A). The HL-10 was flown 37 times during the lifting body research program and logged the highest altitude and fastest speed in the Lifting Body program. On Feb. 18, 1970, Air Force test pilot Peter Hoag piloted the HL-10 to Mach 1.86 (1,228 mph). Nine days later, NASA pilot Bill Dana flew the vehicle to 90,030 feet, which became the highest altitude reached in the program. Some new and different lessons were learned through the successful flight testing of the HL-10. These lessons, when combined with information from it's sister ship, the M2-F2/F3, provided an excellent starting point for designers of future entry vehicles, including the Space Shuttle.
Photo Date September 15, 1966
Photo Description Kelly Latimer is a research pilot in the Flight Crew Branch of NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif. Latimer joined NASA in March 2007 and will fly the T38, T-34, G-III, C-17 and the "Ikhana" Predator B. Latimer is Dryden's first female research test pilot. Prior to joining NASA, Latimer was on active duty with the U.S. Air Force. She has accumulated more than 5,000 hours of military and civilian flight experience in 30 aircraft. Latimer's first association with NASA was while attending graduate school at George Washington University, Washington, D.C. Her studies included work with the Joint Institute for the Advancement of Flight Sciences at NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. She flew an Air Force C-17 during a 2005 NASA study to reduce aircraft noise. A team of California Polytechnic State University students and Northrop Grumman personnel were stationed on Rogers Dry Lake located at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., to record the noise footprint of the aircraft as it made various landing approaches to Edwards' runway. Latimer completed undergraduate pilot training at Reese Air Force Base, Texas, in 1990. She remained at Reese as a T-38 instructor pilot until 1993. She was assigned as a C-141 aircraft commander at McCord Air Force Base, Tacoma, Wash., until 1996. Latimer graduated from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards in Class 96B. She served as a C-17 and C-141 experimental test pilot at Edwards until 2000. She then became the chief of the Performance Branch and a T-38 instructor pilot at The Air Force Test Pilot School. She returned to McCord in 2002, where she was a C-17 aircraft commander and the operations officer for the 62nd Operations Support Squadron. In 2004, Latimer became the commander of Edwards' 418th Flight Test Squadron and director of the Global Reach Combined Test Force. Following that assignment, she deployed to Iraq as an advisor to the Iraqi Air Force. Her last active duty tour was as an instructor at the Air Force Test Pilot School. She retired from active duty in 2007 with the rank of lieutenant colonel. She received her commission from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1987 with a Bachelor of Science in astronautical engineering. Latimer earned a Master of Science in astronautics from George Washington University.
Photo Date March 9, 2007
P-3D Orion
EC87-0035-03 Space Shuttle t …
02/04/87
Description EC87-0035-03 Space Shuttle tiles were mounted on a pylon on the right wing, not shown of this National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA WP-3D for tests conducted off the eastern coast of Southern Florida and at the Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility NASA conducted extensive in-flight rain damage tests of the Shuttle Thermal Protection System TPS tiles on an F-104 at Dryden, while the NOAA conducted the tests on the WP-3D. P-3 testing concentrated on observing the effects of larger drops of moisture at lower speeds on the tiles. Shuttle Thermal Protection tiles were mounted on a pylon underneath the right wing of the aircraft. Tiles were mounted on two movable doors contained within both the left and right sides of the test fixture, for a total of four doors. The WP-3D flew three research flights while at Dryden--on Jan. 30, Feb. 2, and Feb. 5, 1987. The pylon test fixture is mounted on the right wing and thus does not appear in the photograph. Three particle measurement probes mounted on the left wing tip pylon and the pod under the forward fuselage are to measure atmospheric conditions. February 4, 1987 NASA Photo Read P-3D Orion Project Description
Date 02/04/87
NASA Dryden's F-18 #853 Rese …
ED09-0157-02 NASA Dryden's F …
6/25/09
Description ED09-0157-02 NASA Dryden's F-18 #853 research aircraft that was the centerpiece of the Active Aeroelastic Wing project several years ago took to the skies again June 18 for the first time since 2007. The flight was a functional check following the extended downtime. The aircraft will replace Dryden's now-retired NF-15B #837 as the full-scale flight research test bed for NASA's Integrated Resilient Aircraft Controls (IRAC) program. NASA Photo / Tony Landis June 18, 2009
Date 6/25/09
NASA Dryden's F-18 #853 Rese …
ED09-0157-03 NASA Dryden's F …
6/25/09
Description ED09-0157-03 NASA Dryden's F-18 #853 research aircraft that was the centerpiece of the Active Aeroelastic Wing project several years ago took to the skies again June 18 for the first time since 2007. The flight was a functional check following the extended downtime. The aircraft will replace Dryden's now-retired NF-15B #837 as the full-scale flight research test bed for NASA's Integrated Resilient Aircraft Controls (IRAC) program. NASA Photo / Tony Landis June 18, 2009
Date 6/25/09
F-8 Digital Fly-by-Wire (DFB …
Photo Description F-8 Digital Fly-by-Wire (DFBW) aircraft in flight over snow capped mountains. Externally identical to a standard Navy F-8C, this aircraft had its control system replaced initially by a primary system using an Apollo digital computer. The backup system used three analog computers. When the pilot moved the airplane's stick and rudder, electronic signals went to the computer, which would generate signals to move the control surfaces. The system was designed so that the digital fly-by-wire aircraft would handle almost identically to a standard F-8C. Later, in Phase 2, the aircraft used three IBM AP-101 computers for its flight control system.
Project Description The F-8 Digital Fly-By-Wire (DFBW) flight research project validated the principal concepts of all-electric flight control systems now used on nearly all modern high-performance aircraft and on military and civilian transports. The first flight of the 13-year project was on May 25, 1972, with research pilot Gary E. Krier at the controls of a modified F-8C Crusader that served as the testbed for the fly-by-wire technologies. The project was a joint effort between the NASA Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, (now the Dryden Flight Research Center) and Langley Research Center. It included a total of 211 flights. The last flight was December 16, 1985, with Dryden research pilot Ed Schneider at the controls. The F-8 DFBW system was the forerunner of current fly-by-wire systems used in the space shuttles and on today?s military and civil aircraft to make them safer, more maneuverable, and more efficient. Electronic fly-by-wire systems replaced older hydraulic control systems, freeing designers to design aircraft with reduced in-flight stability. Fly-by-wire systems are safer because of their redundancies. They are more maneuverable because computers can command more frequent adjustments than a human pilot can. For airliners, computerized control ensures a smoother ride than a human pilot alone can provide. Digital-fly-by-wire is more efficient because it is lighter and takes up less space than the hydraulic systems it replaced. This either reduces the fuel required to fly or increases the number of passengers or pounds of cargo the aircraft can carry. Digital fly-by-wire is currently used in a variety of aircraft ranging from F/A-18 fighters to the Boeing 777. The DFBW research program is considered one of the most significant and most successful NASA aeronautical programs since the inception of the agency. F-8 aircraft were built originally for the U.S. Navy by LTV Aerospace of Dallas, Texas. The aircraft had a wingspan of 35 feet, 2 inches, was 54 feet, 6 inches long, and was powered by a Pratt & Whitney J57 turbojet engine.
Photo Date January 10, 1973
F-8 DFBW in flight
Photo Description F-8 Digital Fly-By-Wire aircraft in flight. The computer-controlled flight systems pioneered by the F-8 DFBW created a revolution in aircraft design. The F-117A, X-29, X-31, and many other aircraft have relied on computers to make them flyable. Built with inherent instabilities to make them more maneuverable, they would be impossible for human pilots to fly if the computers failed or received incorrect data.
Project Description The F-8 Digital Fly-By-Wire (DFBW) flight research project validated the principal concepts of all-electric flight control systems now used on nearly all modern high-performance aircraft and on military and civilian transports. The first flight of the 13-year project was on May 25, 1972, with research pilot Gary E. Krier at the controls of a modified F-8C Crusader that served as the testbed for the fly-by-wire technologies. The project was a joint effort between the NASA Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, (now the Dryden Flight Research Center) and Langley Research Center. It included a total of 211 flights. The last flight was December 16, 1985, with Dryden research pilot Ed Schneider at the controls. The F-8 DFBW system was the forerunner of current fly-by-wire systems used in the space shuttles and on today?s military and civil aircraft to make them safer, more maneuverable, and more efficient. Electronic fly-by-wire systems replaced older hydraulic control systems, freeing designers to design aircraft with reduced in-flight stability. Fly-by-wire systems are safer because of their redundancies. They are more maneuverable because computers can command more frequent adjustments than a human pilot can. For airliners, computerized control ensures a smoother ride than a human pilot alone can provide. Digital-fly-by-wire is more efficient because it is lighter and takes up less space than the hydraulic systems it replaced. This either reduces the fuel required to fly or increases the number of passengers or pounds of cargo the aircraft can carry. Digital fly-by-wire is currently used in a variety of aircraft ranging from F/A-18 fighters to the Boeing 777. The DFBW research program is considered one of the most significant and most successful NASA aeronautical programs since the inception of the agency. F-8 aircraft were built originally for the U.S. Navy by LTV Aerospace of Dallas, Texas. The aircraft had a wingspan of 35 feet, 2 inches, was 54 feet, 6 inches long, and was powered by a Pratt & Whitney J57 turbojet engine.
Photo Date October 27, 1972
SOFIA 747SP
ED08-0041-198 April 18, 2008 …
6/4/08
Description ED08-0041-198 April 18, 2008 Nestled in its cradle on a transport dolly, SOFIA's primary mirror assembly awaits transfer to a "clean room" at the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility after removal from the SOFIA aircraft. NASA photo by Tony Landis.
Date 6/4/08
SOFIA 747SP
ED08-0041-202 April 18, 2008 …
6/4/08
Description ED08-0041-202 April 18, 2008 Technicians guide the dolly carrying SOFIA's primary mirror into a clean room at the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility prior to shipment to NASA Ames to receive its finish coating. NASA photo by Tony Landis.
Date 6/4/08
NB-52B and HL-10
This classic 1969 photo show …
1/6/09
Description This classic 1969 photo shows the workhorse Dryden NB-52B flying over the HL-10 lifting body aircraft and its pilot, Bill Dana. NASA Photo ECN-2203
Date 1/6/09
Autonomous Formation Flight …
EC01-0267-6 Two NASA Dryden …
4/23/09
Description EC01-0267-6 Two NASA Dryden F/A-18's land on the Edwards Air Force Base runway after completion of an Autonomous Formation Flight (AFF) mission. The goal of the AFF project is to demonstrate sustained 10 percent fuel savings by the trailing aircraft during cruise flight. Data suggests savings as high as 15 percent are achievable. &#8250, Read Project Description September 20, 2001 NASA Photo / Lori Losey
Date 4/23/09
Autonomous Formation Flight …
EC01-0328-3 Smoke generators …
4/23/09
Description EC01-0328-3 Smoke generators show the twisting paths of wingtip vortices behind two NASA Dryden F/A-18 jets used in the Autonomous Formation Flight (AFF) program. A vortex is a spiraling current of air emanating from aircraft wingtips as they fly. By mapping the vortex pattern and using sophisticated software to put the trailing aircraft in the optimum location, the energy of the vortex could result in fuel savings for the follower aircraft of 15 percent or more. Read Project Description November 9, 2001 NASA Photo / Carla Thomas
Date 4/23/09
Autonomous Formation Flight …
EC01-0328-4 This unique view …
4/23/09
Description EC01-0328-4 This unique view, looking directly up at two NASA Dryden F/A-18's used in the Autonomous Formation Flight (AFF) program, was captured by Carla Thomas from another F-18 flying safety/chase. &#8250, Read Project Description November 9, 2001 NASA Photo / Carla Thomas
Date 4/23/09
Autonomous Formation Flight …
EC01-0328-28 Smoke generator …
4/23/09
Description EC01-0328-28 Smoke generators show the twisting paths of wingtip vortices behind two NASA Dryden F/A-18's used in the Autonomous Formation Flight (AFF) program during flight #743. &#8250, Read Project Description November 9, 2001 NASA Photo / Carla Thomas
Date 4/23/09
Orion Crew Module
NASA's first Orion full-scal …
7/15/08
Description NASA's first Orion full-scale abort flight test crew module was placed in NASA Dryden's Abort Flight Test integration area for equipment installation. April 3, 2008 NASA / Tony Landis ED08-0085-157
Date 7/15/08
Ikhana
NASA Dryden engineer Kathlee …
7/9/08
Description NASA Dryden engineer Kathleen Howell and Ikhana project manager Brent Cobleigh check the flight paths in Ikhana's ground control station before takeoff. October 24, 2007 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida ED07-0243-19
Date 7/9/08
Ikhana
NASA research pilot Mark Pes …
7/9/08
Description NASA research pilot Mark Pestana flies the Ikhana unmanned aircraft remotely from the ground control station at NASA Dryden. October 24, 2007 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida ED07-0243-18
Date 7/9/08
Ikhana
NASA Dryden's Ikhana ground …
7/9/08
Description NASA Dryden's Ikhana ground crewmen Gus Carreno and James Smith load the thermal-infrared imaging scanner pallet into the Ikhana's underwing payload pod. October 23, 2007 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida ED07-0243-14
Date 7/9/08
Bohn-Meyer Math and Science …
Read Feature Under guidance …
2/12/09
Description Read Feature Under guidance from NASA Dryden engineer Bruce Cogan, eighth-grader Matthew Kern from Sacred Heart Elementary School in Lancaster gets some flight simulator training while Time Warner SoCal News reporter Daisy Gonzales and her cameraman (rear) prepare to interview NASA's SOFIA program manager Bob Meyer during the Bohn-Meyer Math and Science Odyssey. February 6, 2009 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida ED09-0032-63
Date 2/12/09
Bohn-Meyer Math and Science …
Read Feature NASA Dryden res …
2/12/09
Description Read Feature NASA Dryden research pilot Jim Smolka and operations engineer Leslie Molzahn demonstrate the partial pressure suits they wear when flying high-performance aircraft during a presentation at the 2009 Bohn-Meyer Math and Science Odyssey at Antelope Valley College. February 6, 2009 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida ED09-0032-66
Date 2/12/09
NASA Logo Installed at DAOF
ED08-0187-02 August 4, 2008 …
8/11/08
Description ED08-0187-02 August 4, 2008 NASA's familiar blue-and-white logo graces Hangar 703 at the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif., identifying it as a facility of the nation's aerospace agency. NASA photo by Tom Tschida
Date 8/11/08
Workers Install NASA Logo at …
August 4, 2008 Workers in a …
8/11/08
Description August 4, 2008 Workers in a 100-foot-high cherry picker basket recently installed a 20-foot-diameter NASA logo on Hangar 703 at the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif., identifying the large hangar and office structure as a facility of the nation's aerospace agency. Photo courtesy of Bob Doran
Date 8/11/08
Dryden Engine Shop
F404-400 #4 bearing removal …
2/12/09
Description F404-400 #4 bearing removal and installation tooling. January 29, 2009 NASA Photo / Tony Landis ED09-0019-04
Date 2/12/09
Dryden Engine Shop
F404-400 engines and several …
2/12/09
Description F404-400 engines and several engine modules. January 29, 2009 NASA Photo / Tony Landis ED09-0019-06
Date 2/12/09
Dryden Engine Shop
F404-400 high-pressure compr …
2/12/09
Description F404-400 high-pressure compressor inspection. January 29, 2009 NASA Photo / Tony Landis ED09-0019-08
Date 2/12/09
Dryden Engine Shop
F404-400 final engine inspec …
2/12/09
Description F404-400 final engine inspection. January 29, 2009 NASA Photo / Tony Landis ED09-0019-12
Date 2/12/09
Dryden Engine Shop
F404-400 afterburner module …
2/12/09
Description F404-400 afterburner module inspection. January 29, 2009 NASA Photo / Tony Landis ED09-0019-14
Date 2/12/09
Dryden Engine Shop
F404-400 combustor module bo …
2/12/09
Description F404-400 combustor module borescope inspection. January 29, 2009 NASA Photo / Tony Landis ED09-0019-19
Date 2/12/09
NASA's DC-8 heads for landin …
Agricultural fields spread o …
7/21/09
Description Agricultural fields spread out beyond NASA's DC-8 airborne science flying laboratory during a flight from NASA's Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif. November 8, 2007 NASA / Photo Jim Ross ED07-0256-17
Date 7/21/09
Dryden Engine Shop
F404-400 #4 bearing locknut …
2/12/09
Description F404-400 #4 bearing locknut removal. January 29, 2009 NASA Photo / Tony Landis ED09-0019-22
Date 2/12/09
NASA FA-18s support a SOFIA …
Two NASA F/A-18s flown by NA …
8/25/08
Description Two NASA F/A-18s flown by NASA Dryden pilots Jim Smolka and Nils Larson cruise over the Texas landscape after supporting a SOFIA check flight in May 2007. May 10, 2007 NASA / Photo Jim Ross ED07-0100-23
Date 8/25/08
Dryden Engine Shop
F404-400 #4 bearing removal. …
2/12/09
Description F404-400 #4 bearing removal. January 29, 2009 NASA Photo / Tony Landis ED09-0019-23
Date 2/12/09
Dryden Engine Shop
F-404-400 #4 bearing final i …
2/12/09
Description F-404-400 #4 bearing final inspection. January 29, 2009 NASA Photo / Tony Landis ED09-0019-25
Date 2/12/09
F-15B #836 Research Testbed
NASA F-15B research aircraft …
9/23/08
Description NASA F-15B research aircraft #836 shadows its stablemate, F-15B #837, during an Intelligent Flight Control System mission from NASA Dryden. July 22, 2005 Nasa Photo /Tony Landis EC05-0148-04
Date 9/23/08
Four F-18s in Echelon Format …
Four of NASA's F/A-18 suppor …
3/13/09
Description Four of NASA's F/A-18 support aircraft fly in a tight formation over Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. NASA Dryden operates two single-seat F/A-18A models and a like number of two-seat F/A-18B models in a variety of mission support and flight research roles. (NASA photo / Carla Thomas)
Date 3/13/09
Two T-38A mission support Ai …
NASA Dryden's two T-38A miss …
10/3/08
Description NASA Dryden's two T-38A mission support aircraft fly in tight formation while conducting a pitot-static airspeed calibration check near Edwards Air Force Base. September 26, 2007 NASA / Photo Jim Ross ED07-0222-29
Date 10/3/08
Local University Student Int …
Read News Release 09-12 NASA …
3/24/09
Description Read News Release 09-12 NASA intern Shawn Georg, an aerospace engineering student at Wichita State University, monitors temperature and strain gauges during testing of a structural article in NASA Dryden's Flight Loads Laboratory. March 19, 2009 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida ED-09-0061-24
Date 3/24/09
Guppy
E76-30317 The Aero Spaceline …
4/20/09
Description E76-30317 The Aero Spacelines B377SG Super Guppy was at Dryden in May, 1976, to ferry the X-24 and HL-10 lifting bodies from the Center to the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. May 1976NASA Photo / NASA photo
Date 4/20/09
Guppy
EC05-0091-59After replacemen …
4/20/09
Description EC05-0091-59After replacement of its landing gear at NASA Dryden, NASA's Super Guppy Turbine cargo plane takes off from Edwards AFB to return to the Johnson Space Center. May 5, 2005NASA Photo / Tony Landis
Date 4/20/09
Guppy
EC05-0091-78After replacemen …
4/20/09
Description EC05-0091-78After replacement of its landing gear at NASA Dryden, NASA's Super Guppy Turbine cargo plane takes off from Edwards AFB to return to the Johnson Space Center. May 5, 2005NASA Photo / Tony Landis
Date 4/20/09
P-3D Orion
EC87-0035-001This photo show …
02/04/87
Description EC87-0035-001This photo shows the Shuttle tile flight test fixture under the wing of a National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration WP-3D aircraft.February 4, 1987NASA Photo / Bledsoe&#8250, Read P-3D Orion Project Description
Date 02/04/87
747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft …
NASA's specially modified 74 …
10/9/08
Description NASA's specially modified 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, is positioned under the Space Shuttle Discovery to be attached for their ferry flight to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After its post-flight servicing and preparation at NASA Dryden in California, Discovery's return flight to Kennedy aboard the 747 will take approximately 2 days, with stops at several intermediate points for refueling. August 18, 2005 NASA / Photo Carla Thomas ED05-0166-30
Date 10/9/08
T-34C Banks Over Lake Isabel …
Chase aircraft such as the T …
10/10/08
Description Chase aircraft such as the T-34C accompany research flights for photography and video purposes. They also provide support for safety and research. At Dryden, the T-34 is used mainly for smaller remotely piloted vehicles which fly slower than NASA's F-18's, used for larger scale projects. The T-34C, built by Beech, carries a crew of 2 and is nicknamed the Mentor. June 20, 2005 NASA / Photo Jim Ross EC05-0133-10
Date 10/10/08
T-34C Banks Over Lake Isabel …
Chase aircraft such as the T …
10/10/08
Description Chase aircraft such as the T-34C accompany research flights for photography and video purposes. They also provide support for safety and research. At Dryden, the T-34 is used mainly for smaller remotely piloted vehicles which fly slower than NASA's F-18's, used for larger scale projects. The T-34C, built by Beech, carries a crew of 2 and is nicknamed the Mentor. June 20, 2005 NASA / Photo Jim Ross EC05-0133-12
Date 10/10/08
T-34C Back Seat Instrument P …
The back seat instrument pan …
10/10/08
Description The back seat instrument panel on the NASA T-34C chase plane. In its role as a military trainer, the instructor pilot would ride in the back seat, while the student would be in the front seat. As a chase plane, the back seat would be occupied by a photographer. The aircraft was previously used at the Lewis Research Center in propulsion experiments involving turboprop engines, and was used as a chase aircraft at Dryden for smaller and slower research projects. May 15, 1997 NASA / Photo EC97-44065-2
Date 10/10/08
Power Beaming
EC02-0179-11 An experimental …
08/01/02
Description EC02-0179-11 An experimental radio-controlled model aircraft is seen here in flight powered only by light energy beamed to it by a spotlight. August 1, 2002 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida Power Beaming Project Description
Date 08/01/02
Power Beaming
EC02-0179-12 An experimental …
08/01/02
Description EC02-0179-12 An experimental radio-controlled model aircraft is seen here in flight, powered only by light energy beamed to it by a spotlight. August 1, 2002 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida Power Beaming Project Description
Date 08/01/02
Power Beaming
EC02-0232-6 An experimental …
10/01/02
Description EC02-0232-6 An experimental radio-controlled model aircraft is seen here in flight powered only by light energy beamed to it by a spotlight. October 1, 2002 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida Power Beaming Project Description
Date 10/01/02
History This Week: 11/07/195 …
Jack McKay made last flight …
11/3/08
Description Jack McKay made last flight in the X-1E, the final model flown of the X-1 series. It is now on display in front of Dryden headquarters building. NASA Photo E-1927
Date 11/3/08
Power Beaming
ED03-0249-07With a laser bea …
09/17/03
Description ED03-0249-07With a laser beam centered on its solar panel, a lightweight model aircraft is checked out by technician Tony Frakowiak and researcher Tim Blackwell before its power-beamed demonstration flight. September 17, 2003 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida Power Beaming Project Description
Date 09/17/03
Power Beaming
ED03-0249-18With a laser bea …
09/18/03
Description ED03-0249-18With a laser beam centered on its panel of photovoltaic cells, a lightweight model plane makes the first flight of an aircraft powered by a laser beam inside a building at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. September 18, 2003 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida Power Beaming Project Description
Date 09/18/03
Power Beaming
ED03-0249-20Powered by a las …
09/18/03
Description ED03-0249-20Powered by a laser beam directed at it from a center pedestal, a lightweight model plane makes the first flight of an aircraft powered by laser energy inside a building at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. September 18, 2003 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida Power Beaming Project Description
Date 09/18/03
Cathy Bahm, Orion Abort Flig …
Cathy Bahm, Orion Abort Flig …
11/5/08
Description Cathy Bahm, Orion Abort Flight Test integration deputy project manager, briefs news media on testing in Dryden's Flight Loads Laboratory. October 29, 2008 NASA / Photo Tom Tschida ED08-0281-02
Date 11/5/08
Cathy Bahm, Orion Abort Flig …
Cathy Bahm, Orion Abort Flig …
11/5/08
Description Cathy Bahm, Orion Abort Flight Test integration deputy project manager, briefs news media on testing in Dryden's Flight Loads Laboratory. October 29, 2008 NASA / Photo Tom Tschida ED08-0281-05
Date 11/5/08
Orion AFT project manager Ga …
Reporter Julie Flannery of K …
11/5/08
Description Reporter Julie Flannery of KERO-TV, Bakersfield, interviews NASA Dryden's Orion AFT project manager Gary Martin in front of the Orion PA-1 crew module. October 29, 2008 NASA / Photo Tom Tschida ED08-0281-09
Date 11/5/08
STS-125
ED09-0127-101 NASA Dryden ph …
6/1/09
Description ED09-0127-101 NASA Dryden photographer Jim Ross captured this overhead view of Space Shuttle Atlantis atop NASA's modified 747 carrier aircraft over California's high desert from an F/A-18 mission support aircraft after departing Edwards Air Force Base on a ferry flight back to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. June 1, 2009 NASA Photo / Jim Ross
Date 6/1/09
X-40A Space Manuever Vehicle
EC01-0145-12X-40A landing af …
05/05/2001
Description EC01-0145-12X-40A landing after Free Flight 4A May 5, 2001 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida
Date 05/05/2001
X-40A Space Manuever Vehicle
EC01-0145-3CH-47 and X-40A b …
05/05/2001
Description EC01-0145-3CH-47 and X-40A before Free flight 4A May 5, 2001 NASA Photo / Tony Landis
Date 05/05/2001
X-40A Space Manuever Vehicle
EC01-0168-1 May 18, 2001 NAS …
05/08/2001
Description EC01-0168-1 May 18, 2001 NASA Photo / Tony Landis
Date 05/08/2001
STS-117
ED07-0137-13 Accompanied by …
7/1/09
Description ED07-0137-13 Accompanied by a convoy of recovery vehicles, the Space Shuttle Atlantis is towed up the taxiway at NASA Dryden following its landing on June 22, 2007. NASA Photo / Tom Landis June 22, 2007
Date 7/1/09
STS-117
ED07-0137-16 The Space Shutt …
7/1/09
Description ED07-0137-16 The Space Shuttle Atlantis is towed from the runway at Edwards Air Force Base to NASA Dryden's Mate-Demate Device (MDD) for post-flight processing. NASA Photo / Jim Ross June 22, 2007
Date 7/1/09
Active Aeroelastic Wing (AAW …
EC02-0061-1 NASA aircraft te …
4/22/09
Description EC02-0061-1 NASA aircraft technician Don Herman completes placement of the first official U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission logo on an aircraft, Dryden's Active Aeroelastic Wing (AAW) F/A-18. &#8250, Read Project Description March 21, 2002 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida
Date 4/22/09
Active Aeroelastic Wing (AAW …
EC02-0203-14 NASA Dryden tec …
4/23/09
Description EC02-0203-14 NASA Dryden technicians (Dave Dennis, Freddy Green and Jeff Doughty) position a support cylinder under the right wing of the Active Aeroelastic Wing F/A-18 test aircraft prior to ground vibration tests. &#8250, Read Project Description August 22, 2002 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida
Date 4/23/09
Autonomous Aerial Refueling …
EC02-0294 A NASA Dryden F/A- …
4/23/09
Description EC02-0294 A NASA Dryden F/A-18 participated in the Automated Aerial Refueling (AAR) project. F/A-18 (No. 847) acted as an in-flight refueling tanker in the study to develop analytical models for an automated aerial refueling system for unmanned vehicles. A 300-gallon aerodynamic pod containing air-refueling equipment is seen beneath the fuselage. The hose and refueling basket were extended during an assessment of their dynamics on the F/A-18A. &#8250, Read Project Description December 19, 2002 NASA Photo / Lori Losey
Date 4/23/09
Orion Preps for Shipment to …
ED09-0221-027 Technicians at …
8/13/09
Description ED09-0221-027 Technicians at NASA Dryden install the «É_goalpost«É_ fixture to the Orion crew module integration stand during conversion of the stand into a transportation fixture for airlift of the module to the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The crew module will be used in the first Orion Launch Abort System pad abort flight test, expected in early 2010. August 8, 2009 NASA Photo / Jim Ross
Date 8/13/09
Orion Preps for Shipment to …
ED09-0221-051 Technicians at …
8/13/09
Description ED09-0221-051 Technicians at NASA Dryden connect one of two mobilizer units to the Orion flight test crew module transportation fixture in preparation for loading the module onto an Air Force C-17 cargo aircraft for transport to the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The module will be used for the first Orion Launch Abort System Pad Abort flight test in early 2010. August 8, 2009 NASA Photo / Jim Ross
Date 8/13/09
Autonomous Aerial Refueling …
EC03-0293-05 NASA Dryden's A …
4/23/09
Description EC03-0293-05 NASA Dryden's Automated Aerial Refueling (AAR) project evaluated the capability of an F/A-18A aircraft as an in-flight refueling tanker with the objective of developing analytical models for an automated aerial refueling system for unmanned air vehicles. The F/A-18 "tanker" aircraft (No. 847) underwent flight test envelope expansion with an aerodynamic pod containing air-refueling equipment carried beneath the fuselage. The second aircraft flew as the receiver aircraft during the study to assess the free-stream hose and drogue dynamics on the F/A-18A. &#8250, Read Project DescriptionSeptember 18, 2003 NASA Photo / Carla Thomas
Date 4/23/09
Sonic Boom Research
ED09-0261-13 NASA Dryden coo …
9/29/09
Description ED09-0261-13 NASA Dryden coop student Sarah Arnac makes last minute preparations of a sonic boom-measuring microphone during boom measurement flights on Sept. 9, 2009. September 9, 2009 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida
Date 9/29/09
Operation Ice Bridge 2009
ED09-0284-29 NASA Dryden air …
10/2/09
Description ED09-0284-29 NASA Dryden aircraft technician Don Bailes is assisted by two mission scientists in positioning the Laser Vegetation Imaging Sensor's instrumentation rack in NASA's DC-8 airborne science laboratory in preparation for the Fall 2009 Operation Ice Bridge mission. The mission is a study of Antarctica's sea ice, glaciers, and ice sheets. Developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, the laser altimeter collects data on topography and vegetation coverage. September 29, 2009 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida
Date 10/2/09
The Boilerplate Orion Crew M …
Photo Description The boiler …
11/5/08
Description Photo Description The boilerplate Orion crew module for the Orion Launch Abort System Pad Abort-1 flight test undergoes moment-of-inertia testing. Project Description NASA Dryden Flight Research Center has a critical role in the early development of the Constellation systems. Applying Dryden's expertise with testing unique flight configurations, Dryden is helping to manage and implement the abort flight tests for the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle. Dryden will lead the development and integration of the full-size Orion test articles along with development of the ground support equipment, flight instrumentation and launch facility construction for the early pad abort and all ascent abort flight tests. The Orion Abort Flight Test effort includes two pad abort tests, simulating aborts during a launch pad emergency, and four ascent aborts, simulating aborts during first stage flight of Orion spacecraft. Dryden manages procurement and oversees development of the solid fuel abort test booster rockets used for ascent abort testing, and is responsible for the integration of the Orion test articles with their booster rockets. NASA Dryden is also supporting Constellation program technical integration activities. Future Dryden support roles include assisting with the development of lunar lander test and verification support and flight simulation support of the Constellation training facility. Other potential support include west coast recovery operations, and operation of a lunar / Mars surface analog test site. The Orion Abort Flight Test project is managed by NASA Dryden under the leadership of the Project Orion Flight Test Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas. Part of NASA's fleet of next generation spacecraft, Orion is being designed to take astronauts to the International Space Station and then back to the moon by 2020. November 5, 2008 NASA / Photo Tony Landis ED08-0230-362
Date 11/5/08
M2-F1 lifting body aircraft …
Photo Description After the grounding of the M2-F1 in 1966, it was kept in outside storage on the Dryden complex. After several years, its fabric and plywood structure was damaged by the sun and weather. Restoration of the vehicle began in February 1994 under the leadership of NASA retiree Dick Fischer, with other retirees who had originally worked on the M2-F1's construction and flight research three decades before also participating. The photo shows the now-restored M2-F1 returning to the site of its flight research, now called the Dryden Flight Research Center, on 22 August 1997.
Project Description The wingless, lifting body aircraft design was initially conceived as a means of landing an aircraft horizontally after atmospheric reentry. The absence of wings would make the extreme heat of re-entry less damaging to the vehicle. In 1962, NASA Flight Research Center (later Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA) management approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to flight test the wingless concept. It would look like a "flying bathtub," and was designated the M2-F1, the "M" referring to "manned" and "F" referring to "flight" version. It featured a plywood shell placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at Dryden. Construction was completed in 1963. The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were over Rogers Dry Lake at the end of a tow rope attached to a hopped-up Pontiac convertible driven at speeds up to about 120 mph. This vehicle needed to be able to tow the M2-F1 on the Rogers Dry Lakebed adjacent to NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC) at a minimum speed of 100 miles per hour. To do that, it had to handle the 400-pound pull of the M2-F1. Walter "Whitey" Whiteside, who was a retired Air Force maintenance officer working in the FRC's Flight Operations Division, was a dirt-bike rider and hot-rodder. Together with Boyden "Bud" Bearce in the Procurement and Supply Branch of the FRC, Whitey acquired a Pontiac Catalina convertible with the largest engine available. He took the car to Bill Straup's renowned hot-rod shop near Long Beach for modification. With a special gearbox and racing slicks, the Pontiac could tow the 1,000-pound M2-F1 110 miles per hour in 30 seconds. It proved adequate for the roughly 400 car tows that got the M2-F1 airborne to prove it could fly safely and to train pilots before they were towed behind a C-47 aircraft and released. These initial car-tow tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind the C-47 tow plane at greater altitudes. The C-47 took the craft to an altitude of 12,000 where free flights back to Rogers Dry Lake began. Pilot for the first series of flights of the M2-F1 was NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Typical glide flights with the M2-F1 lasted about two minutes and reached speeds of 110 to 120 mph. A small solid landing rocket, referred to as the "instant L/D rocket," was installed in the rear base of the M2-F1. This rocket, which could be ignited by the pilot, provided about 250 pounds of thrust for about 10 seconds. The rocket could be used to extend the flight time near landing if needed. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, and the U.S. Air Force's X-24 program, with an X-24A and -B built by Martin. The Lifting Body program also, heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program. The M2-F1 program demonstrated the feasibility of the lifting body concept for horizontal landings of atmospheric entry vehicles. It also demonstrated a procurement and management concept for prototype flight test vehicles that produced rapid results at very low cost (approximately $50,000, excluding salaries of government employees assigned to the project).
Photo Date August 22, 1997
More Los Angeles Fire Images
Triple-digit temperatures, e …
9/1/09
Description Triple-digit temperatures, extremely low relative humidities, dense vegetation that has not burned in decades, and years of extended drought are all contributing to the explosive growth of wildfires throughout Southern California. The Station fire, which began Aug. 26, 2009, in La Canada/Flintridge, not far from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, had reportedly burned 105,000 acres (164 square miles) of the Angeles National Forest by mid-day Aug. 31, destroying at least 21 homes and threatening more than 12,000 others. It is one of four major fires burning in Southern California at the present time. This image was acquired mid-morning on Aug. 30 by the backward (northward)-viewing camera of the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument on NASA's Terra satellite. The image is shown in an approximate perspective view at an angle of 46 degrees off of vertical. The area covered by the image is 245 kilometers (152 miles) wide. Several pyrocumulus clouds, created by the Station Fire, are visible above the smoke plumes rising from the San Gabriel Mountains north of Los Angeles in the left-center of the image. Smoke from the Station fire is seen covering the interior valleys along the south side of the San Gabriel Mountains, along with parts of the City of Los Angeles and Orange County, and can be seen drifting for hundreds of kilometers to the east over the Mojave Desert. The accompanying plots are histograms that display the heights of the smoke plumes and wind speeds. In this data set, the plume is injecting smoke more than 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) above sea level. MISR observes the daylit Earth continuously and every 9 days views the entire globe between 82 degrees north and 82 degrees south latitude. This image was generated from a portion of the imagery acquired during Terra orbit 51601. MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, DC. The Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The MISR data were obtained from the NASA Langley Research Center Atmospheric Science Data Center. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology. Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team
Date 9/1/09
JetStar
Title JetStar
Description The Dryden C-140 JetStar during testing of advanced propfan designs. Dryden conducted flight research in 1981-1982 on several designs. The technology was developed under the direction of the Lewis Research Center (today the Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH) under the Advanced Turboprop Program. Under that program, Langley Research Center in Virginia oversaw work on accoustics and noise reduction. These efforts were intended to develop a high-speed and fuel-efficient turboprop system. NASA's Dryden Flight Research Facility (later the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA), in co-operation with the Lewis Research Center, investigated the acoustic characteristics of a series of subscale advanced design propellors in the early eighties. These propellors were designed to rotate at a tip speed faster than the speed of sound. They are, in effect, a "swept back wing" version of a propellor. The tests were conducted on Dryden's C-140 Jetstar, seen here on a research flight over the Mojave desert. The JetStar was modified with the installation of an air turbine drive system. The drive motor, with a 24 inch test propellor, was mounted in a pylon atop the JetStar. The JetStar was equipped with an array of 28 microphones flush-mounted in the fuselage of the aircraft beneath the propellor. Microphones mounted on the wings and on accompanying chase aircraft provided far-field acoustic data. In the 1960s, the same JetStar was equipped with an electronic variable stability flight control system. Called the General Purpose Airborne Simulator (GPAS), the aircraft could duplicate the flight characteristics of a wide variety of advanced aircraft and was used for supersonic transport and general aviation research and as a training and support system for Space Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests at Dryden in 1977. In 1985, the JetStar's wings were modified with suction and spray devices in a laminar (smooth) air flow program to study ways of improving the flow of air over the wings of airliners. The program also studied ways of reducing the collection of ice and insects on airliner wings.
Date 01.01.1981
F-15B #836 Research Testbed
Project Description NASA's t …
9/23/08
Description Project Description NASA's two F-15 research aircraft don't get a lot of flight hours, and it's even rarer to have them in the air together on the same mission. But research pilots Jim Smolka and Craig Bomben from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center put the highly modified aircraft through their paces during a mission over the Edwards Air Force Base test range in late July that supported the Intelligent Flight Control System's (IFCS) project. The canard-equipped F-15B tail number 837, NASA's IFCS aircraft, was flying structural mode validation flights at the time, leading to Generation II IFCS flights planned for later in 2005. F-15B tail number 836 was flying safety chase as well as for pilot proficiency in air refueling. Both aircraft performed aerial refueling from an Air Force KC-135 tanker aircraft. At the end of the mission, the two joined up for a formation fly-over of their home at NASA Dryden. Photo Description NASA's two modified F-15B research aircraft joined up for a fly-over of NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center on Edwards AFB, Calif., after a research mission. July 22, 2005 Nasa Photo /Tony Landis EC05-0148-31
Date 9/23/08
X-40A Space Manuever Vehicle
EC01-0148-21 X-40A Free Flig …
05/08/2001
Description EC01-0148-21 X-40A Free Flight #5. The unpowered X-40A, an 85 percent scale risk reduction version of the proposed X-37, proved the capability of an autonomous flight control and landing system in a series of glide flights at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the X-37 project. At Dryden, the X-40A underwent a series of ground and air tests to reduce possible risks to the larger X-37, including drop tests from a helicopter to check guidance and navigation systems planned for use in the X-37. The X-37 is designed to demonstrate technologies in the orbital and reentry environments for next-generation reusable launch vehicles that will increase both safety and reliability, while reducing launch costs from $10,000 per pound to $1,000 per pound. May 8, 2001 NASA Photo / Jim Ross
Date 05/08/2001
X-40A Space Manuever Vehicle
EC01-0070-1 The X-40A immedi …
03/14/2001
Description EC01-0070-1 The X-40A immediately after release from its harness suspended from a helicopter 15,000 feet above NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on March 14, 2001. The unpiloted X-40 is a risk-reduction vehicle for the X-37, which is intended to be a reusable space vehicle. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala, manages the X-37 project. At Dryden, the X-40A will undergo a series of ground and air tests to reduce possible risks to the larger X-37, including drop tests from a helicopter to check guidance and navigation systems planned for use in the X-37. The X-37 is designed to demonstrate technologies in the orbital and reentry environments for next-generation reusable launch vehicles that will increase both safety and reliability, while reducing launch costs from $10,000 per pound to $1,000 per pound. March 14, 2001 NASA Photo / Carla Thomas
Date 03/14/2001
X-40A Space Manuever Vehicle
EC01-0070-2 First flight at …
03/14/2001
Description EC01-0070-2 First flight at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center for the X-40A was a 74 second glide from 15,000 feet on March 14, 2001. The unpiloted X-40 is a risk-reduction vehicle for the X-37, which is intended to be a reusable space vehicle. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala, manages the X-37 project. At Dryden, the X-40A will undergo a series of ground and air tests to reduce possible risks to the larger X-37, including drop tests from a helicopter to check guidance and navigation systems planned for use in the X-37. The X-37 is designed to demonstrate technologies in the orbital and reentry environments for next-generation reusable launch vehicles that will increase both safety and reliability, while reducing launch costs from $10,000 per pound to $1,000 per pound. March 14, 2001 NASA Photo / Carla Thomas
Date 03/14/2001
X-40A Space Manuever Vehicle
EC01-0070-3 Wranglers steadi …
03/14/2001
Description EC01-0070-3 Wranglers steadied the X-40A at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, March 14, 2001, as the experimental craft was carried to 15,000 feet for an unpiloted glide flight. The unpiloted X-40 is a risk-reduction vehicle for the X-37, which is intended to be a reusable space vehicle. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala, manages the X-37 project. At Dryden, the X-40A will undergo a series of ground and air tests to reduce possible risks to the larger X-37, including drop tests from a helicopter to check guidance and navigation systems planned for use in the X-37. The X-37 is designed to demonstrate technologies in the orbital and reentry environments for next-generation reusable launch vehicles that will increase both safety and reliability, while reducing launch costs from $10,000 per pound to $1,000 per pound. March 14, 2001 NASA Photo / Tony Landis
Date 03/14/2001
X-40A Space Manuever Vehicle
EC01-0148-15 X-40A Free Flig …
05/08/2001
Description EC01-0148-15 X-40A Free Flight #5. The unpowered X-40A, an 85 percent scale risk reduction version of the proposed X-37, proved the capability of an autonomous flight control and landing system in a series of glide flights at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the X-37 project. At Dryden, the X-40A underwent a series of ground and air tests to reduce possible risks to the larger X-37, including drop tests from a helicopter to check guidance and navigation systems planned for use in the X-37. The X-37 is designed to demonstrate technologies in the orbital and reentry environments for next-generation reusable launch vehicles that will increase both safety and reliability, while reducing launch costs from $10,000 per pound to $1,000 per pound. May 8, 2001 NASA Photo / Jim Ross
Date 05/08/2001
X-5 on Ramp
Photo Description This NACA High-Speed Flight Research Station photograph of the X-5 was taken at the South Base of Edwards Air Force Base. The photograph portrays a left wing side view of the aircraft and also shows the pitot-static probe, used to measure airspeed, Mach number, and altitude, mounted on a noseboom protruding from the top of the aircraft's nose engine inlet. Also attached to the pitot-static probe portion of the noseboom are flow direction vanes for sensing the aircraft?s angles-of-attack and sideslip in flight.
Project Description The Bell, X-5 was flight tested at the NACA High-Speed Flight Research Station (now the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California) from 1952 to 1955. The X-5 was the first aircraft capable of sweeping its wings in flight. It helped provide data about wing-sweep at angles of up to 60 degrees at subsonic and transonic speeds. There were two X-5 vehicles. Ship 1 was flown at the NACA High-Speed Flight Research Station (High-Speed Flight Station, as it was redesignated in 1954) from 1951 to 1955. Ship 2 was operated by Bell and the U.S. Air Force and was lost in a spin accident in 1953. Following the conclusion of the contractor?s test program, the X-5 was grounded for installation of a NACA instrument package. The Air Force conducted a short, six-flight, evaluation program. Since the Air Force evaluation program included data collection, it was considered as part of the overall NACA effort and flights were logged as AF/NACA. In the NACA test program, the X-5 demonstrated severe stall-spin instability. The X-5 was also used as a chase plane for other research aircraft because it could vary its flying characteristics to suit the airplane it was chasing. Ship 1 flew a total of 133 flights during its three years of service. In spite of the problems with the aircraft, the X-5 provided a significant full-scale verification of NACA wind-tunnel predictions for reduced drag and improved performance that resulted from this configuration?s increasing the wing sweep as the speed of the aircraft approached the speed of sound. The X-5 flight tests provided some of the design data for the Air Force F-111 and Navy F-14 tactical aircraft. Although the mechanism by which the X-5 changed its wing sweep made this particular design impractical, development of a viable variable-sweep aircraft had to await Langley Aeronautical Laboratory?s concept of an outboard wing pivot in the mid-1950s. (Langley was a NACA research laboratory in Hampton, Virginia.) The X-5 was a single seat aircraft powered by an Allison J-35-A-17A jet engine. It was 33.33 feet long with a wingspan of 20.9 feet (with the wings swept back at an angle of 60 degrees) to 33.5 feet (with the wings unswept). When fully fueled, the X-5 weighed 9,875 pounds.
Photo Date 1952
X-5 on Ramp - Front View, Wi …
Photo Description This NACA High-Speed Flight Research Station photograph of the X-5 was taken at the South Base of Edwards Air Force Base. The photograph, on the ramp in-front of the NACA hangar, shows a frontal view of the X-5 illustrating it's wing sweep capability. This view also provides a good view of the inlet and attached nose boom on the top.
Project Description The Bell, X-5 was flight tested at the NACA High-Speed Flight Research Station (now the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California) from 1952 to 1955. The X-5 was the first aircraft capable of sweeping its wings in flight. It helped provide data about wing-sweep at angles of up to 60 degrees at subsonic and transonic speeds. There were two X-5 vehicles. Ship 1 was flown at the NACA High-Speed Flight Research Station (High-Speed Flight Station, as it was redesignated in 1954) from 1951 to 1955. Ship 2 was operated by Bell and the U.S. Air Force and was lost in a spin accident in 1953. Following the conclusion of the contractor?s test program, the X-5 was grounded for installation of a NACA instrument package. The Air Force conducted a short, six-flight, evaluation program. Since the Air Force evaluation program included data collection, it was considered as part of the overall NACA effort and flights were logged as AF/NACA. In the NACA test program, the X-5 demonstrated severe stall-spin instability. The X-5 was also used as a chase plane for other research aircraft because it could vary its flying characteristics to suit the airplane it was chasing. Ship 1 flew a total of 133 flights during its three years of service. In spite of the problems with the aircraft, the X-5 provided a significant full-scale verification of NACA wind-tunnel predictions for reduced drag and improved performance that resulted from this configuration?s increasing the wing sweep as the speed of the aircraft approached the speed of sound. The X-5 flight tests provided some of the design data for the Air Force F-111 and Navy F-14 tactical aircraft. Although the mechanism by which the X-5 changed its wing sweep made this particular design impractical, development of a viable variable-sweep aircraft had to await Langley Aeronautical Laboratory?s concept of an outboard wing pivot in the mid-1950s. (Langley was a NACA research laboratory in Hampton, Virginia.) The X-5 was a single seat aircraft powered by an Allison J-35-A-17A jet engine. It was 33.33 feet long with a wingspan of 20.9 feet (with the wings swept back at an angle of 60 degrees) to 33.5 feet (with the wings unswept). When fully fueled, the X-5 weighed 9,875 pounds.
Photo Date 1952
X-Wing Research Vehicle
Title X-Wing Research Vehicle
Description One of the most unusual experimental flight vehicles appearing at NASA's Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility (later redesignated Dryden Flight Research Center) in the 1980s was the Rotor Systems Research Aircraft (RSRA) X-Wing aircraft, seen here on the ramp. The craft was developed originally and then modified by Sikorsky Aircraft for a joint NASA-Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program and was rolled out 19 August 1986. Taxi tests and initial low-altitude flight tests without the main rotor attached were carried out at Dryden before the program was terminated in 1988. The unusual aircraft that resulted from the Ames Research Center/Army X-Wing Project was flown at the Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility (now Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California, beginning in the spring of 1984, with a follow-on program beginning in 1986. The program, was conceived to provide an efficient combination of the vertical lift characteristic of conventional helicopters and the high cruise speed of fixed-wing aircraft. It consisted of a hybrid vehicle called the NASA/Army Rotor Systems Research Aircraft (RSRA), which was equipped with advanced X-wing rotor systems. The program began in the early 1970s to investigate ways to increase the speed of rotor aircraft, as well as their performance, reliability, and safety . It also sought to reduce the noise, vibration, and maintenance costs of helicopters. Sikorsky Aircraft Division of United Technologies Laboratories built two RSRA aircraft. NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, did some initial testing and transferred the program to Ames Research Center, Mountain View, California, for an extensive flight research program conducted by Ames and the Army. The purpose of the 1984 tests was to demonstrate the fixed-wing capability of the helicopter/airplane hybrid research vehicle and explore its flight envelope and flying qualities. These tests, flown by Ames pilot G. Warren Hall and Army Maj (soon promoted to Lt. Col.) Patrick Morris, began in May and continued until October 1984, when the RSRA vehicle returned to Ames. The project manager at Dryden for the flights was Wen Painter. These early tests were preparatory for a future X-Wing rotor flight test project to be sponsored by NASA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and Sikorsky Aircraft. A later derivative X-Wing flew in 1987. The modified RSRA was developed to provide a vehicle for in-flight investigation and verification of new helicopter rotor-system concepts and supporting technology. The RSRA could be configured to fly as an airplane with fixed wings, as a helicopter, or as a compound vehicle that could transition between the two configurations. NASA and DARPA selected Sikorsky in 1984 to convert one of the original RSRAs to the new demonstrator aircraft for the X-Wing concept. Developers of X-Wing technology did not view the X-Wing as a replacement for either helicopters (rotor aircraft) or, fixed-wing aircraft. Instead, they envisioned it as an aircraft with special enhanced capabilities to perform missions that call for the low-speed efficiency and maneuverability of helicopters combined with the high cruise speed of fixed-wing aircraft. Some such missions include air-to-air and air-to-ground tactical operations, airborne early warning, electronic intelligence, antisubmarine warfare, and search and rescue. The follow-on X-Wing project was managed by James W. Lane, chief of the RSRA/X-Wing Project Office, Ames Research Center. Coordinating the Ames-Dryden flight effort in 1987 was Jack Kolf. The X-Wing project was a joint effort of NASA-Ames, DARPA, the U.S. Army, and Sikorsky Aircraft, Stratford, Connecticut. The modified X-Wing aircraft was delivered to Ames-Dryden by Sikorsky Aircraft on 25 September 1986. Following taxi tests, initial flights in the aircraft mode without main rotors attached took place at Dryden in December 1997. Ames research pilot G. Warren Hall and Sikorsky's W. Richard Faull were the pilots. The contract with Sikorsky ended that month, and the program ended in January 1988.
Date 01.01.1986
X-Wing Research Vehicle in H …
Title X-Wing Research Vehicle in Hangar
Description One of the most unusual experimental flight vehicles appearing at NASA's Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility (later redesignated Dryden Flight Research Center) in the 1980s was the Rotor Systems Research Aircraft (RSRA) X-Wing aircraft, seen here on the ramp. The craft was developed originally and then modified by Sikorsky Aircraft for a joint NASA-Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program and was rolled out 19 August 1986. Taxi tests and initial low-altitude flight tests without the main rotor attached were carried out at Dryden before the program was terminated in 1988. The unusual aircraft that resulted from the Ames Research Center/Army X-Wing Project was flown at the Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility (now Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California, beginning in the spring of 1984, with a follow-on program beginning in 1986. The program, was conceived to provide an efficient combination of the vertical lift characteristic of conventional helicopters and the high cruise speed of fixed-wing aircraft. It consisted of a hybrid vehicle called the NASA/Army Rotor Systems Research Aircraft (RSRA), which was equipped with advanced X-wing rotor systems. The program began in the early 1970s to investigate ways to increase the speed of rotor aircraft, as well as their performance, reliability, and safety . It also sought to reduce the noise, vibration, and maintenance costs of helicopters. Sikorsky Aircraft Division of United Technologies Laboratories built two RSRA aircraft. NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, did some initial testing and transferred the program to Ames Research Center, Mountain View, California, for an extensive flight research program conducted by Ames and the Army. The purpose of the 1984 tests was to demonstrate the fixed-wing capability of the helicopter/airplane hybrid research vehicle and explore its flight envelope and flying qualities. These tests, flown by Ames pilot G. Warren Hall and Army Maj (soon promoted to Lt. Col.) Patrick Morris, began in May and continued until October 1984, when the RSRA vehicle returned to Ames. The project manager at Dryden for the flights was Wen Painter. These early tests were preparatory for a future X-Wing rotor flight test project to be sponsored by NASA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and Sikorsky Aircraft. A later derivative X-Wing flew in 1987. The modified RSRA was developed to provide a vehicle for in-flight investigation and verification of new helicopter rotor-system concepts and supporting technology. The RSRA could be configured to fly as an airplane with fixed wings, as a helicopter, or as a compound vehicle that could transition between the two configurations. NASA and DARPA selected Sikorsky in 1984 to convert one of the original RSRAs to the new demonstrator aircraft for the X-Wing concept. Developers of X-Wing technology did not view the X-Wing as a replacement for either helicopters (rotor aircraft) or, fixed-wing aircraft. Instead, they envisioned it as an aircraft with special enhanced capabilities to perform missions that call for the low-speed efficiency and maneuverability of helicopters combined with the high cruise speed of fixed-wing aircraft. Some such missions include air-to-air and air-to-ground tactical operations, airborne early warning, electronic intelligence, antisubmarine warfare, and search and rescue. The follow-on X-Wing project was managed by James W. Lane, chief of the RSRA/X-Wing Project Office, Ames Research Center. Coordinating the Ames-Dryden flight effort in 1987 was Jack Kolf. The X-Wing project was a joint effort of NASA-Ames, DARPA, the U.S. Army, and Sikorsky Aircraft, Stratford, Connecticut. The modified X-Wing aircraft was delivered to Ames-Dryden by Sikorsky Aircraft on September 25, 1986. Following taxi tests, initial flights in the aircraft mode without main rotors attached took place at Dryden in December 1997. Ames research pilot G. Warren Hall and Sikorsky's W. Richard Faull were the pilots. The contract with Sikorsky ended that month, and the program ended in January 1988.
Date 02.01.1987
X-38 Arrival at NASA Dryden …
Photo Description NASA's first X-38 Advanced Technology Demonstrator for the proposed Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) is transported across the ramp after its arrival at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, in June 1997. The vehicle arrived aboard a USAF C-17 transport aircraft from NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC).
Project Description The X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) research project is designed to develop the technology for a prototype emergency crew return vehicle, or lifeboat, for the International Space Station. The project is also intended to develop a crew return vehicle design that could be modified for other uses, such as a joint U.S. and international human spacecraft that could be launched on the French Ariane-5 Booster. The X-38 project is using available technology and off-the-shelf equipment to significantly decrease development costs. Original estimates to develop a capsule-type crew return vehicle were estimated at more than $2 billion. X-38 project officials have estimated that development costs for the X-38 concept will be approximately one quarter of the original estimate. Off-the-shelf technology is not necessarily "old" technology. Many of the technologies being used in the X-38 project have never before been applied to a human-flight spacecraft. For example, the X-38 flight computer is commercial equipment currently used in aircraft and the flight software operating system is a commercial system already in use in many aerospace applications. The video equipment for the X-38 is existing equipment, some of which has already flown on the space shuttle for previous NASA experiments. The X-38's primary navigational equipment, the Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System, is a unit already in use on Navy fighters. The X-38 electromechanical actuators come from previous joint NASA, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Navy research and development projects. Finally, an existing special coating developed by NASA will be used on the X-38 thermal tiles to make them more durable than those used on the space shuttles. The X-38 itself was an unpiloted lifting body designed at 80 percent of the size of a projected emergency crew return vehicle for the International Space Station, although two later versions were planned at 100 percent of the CRV size. The X-38 and the actual CRV are patterned after a lifting-body shape first employed in the Air Force-NASA X-24 lifting-body project in the early to mid-1970s. The current vehicle design is base lined with life support supplies for about nine hours of orbital free flight from the space station. Its landing will be fully automated with backup systems which allow the crew to control orientation in orbit, select a deorbit site, and steer the parafoil, if necessary. The X-38 vehicles (designated V131, V132, and V-131R) are 28.5 feet long, 14.5 feet wide, and weigh approximately 16,000 pounds on average. The vehicles have a nitrogen-gas-operated attitude control system and a bank of batteries for internal power. The actual CRV to be flown in space was expected to be 30 feet long. The X-38 project is a joint effort between the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas (JSC), Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia (LaRC) and Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California (DFRC) with the program office located at JSC. A, contract was awarded to Scaled Composites, Inc., Mojave, California, for construction of the X-38 test airframes. The first vehicle was delivered to the JSC in September 1996. The vehicle was fitted with avionics, computer systems and other hardware at Johnson. A second vehicle was delivered to JSC in December 1996. Flight research with the X-38 at Dryden began with an unpiloted captive-carry flight in which the vehicle remained attached to its future launch vehicle, Dryden's B-52 008. There were four captive flights in 1997 and three in 1998, plus the first drop test on March 12, 1998, using the parachutes and parafoil. Further captive and drop tests occurred in 1999. In March 2000 Vehicle 132 completed its third and final free flight in the highest, fastest, and longest X-38 flight to date. It was released at an altitude of 39,000 feet and flew freely for 45 seconds, reaching a speed of over 500 miles per hour before deploying its parachutes for a landing on Rogers Dry Lakebed. In the drop tests, the X-38 vehicles have been autonomous after airlaunch from the B-52. After they deploy the parafoil, they have remained autonomous, but there is also a manual mode with controls from the ground.
Photo Date June 1997
X-38 Arrival at NASA Dryden …
Photo Description NASA's first X-38 Advanced Technology Demonstrator for the proposed Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) arrives at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, in June 1997. The vehicle arrived aboard a USAF C-17 transport aircraft from NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC).
Project Description The X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) research project is designed to develop the technology for a prototype emergency crew return vehicle, or lifeboat, for the International Space Station. The project is also intended to develop a crew return vehicle design that could be modified for other uses, such as a joint U.S. and international human spacecraft that could be launched on the French Ariane-5 Booster. The X-38 project is using available technology and off-the-shelf equipment to significantly decrease development costs. Original estimates to develop a capsule-type crew return vehicle were estimated at more than $2 billion. X-38 project officials have estimated that development costs for the X-38 concept will be approximately one quarter of the original estimate. Off-the-shelf technology is not necessarily "old" technology. Many of the technologies being used in the X-38 project have never before been applied to a human-flight spacecraft. For example, the X-38 flight computer is commercial equipment currently used in aircraft and the flight software operating system is a commercial system already in use in many aerospace applications. The video equipment for the X-38 is existing equipment, some of which has already flown on the space shuttle for previous NASA experiments. The X-38's primary navigational equipment, the Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System, is a unit already in use on Navy fighters. The X-38 electromechanical actuators come from previous joint NASA, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Navy research and development projects. Finally, an existing special coating developed by NASA will be used on the X-38 thermal tiles to make them more durable than those used on the space shuttles. The X-38 itself was an unpiloted lifting body designed at 80 percent of the size of a projected emergency crew return vehicle for the International Space Station, although two later versions were planned at 100 percent of the CRV size. The X-38 and the actual CRV are patterned after a lifting-body shape first employed in the Air Force-NASA X-24 lifting-body project in the early to mid-1970s. The current vehicle design is base lined with life support supplies for about nine hours of orbital free flight from the space station. It's landing will be fully automated with backup systems which allow the crew to control orientation in orbit, select a deorbit site, and steer the parafoil, if necessary. The X-38 vehicles (designated V131, V132, and V-131R) are 28.5 feet long, 14.5 feet wide, and weigh approximately 16,000 pounds on average. The vehicles have a nitrogen-gas-operated attitude control system and a bank of batteries for internal power. The actual CRV to be flown in space was expected to be 30 feet long. The X-38 project is a joint effort between the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas (JSC), Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia (LaRC) and Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California (DFRC) with the program office located at JSC. A, contract was awarded to Scaled Composites, Inc., Mojave, California, for construction of the X-38 test airframes. The first vehicle was delivered to the JSC in September 1996. The vehicle was fitted with avionics, computer systems and other hardware at Johnson. A second vehicle was delivered to JSC in December 1996. Flight research with the X-38 at Dryden began with an unpiloted captive-carry flight in which the vehicle remained attached to its future launch vehicle, Dryden's B-52 008. There were four captive flights in 1997 and three in 1998, plus the first drop test on March 12, 1998, using the parachutes and parafoil. Further captive and drop tests occurred in 1999. In March 2000 Vehicle 132 completed its third and final free flight in the highest, fastest, and longest X-38 flight to date. It was released at an altitude of 39,000 feet and flew freely for 45 seconds, reaching a speed of over 500 miles per hour before deploying its parachutes for a landing on Rogers Dry Lakebed. In the drop tests, the X-38 vehicles have been autonomous after airlaunch from the B-52. After they deploy the parafoil, they have remained autonomous, but there is also a manual mode with controls from the ground.
Photo Date June 1997
X-38 Arrival at NASA Dryden …
Photo Description NASA's first X-38 Advanced Technology Demonstrator for the proposed Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) arrives at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, in June 1997. The vehicle arrived aboard a USAF C-17 transport aircraft from NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC).
Project Description The X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) research project is designed to develop the technology for a prototype emergency crew return vehicle, or lifeboat, for the International Space Station. The project is also intended to develop a crew return vehicle design that could be modified for other uses, such as a joint U.S. and international human spacecraft that could be launched on the French Ariane-5 Booster. The X-38 project is using available technology and off-the-shelf equipment to significantly decrease development costs. Original estimates to develop a capsule-type crew return vehicle were estimated at more than $2 billion. X-38 project officials have estimated that development costs for the X-38 concept will be approximately one quarter of the original estimate. Off-the-shelf technology is not necessarily "old" technology. Many of the technologies being used in the X-38 project have never before been applied to a human-flight spacecraft. For example, the X-38 flight computer is commercial equipment currently used in aircraft and the flight software operating system is a commercial system already in use in many aerospace applications. The video equipment for the X-38 is existing equipment, some of which has already flown on the space shuttle for previous NASA experiments. The X-38's primary navigational equipment, the Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System, is a unit already in use on Navy fighters. The X-38 electromechanical actuators come from previous joint NASA, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Navy research and development projects. Finally, an existing special coating developed by NASA will be used on the X-38 thermal tiles to make them more durable than those used on the space shuttles. The X-38 itself was an unpiloted lifting body designed at 80 percent of the size of a projected emergency crew return vehicle for the International Space Station, although two later versions were planned at 100 percent of the CRV size. The X-38 and the actual CRV are patterned after a lifting-body shape first employed in the Air Force-NASA X-24 lifting-body project in the early to mid-1970s. The current vehicle design is base lined with life support supplies for about nine hours of orbital free flight from the space station. Its landing will be fully automated with backup systems which allow the crew to control orientation in orbit, select a deorbit site, and steer the parafoil, if necessary. The X-38 vehicles (designated V131, V132, and V-131R) are 28.5 feet long, 14.5 feet wide, and weigh approximately 16,000 pounds on average. The vehicles have a nitrogen-gas-operated attitude control system and a bank of batteries for internal power. The actual CRV to be flown in space was expected to be 30 feet long. The X-38 project is a joint effort between the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas (JSC), Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia (LaRC) and Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California (DFRC) with the program office located at JSC. A, contract was awarded to Scaled Composites, Inc., Mojave, California, for construction of the X-38 test airframes. The first vehicle was delivered to the JSC in September 1996. The vehicle was fitted with avionics, computer systems and other hardware at Johnson. A second vehicle was delivered to JSC in December 1996. Flight research with the X-38 at Dryden began with an unpiloted captive-carry flight in which the vehicle remained attached to its future launch vehicle, Dryden's B-52 008. There were four captive flights in 1997 and three in 1998, plus the first drop test on March 12, 1998, using the parachutes and parafoil. Further captive and drop tests occurred in 1999. In March 2000 Vehicle 132 completed its third and final free flight in the highest, fastest, and longest X-38 flight to date. It was released at an altitude of 39,000 feet and flew freely for 45 seconds, reaching a speed of over 500 miles per hour before deploying its parachutes for a landing on Rogers Dry Lakebed. In the drop tests, the X-38 vehicles have been autonomous after airlaunch from the B-52. After they deploy the parafoil, they have remained autonomous, but there is also a manual mode with controls from the ground.
Photo Date June 1997
X-38 on Lakebed after Landin …
Photo Description NASA's X-38, a prototype of a Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) resting on the lakebed near the Dryden Flight Research Center after the completion of its second free flight. The X-38 was launched from NASA Dryden's B-52 Mothership on Saturday, February 6, 1999, from an altitude of approximately 23,000 feet.
Project Description The X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) research project is designed to develop the technology for a prototype emergency crew return vehicle, or lifeboat, for the International Space Station. The project is also intended to develop a crew return vehicle design that could be modified for other uses, such as a joint U.S. and international human spacecraft that could be launched on the French Ariane-5 Booster. The X-38 project is using available technology and off-the-shelf equipment to significantly decrease development costs. Original estimates to develop a capsule-type crew return vehicle were estimated at more than $2 billion. X-38 project officials have estimated that development costs for the X-38 concept will be approximately one quarter of the original estimate. Off-the-shelf technology is not necessarily "old" technology. Many of the technologies being used in the X-38 project have never before been applied to a human-flight spacecraft. For example, the X-38 flight computer is commercial equipment currently used in aircraft and the flight software operating system is a commercial system already in use in many aerospace applications. The video equipment for the X-38 is existing equipment, some of which has already flown on the space shuttle for previous NASA experiments. The X-38's primary navigational equipment, the Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System, is a unit already in use on Navy fighters. The X-38 electromechanical actuators come from previous joint NASA, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Navy research and development projects. Finally, an existing special coating developed by NASA will be used on the X-38 thermal tiles to make them more durable than those used on the space shuttles. The X-38 itself was an unpiloted lifting body designed at 80 percent of the size of a projected emergency crew return vehicle for the International Space Station, although two later versions were planned at 100 percent of the CRV size. The X-38 and the actual CRV are patterned after a lifting-body shape first employed in the Air Force-NASA X-24 lifting-body project in the early to mid-1970s. The current vehicle design is base lined with life support supplies for about nine hours of orbital free flight from the space station. ItÕs landing will be fully automated with backup systems which allow the crew to control orientation in orbit, select a deorbit site, and steer the parafoil, if necessary. The X-38 vehicles (designated V131, V132, and V-131R) are 28.5 feet long, 14.5 feet wide, and weigh approximately 16,000 pounds on average. The vehicles have a nitrogen-gas-operated attitude control system and a bank of batteries for internal power. The actual CRV to be flown in space was expected to be 30 feet long. The X-38 project is a joint effort between the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas (JSC), Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia (LaRC) and Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California (DFRC) with the program office located at JSC. A, contract was awarded to Scaled Composites, Inc., Mojave, California, for construction of the X-38 test airframes. The first vehicle was delivered to the JSC in September 1996. The vehicle was fitted with avionics, computer systems and other hardware at Johnson. A second vehicle was delivered to JSC in December 1996. Flight research with the X-38 at Dryden began with an unpiloted captive-carry flight in which the vehicle remained attached to its future launch vehicle, DrydenÕs B-52 008. There were four captive flights in 1997 and three in 1998, plus the first drop test on March 12, 1998, using the parachutes and parafoil. Further captive and drop tests occurred in 1999. In March 2000 Vehicle 132 completed its third and final free flight in the highest, fastest, and longest X-38 flight to date. It was released at an altitude of 39,000 feet and flew freely for 45 seconds, reaching a speed of over 500 miles per hour before deploying its parachutes for a landing on Rogers Dry Lakebed. In the drop tests, the X-38 vehicles have been autonomous after airlaunch from the B-52. After they deploy the parafoil, they have remained autonomous, but there is also a manual mode with controls from the ground.
Photo Date February 6, 1999
M2-F1 simulator cockpit
Photo Description This early simulator of the M2-F1 lifting body was used for pilot training, to test landing techniques before the first ground tow attempts, and to test new control configurations after the first tow attempts and wind-tunnel tests. The M2-F1 simulator was limited in some ways by its analog simulator. It had only limited visual display for the pilot, as well.
Project Description The wingless, lifting body aircraft design was initially conceived as a means of landing an aircraft horizontally after atmospheric reentry. The absence of wings would make the extreme heat of re-entry less damaging to the vehicle. In 1962, Dryden management approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to flight test the wingless concept. It would look like a "flying bathtub," and was designated the M2-F1, the "M" referring to "manned" and "F" referring to "flight" version. It featured a plywood shell placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at Dryden. Construction was completed in 1963. The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were over Rogers Dry Lake at the end of a tow rope attached to a hopped-up Pontiac convertible driven at speeds up to about 120 mph. This vehicle needed to be able to tow the M2-F1 on the Rogers Dry Lakebed adjacent to NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC) at a minimum speed of 100 miles per hour. To do that, it had to handle the 400-pound pull of the M2-F1. Walter "Whitey" Whiteside, who was a retired Air Force maintenance officer working in the FRC's Flight Operations Division, was a dirt-bike rider and hot-rodder. Together with Boyden "Bud" Bearce in the Procurement and Supply Branch of the FRC, Whitey acquired a Pontiac Catalina convertible with the largest engine available. He took the car to Bill Straup's renowned hot-rod shop near Long Beach for modification. With a special gearbox and racing slicks, the Pontiac could tow the 1,000-pound M2-F1 110 miles per hour in 30 seconds. It proved adequate for the roughly 400 car tows that got the M2-F1 airborne to prove it could fly safely and to train pilots before they were towed behind a C-47 aircraft and released. These initial car-tow tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind the C-47 tow plane at greater altitudes. The C-47 took the craft to an altitude of 12,000 where free flights back to Rogers Dry Lake began. Pilot for the first series of flights of the M2-F1 was NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Typical glide flights with the M2-F1 lasted about two minutes and reached speeds of 110 to 120 mph. A small solid landing rocket, referred to as the "instant L/D rocket," was installed in the rear base of the M2-F1. This rocket, which could be ignited by the pilot, provided about 250 pounds of thrust for about 10 seconds. The rocket could be used to extend the flight time near landing if needed. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, and the U.S. Air Force's X-24 program, with an X-24A and -B built by Martin. The Lifting Body program also heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program. The M2-F1 program demonstrated, the feasibility of the lifting body concept for horizontal landings of atmospheric entry vehicles. It also demonstrated a procurement and management concept for prototype flight test vehicles that produced rapid results at very low cost (approximately $50,000, excluding salaries of government employees assigned to the project).
Photo Date 7 Aug 1963
M2-F1 cockpit
Photo Description This photo shows the cockpit configuration of the M2-F1 wingless lifting body. With a top speed of about 120 knots, the M2-F1 had a simple instrument panel. Besides the panel itself, the ribs of the wooden shell (left) and the control stick (center) are also visible.
Project Description The wingless, lifting body aircraft design was initially conceived as a means of landing an aircraft horizontally after atmospheric reentry. The absence of wings would make the extreme heat of re-entry less damaging to the vehicle. In 1962, Dryden management approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to flight test the wingless concept. It would look like a "flying bathtub," and was designated the M2-F1, the "M" referring to "manned" and "F" referring to "flight" version. It featured a plywood shell placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at Dryden. Construction was completed in 1963. The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were over Rogers Dry Lake at the end of a tow rope attached to a hopped-up Pontiac convertible driven at speeds up to about 120 mph. This vehicle needed to be able to tow the M2-F1 on the Rogers Dry Lakebed adjacent to NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC) at a minimum speed of 100 miles per hour. To do that, it had to handle the 400-pound pull of the M2-F1. Walter "Whitey" Whiteside, who was a retired Air Force maintenance officer working in the FRC's Flight Operations Division, was a dirt-bike rider and hot-rodder. Together with Boyden "Bud" Bearce in the Procurement and Supply Branch of the FRC, Whitey acquired a Pontiac Catalina convertible with the largest engine available. He took the car to Bill Straup's renowned hot-rod shop near Long Beach for modification. With a special gearbox and racing slicks, the Pontiac could tow the 1,000-pound M2-F1 110 miles per hour in 30 seconds. It proved adequate for the roughly 400 car tows that got the M2-F1 airborne to prove it could fly safely and to train pilots before they were towed behind a C-47 aircraft and released. These initial car-tow tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind the C-47 tow plane at greater altitudes. The C-47 took the craft to an altitude of 12,000 where free flights back to Rogers Dry Lake began. Pilot for the first series of flights of the M2-F1 was NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Typical glide flights with the M2-F1 lasted about two minutes and reached speeds of 110 to 120 mph. A small solid landing rocket, referred to as the "instant L/D rocket," was installed in the rear base of the M2-F1. This rocket, which could be ignited by the pilot, provided about 250 pounds of thrust for about 10 seconds. The rocket could be used to extend the flight time near landing if needed. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, and the U.S. Air Force's X-24 program, with an X-24A and -B built by Martin. The Lifting Body program also heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program. The M2-F1 program demonstrated, the feasibility of the lifting body concept for horizontal landings of atmospheric entry vehicles. It also demonstrated a procurement and management concept for prototype flight test vehicles that produced rapid results at very low cost (approximately $50,000, excluding salaries of government employees assigned to the project).
Photo Date March 21, 1963
M2-F1 on lakebed with pilot …
Photo Description NASA Flight Research Pilot Milt Thompson, shown here on the lakebed with the M2-F1 lifting body, was an early backer of R. Dale Reed's lifting-body proposal. He urged Flight Research Center director Paul Bikle to approve the M2-F1's construction. Thompson also made the first glide flights in both the M2-F1 and its successor, the heavyweight M2-F2.
Project Description The wingless, lifting body aircraft design was initially conceived as a means of landing an aircraft horizontally after atmospheric reentry. The absence of wings would make the extreme heat of re-entry less damaging to the vehicle. In 1962, NASA Flight Research Center (later Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA) management approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to flight test the wingless concept. It would look like a "flying bathtub," and was designated the M2-F1, the "M" referring to "manned" and "F" referring to "flight" version. It featured a plywood shell placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at Dryden. Construction was completed in 1963. The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were over Rogers Dry Lake at the end of a tow rope attached to a hopped-up Pontiac convertible driven at speeds up to about 120 mph. This vehicle needed to be able to tow the M2-F1 on the Rogers Dry Lakebed adjacent to NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC) at a minimum speed of 100 miles per hour. To do that, it had to handle the 400-pound pull of the M2-F1. Walter "Whitey" Whiteside, who was a retired Air Force maintenance officer working in the FRC's Flight Operations Division, was a dirt-bike rider and hot-rodder. Together with Boyden "Bud" Bearce in the Procurement and Supply Branch of the FRC, Whitey acquired a Pontiac Catalina convertible with the largest engine available. He took the car to Bill Straup's renowned hot-rod shop near Long Beach for modification. With a special gearbox and racing slicks, the Pontiac could tow the 1,000-pound M2-F1 110 miles per hour in 30 seconds. It proved adequate for the roughly 400 car tows that got the M2-F1 airborne to prove it could fly safely and to train pilots before they were towed behind a C-47 aircraft and released. These initial car-tow tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind the C-47 tow plane at greater altitudes. The C-47 took the craft to an altitude of 12,000 where free flights back to Rogers Dry Lake began. Pilot for the first series of flights of the M2-F1 was NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Typical glide flights with the M2-F1 lasted about two minutes and reached speeds of 110 to 120 mph. A small solid landing rocket, referred to as the "instant L/D rocket," was installed in the rear base of the M2-F1. This rocket, which could be ignited by the pilot, provided about 250 pounds of thrust for about 10 seconds. The rocket could be used to extend the flight time near landing if needed. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, and the U.S. Air Force's X-24 program, with an X-24A and -B built by Martin. The Lifting Body program also, heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program. The M2-F1 program demonstrated the feasibility of the lifting body concept for horizontal landings of atmospheric entry vehicles. It also demonstrated a procurement and management concept for prototype flight test vehicles that produced rapid results at very low cost (approximately $50,000, excluding salaries of government employees assigned to the project).
Photo Date 15 Aug 1963
Apollo display and keyboard …
Photo Description The display and keyboard (DSKY) unit used on the F-8 Digital Fly-By-Wire (DFBW) aircraft during Phase I of the fly-by-wire program. Warning lights are in the upper left section, displays in the upper right, and the keyboard is in the lower section. The Apollo flight-control system used in Phase I of the DFBW program had been used previously on the Lunar Module and was incredibly reliable. The DSKY was one element of the system. Also part of the fly-by-wire control system was the inertial platform. Both the computer and the inertial platform required a cooling system that used liquid nitrogen to keep the system within temperature limits. Should the primary flight control system fail, a backup system using three analog computers would automatically take over. The F-8 DFBW had no manual backup.
Project Description The F-8 Digital Fly-By-Wire (DFBW) flight research project validated the principal concepts of all-electric flight control systems now used on nearly all modern high-performance aircraft and on military and civilian transports. The first flight of the 13-year project was on May 25, 1972, with research pilot Gary E. Krier at the controls of a modified F-8C Crusader that served as the testbed for the fly-by-wire technologies. The project was a joint effort between the NASA Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, (now the Dryden Flight Research Center) and Langley Research Center. It included a total of 211 flights. The last flight was December 16, 1985, with Dryden research pilot Ed Schneider at the controls. The F-8 DFBW system was the forerunner of current fly-by-wire systems used in the space shuttles and on today?s military and civil aircraft to make them safer, more maneuverable, and more efficient. Electronic fly-by-wire systems replaced older hydraulic control systems, freeing designers to design aircraft with reduced in-flight stability. Fly-by-wire systems are safer because of their redundancies. They are more maneuverable because computers can command more frequent adjustments than a human pilot can. For airliners, computerized control ensures a smoother ride than a human pilot alone can provide. Digital-fly-by-wire is more efficient because it is lighter and takes up less space than the hydraulic systems it replaced. This either reduces the fuel required to fly or increases the number of passengers or pounds of cargo the aircraft can carry. Digital fly-by-wire is currently used in a variety of aircraft ranging from F/A-18 fighters to the Boeing 777. The DFBW research program is considered one of the most significant and most successful NASA aeronautical programs since the inception of the agency. F-8 aircraft were built originally for the U.S. Navy by LTV Aerospace of Dallas, Texas. The aircraft had a wingspan of 35 feet, 2 inches, was 54 feet, 6 inches long, and was powered by a Pratt & Whitney J57 turbojet engine.
Photo Date February 5, 1996
Photo Description NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif., provided critical support for the first flight July 20 of the X-48B. The 21-foot wingspan, 500-pound remotely piloted test vehicle took off for the first time at 8:42 a.m. PDT and climbed to an altitude of 7,500 feet before landing 31 minutes later. The Boeing Co. of Seattle developed the blended wing body research aircraft.
Project Description NASA's participation in the blended wing body effort is focused on fundamental, advanced flight dynamics and structural concepts of the design. It is a Subsonic Fixed Wing project managed by NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, Washington. In addition to hosting the X-48B flight test and research activities, NASA provided engineering and technical support -- expertise garnered from years of operating cutting-edge air vehicles. NASA assisted with the hardware and software validation and verification process, the integration and testing of the aircraft's systems and the pilot's ground control station. NASA's range group provided critical telemetry and command and control communications during the flight, while flight operations provided a T-34 chase aircraft and essential flight scheduling. Photo and video support completed the effort. Boeing's Phantom Works designed the X-48B flight test vehicles in cooperation with NASA and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, to gather detailed information about the stability and flight-control characteristics of the blended wing body design, especially during takeoffs and landings. The Boeing blended wing body design resembles a flying wing, but differs in that the wing blends smoothly into a wide, flat, tailless fuselage. This fuselage blending provides additional lift with less drag compared to a circular fuselage, translating to reduced fuel use at cruise conditions. Since the engines mount high on the back of the aircraft, there is less noise inside and on the ground when it is in flight. Three turbojet engines enable the composite-skinned, 8.5 percent scale vehicle to fly up to 10,000 feet and 120 knots in its low-speed configuration. The aircraft is flown remotely from a ground control station in which the pilot uses conventional aircraft controls and instrumentation while looking at a monitor fed by a forward-looking camera on the aircraft. NASA long has supported the development of the blended wing body shape and concept, participating in numerous collaborations with Boeing on vehicle design and analysis, as well as several wind tunnel entries of various sizes and design models. NASA is interested in the potential benefits of the aircraft: increased volume for carrying capacity, efficient aerodynamics for reduced fuel burn and possibly significant reductions in noise due to propulsion integration options. Two X-48B research vehicles were built by Cranfield Aerospace Ltd., in Bedford, England, in accordance with Boeing requirements. The vehicle that flew on July 20 is Ship 2, which also was used for ground and taxi testing. Ship 1, a duplicate, completed extensive wind tunnel testing in 2006 at the Full-Scale Tunnel at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.
Photo Date July 20, 2007
Pegasus Rocket Booster Being …
Title Pegasus Rocket Booster Being Prepared for X-43A/Hyper-X Flight Test
Description A close-up view of the front end of a Pegasus rocket booster being prepared by technicians at the Dryden Flight Research Center for flight tests with the X-43A "Hypersonic Experimental Vehicle," or "Hyper-X." The X-43A, which will be attached to the Pegasus booster and drop launched from NASA's B-52 mothership, was developed to research dual-mode ramjet/scramjet propulsion system at speeds from Mach 7 up to Mach 10 (7 to 10 times the speed of sound, which varies with temperature and altitude). Hyper-X, the flight vehicle for which is designated as X-43A, is an experimental flight-research program seeking to demonstrate airframe-integrated, "air-breathing" engine technologies that promise to increase payload capacity for future vehicles, including hypersonic aircraft (faster than Mach 5) and reusable space launchers. This multiyear program is currently underway at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The Hyper-X schedule calls for its first flight later this year (2000). Hyper-X is a joint program, with Dryden sharing responsibility with NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia. Dryden's primary role is to fly three unpiloted X-43A research vehicles to validate engine technologies and hypersonic design tools as well as the hypersonic test facility at Langley. Langley manages the program and leads the technology development effort. The Hyper-X Program seeks to significantly expand the speed boundaries of air-breathing propulsion by being the first aircraft to demonstrate an airframe-integrated, scramjet-powered free flight. Scramjets (supersonic-combustion ramjets) are ramjet engines in which the airflow through the whole engine remains supersonic. Scramjet technology is challenging because only limited testing can be performed in ground facilities. Long duration, full-scale testing requires flight research. Scramjet engines are air-breathing, capturing their oxygen from the atmosphere. Current spacecraft, such as the Space Shuttle, are rocket powered, so they must carry both fuel and oxygen for propulsion. Scramjet technology-based vehicles need to carry only fuel. By eliminating the need to carry oxygen, future hypersonic vehicles will be able to carry heavier payloads. Another unique aspect of the X-43A vehicle is the airframe integration. The body of the vehicle itself forms critical elements of the engine. The forebody acts as part of the intake for airflow and the aft section serves as the nozzle. The X-43A vehicles were manufactured by Micro Craft, Inc., Tullahoma, Tennessee. Orbital Sciences Corporation, Chandler, Arizona, built the Pegasus rocket booster used to launch the X-43 vehicles. For the Dryden research flights, the Pegasus rocket booster and attached X-43 will be air launched by Dryden's B-52 "Mothership." After release from the B-52, the booster will accelerate the X-43A vehicle to the established test conditions (Mach 7 to 10) at an altitude of approximately 100,000 feet where the X-43 will separate, from the booster and fly under its own power and preprogrammed control.
Date 08.25.1999
Hyper-X Research Vehicle - A …
Title Hyper-X Research Vehicle - Artist Concept Mounted on Pegasus Rocket Attached to B-52 Launch Aircraft
Description This artist's concept depicts the Hyper-X research vehicle riding on a booster rocket prior to being launched by the Dryden Flight Research Center's B-52 at about 40,000 feet. The X-43A was developed to flight test a dual-mode ramjet/scramjet propulsion system at speeds from Mach 7 up to Mach 10 (7 to 10 times the speed of sound, which varies with temperature and altitude). Hyper-X, the flight vehicle for which is designated as X-43A, is an experimental flight-research program seeking to demonstrate airframe-integrated, "air-breathing" engine technologies that promise to increase payload capacity for future vehicles, including hypersonic aircraft (faster than Mach 5) and reusable space launchers. This multiyear program is currently underway at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The Hyper-X schedule calls for its first flight later this year (2000). Hyper-X is a joint program, with Dryden sharing responsibility with NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia. Dryden's primary role is to fly three unpiloted X-43A research vehicles to validate engine technologies and hypersonic design tools as well as the hypersonic test facility at Langley. Langley manages the program and leads the technology development effort. The Hyper-X Program seeks to significantly expand the speed boundaries of air-breathing propulsion by being the first aircraft to demonstrate an airframe-integrated, scramjet-powered free flight. Scramjets (supersonic-combustion ramjets) are ramjet engines in which the airflow through the whole engine remains supersonic. Scramjet technology is challenging because only limited testing can be performed in ground facilities. Long duration, full-scale testing requires flight research. Scramjet engines are air-breathing, capturing their oxygen from the atmosphere. Current spacecraft, such as the Space Shuttle, are rocket powered, so they must carry both fuel and oxygen for propulsion. Scramjet technology-based vehicles need to carry only fuel. By eliminating the need to carry oxygen, future hypersonic vehicles will be able to carry heavier payloads. Another unique aspect of the X-43A vehicle is the airframe integration. The body of the vehicle itself forms critical elements of the engine. The forebody acts as part of the intake for airflow and the aft section serves as the nozzle. The X-43A vehicles were manufactured by Micro Craft, Inc., Tullahoma, Tennessee. Orbital Sciences Corporation, Chandler, Arizona, built the Pegasus rocket booster used to launch the X-43 vehicles. For the Dryden research flights, the Pegasus rocket booster and attached X-43 will be air launched by Dryden's B-52 "Mothership." After release from the B-52, the booster will accelerate the X-43A vehicle to the established test conditions (Mach 7 to 10) at an altitude of approximately 100,000 feet where the X-43 will separate from the booster and fly under its own power and preprogrammed control.
Date 01.01.1997
X-43A Vehicle During Ground …
Title X-43A Vehicle During Ground Testing
Description The X-43A Hypersonic Experimental Vehicle, or "Hyper-X" is seen here undergoing ground testing at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California in December 1999. The X-43A was developed to research a dual-mode ramjet/scramjet propulsion system at speeds from Mach 7 up to Mach 10 (7 to 10 times the speed of sound, which varies with temperature and altitude). Hyper-X, the flight vehicle for which is designated as X-43A, is an experimental flight-research program seeking to demonstrate airframe-integrated, "air-breathing" engine technologies that promise to increase payload capacity for future vehicles, including hypersonic aircraft (faster than Mach 5) and reusable space launchers. This multiyear program is currently underway at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The Hyper-X schedule calls for its first flight later this year (2000). Hyper-X is a joint program, with Dryden sharing responsibility with NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia. Dryden's primary role is to fly three unpiloted X-43A research vehicles to validate engine technologies and hypersonic design tools as well as the hypersonic test facility at Langley. Langley manages the program and leads the technology development effort. The Hyper-X Program seeks to significantly expand the speed boundaries of air-breathing propulsion by being the first aircraft to demonstrate an airframe-integrated, scramjet-powered free flight. Scramjets (supersonic-combustion ramjets) are ramjet engines in which the airflow through the whole engine remains supersonic. Scramjet technology is challenging because only limited testing can be performed in ground facilities. Long duration, full-scale testing requires flight research. Scramjet engines are air-breathing, capturing their oxygen from the atmosphere. Current spacecraft, such as the Space Shuttle, are rocket powered, so they must carry both fuel and oxygen for propulsion. Scramjet technology-based vehicles need to carry only fuel. By eliminating the need to carry oxygen, future hypersonic vehicles will be able to carry heavier payloads. Another unique aspect of the X-43A vehicle is the airframe integration. The body of the vehicle itself forms critical elements of the engine. The forebody acts as part of the intake for airflow and the aft section serves as the nozzle. The X-43A vehicles were manufactured by Micro Craft, Inc., Tullahoma, Tennessee. Orbital Sciences Corporation, Chandler, Arizona, built the Pegasus rocket booster used to launch the X-43 vehicles. For the Dryden research flights, the Pegasus rocket booster and attached X-43 will be air launched by Dryden's B-52 "Mothership." After release from the B-52, the booster will accelerate the X-43A vehicle to the established test conditions (Mach 7 to 10) at an altitude of approximately 100,000 feet where the X-43 will separate from the booster and fly under its own power and preprogrammed control.
Date 12.01.1999
X-43A Vehicle During Ground …
Title X-43A Vehicle During Ground Testing
Description The X-43A Hypersonic Experimental Vehicle, or "Hyper-X" is seen here undergoing ground testing at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California in December 1999. The X-43A was developed to research a dual-mode ramjet/scramjet propulsion system at speeds from Mach 7 up to Mach 10 (7 to 10 times the speed of sound, which varies with temperature and altitude). Hyper-X, the flight vehicle for which is designated as X-43A, is an experimental flight-research program seeking to demonstrate airframe-integrated, "air-breathing" engine technologies that promise to increase payload capacity for future vehicles, including hypersonic aircraft (faster than Mach 5) and reusable space launchers. This multiyear program is currently underway at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The Hyper-X schedule calls for its first flight later this year (2000). Hyper-X is a joint program, with Dryden sharing responsibility with NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia. Dryden's primary role is to fly three unpiloted X-43A research vehicles to validate engine technologies and hypersonic design tools as well as the hypersonic test facility at Langley. Langley manages the program and leads the technology development effort. The Hyper-X Program seeks to significantly expand the speed boundaries of air-breathing propulsion by being the first aircraft to demonstrate an airframe-integrated, scramjet-powered free flight. Scramjets (supersonic-combustion ramjets) are ramjet engines in which the airflow through the whole engine remains supersonic. Scramjet technology is challenging because only limited testing can be performed in ground facilities. Long duration, full-scale testing requires flight research. Scramjet engines are air-breathing, capturing their oxygen from the atmosphere. Current spacecraft, such as the Space Shuttle, are rocket powered, so they must carry both fuel and oxygen for propulsion. Scramjet technology-based vehicles need to carry only fuel. By eliminating the need to carry oxygen, future hypersonic vehicles will be able to carry heavier payloads. Another unique aspect of the X-43A vehicle is the airframe integration. The body of the vehicle itself forms critical elements of the engine. The forebody acts as part of the intake for airflow and the aft section serves as the nozzle. The X-43A vehicles were manufactured by Micro Craft, Inc., Tullahoma, Tennessee. Orbital Sciences Corporation, Chandler, Arizona, built the Pegasus rocket booster used to launch the X-43 vehicles. For the Dryden research flights, the Pegasus rocket booster and attached X-43 will be air launched by Dryden's B-52 "Mothership." After release from the B-52, the booster will accelerate the X-43A vehicle to the established test conditions (Mach 7 to 10) at an altitude of approximately 100,000 feet where the X-43 will separate from the booster and fly under its own power and preprogrammed control.
Date 12.01.1999
X-43A Vehicle During Ground …
Title X-43A Vehicle During Ground Testing
Description The X-43A Hypersonic Experimental Vehicle, or "Hyper-X" is seen here undergoing ground testing at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The X-43A was developed to research a dual-mode ramjet/scramjet propulsion system at speeds from Mach 7 up to Mach 10 (7 to 10 times the speed of sound, which varies with temperature and altitude). Hyper-X, the flight vehicle for which is designated as X-43A, is an experimental flight-research program seeking to demonstrate airframe-integrated, "air-breathing" engine technologies that promise to increase payload capacity for future vehicles, including hypersonic aircraft (faster than Mach 5) and reusable space launchers. This multiyear program is currently underway at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The Hyper-X schedule calls for its first flight later this year (2000). Hyper-X is a joint program, with Dryden sharing responsibility with NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia. Dryden's primary role is to fly three unpiloted X-43A research vehicles to validate engine technologies and hypersonic design tools as well as the hypersonic test facility at Langley. Langley manages the program and leads the technology development effort. The Hyper-X Program seeks to significantly expand the speed boundaries of air-breathing propulsion by being the first aircraft to demonstrate an airframe-integrated, scramjet-powered free flight. Scramjets (supersonic-combustion ramjets) are ramjet engines in which the airflow through the whole engine remains supersonic. Scramjet technology is challenging because only limited testing can be performed in ground facilities. Long duration, full-scale testing requires flight research. Scramjet engines are air-breathing, capturing their oxygen from the atmosphere. Current spacecraft, such as the Space Shuttle, are rocket powered, so they must carry both fuel and oxygen for propulsion. Scramjet technology-based vehicles need to carry only fuel. By eliminating the need to carry oxygen, future hypersonic vehicles will be able to carry heavier payloads. Another unique aspect of the X-43A vehicle is the airframe integration. The body of the vehicle itself forms critical elements of the engine. The forebody acts as part of the intake for airflow and the aft section serves as the nozzle. The X-43A vehicles were manufactured by Micro Craft, Inc., Tullahoma, Tennessee. Orbital Sciences Corporation, Chandler, Arizona, built the Pegasus rocket booster used to launch the X-43 vehicles. For the Dryden research flights, the Pegasus rocket booster and attached X-43 will be air launched by Dryden's B-52 "Mothership." After release from the B-52, the booster will accelerate the X-43A vehicle to the established test conditions (Mach 7 to 10) at an altitude of approximately 100,000 feet where the X-43 will separate from the booster and fly under its own power and preprogrammed control.
Date 12.01.1999
X-43A Vehicle During Ground …
Title X-43A Vehicle During Ground Testing
Description This photo shows a close-up, rear view of the X-43A Hypersonic Experimental Vehicle, or "Hyper-X" undergoing ground testing at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California in December 1999. The X-43A was developed to research a dual-mode ramjet/scramjet propulsion system at speeds from Mach 7 up to Mach 10 (7 to 10 times the speed of sound, which varies with temperature and altitude). Hyper-X, the flight vehicle for which is designated as X-43A, is an experimental flight-research program seeking to demonstrate airframe-integrated, "air-breathing" engine technologies that promise to increase payload capacity for future vehicles, including hypersonic aircraft (faster than Mach 5) and reusable space launchers. This multiyear program is currently underway at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The Hyper-X schedule calls for its first flight later this year (2000). Hyper-X is a joint program, with Dryden sharing responsibility with NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia. Dryden's primary role is to fly three unpiloted X-43A research vehicles to validate engine technologies and hypersonic design tools as well as the hypersonic test facility at Langley. Langley manages the program and leads the technology development effort. The Hyper-X Program seeks to significantly expand the speed boundaries of air-breathing propulsion by being the first aircraft to demonstrate an airframe-integrated, scramjet-powered free flight. Scramjets (supersonic-combustion ramjets) are ramjet engines in which the airflow through the whole engine remains supersonic. Scramjet technology is challenging because only limited testing can be performed in ground facilities. Long duration, full-scale testing requires flight research. Scramjet engines are air-breathing, capturing their oxygen from the atmosphere. Current spacecraft, such as the Space Shuttle, are rocket powered, so they must carry both fuel and oxygen for propulsion. Scramjet technology-based vehicles need to carry only fuel. By eliminating the need to carry oxygen, future hypersonic vehicles will be able to carry heavier payloads. Another unique aspect of the X-43A vehicle is the airframe integration. The body of the vehicle itself forms critical elements of the engine. The forebody acts as part of the intake for airflow and the aft section serves as the nozzle. The X-43A vehicles were manufactured by Micro Craft, Inc., Tullahoma, Tennessee. Orbital Sciences Corporation, Chandler, Arizona, built the Pegasus rocket booster used to launch the X-43 vehicles. For the Dryden research flights, the Pegasus rocket booster and attached X-43 will be air launched by Dryden's B-52 "Mothership." After release from the B-52, the booster will accelerate the X-43A vehicle to the established test conditions (Mach 7 to 10) at an altitude of approximately 100,000 feet where the X-43 will separate from the booster and fly under its own power and preprogrammed control.
Date 12.01.1999
Gossamer Albatross rollout a …
Shuttle Carrier Aircraft
ED06-0202-001One of NASA's t …
10/28/2006
Description ED06-0202-001One of NASA's two modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft is silhouetted against the morning sky at sunrise on the ramp at Edwards Air Force Base. October 28, 2006 NASA Photo / Tony Landis SCA Project Description
Date 10/28/2006
Shuttle Carrier Aircraft
ED06-0202-020A brief tour th …
10/28/2006
Description ED06-0202-020A brief tour through NASA's modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft was a popular attraction at the Edwards Air Force Base open house Oct. 28-29, 2006. October 28, 2006 NASA Photo / Tony Landis SCA Project Description
Date 10/28/2006
Shuttle Carrier Aircraft
ED06-0202-076Crowds thronged …
10/28/2006
Description ED06-0202-076Crowds thronged around NASA's modified 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and an Air Force B-1B Lancer at the Edwards Air Force Base open house Oct. 28-29, 2006. October 28,2006 NASA Photo / Tony Landis SCA Project Description
Date 10/28/2006
Harrier Cockpit Restoration …
Ed Swan and Gray Creech disc …
8/20/08
Description Ed Swan and Gray Creech discuss AV-8A Harrier cutting and retrieval challenges at the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division at China Lake. The former Marine Corps aircraft had been a weapons survivability test aircraft.
Date 8/20/08
Harrier Cockpit Restoration …
Don Whitfield cuts a starboa …
8/20/08
Description Don Whitfield cuts a starboard portion of the Harrier fuselage as Rob Anderson and Ed Swan look on.
Date 8/20/08
Harrier Cockpit Restoration …
Cut and loaded on a flatbed …
8/20/08
Description Cut and loaded on a flatbed truck, the cockpit leaves much to be desired at this point.
Date 8/20/08
Harrier Cockpit Restoration …
Alan Crocker has fun dismant …
8/20/08
Description Alan Crocker has fun dismantling the Harrier's ejection seat as Keith Day drops by.
Date 8/20/08
Harrier Cockpit Restoration …
Alan Crocker smoothes the st …
8/20/08
Description Alan Crocker smoothes the starboard inlet. Making the cockpit ready for public display necessitated child and adult safety as job one.
Date 8/20/08
Harrier Cockpit Restoration …
Rob Anderson works on the Ha …
8/20/08
Description Rob Anderson works on the Harrier's nose cone, made from scratch by Fabrication Branch personnel.
Date 8/20/08
Harrier Cockpit Restoration …
Rob Anderson and Alan Crocke …
8/20/08
Description Rob Anderson and Alan Crocker install the foam core and fiberglass nose on the Harrier.
Date 8/20/08
Harrier Cockpit Restoration …
The AV-8A Harrier cockpit, a …
8/20/08
Description The AV-8A Harrier cockpit, as received, in gutted condition.
Date 8/20/08
Harrier Cockpit Restoration …
The cockpit begins to take s …
8/20/08
Description The cockpit begins to take shape.
Date 8/20/08
P-51 Mustang on Lakebed
Title P-51 Mustang on Lakebed
Description This photograph shows a NACA research pilot running up the engine of the F-51 Mustang on the taxiway adjacent to Rogers Dry Lake at the NACA High-Speed Flight Station in 1955. A P-51 Mustang, redesignated an F-51 Mustang, was transferred from the Langley Aeronautical Laboratory to the NACA High-Speed Flight Research Station (now the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center) at Edwards Air Force Base in California, in 1950. The P-51 Mustang was the first aircraft to employ the NACA laminar-flow airfoil design and could dive to around Mach number 0.8. As an F-51, it was used as a proficiency aircraft at the High Speed Flight Station. A North American P-51Mustang (the P meaning pursuit), redesignated as an F-51 Mustang (with the F standing for fighter), was transferred to the NACA High-Speed Flight Research Station (HSFRS), Edwards, California, from the Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia, in 1950. This aircraft had been used in wing-flow research at Langley prior to its transfer. The NACA was the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, a predecessor of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The HSFRS was a predecessor of NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, and Langley Aeronautical Laboratory became NASA's Langley Research Center. The P-51 was the first aircraft to employ the NACA laminar-flow airfoil design and could dive to a speed of roughly Mach 0.8. As an F-51 Fighter, instead of a P-51 pursuit aircraft, the aircraft was used as a proficiency aircraft at HSFRS. Records show that the aircraft was also used as a chase and support aircraft 395 times. Neil Armstrong was among the pilots using it to chase some of the X-planes (that is, provide safety support). The P-51 was retired in 1959 as the result of a taxiing mishap.
Date 01.01.1955
Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV) …
This NASA video segment expl …
2008
Description This NASA video segment explores the world of Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV). Designed to provide a cost-efficient and safer way to explore, UAV can go places manned air vehicles cannot. UAV travel lower, longer, and venture into more hazardous spaces than manned air vehicles. Michael Logan, head of the Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Lab (SUAVE) at NASA Langley Research Center, explains a variety of UAV. This video is a NASA eClips (TM) program.
Date 2008
Approach and Landing Tests, …
Support for the space shuttl …
1/5/09
Description Support for the space shuttle program had been provided at Dryden in many ways, some of which predate the very design of the orbiters. More than a decade before the Enterprise research flights, Dryden pilots and engineers were testing and validating design concepts of lifting body aircraft that provided data for development of the shuttle's configuration. Dryden also made significant contributions to development of the shuttle's thermal protection system, solid rocket booster recovery system, flight control system computer software, drag chutes, which helped improve landing efficiency and safety, and tests of the shuttle landing gear and braking systems with a specially designed Landing Systems Research Aircraft. Experience in energy management with lifting body aircraft also contributed to development of the space shuttles and landing techniques used today. Lifting body data led to NASA's decision to build the orbiters without air-breathing jet engines that would have been used during descent and landing operations, and would have added substantially to the weight of each vehicle as well as to overall program costs. Achievements with the rocket-powered X-15 aircraft also contributed directly to the space shuttle program, or aided in its development. As the X-15 program was establishing winged aircraft speed (4,520 mph) and altitude (354,200 feet) records that still stand (except for those established by the space shuttles), it was generating information on aerodynamics, structures, thermal properties, and flight controls and human physiology that quickly found its way to conventional aircraft designers and engineers and those connected with the early stages of shuttle development. In 1972, Dryden began research flights with the first aircraft equipped with a digital flight control system (see F-8 DFBW entry for more information), which had implications and direct application for the space shuttles. The concept of using a mothership for the space shuttle ferry mission between California and Florida was proposed at Dryden. The Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft evolved from recommendations made by center engineers. The SCA was subsequently used to launch the prototype Enterprise and now serves as one of two ferry vehicles when weather requires an orbiter to land at Edwards and return to Kennedy. In 1977, Dryden hosted approach and landing tests made with the prototype orbiter Enterprise to evaluate the glide and landing characteristics of the 100-ton vehicles. Dryden has also been the primary or alternate landing site for 51 space shuttle landings since the first orbital mission in 1981. Photo Description Space Shuttle Prototype Enterprise separates from the NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft for its first tailcone-off flight. NASA Photo
Date 1/5/09
POLAR STRATOSPHERIC CLOUDS
Polar stratospheric clouds o …
4/5/00
Date 4/5/00
Description Polar stratospheric clouds over Kiruna, Sweden, on Jan. 27, 2000. The colorful appearance of these clouds is due to the small size of their droplets and their high altitude, approximately 21,300 meters (70,000 ft). The small droplets in the clouds result in separation of light of different colors due to refraction of sunlight. Their high altitude allows for full solar illumination for up to 20 minutes following sunset at the ground. These clouds, which have long been called "Mother of Pearl" by Scandinavians, participate in a chain of events that leads to ozone depletion by human-produced chlorine. Between November 1999 and March 2000, the SAGE III Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment (SOLVE) provided scientists with measurements of ozone using a variety of satellite-, airplane-, balloon- and ground-based instruments. Scientists also obtained a comprehensive inventory of numerous other atmospheric gases and information on the physical and chemical properties of polar stratospheric clouds. The SOLVE mission was co-sponsored by the Upper Atmosphere Research Program, Atmospheric Effects of Aviation Project, Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling and Analysis Program, and Earth Observing System of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise as part of the validation program for the SAGE III instrument. Based primarily in Kiruna, Sweden, the campaign included scientists from the United States, Europe, Canada, Russia and Japan. A key aspect to the success of this mission was the permission to fly both NASA research aircraft over Russia. SOLVE was managed by the Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, with extensive participation by science teams from Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, as well as a number of other government laboratories and universities. The ER-2 and DC-8 aircraft are based at Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA, and the U.S. balloon operations in Sweden were conducted by a team from the National Scientific Balloon Facility, Palestine, TX.
HIGH ALTITUDE BALLOON/ARCTIC …
A NASA high-altitude researc …
4/5/00
Date 4/5/00
Description A NASA high-altitude research balloon climbing to study the composition of the Arctic stratosphere from the Esrange Balloon Launch Facility near Kiruna, Sweden. With its helium bubble expanding to the size of a large building while in the stratosphere, the balloon carried a payload of about 450 Kg. (1000 lbs) to an altitude of about 30,500 meters (100,000 ft.). Following flight, the instrument payload lands by parachute and is recovered for subsequent flights. Between November 1999 and March 2000, the SAGE III Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment (SOLVE) provided scientists with measurements of ozone using a variety of satellite-, airplane-, balloon- and ground-based instruments. Scientists also obtained a comprehensive inventory of numerous other atmospheric gases and information on the physical and chemical properties of polar stratospheric clouds. The SOLVE mission was co-sponsored by the Upper Atmosphere Research Program, Atmospheric Effects of Aviation Project, Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling and Analysis Program, and Earth Observing System of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise as part of the validation program for the SAGE III instrument. Based primarily in Kiruna, Sweden, the campaign included scientists from the United States, Europe, Canada, Russia and Japan. A key aspect to the success of this mission was the permission to fly both NASA research aircraft over Russia. SOLVE was managed by the Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, with extensive participation by science teams from Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, as well as a number of other government laboratories and universities. The ER-2 and DC-8 aircraft are based at Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA, and the U.S. balloon operations in Sweden were conducted by a team from the National Scientific Balloon Facility, Palestine, TX.
OZONE INSTRUMENTS LOADED ON …
Scientists preparing their i …
4/5/00
Date 4/5/00
Description Scientists preparing their instruments for flight on the NASA ER-2 research aircraft inside the Arena Arctica hangar, Kiruna, Sweden. The plane carries dozens of instruments in two pods attached to the wings, in the Q-bay area below the cockpit and in the nose. These pieces of the plane can be detached allowing access to the instruments prior to take-off. Between November 1999 and March 2000, the SAGE III Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment (SOLVE) provided scientists with measurements of ozone using a variety of satellite-, airplane-, balloon- and ground-based instruments. Scientists also obtained a comprehensive inventory of numerous other atmospheric gases and information on the physical and chemical properties of polar stratospheric clouds. The SOLVE mission was co-sponsored by the Upper Atmosphere Research Program, Atmospheric Effects of Aviation Project, Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling and Analysis Program, and Earth Observing System of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise as part of the validation program for the SAGE III instrument. Based primarily in Kiruna, Sweden, the campaign included scientists from the United States, Europe, Canada, Russia and Japan. A key aspect to the success of this mission was the permission to fly both NASA research aircraft over Russia. SOLVE was managed by the Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, with extensive participation by science teams from Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, as well as a number of other government laboratories and universities. The ER-2 and DC-8 aircraft are based at Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA, and the U.S. balloon operations in Sweden were conducted by a team from the National Scientific Balloon Facility, Palestine, TX.
ER-2 USED IN ARCTIC OZONE RE …
The NASA ER-2 high-altitude …
4/5/00
Date 4/5/00
Description The NASA ER-2 high-altitude research plane on the runway of Kiruna, Sweden. The airplane -- a civilian variant of the U-2 reconnaissance plane capable of reaching altitudes as high as 21,330 meters (70,000 feet) -- carried into the stratosphere dozens of scientific instruments that measure the composition of Earth's ozone layer. The only person on board is the pilot, who must wear a pressurized spacesuit to guard against the dangers of high-altitude flight. Between November 1999 and March 2000, the SAGE III Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment (SOLVE) provided scientists with measurements of ozone using a variety of satellite-, airplane-, balloon- and ground-based instruments. Scientists also obtained a comprehensive inventory of numerous other atmospheric gases and information on the physical and chemical properties of polar stratospheric clouds. The SOLVE mission was co-sponsored by the Upper Atmosphere Research Program, Atmospheric Effects of Aviation Project, Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling and Analysis Program, and Earth Observing System of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise as part of the validation program for the SAGE III instrument. Based primarily in Kiruna, Sweden, the campaign included scientists from the United States, Europe, Canada, Russia and Japan. A key aspect to the success of this mission was the permission to fly both NASA research aircraft over Russia. SOLVE was managed by the Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, with extensive participation by science teams from Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, as well as a number of other government laboratories and universities. The ER-2 and DC-8 aircraft are based at Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA, and the U.S. balloon operations in Sweden were conducted by a team from the National Scientific Balloon Facility, Palestine, TX.
Wooden shell of M2-F1 being …
Photo Description Wooden shell of the M2-F1 being assembled at El Mirage, CA. While Flight Research Center technicians built the internal steel structure of the M2-F1, sailplane builder Gus Briegleb built the vehicle's outer wooden shell. Its skin was 3/32-inch mahogany plywood, with 1/8-inch mahogany rib sections reinforced with spruce.
Project Description The wingless, lifting body aircraft design was initially conceived as a means of landing an aircraft horizontally after atmospheric reentry. The absence of wings would make the extreme heat of re-entry less damaging to the vehicle. In 1962, Dryden management approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to flight test the wingless concept. It would look like a "flying bathtub," and was designated the M2-F1, the "M" referring to "manned" and "F" referring to "flight" version. It featured a plywood shell placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at Dryden. Construction was completed in 1963. The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were over Rogers Dry Lake at the end of a tow rope attached to a hopped-up Pontiac convertible driven at speeds up to about 120 mph. This vehicle needed to be able to tow the M2-F1 on the Rogers Dry Lakebed adjacent to NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC) at a minimum speed of 100 miles per hour. To do that, it had to handle the 400-pound pull of the M2-F1. Walter "Whitey" Whiteside, who was a retired Air Force maintenance officer working in the FRC's Flight Operations Division, was a dirt-bike rider and hot-rodder. Together with Boyden "Bud" Bearce in the Procurement and Supply Branch of the FRC, Whitey acquired a Pontiac Catalina convertible with the largest engine available. He took the car to Bill Straup's renowned hot-rod shop near Long Beach for modification. With a special gearbox and racing slicks, the Pontiac could tow the 1,000-pound M2-F1 110 miles per hour in 30 seconds. It proved adequate for the roughly 400 car tows that got the M2-F1 airborne to prove it could fly safely and to train pilots before they were towed behind a C-47 aircraft and released. These initial car-tow tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind the C-47 tow plane at greater altitudes. The C-47 took the craft to an altitude of 12,000 where free flights back to Rogers Dry Lake began. Pilot for the first series of flights of the M2-F1 was NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Typical glide flights with the M2-F1 lasted about two minutes and reached speeds of 110 to 120 mph. A small solid landing rocket, referred to as the "instant L/D rocket," was installed in the rear base of the M2-F1. This rocket, which could be ignited by the pilot, provided about 250 pounds of thrust for about 10 seconds. The rocket could be used to extend the flight time near landing if needed. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, and the U.S. Air Force's X-24 program, with an X-24A and -B built by Martin. The Lifting Body program also heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program. The M2-F1 program demonstrated, the feasibility of the lifting body concept for horizontal landings of atmospheric entry vehicles. It also demonstrated a procurement and management concept for prototype flight test vehicles that produced rapid results at very low cost (approximately $50,000, excluding salaries of government employees assigned to the project).
Photo Date 1962
F-15B #837 Lancets Project
Read News Release 09-04 NASA …
1/26/09
Description Read News Release 09-04 NASA Dryden's NF-15B tail number 837's canards are tilted down during a pre-flight control check prior to a Lancets project flight. NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center accomplished a series of flight tests to measure shock waves generated by an F-15 jet in support of the Lift and Nozzle Change Effects on Tail Shock, or Lancets, project. The research flights, flown December 2008 through January 2009, were aimed at providing data to help validate computer models that could be used in designing quieter supersonic aircraft. January 12, 2009 NASA Photo / Tony Landis ED09-0008-25
Date 1/26/09
F-15B #837 Lancets Project
Read News Release 09-04 NASA …
1/22/09
Description Read News Release 09-04 NASA Dryden's two F-15B research aircraft take off together on a Lancets project research mission. NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center accomplished a series of flight tests to measure shock waves generated by an F-15 jet in support of the Lift and Nozzle Change Effects on Tail Shock, or Lancets, project. The research flights, flown December 2008 through January 2009, were aimed at providing data to help validate computer models that could be used in designing quieter supersonic aircraft. January 12, 2009 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida ED09-0008-39
Date 1/22/09
F-15B #837 Lancets Project
Read News Release 09-04 NASA …
1/22/09
Description Read News Release 09-04 NASA Dryden's NF-15B, tail number 837, takes off with landing gear retracting on a Lancets project research mission. NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center accomplished a series of flight tests to measure shock waves generated by an F-15 jet in support of the Lift and Nozzle Change Effects on Tail Shock, or Lancets, project. The research flights, flown December 2008 through January 2009, were aimed at providing data to help validate computer models that could be used in designing quieter supersonic aircraft. January 12, 2009 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida ED09-0008-41
Date 1/22/09
F-15B #837 Final Flight
Read News Release 09-04 As a …
2/17/09
Description Read News Release 09-04 As a videographer records his comments for history, NASA research pilot Jim Smolka recounts some highlights of his 14 years experience in flying NASA's NF-15B research jet behind him following its final flight. Smolka was instrumental in bringing the unique aircraft to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, and flew most of the 251 research missions the aircraft logged between 1995 and 2009 while it was being flown at NASA Dryden. January 30, 2009 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida ED09-0023-74
Date 2/17/09
Two T-38A Mission Support Ai …
NASA Dryden Flight Research …
10/3/08
Description NASA Dryden Flight Research Center's two T-38A Talon mission support aircraft flew together for the first time on Sept. 26, 2007 while conducting pitot-static airspeed calibration checks during routine pilot proficiency flights. The two aircraft, flown by NASA research pilots Kelly Latimer and Frank Batteas, joined up with a NASA Dryden F/A-18 flown by NASA research pilot Dick Ewers to fly the airspeed calibrations at several speeds and altitudes that would be flown by the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) Boeing 747SP during its initial flight test phase. The T-38s, along with F/A-18s, serve in a safety chase role during those test missions, providing critical instrument and visual monitoring for the flight test series. ED07-0222-23
Date 10/3/08
Two T-38A Mission Support Ai …
NASA Dryden Flight Research …
10/3/08
Description NASA Dryden Flight Research Center's two T-38A Talon mission support aircraft flew together for the first time on Sept. 26, 2007 while conducting pitot-static airspeed calibration checks during routine pilot proficiency flights. The two aircraft, flown by NASA research pilots Kelly Latimer and Frank Batteas, joined up with a NASA Dryden F/A-18 flown by NASA research pilot Dick Ewers to fly the airspeed calibrations at several speeds and altitudes that would be flown by the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) Boeing 747SP during its initial flight test phase. The T-38s, along with F/A-18s, serve in a safety chase role during those test missions, providing critical instrument and visual monitoring for the flight test series. September 26, 2007 NASA / Photo Jim Ross ED07-0222-18
Date 10/3/08
Shuttle Discovery, with reco …
Space Shuttle Discovery, acc …
10/9/08
Description Space Shuttle Discovery, accompanied by a convoy of recovery vehicles, is towed up the taxiway at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California, following its landing on August 9, 2005. Space Shuttle Discovery landed safely at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California at 5:11:22 a.m. PDT this morning, following the very successful 14-day STS-114 return to flight mission. During their two weeks in space, Commander Eileen Collins and her six crewmates tested out new safety procedures and delivered supplies and equipment the International Space Station. Discovery spent two weeks in space, where the crew demonstrated new methods to inspect and repair the Shuttle in orbit. The crew also delivered supplies, outfitted and performed maintenance on the International Space Station. A number of these tasks were conducted during three spacewalks. August 9,2005 NASA /Photo Tom Tschida ED05-0166-11
Date 10/9/08
X-40A Space Manuever Vehicle
EC01-0107-01 Second free-fli …
04/12/2001
Description EC01-0107-01 Second free-flight of the X-40A at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, on Edwards AFB, Calif., was made on Apr. 12, 2001. The unpowered X-40A, an 85 percent scale risk reduction version of the proposed X-37, is proving the capability of an autonomous flight control and landing system in a series of glide flights at Edwards. The April 12 flight introduced complex vehicle maneuvers during the landing sequence. The X-40A was released from an Army Chinook helicopter flying 15,050 feet overhead. Ultimately, the unpiloted X-37 is intended as an orbital testbed and technology demonstrator, capable of landing like an airplane and being quickly serviced for a follow-up mission. April 12, 2001 NASA Photo / Carla Thomas
Date 04/12/2001
X-40A Space Manuever Vehicle
EC01-0107-05 Second free-fli …
04/12/2001
Description EC01-0107-05 Second free-flight of the X-40A at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, on Edwards AFB, Calif., was made on Apr. 12, 2001. The unpowered X-40A, an 85 percent scale risk reduction version of the proposed X-37, is proving the capability of an autonomous flight control and landing system in a series of glide flights at Edwards. The April 12 flight introduced complex vehicle maneuvers during the landing sequence. The X-40A was released from an Army Chinook helicopter flying 15,050 feet overhead. Ultimately, the unpiloted X-37 is intended as an orbital testbed and technology demonstrator, capable of landing like an airplane and being quickly serviced for a follow-up mission. April 12, 2001 NASA Photo / Tony Landis
Date 04/12/2001
Automatic Collision Avoidanc …
ED09-0118-4 F-16D (ACAT) The …
7/27/09
Description ED09-0118-4 F-16D (ACAT) The U.S. Air Force's F-16D Automatic Collision Avoidance Technology (ACAT) aircraft takes off from Edwards Air Force Base on a flight originating from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center. NASA Dryden is working with the Air Force Research Laboratory in the ACAT Fighter Risk Reduction Project to develop collision avoidance technologies for fighter/attack aircraft that would reduce the risk of ground and mid-air collisions. June 2009 NASA photo/Tom Tschida
Date 7/27/09
Lifting body pilots - Jerry …
Photo Description Posing for this photo in front of the M2-F3 are (Left-Right) Air Force pilot Captain Jerauld Gentry, NASA pilots John Manke and William H. Dana. Kneeling is Air Force pilot Major Cecil Powell. These four pilots flew the M2-F3 on a total of 27 flights between June 2, 1970 and December 20, 1972. The vehicle reached a maximum altitude of 71,500 feet and a maximum speed of Mach 1.613. Dana joined the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's High-Speed Flight Station On October 1, 1958 (the birthday of NASA). As a research pilot, he was involved in some of the most significant aeronautical programs carried out at the Center. In the late 1960s and in the 1970s Dana was a project pilot on the lifting body program which flew several versions of the wingless vehicles and produced data that helped in development of the Space Shuttle. For his contributions to the lifting body program, Dana received the NASA Exceptional Service Medal. In 1976 he received the Haley Space Flight Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics for his research work on the M2-F3 lifting body control systems. In 1993 Dana became Chief Engineer at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center. He has authored several technical papers and is a member of The Society of Experimental Test Pilots. He retired on May 29, 1998. John joined the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Flight Research Center in 1962 as a research engineer and later became a research pilot, testing advanced craft such as the wingless lifting bodies, forerunners of the Space Shuttle. He was project pilot on the X-24B and also flew the HL-10, M2-F3, and X-24A lifting bodies. John made the first supersonic flight of a lifting body and the first landing of a lifting body on a hard surface runway. Manke served as Director of the Flight Operations and Support Directorate at the Dryden Flight Research Center prior to its integration with Ames Research Center in October 1981. After this date John was named to head the joint Ames-Dryden Directorate of Flight Operations. He also served as site manager of the NASA Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility. John is a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots. He retired on April 27, 1984.
Project Description A fleet of lifting bodies flown at the NASA Flight Research Center (FRC--later the Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California, from 1963 to 1975 demonstrated the ability of pilots to maneuver and safely land a wingless vehicle designed to fly back to Earth from space and be landed like an aircraft at a pre-determined site. Aerodynamic lift--essential to flight in the atmosphere--was obtained from the shape of their bodies. The addition of fins and control surfaces allowed the pilots to stabilize and control the vehicles and regulate their flight paths. The information the lifting body program generated contributed to the data base that led to development of today's space shuttle program. The success of the FRC's M2-F1 [ http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/gallery/photo/M2-F1/index.html ] program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation. The "M" refers to "manned" and "F" refers to "flight" version. "HL" comes from "horizontal landing" and 10 is for the tenth lifting body model to be investigated by Langley. The first flight of the M2-F2--which looked much like the "F1"--was on July 12, 1966. Milt Thompson was the pilot. By then, the same B-52s used to air launch the famed X-15 rocket research aircraft were modified to also carry the lifting bodies. Thompson was dropped from the B-52's wing pylon mount at an altitude of 45,000 feet on that maiden glide flight. The M2-F2 weighed 4,620 pounds, was 22 feet long, and had a width of about 10 feet. On May 10, 1967, during the sixteenth glide flight leading up to powered flight, a landing accident severely damaged the vehicle and seriously injured the NASA pilot, Bruce Peterson. NASA pilots and researchers realized the M2-F2 had lateral control problems, even though it had a stability augmentation (control) system. When the M2-F2 was rebuilt by the Northrop Corporation with the help and cooperation of the FRC and redesignated the M2-F3 [ http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/gallery/photo/M2-F3/index.html ], it was modified with an additional third vertical fin--centered between the tip fins--to improve control characteristics. The M2-F2/F3 was the first of the heavy-weight, entry-configuration (i.e., configured for re-entry to the atmosphere from space) lifting bodies. Its successful development as a research test vehicle answered many of the generic questions about these vehicles. NASA donated the M2-F3 vehicle to the Smithsonian Institute in December 1973. It is currently hanging in the Air and Space Museum along with the X-15 aircraft number 1, which was its hangar partner at Dryden from 1965 to 1969.
Photo Date 1971
Walter C. Williams (1919-199 …
Photo Date 24 Aug. 1954
F-15B #836 Research Testbed
Project Description Before t …
9/23/08
Description Project Description Before the Space Shuttle could safely return to flight, engineers needed data on how insulating foam debris or "divots" behaved when these small pieces were shed from the Shuttle's external fuel tank during launch. NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center conducted a series of flight tests of the divots as part of the Return to Flight team effort. The Lifting Insulating Foam Trajectory (LIFT) flight test series at Dryden used the center's F-15B Research Testbed aircraft to test these "divots" in a real flight environment at speeds up to about Mach 2, or twice the speed of sound. Small-scale divoting occurs when the adhesive on the external tank thermal protection system (TPS) foam fails. This occurs as a result of decreasing atmospheric pressure combined with increased heating during Shuttle ascent causing air trapped beneath the TPS to expand. Objectives of the LIFT flight tests on the F-15B included determining divot structural survivability and stability in flight and quantifying divot trajectories using videography. The flight data of divot trajectories could also be used for Computational Fluid Dynamic code validation. NASA's Space Shuttle Systems Engineering and Integration office at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas, funded the LIFT flight tests at NASA Dryden as part of the Space Shuttle Return-to-Flight effort. The LIFT flight test required two new capabilities: an in-flight foam divot ejection system, and a high-speed video system to track and record the trajectories of the divots in flight. Both capabilities were developed by Dryden engineers in just over two months. Dryden's LIFT team designed, fabricated, and ground-tested four different divot ejection systems, completing 70 ground tests to determine and refine the best approach. NASA Dryden engineers also designed and procured the very high-speed digital video equipment, including development of a system to synchronize the cameras with the divot ejection system. In addition, they developed videography analysis techniques in order to quantify divot trajectories. Photo Description Two panels of Space Shuttle TPS insulation were mounted on the flight test fixture underneath NASA's F-15B during the Lifting Foam Trajectory flight test series. February 16, 2005 Nasa Photo / Jim Ross EC05-0030-12
Date 9/23/08
X-38 Arrival at NASA Dryden …
Photo Description NASA's first X-38 Advanced Technology Demonstrator for the proposed Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) arrives at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, in June 1997. The vehicle arrived aboard a USAF C-17 transport aircraft from NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) and is seen here on the ramp with NASAÕs Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) in the background.
Project Description The X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) research project is designed to develop the technology for a prototype emergency crew return vehicle, or lifeboat, for the International Space Station. The project is also intended to develop a crew return vehicle design that could be modified for other uses, such as a joint U.S. and international human spacecraft that could be launched on the French Ariane-5 Booster. The X-38 project is using available technology and off-the-shelf equipment to significantly decrease development costs. Original estimates to develop a capsule-type crew return vehicle were estimated at more than $2 billion. X-38 project officials have estimated that development costs for the X-38 concept will be approximately one quarter of the original estimate. Off-the-shelf technology is not necessarily "old" technology. Many of the technologies being used in the X-38 project have never before been applied to a human-flight spacecraft. For example, the X-38 flight computer is commercial equipment currently used in aircraft and the flight software operating system is a commercial system already in use in many aerospace applications. The video equipment for the X-38 is existing equipment, some of which has already flown on the space shuttle for previous NASA experiments. The X-38's primary navigational equipment, the Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System, is a unit already in use on Navy fighters. The X-38 electromechanical actuators come from previous joint NASA, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Navy research and development projects. Finally, an existing special coating developed by NASA will be used on the X-38 thermal tiles to make them more durable than those used on the space shuttles. The X-38 itself was an unpiloted lifting body designed at 80 percent of the size of a projected emergency crew return vehicle for the International Space Station, although two later versions were planned at 100 percent of the CRV size. The X-38 and the actual CRV are patterned after a lifting-body shape first employed in the Air Force-NASA X-24 lifting-body project in the early to mid-1970s. The current vehicle design is base lined with life support supplies for about nine hours of orbital free flight from the space station. ItÕs landing will be fully automated with backup systems which allow the crew to control orientation in orbit, select a deorbit site, and steer the parafoil, if necessary. The X-38 vehicles (designated V131, V132, and V-131R) are 28.5 feet long, 14.5 feet wide, and weigh approximately 16,000 pounds on average. The vehicles have a nitrogen-gas-operated attitude control system and a bank of batteries for internal power. The actual CRV to be flown in space was expected to be 30 feet long. The X-38 project is a joint effort between the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas (JSC), Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia (LaRC) and Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California (DFRC) with the program office located at JSC. A, contract was awarded to Scaled Composites, Inc., Mojave, California, for construction of the X-38 test airframes. The first vehicle was delivered to the JSC in September 1996. The vehicle was fitted with avionics, computer systems and other hardware at Johnson. A second vehicle was delivered to JSC in December 1996. Flight research with the X-38 at Dryden began with an unpiloted captive-carry flight in which the vehicle remained attached to its future launch vehicle, DrydenÕs B-52 008. There were four captive flights in 1997 and three in 1998, plus the first drop test on March 12, 1998, using the parachutes and parafoil. Further captive and drop tests occurred in 1999. In March 2000 Vehicle 132 completed its third and final free flight in the highest, fastest, and longest X-38 flight to date. It was released at an altitude of 39,000 feet and flew freely for 45 seconds, reaching a speed of over 500 miles per hour before deploying its parachutes for a landing on Rogers Dry Lakebed. In the drop tests, the X-38 vehicles have been autonomous after airlaunch from the B-52. After they deploy the parafoil, they have remained autonomous, but there is also a manual mode with controls from the ground.
Photo Date June 1997
X-38 Arrival at NASA Dryden …
Photo Description NASA's first X-38 Advanced Technology Demonstrator for the proposed Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) is transported down a road at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, upon its arrival there in June 1997. The vehicle arrived aboard a USAF C-17 transport aircraft from NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC).
Project Description The X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) research project is designed to develop the technology for a prototype emergency crew return vehicle, or lifeboat, for the International Space Station. The project is also intended to develop a crew return vehicle design that could be modified for other uses, such as a joint U.S. and international human spacecraft that could be launched on the French Ariane-5 Booster. The X-38 project is using available technology and off-the-shelf equipment to significantly decrease development costs. Original estimates to develop a capsule-type crew return vehicle were estimated at more than $2 billion. X-38 project officials have estimated that development costs for the X-38 concept will be approximately one quarter of the original estimate. Off-the-shelf technology is not necessarily "old" technology. Many of the technologies being used in the X-38 project have never before been applied to a human-flight spacecraft. For example, the X-38 flight computer is commercial equipment currently used in aircraft and the flight software operating system is a commercial system already in use in many aerospace applications. The video equipment for the X-38 is existing equipment, some of which has already flown on the space shuttle for previous NASA experiments. The X-38's primary navigational equipment, the Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System, is a unit already in use on Navy fighters. The X-38 electromechanical actuators come from previous joint NASA, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Navy research and development projects. Finally, an existing special coating developed by NASA will be used on the X-38 thermal tiles to make them more durable than those used on the space shuttles. The X-38 itself was an unpiloted lifting body designed at 80 percent of the size of a projected emergency crew return vehicle for the International Space Station, although two later versions were planned at 100 percent of the CRV size. The X-38 and the actual CRV are patterned after a lifting-body shape first employed in the Air Force-NASA X-24 lifting-body project in the early to mid-1970s. The current vehicle design is base lined with life support supplies for about nine hours of orbital free flight from the space station. ItÕs landing will be fully automated with backup systems which allow the crew to control orientation in orbit, select a deorbit site, and steer the parafoil, if necessary. The X-38 vehicles (designated V131, V132, and V-131R) are 28.5 feet long, 14.5 feet wide, and weigh approximately 16,000 pounds on average. The vehicles have a nitrogen-gas-operated attitude control system and a bank of batteries for internal power. The actual CRV to be flown in space was expected to be 30 feet long. The X-38 project is a joint effort between the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas (JSC), Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia (LaRC) and Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California (DFRC) with the program office located at JSC. A, contract was awarded to Scaled Composites, Inc., Mojave, California, for construction of the X-38 test airframes. The first vehicle was delivered to the JSC in September 1996. The vehicle was fitted with avionics, computer systems and other hardware at Johnson. A second vehicle was delivered to JSC in December 1996. Flight research with the X-38 at Dryden began with an unpiloted captive-carry flight in which the vehicle remained attached to its future launch vehicle, DrydenÕs B-52 008. There were four captive flights in 1997 and three in 1998, plus the first drop test on March 12, 1998, using the parachutes and parafoil. Further captive and drop tests occurred in 1999. In March 2000 Vehicle 132 completed its third and final free flight in the highest, fastest, and longest X-38 flight to date. It was released at an altitude of 39,000 feet and flew freely for 45 seconds, reaching a speed of over 500 miles per hour before deploying its parachutes for a landing on Rogers Dry Lakebed. In the drop tests, the X-38 vehicles have been autonomous after airlaunch from the B-52. After they deploy the parafoil, they have remained autonomous, but there is also a manual mode with controls from the ground.
Photo Date June 1997
X-38 Arrival at NASA Dryden …
Photo Description Technicians unload NASA's first X-38 Advanced Technology Demonstrator for the proposed Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) into a hangar upon its arrival at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, in June 1997. The vehicle arrived aboard a USAF C-17 transport aircraft from NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC).
Project Description The X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) research project is designed to develop the technology for a prototype emergency crew return vehicle, or lifeboat, for the International Space Station. The project is also intended to develop a crew return vehicle design that could be modified for other uses, such as a joint U.S. and international human spacecraft that could be launched on the French Ariane-5 Booster. The X-38 project is using available technology and off-the-shelf equipment to significantly decrease development costs. Original estimates to develop a capsule-type crew return vehicle were estimated at more than $2 billion. X-38 project officials have estimated that development costs for the X-38 concept will be approximately one quarter of the original estimate. Off-the-shelf technology is not necessarily "old" technology. Many of the technologies being used in the X-38 project have never before been applied to a human-flight spacecraft. For example, the X-38 flight computer is commercial equipment currently used in aircraft and the flight software operating system is a commercial system already in use in many aerospace applications. The video equipment for the X-38 is existing equipment, some of which has already flown on the space shuttle for previous NASA experiments. The X-38's primary navigational equipment, the Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System, is a unit already in use on Navy fighters. The X-38 electromechanical actuators come from previous joint NASA, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Navy research and development projects. Finally, an existing special coating developed by NASA will be used on the X-38 thermal tiles to make them more durable than those used on the space shuttles. The X-38 itself was an unpiloted lifting body designed at 80 percent of the size of a projected emergency crew return vehicle for the International Space Station, although two later versions were planned at 100 percent of the CRV size. The X-38 and the actual CRV are patterned after a lifting-body shape first employed in the Air Force-NASA X-24 lifting-body project in the early to mid-1970s. The current vehicle design is base lined with life support supplies for about nine hours of orbital free flight from the space station. ItÕs landing will be fully automated with backup systems which allow the crew to control orientation in orbit, select a deorbit site, and steer the parafoil, if necessary. The X-38 vehicles (designated V131, V132, and V-131R) are 28.5 feet long, 14.5 feet wide, and weigh approximately 16,000 pounds on average. The vehicles have a nitrogen-gas-operated attitude control system and a bank of batteries for internal power. The actual CRV to be flown in space was expected to be 30 feet long. The X-38 project is a joint effort between the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas (JSC), Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia (LaRC) and Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California (DFRC) with the program office located at JSC. A, contract was awarded to Scaled Composites, Inc., Mojave, California, for construction of the X-38 test airframes. The first vehicle was delivered to the JSC in September 1996. The vehicle was fitted with avionics, computer systems and other hardware at Johnson. A second vehicle was delivered to JSC in December 1996. Flight research with the X-38 at Dryden began with an unpiloted captive-carry flight in which the vehicle remained attached to its future launch vehicle, DrydenÕs B-52 008. There were four captive flights in 1997 and three in 1998, plus the first drop test on March 12, 1998, using the parachutes and parafoil. Further captive and drop tests occurred in 1999. In March 2000 Vehicle 132 completed its third and final free flight in the highest, fastest, and longest X-38 flight to date. It was released at an altitude of 39,000 feet and flew freely for 45 seconds, reaching a speed of over 500 miles per hour before deploying its parachutes for a landing on Rogers Dry Lakebed. In the drop tests, the X-38 vehicles have been autonomous after airlaunch from the B-52. After they deploy the parafoil, they have remained autonomous, but there is also a manual mode with controls from the ground.
Photo Date June 1997
SOFIA 747SP
ED08-0041-179 April 18, 2008 …
6/4/08
Description ED08-0041-179 April 18, 2008 Technicians with ropes guide SOFIA's primary mirror assembly suspended from a crane toward its transport dolly after the mirror's removal from the modified 747 aircraft. NASA photo by Tony Landis.
Date 6/4/08
SOFIA 747SP
ED08-0110-13 May 1, 2008 A N …
6/5/08
Description ED08-0110-13 May 1, 2008 A NASA technician directs loading of the crated SOFIA primary mirror assembly into a C-17 for shipment to NASA Ames Research Center for finish coating. NASA photo by Tony Landis
Date 6/5/08
SOFIA 747SP
ED08-0110-22 May 1, 2008 Gro …
6/5/08
Description ED08-0110-22 May 1, 2008 Ground crewmen shove the more than two-ton SOFIA primary mirror assembly in its transport crate into a C-17's cavernous cargo bay for shipment to NASA Ames. NASA photo by Tony Landis
Date 6/5/08
X-15 Pilots
X-15 pilots Joseph Engle, Ro …
1/6/09
Description X-15 pilots Joseph Engle, Robert Rushworth, Jack McKay, William J. "Pete" Knight, Milton "Milt" O. Thompson, and William "Bill" Dana. NASA Photo EC66-1017
Date 1/6/09
M2-F1 and M2-F2
M2-F1 and M2-F2 lifting bodi …
1/6/09
Description M2-F1 and M2-F2 lifting bodies are side by side on the ramp in this 1966 image. Photo courtesy of Wen Painter
Date 1/6/09
M2-F2
Ground crewmen Jay L. King, …
1/6/09
Description Ground crewmen Jay L. King, left, Joseph D. Huxman, and Orion D. Billeter, right, help pilot Milt Thompson into the M2-F2, attached to the NB-52 mothership. NASA Photo EC66-1154
Date 1/6/09
Lifting Body Pilots
Jerry Gentry, Pete Hoag, Joh …
1/6/09
Description Jerry Gentry, Pete Hoag, John Manke and Bill Dana are lined up by the HL-10 lifting body aircraft. Photo courtesy of Wen Painter
Date 1/6/09
Gulfstream G-III
The UAVSAR underbelly pod is …
6/23/08
Description The UAVSAR underbelly pod is in clear view as NASA's Gulfstream-III research aircraft banks away over Edwards AFB during aerodynamic clearance flights. March 6, 2007 NASA / Photo Lori Losey ED07-0042-09
Date 6/23/08
X-38
The X-38 vehicle 131R drops …
1/6/09
Description The X-38 vehicle 131R drops away from its launch pylon on the wing of NASA's NB-52B mothership as the X-38 begins its eighth free flight on Dec. 13, 2001. NASA Photo by Carla Thomas EC01-0339-33
Date 1/6/09
Shuttle Approach and Landing …
Following a successful five- …
1/6/09
Description Following a successful five-minute, 28-second unpowered second free flight of the Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests on Sept. 13, 1977, a formation of six aircraft, including five T-38s and the specially modified NASA 747 that had carried Enterprise aloft for the test, fly overhead to commemorate the event. Enterprise had been perched on top of the 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft until explosive bolts separated the two aircraft. NASA Photo ECN-8604
Date 1/6/09
Gulfstream G-III
The effect of the underbelly …
6/23/08
Description The effect of the underbelly UAVSAR pod on the aerodynamics of NASA's Gulfstream-III research aircraft was evaluated during several check flights in early 2007. March 6, 2007 NASA / Photo Lori Losey ED07-0042-05
Date 6/23/08
Gulfstream G-III
Shimmering heat waves trail …
6/23/08
Description Shimmering heat waves trail behind NASA's Gulfstream-III research aircraft as it departs the Edwards AFB runway on a UAVSAR pod checkout test flight. February 26, 2007 NASA / Photo Tom Tschida ED07-0027-68
Date 6/23/08
Gulfstream G-III
NASA's Gulfstream-III resear …
6/23/08
Description NASA's Gulfstream-III research testbed lifts off from Edwards AFB on a checkout test flight with the UAV synthetic aperture radar pod under its belly. February 26, 2007 NASA / Photo Tom Tschida ED07-0027-66
Date 6/23/08
Autonomous Formation Flight …
EC01-0267-1 Two NASA F/A-18 …
4/23/09
Description EC01-0267-1 Two NASA F/A-18 aircraft are flying a test point for the Autonomous Formation Flight project over California's Mojave Desert. This second flight phase is mapping the wingtip vortex of the lead aircraft, the Systems Research Aircraft (tail number 847), on the trailing F/A-18 tail number 847. Wingtip vortex is a spiraling wind flowing from the wing during flight. The project is studying the drag and fuel reduction of precision formation flying. &#8250, Read Project Description September 20, 2001 NASA Photo / Lori Losey
Date 4/23/09
1 2 3 4 539 40
251-500 of 9,827