Home About us Products Services Contact us Bookmark
:: wikimiki.org ::
GORDON FULLERTON

GORDON FULLERTON

C. Gordon Fullerton is a research pilot at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California. His assignments include a variety of flight research and support activities piloting NASA's B-52 launch aircraft, the Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), and other multi-engine and high performance aircraft. Fullerton, who logged more than 380 hours in space flight, was a NASA astronaut from September 1969 until November 1986 when he joined the research pilot office at Dryden. In July 1988, he completed a 30-year career with the U.S. Air Force and retired as a Colonel. He continues in his position of research pilot as a civilian. As project pilot on the B-52 launch aircraft, Fullerton is involved in tests to develop a new F-111 crew module recovery system, and air launching the commercially developed Pegasus space vehicle. Fullerton also serves as project pilot on the NASA/Convair 990 aircraft which has been modified as a Landing Systems Research Aircraft to test space shuttle landing gear components. Additionally, Fullerton is also project pilot on F-18 Systems Research Aircraft, a testbed to develop new flight control actuators, fiber optic control systems, and other advanced aircraft technology. As the project pilot on the Propulsion Controlled Aircraft program, he successfully landed an F-15 with all control surfaces fixed, using only engine thrust modulation for control. The project continues with the goal of flight testing a similar system in an MD-11 transport. In addition to these current activities, Fullerton has been project pilot on a number of other research programs at Dryden. Among them were the C-140 Jetstar Laminar Flow Control, F-111 Mission Adaptive Wing, F-14 Variable Sweep Flow Transition, space shuttle orbiter drag chute and F-111 crew module parachute tests with the B-52, and X-29 vortex flow control. With over 13,000 hours of flying time, Fullerton has piloted 114 different types of aircraft, including full qualification in the T-33, T-34, T-37, T-39, F-86, F-101, F-106, F-111, F-14, X-29, KC-135, C-140, B-47. Since joining Dryden as a research pilot, Fullerton has piloted nearly all the research and support aircraft flown at the facility and currently flies the T-38, F-18, F-15, B-52, the NASA/Convair 990, 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, and the DC-8. Born October 11, 1936, in Rochester, New York, Fullerton graduated from U.S. Grant High School, Portland, Oregon. He received Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, in 1957 and 1958, respectively. Fullerton entered the U.S. Air Force in July 1958 after working as a mechanical design engineer for Hughes Aircraft Co., Culver City, California. After primary and basic flight school he was trained as an F-86 interceptor pilot, and later became a B-47 bomber pilot at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, AZ. In 1964 he was chosen to attend the Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School (now the Air Force Test Pilot School), Edwards Air Force Base, CA. Upon graduation he was assigned as a test pilot with the Bomber Operations Division at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH. In 1966, Fullerton was selected for and served as a flight crew member for the Air Force Manned Orbiting Laboratory program until its termination in 1969. After assignment to the NASA Johnson Space Center, as an astronaut Fullerton served on the support crews for the Apollo 14, 15, 16 and 17 lunar missions. In 1977, Fullerton was assigned to one of the two two-man flight crews which piloted the Space Shuttle prototype Enterprise during the Approach and Landing Test Program at Dryden that same year. Fullerton was the pilot on the eight-day STS-3 Space Shuttle orbital flight test mission March 22-30, 1982. Launched from the Kennedy Space Center, FL., the mission exposed the orbiter Columbia to extremes in thermal stress and tested the 50-foot Remote Manipulator System used to grapple and maneuver payloads to orbit. STS-3 landed at Northrup Strip, White Sands, New Mexico, because Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards AFB was wet due to heavy seasonal rains. Fullerton was commander of the STS-51-F Spacelab 2 mission, launched from the Kennedy Space Center, FL, on July 29, 1985. This mission, with the orbiter Challenger was the first pallet-only Spacelab mission and the first to operate the Spacelab Instrument Pointing System (IPS). It carried 13 major experiments in the fields of astronomy, solar physics, ionospheric science, life science, and a super fluid helium experiment. The mission ended August 6, 1985, with a landing at Dryden. Among the special awards and honors Fullerton has received are the Iven C. Kincheloe Award from the Society of Experimental Test Pilots in 1978; Department of Defense Distinguished Service and Superior Service Medals; Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross; NASA Distinguished and Exceptional Service Medals; NASA Space Flight Medals in 1983 and 1985; General Thomas D. White Space Trophy; Haley Space Flight Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics; and the Certificate of Achievement Award from the Soaring Society of America, and the Ray E. Tenhoff Award from the Society of Experimental Test Pilots in 1992 and 1993. Fullerton, inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1982, is a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots; member, Tau Beta Pi; honorary member of the National World War II Glider Pilot Association; and a Fellow of the American Astronautical Society. Fullerton and his wife and their two children live in Lancaster, California. January 2003

External links

Source[http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/fullerton-cg.html] Fullerton, Gordon Fullerton, Gordon Fullerton, Gordon Fullerton, Gordon hey

NASA

] The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which was established in 1958, is the agency responsible for the public space program of the United States of America. It is also responsible for long-term civilian and military aerospace research.

Vision and mission

NASA's vision is "to improve life here, extend life to there, and to find life beyond." Its mission is "to understand and protect our home planet; to explore the Universe and search for life; and to inspire the next generation of explorers."

History

Space Race

:For additional background, please see the Space Race article Space Race launch of Redstone rocket and NASA's Mercury 3 capsule Freedom 7 with Alan Shepard Jr. on the United States' first human flight into sub-orbital space. (Atlas rockets were used to launch Mercury's orbital missions.)]] Following the Soviet space program's launch of the world's first man-made satellite (Sputnik 1) on October 4, 1957, the attention of the United States turned toward its own fledgling space efforts. The U.S. Congress, alarmed by the perceived threat to U.S. security and technological leadership, urged immediate and swift action; President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his advisers counseled more deliberate measures. Several months of debate produced agreement that a new federal agency was needed to conduct all nonmilitary activity in space. On July 29, 1958, President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 establishing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). When it began operations on October 1, 1958, NASA consisted mainly of the four laboratories and some 8,000 employees of the government's 46-year-old research agency for aeronautics, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), though the probably most important contribution actually had its roots in the German rocket program led by Wernher von Braun, who is today regarded as the father of the United States space program. NASA's early programs were research into human spaceflight, and were conducted under the pressure of the competition between the USA and the USSR (the Space Race) that existed during the Cold War. The Mercury program, initiated in 1958, started NASA down the path of human space exploration with missions designed to discover simply if man could survive in space. Representatives from the U.S. Army (M.L. Raines, LTC, USA), Navy (P.L. Havenstein, CDR, USN) and Air Force (K.G. Lindell, COL, USAF) were selected/requested to provide assistance to the NASA Space Task Group through coordination with the existing U.S. military research and defense contracting infrastructure, and technical assistance resulting from experimental aircraft (and the associated military test pilot pool) development in the 1950s. On May 5, 1961, astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. became the first American in space when he piloted Freedom 7 on a 15-minute suborbital flight. John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth on February 20, 1962 during the 5-hour flight of Friendship 7. Once the Mercury project proved that human spaceflight was possible, project Gemini was launched to conduct experiments and work out issues relating to a moon mission. The first Gemini flight with astronauts on board, Gemini III, was flown by Virgil "Gus" Grissom and John W. Young on March 23, 1965. Nine other missions followed, showing that long-duration human space flight was possible, proving that rendezvous and docking with another vehicle in space was possible, and gathering medical data on the effects of weightlessness on humans.

Apollo program

Following the success of the Mercury and Gemini programs, the Apollo program was launched to try to do interesting work in space and possibly put men around (but not on) the Moon. The direction of the Apollo program was radically altered following President John F. Kennedy's announcement on May 25, 1961 that the United States should commit itself to "landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth" by 1970. Thus Apollo became a program to land men on the Moon. The Gemini program was started shortly thereafter to provide an interim spacecraft to prove techniques needed for the now much more complicated Apollo missions. Gemini program.]] After eight years of preliminary missions, including NASA's first loss of astronauts with the Apollo 1 launch pad fire, and the first spacecraft to orbit the Moon (Apollo 8) at the end of 1968, the Apollo program achieved its goals with Apollo 11 which landed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon's surface on July 20, 1969 and returned them to Earth safely on July 24. Armstrong's first words upon stepping out of the Eagle lander captured the momentousness of the occasion: "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." Twelve men would set foot on the Moon by the end of the Apollo program in December 1972. NASA had won the moon race, and in some senses this left it without direction, or at the very least without the public attention and interest that was necessary to guarantee large budgets from Congress. After President Lyndon Johnson left office, NASA lost its main political supporter, and rocket scientist Wernher von Braun was moved to a position lobbying in Washington. Plans for ambitious follow-on projects to construct a space station, establish a lunar base and launch a human mission to Mars by 1990 were proposed but with the end to procurement of Saturn and Apollo hardware, there was no capability to support these. The near-disaster of Apollo 13, where an oxygen tank explosion nearly doomed all three astronauts, helped to recapture national attention and concern. Although missions up to Apollo 20 were planned, Apollo 17 was the last mission to fly under the Apollo banner. The program ended because of budget cuts (in part due to the Vietnam War) and the desire to develop a reusable space vehicle.

Other early missions

Although the vast majority of NASA's budget has been spent on human spaceflight, there have been many robotic missions instigated by the space agency. In 1962 the Mariner 2 mission was launched and became the first spacecraft to make a flyby of another planet – in this case Venus. The Ranger, Surveyor, and Lunar Orbiter missions were essential to assessing lunar conditions before attempting Apollo landings with humans on board. Later, the two Viking probes landed on the surface of Mars and sent color images back to Earth, but perhaps more impressive were the Pioneer and particularly Voyager missions that visited Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune sending back scientific information and color images. Having lost the moon race, the Soviet Union had, along with the USA, changed its approach. On July 17, 1975 an Apollo craft (finding a new use after the cancelling of planned lunar flights) was docked to the Soviet Soyuz 19 spacecraft, in the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. Although the Cold War would last many more years, this was a critical point in NASA's history and much of the international co-operation in space exploration that exists today has its genesis with this mission. America's first space station, Skylab, occupied NASA from the end of Apollo until the late 1970s.

Shuttle era

Skylab 1981 ]] The space shuttle became the major focus of NASA in the late 1970s and the 1980s. Planned to be a frequently launchable and mostly reusable vehicle, four space shuttles were built by 1985. The first to launch, Columbia did so on April 12, 1981. The shuttle was not all good news for NASA – flights were much more expensive than initially projected, and even after the 1986 Challenger disaster highlighted the risks of space flight, the public again lost interest as missions appeared to become mundane. Work began on Space Station Freedom as a focus for the manned space programme but within NASA there was argument that these projects came at the expense of more inspiring unmanned missions such as the Voyager probes. The Challenger disaster aside the late 1980s marked a low point for NASA. Nonetheless, the shuttle has been used to launch milestone projects like the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The HST was created with a relatively small budget of $2 billion but has continued operation since 1990 and has delighted both scientists and the public. Some of the images it has returned have become near-legendary, such as the groundbreaking Hubble Deep Field images. The HST is a joint project between ESA and NASA, and its success has paved the way for greater collaboration between the agencies. In 1995 Russian-American interaction would again be achieved as the Shuttle-Mir missions began, and once more a Russian craft (this time a full-fledged space station) docked with an American vehicle. This cooperation continues to the present day, with Russia and America the two biggest partners in the largest space station ever built – the International Space Station (ISS). The strength of their cooperation on this project was even more evident when NASA began relying on Russian launch vehicles to service the ISS following the 2003 Columbia disaster, which grounded the shuttle fleet for well over two years. Costing over one hundred billion dollars, it has been difficult at times for NASA to justify the ISS. The population at large have historically been hard to impress with details of scientific experiments in space, preferring news of grand projects to exotic locations. Even now, the ISS cannot accommodate as many scientists as planned. During much of the 1990s, NASA was faced with shrinking annual budgets due to Congressional belt-tightening in Washington, DC. In response, NASA's ninth administrator, Daniel S. Goldin, pioneered the "faster, better, cheaper" approach that enabled NASA to cut costs while still delivering a wide variety of aerospace programs (Discovery Program). That method was criticized and re-evaluated following the twin losses of Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars Polar Lander in 1999.

NASA's future

Mars Polar Lander and the planned crew and heavy lift launch vehicles]] NASA's most publicly-inspiring mission of recent years has probably been the Mars Pathfinder mission of 1997. Newspapers around the world carried images of the lander dispatching its own rover, Sojourner, to explore the surface of Mars in a way never done before at any extra-terrestrial location. Less publicly acclaimed but performing science from 1997 to date (2005) has been the Mars Global Surveyor orbiter. Since 2001, the orbiting Mars Odyssey has been searching for evidence of past or present water and volcanic activity on the red planet. NASA expects to continue exploring the Red Planet with more spacecraft such as the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which will reach Mars in 2006. The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003, which killed the crew of six American and one Israeli astronaut, and caused a 29-month hiatus in space shuttle flights, triggered a serious re-examination of NASA's priorities. The U.S. government, various scientists, and the public all considered the future of the space program. On January 14, 2004, ten days after the landing of Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, President George W. Bush announced a new plan for NASA's future, dubbed the Vision for Space Exploration. According to this plan, humankind will return to the moon by 2020, and set up outposts as a testbed and potential resource for future missions. The space shuttle will be retired in 2010 and the Crew Exploration Vehicle will replace it by 2014, capable of both docking with the ISS and leaving the Earth's orbit. The future of the ISS is somewhat uncertain – construction will be completed, but beyond that is less clear. Although the plan initially met with skepticism from Congress, in late 2004 Congress agreed to provide start-up funds for the first year's worth of the new space vision. Hoping to spur innovation from the private sector, NASA established a series of Centennial Challenges, technology prizes for non-government teams, in 2004. The Challenges include tasks that will be useful for implementing the Vision for Space Exploration, such as building more efficient astronaut gloves.

Criticisms

Some commentators, such as Mark Wade, note that NASA has suffered from a 'stop-start' approach to its human spaceflight programs. The Apollo spacecraft and Saturn family of launch vehicles were abandoned in 1970 after billions of dollars had been spent on their development. In 2004 the U.S. Government proposed eventually replacing the Shuttle with a Crew Exploration Vehicle that would allow the agency to again send astronauts to the Moon. Despite the reduction of its budget following project Apollo, NASA has maintained a top-heavy bureaucracy resulting in inflated costs and compromised hardware. Crew Exploration Vehicle on October 31, 1998.]] Currently, the ISS relies on the Shuttle fleet for all major construction shipments. The Shuttle fleet has lost two spacecraft and fourteen astronauts in two disasters in 1986 and 2003. While the 1986 loss was made up with a Shuttle built from replacement parts, NASA does not plan to build another shuttle to replace the second loss. (But see also CEV.) The ISS, which was intended to have a crew of seven as of 2005, now has a skeleton crew of two, causing many intended research projects to be delayed. Other nations that have invested heavily in the space station's construction, such as the members of the European Space Agency, are fearful that the ISS's fate will soon match the fate of Skylab. As of 2005, however, all of the European and Japanese contributions to the ISS are years behind development schedule themselves.

NASA spaceflight missions

Human spaceflight


- Mercury program
- Gemini program
- Apollo program
- Skylab
- Space Shuttle
- International Space Station (working together with ESA, Rosviakosmos and JAXA)
- Project Constellation

Robotic space missions


- Earth Observing
  - Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite
  - TIMED (Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics)
- Lunar missions
  - Ranger
  - Surveyor
  - Lunar Orbiter
  - Clementine
  - Lunar Prospector
- Mercury missions
  - Mariner 10
  - MESSENGER
- Venus missions
  - Mariner 2, 5 and 10
  - Pioneer Venus
  - Magellan
- Mars missions
  - Mariner 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9
  - Viking 1 and 2
  - Mars Observer
  - Mars Pathfinder
  - Mars Climate Orbiter
  - Mars Polar Lander
  - Mars Global Surveyor
  - 2001 Mars Odyssey
  - Mars Exploration Rovers
  - Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
  - Phoenix Lander (Planned for 2007)
  - Mars Science Laboratory (Planned for 2009)
- Jupiter missions
  - Pioneer 10
  - Galileo
  - Juno
- Saturn missions
  - Cassini-Huygens together with ESA
- Multi-planet missions
  - Pioneer 11 – Jupiter and Saturn
  - Mariner 10 – Venus and Mercury
  - Voyager 1 – Jupiter and Saturn
  - Voyager 2 – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune
  - New Horizons (Planned for 2006) – Jupiter, Pluto and Kuiper Belt
- Asteroidal/cometary missions
  - NEAR Shoemaker
  - Deep Space 1
  - Stardust
  - Deep Impact
  - Dawn (Planned for 2006)
- Proposed or canceled planetary-asteroid missions
  - JIMO (cancelled)
  - CRAF (cancelled)
  - NetLanders (cancelled)
  - Pluto Kuiper Express (cancelled; New Horizons is replacement)
  - Titan Explorer (proposed)
  - Neptune Orbiter (proposed)
- Sun observing missions
  - SOHO – ESA partnership
  - Ulysses – ESA partnership
- Great Observatories for Space Astrophysics
  - Hubble Space Telescope – ESA partnership
  - Compton Gamma Ray Observatory
  - Chandra X-ray Observatory
  - Spitzer Space Telescope (formerly known as the Space Infrared Telescope Facility, SIRTF)
- Other observatories
  - COBE
  - FUSE
  - Infrared Astronomical Satellite
  - James Webb Space Telescope – ESA partnership
  - WMAP

List of NASA administrators

# T. Keith Glennan (1958–1961) # James E. Webb (1961–1968) # Thomas O. Paine (1969–1970) # James C. Fletcher (1971–1977) # Robert A. Frosch (1977–1981) # James M. Beggs (1981–1985) # James C. Fletcher (1986–1989) # Richard H. Truly (1989–1992) # Daniel S. Goldin (1992–2001) # Sean O'Keefe (2001–2005) # Michael Griffin (2005–)

Field installations

In addition to headquarters in Washington, D.C., NASA has field installations at:
- Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California
- Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California
- John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field, Cleveland, Ohio
- Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
  - Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, New York
  - Independent Verification and Validation Facility, Fairmont, West Virginia
  - Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Virginia
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, near Pasadena, California
  - Deep Space Network stations:
    - Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex, Barstow, California
    - Madrid Deep Space Communication Complex, Madrid, Spain
    - Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
- Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
  - White Sands Test Facility, Las Cruces, New Mexico
- John F. Kennedy Space Center, Florida
- Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia
- George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
  - Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans, Louisiana
- John C. Stennis Space Center, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

Awards and decorations

NASA presently bestows a number of medals and decorations to astronauts and other NASA personnel. Some awards are authorized for wear on active duty military uniforms. Current NASA awards are as follows:
- Congressional Space Medal of Honor
- NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal
- NASA Distinguished Service Medal
- NASA Equal Employment Opportunity Medal
- NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal
- NASA Exceptional Administrative Achievement Medal
- NASA Exceptional Bravery Medal
- NASA Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal
- NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal
- NASA Exceptional Service Medal
- NASA Exceptional Technological Achievement Medal
- NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal
- NASA Public Service Medal
- NASA Space Flight Medal

Related legislation


- 1958 – National Aeronautics and Space Administration PL 85-568 (passed on July 29)
- 1961 – Apollo mission funding PL 87-98 A
- 1970 – National Aeronautics and Space Administration Research and Development Act PL 91-119
- 1984 – National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act PL 98-361
- 1988 – National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act PL 100-685
- NASA Budget 1958–2005 in 1996 Constant Year Dollars

See also


- List of aerospace engineering topics
- Astronaut
- Small Aircraft Transportation System
- Space Shuttle
- Space exploration
- Space race
- Robert Gilruth, Chris Kraft, Gene Kranz (flight directors)
- KC-135 Reduced Gravity Aircraft
- Shirley Thomas
- Stewart Brand
- Astronomy Picture of the Day
- Vision for Space Exploration
- Asteroid 11365 NASA is named after the organization.

Other space agencies


- Canadian Space Agency
- CNES (Centre National d'Études Spatiales)
- China National Space Administration
- European Space Agency
- Italian Space Agency
- Indian Space Research Organisation
- Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
- National Space Agency of Ukraine
- Russian Federal Space Agency
- Soviet space program (historical)

External links

General


- [http://www.nasa.gov NASA Home Page]
- [http://www.nasawatch.com NASA Watch]
-

Further research


- [http://history.nasa.gov/series95.html NASA History Series Publications]
- [http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4012/cover.html NASA Historical Data Books (SP-4012)]
- [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/hhrhist.pdf Research in NASA History: A Guide to the NASA History Program (large PDF – over 1,012 kb)]
- [http://ntrs.nasa.gov/ NTRS: NASA Technical Reports Server]
- [http://www.eventscope.org Eventscope] Category:Independent Agencies of the United States Government ko:미국항공우주국 ja:アメリカ航空宇宙局 simple:NASA th:องค์การนาซา

Dryden Flight Research Facility

NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, located inside Edwards Air Force Base, was named in honor of the late Hugh L. Dryden, one of America's most prominent aeronautical engineers, on Mar. 26, 1976. At the time of his death in 1965, he was NASA's deputy administrator. First known as the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics Muroc Flight Test Unit, the DFRC has also been known as the High-Speed Flight Research Station (1949) and the High-Speed Flight Station (1954). The Center is NASA's premier site for aeronautical research and operates some of the most advanced aircraft in the world. Until 2004, Dryden operated the oldest B-52 Stratofortress bomber, a B-52B model which had been converted to drop test aircraft, dubbed 'The High and Mighty One.' It dropped a large number of supersonic test vehicles, ranging from the X-15 to Pegasus rocket boosters. It was also the last B-52B still flying, but had the fewest flight hours of any existing B-52 bomber. The aircraft was retired when the last X-43A test flight occurred, and was replaced by a newer B-52H model.

Douglas Skyrocket

X-43A NASA's predecessor, NACA, operated the Douglas Skyrocket. A successor to the Air Force's Bell X-1, the D-558-II could operate under rocket or jet power. It conducted extensive tests into aircraft stability in the transsonic range, optimal supersonic wing configurations, rocket plume effects, and high-speed flight dynamics. On November 20, 1953, the Douglas Skyrocket became the first aircraft to fly at over twice the speed of sound when it attained a speed of Mach 2.005. Like the X-1, the D-558-II could be air launched, but it used a Navy B-29 instead of a B-52. Unlike the X-1, the Skyrocket could also takeoff from a runway with the help of JATO units.

Controlled Impact Demonstration

JATO.]] The Controlled Impact Demonstration was a joint project with the Federal Aviation Administration to research a new jet fuel that would decrease the damage due to fire in the crash of a large airliner. A remotely piloted Boeing 720 aircraft was flown into specially built wing openers which tore the wings open and fuel sprayed everywhere. Despite the new fuel additive the resulting fire ball was huge and the fire still took an hour to fully extinguish. Even though the fuel additive did not prevent a fire the research was not a complete failure. The additive still prevented the combustion of some fuel which flowed over the fuselage of the air craft and served to cool it similar to how a conventional rocket engine cools its nozzle. Also instrumented crash test dummys were in the airplane for the impact and provided valuable research into other aspects of crash survivability for the occupants.

Linear Aerospike SR-71 Experiment

crash test dummy atop an SR-71 Blackbird.]] LASRE was a NASA experiment in cooperation with Lockheed Martin to study a reusable launch vehicle design based on a linear aerospike rocket engine. The experiment's goal was to provide in-flight data to help Lockheed Martin validate the computational predictive tools they developed to design the craft. LASRE was a small, half-span model of a lifting body with eight thrust cells of an aerospike engine. The experiment, mounted on the back of an SR-71 Blackbird aircraft, operated like a kind of "flying wind tunnel." The experiment focused on determining how a reusable launch vehicle's engine plume would affect the aerodynamics of its lifting body shape at specific altitudes and speeds reaching approximately 750 miles per hour (335 meters per second). The interaction of the aerodynamic flow with the engine plume could create drag; design refinements look to minimize that interaction.

Lunar Landing Research Vehicle

wind tunnel] The Lunar Landing Research Vehicle or LLRV was an Apollo Project era program to build a simulator for the Moon landing. The LLRVs, humorously referred to as flying bedsteads (see also Flying bedstead), were used by the FRC, now known as the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., to study and analyze piloting techniques needed to fly and land the Apollo Lunar Module in the moon's airless environment.
Apollo Lunar Module

External links


- [http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov NASA Dryden Flight Research Center web site]
- Category:NASA facilities

Edwards, California

Edwards Air Force Base is a USAF airbase located on the border of Kern County and Los Angeles County, California in the Antelope Valley, 7 miles (11 km) due East of Rosamond, USA at . An airbase since 1933, Edwards' has long been a home for flight research and testing and has subsequently been home to many of aviation's most important and daring research flights. aviation Originally known as the Muroc Army Air Field, the base was renamed in 1950 in memory of test pilot Glen Edwards, who died while testing the Northrop YB-49. The base is strategically situated next to Rogers Lake, an endorheic desert salt pan; its hard playa surface provides a natural extension to Edwards' runways. This large landing area, combined with excellent year-round weather, make the base an excellent site for flight testing. Designated as the Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC), Edwards is home to the United States Air Force Test Pilot School and NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center. Almost every United States military aircraft since the 1950s has been at least partially tested at Edwards and Edwards has been the site of many aviation breakthroughs as a result. Notable occurrences at Edwards include Chuck Yeager's famous flight where he broke the sound barrier in the Bell X-1, test flights of the North American X-15, the first landings of the Space Shuttle, the 1986 around-the-world flight of the Scaled Composites Voyager, and origination of Murphy's law. The base is also one of the largest purchasers of renewable energy in the nation, deriving 60 percent of its electricity from renewable sources, and is a lead partner in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's [http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/partners/partners/usairforce.htm Green Power Partnership].

History

Early history

Murphy's law A water stop on the Southern Pacific Railroad since 1876, the site was largely unsettled until the early 20th Century. In 1910, Ralph, Clifford, and Effie Corum built a homestead on the edge of Rogers lake. The Corums would prove instrumental in attracting other settlers and building infrastructure in the area, and when a post office was commissioned for the area, they named it Muroc, a reversal of the Corum name. Under the leadership of Lt. Col. Henry H. Arnold, the Army Air Corps selected a site next to the Rogers playa for a new bombing range in 1933. The airbase established to service the range was called Muroc Field. At this time, another colorful character in Edwards' history, Pancho Barnes, built her infamous Rancho Oro Verde Fly-Inn Dude Ranch that would be the scene of many parties and celebrations to come. When Arnold became Chief of the Air Corps in 1938, the service was given a renewed focus on Research and Development. Muroc Field drew attention because the nearby playa was so flat that it could even serve as a giant runway ideal for flight testing. Accordingly, the base debuted is first major test aircraft when the P-59 Airacomet, America's first jet aircraft, lifted off on October 1, 1942. Over $120 million was spent developing the base in the 1940's, and it was expanded to 301,000 acres (1,218 km²). Included in this development was the base's main 15,000 ft (4,600 m) runway which was completed in a single pour of concrete.

The glory years of flight testing

After World War II, America found itself in an accelerating race for aerospace technology. Accordingly, the Air Force began the X-plane program in 1946, and development was largely centered at Muroc. The program grew to achieve stunning successes as the Bell X-1 became the first aircraft to break the sound barrier on October 14, 1947. Public attention was now firmly centered on Muroc Field, and test activity surged enormously. 1947 So many aircraft were tested in the years after WWII that test pilots logged hundreds of hours each month, often in many different prototype planes. This inevitably led to accidents, and the death rate at Edward's surged. On January 27, 1950, the base was renamed after Glen Edwards, who died while testing a prototype Northrop YB-49. Test pilots were undeterred however, and Edwards AFB was designated the U.S. Air Force Flight Test Center on June 25, 1951. The X-plane program achieved further successes as the Bell X-2 achieved over 100,000 ft (61 km) of altitude and speeds greater than Mach 3 in 1956. Throughout the 1950s, American airplanes broke absolute speed and altitude records on a regular basis at Edwards, but nothing compared with the arrival of the North American X-15 in 1961. Within a few short years, the X-15 topped Mach 4, 5, and 6, setting a speed record for manned atmospheric flight of Mach 6.7 on October 3, 1967 that stands today. As well, the X-15 became the first airplane to fly into space on July 19, 1963, when it achieved an altitude of 106,010 m (347 801 ft). Another aircraft gained world fame in the late 60's at Edwards: the Lockheed YF-12A, a precursor to the SR-71 Blackbird, shattered nine records in one day of testing at Edwards. The SR-71's full capabilities are classified to this day, but the records set on May 1, 1965 included a sustained speed of 2,070 mph (3,331 km/h) and an altitude of 80,257 ft (24,462 m).

On the ground

1965.]] During this exciting time, extensive aviation research was also conducted on the ground at Edwards. Though they no longer exist, Edwards once hosted two rocket sled tracks that pioneered important developments and research for the Air Force. The first 2,000 ft-long track was constructed by Northrop in 1944 near what is currently the North Base. Originally intended for use as a development platform of a V-1 flying-bomb-style weapon, this project never left the drawing board. The track found use after the war as a test area for V-2 rockets captured from Germany in Operation Paperclip. Later, Dr. John Stapp appropriated the track and installed what was believed to be one of the most powerful mechanical braking systems ever constructed [http://www.edwards.af.mil/history/docs_html/people/stapp_biography.html] for use in his famous deceleration tests. The incredible results from the first track prompted the Air Force to investigate building a second, and in 1948 a new 10,000 ft (3,048 m) track was completed just south of Rogers Lake. This track was capable of supersonic speeds, and its first project was the development of the SM-62 Snark cruise missile. This track was so successful that an extension was constructed, and on May 13, 1959, the full 20,000 ft (6,096 m) track was opened. After the Navy had conducted research on the UGM-27 Polaris ballistic missile, the track was used for the development of ejection seats that could be used at supersonic speeds. Though this program was enormously successful, a budgetary review concluded that the track was too expensive to maintain and the track was decommissioned on May 24, 1963. Before it was closed, a trial run set a world speed record of Mach 3.3 before the test car broke up. After its closure, the rails were pulled up to facilitate the straightening of Lancaster Boulevard.

Edwards AFB in the space age

1963.]] 1963) touches down in Edwards Air Force Base (August 9, 2005 PST)]] After President Richard M. Nixon announced the Space Shuttle program on January 5, 1972, Edwards was chosen for testing. The prototype Space Shuttle Enterprise was carried to altitude by the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (a modified Boeing 747) and dropped. In all, 13 test flights were conducted with the Enterprise and the SCA to determine their flight characteristics and handling. After the Space Shuttle Columbia became the first Shuttle launched into orbit on April 12, 1981, it returned to Edwards for landing. The airbase's immense lakebeds and its proximity to Plant 42, where the Shuttle was serviced before relaunch, were important factors in its selection and it continued to serve as the primary landing area for the space shuttle until 1991. Since then, Florida's Kennedy Space Center has been favoured, but Edwards AFB and the White Sands Missile Range continue to serve as backups; Shuttles have landed at Edwards as recently as August 9, 2005 (STS-114). The 1980's also saw Edwards host a demonstration of America's space warfare capabilities as a highly modified F-15 Eagle launched an anti-satellite missile at the dead P78 SolWind satellite and destroyed it. In 1986, Dick Rutan and Jeanna Yeager launched from Edwards to set a new aviation record by piloting the first non-stop, around-the-world flight on a single tank of gas in the Scaled Composites Voyager.

Current projects at Edwards

The most recent projects at Edwards are the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (ongoing) and the F/A-22 Raptor. In addition, the C-17 Globemaster III flight test program is another major project at Edwards AFB. As well, the Department of Defense's massive development on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has seen significant testing of prototypes at Edwards. Unusually, Edwards has actually gained a few jobs in recent years under the DoD's Base Realignment and Closure process. As smaller bases have been decommissioned, their facilities and responsibilities have been consolidated at large bases like Edwards and China Lake.

Facilities

Dryden Flight Research Center

Base Realignment and Closure Contained inside Edwards Air Force Base is NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) where modern aircraft research is still active (e.g. the Boeing X-45). The DFRC is home to many of the worlds most advanced aircraft. Notable recent research projects include the Controlled Impact Demonstration and the Linear Aerospike SR-71 Experiment.

AFRL test area

The Air Force Research Laboratory maintains a rocket engine testing site behind Leuhman Ridge, just east of Roger's Lake. Initially constructed for use in the Apollo Program, the test site has multiple facilities for testing full-size rocket engines and components. Since then, the Rocket Test Facility has tested booster rockets for ICBMs and the Space Shuttle. The site has recently benefited from an $18.5 million upgrade completed in 2003. The facility now boasts multiple test stands, and the only U.S. Government test stand capable of holding 1 million pounds-force (4.5 MN) of static thrust.

Main Base

MN Edwards Main Base includes the Dryden Flight Research Center at its north end and is directly connected to the South Base. The Main Base airfield has a control tower, a TRACON (callsign Joshua), and a Radar Control Facility (callsign Sport). Its ICAO airport code is KEDW (IATA: EDW). As a military airbase, civilian access is severely restricted, but is possible with prior coordination and good reason. There are two lighted, paved runways:
- 04/22 is 15,013 x 300 ft (4576 x 90 m), an extra 9,000 ft (2700 m) of lakebed runway is available.
- 6/24 is 8000 x 300 ft (2400 x 90 m); 5000 x 50 ft (1500 x 15 m) useable — (this runway is technically part of the South Base) There are seven other official runways on the Rogers lakebed:
- 17/35 is 7.5 mi (12.1 km) long (primary runway)
- 05/23 is 5.2 mi (8.4 km) long
- 06/24 is 1.4 mi (2.3 km) long
- 07/25 is 4.0 mi (6.4 km) long
- 09/27 is 2.0 mi (3.2 km) long
- 30 is 2.0 mi (3.2 km) long (runway 30 rolls out onto the compass rose, so its corresponding, unmarked, runway 12 is never used)
- 15/33 is 6.2 mi (10.0 km) long
- 18/36 is 4.5 mi (7.2 km) long The Rosamond lakebed has two runways painted on it:
- 02/20 is 4.0 mi (6.4 km) long
- 11/29 is 4.0 mi (6.4 km) long

North Base

North Base, sometimes called Operable Unit 10, is located at the north-west corner of Rogers lake and is the site of the Air Force's most secret test programs at Edwards. The site has one 6,000 x 150 ft (1830 x 45 m) paved runway, 06/24, and is accessed from the lakebed or via a single controlled road. Despite its apparent proximity on a map, the North Base can hardly be seen from the Main Base because of haze. Even on exceptionally clear days, no detail is visible, making the base ideal for secret development.

Geography

The most interesting feature of the 44.5 km² (17.2 mi²) that make up Edwards AFB is the Rogers and Rosamond dry lake beds. These lake beds have served as emergency and scheduled landing sites for many aerospace projects including the Bell X-1, Lockheed U-2, SR-71 Blackbird, and the Space Shuttle. Even today, the lakebeds have black lines painted on it to mark seven official "runways" which are available for pilots operating in the area. Also painted on the playa near Dryden is the world's largest compass rose; inclined to magnetic north (around 13 degrees east of true north) it is used by pilots for calibrating heading indicators. The largest lake bed, Rogers, encompasses 44 square miles (114 km²) of desert. Because of Roger's history in the space program it was declared a National Historic Landmark. National Historic Landmark The Rosamond dry lake bed encompasses 21 square miles (54 km²) and is also used for emergency landings and other flight research roles. Both lake beds are some of the lowest points in the Antelope Valley and they can collect large amounts of precipitation. Desert winds whip this seasonal water around on the lakebeds and the process polishes the lakebeds with a new, extremely flat surface; the Rosamond lake bed was measured to have an altitude deviation of 18 inches over a 30,000 ft (50 cm over 9,000 m) length!

Nearby bases

Another element of Edwards' success has been its proximity to other U.S. military bases. Edwards is close to the major city of Los Angeles, but it is also only a short flight south from Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake or Nellis Air Force Base that houses Area 51. Very secret aircraft developed at Edwards or other bases can easily and secretly be flown to a nearby base on a moonless night for maintenance or testing. Air Force Plant 42 and other defense research facilities in Palmdale are located only a few miles south of Edwards. The site of Lockheed Martin's famous Skunk Works, Plant 42, contains Boeing and Northrop Grumman aircraft manufacturing facilities as well. New, top-secret planes are often built at Plant 42 and then flown to the Main Base for night-time testing to maintain secrecy. Edwards' proximity to other bases has led to the establishment of the jointly-administered R-2508 Special Use Airspace Complex. Containing Edwards, the Navy's China Lake and the Army's Fort Irwin bases, and a significant amount of land in between, R-2508 is completely restricted above FL200 for military use, and in some areas is restricted to the ground. The Department of Defense and its branches use this airspace to train pilots, and to test aircraft and weapons. Joint exercises are often conducted here, and sonic booms can be heard on a regular basis.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 5,909 people, 1,678 households, and 1,515 families residing in the base. The population density is 132.9/km² (344.1/mi²). There are 1,783 housing units at an average density of 40.1/km² (103.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the base is 72.70% White, 10.42% Black or African American, 0.83% Native American, 4.35% Asian, 0.52% Pacific Islander, 5.43% from other races, and 5.74% from two or more races. 11.68% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There are 1,678 households out of which 67.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 84.9% are married couples living together, 3.0% have a female householder with no husband present, and 9.7% are non-families. 9.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 0.0% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.19 and the average family size is 3.38. In the base the population is spread out with 36.1% under the age of 18, 19.9% from 18 to 24, 42.1% from 25 to 44, 1.8% from 45 to 64, and 0.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 23 years. For every 100 females there are 121.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 130.4 males. The median income for a household in the base is $36,915, and the median income for a family is $36,767. Males have a median income of $27,118 versus $23,536 for females. The per capita income for the base is $13,190. 1.3% of the population and 1.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 1.3% of those under the age of 18 and 0.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

See also


- Gallery of photographs from Edwards Air Force Base

References


- [http://www.edwards.af.mil/history/docs_html/center/lakebeds.html Edwards AFB page on the dry lake beds]
- [http://www.edwards.af.mil/history/index.html Edwards AFB page on the history of the base]
- [http://www.air-attack.com/page.php?pid=12 Air-Attack.com page on the AFFTC]

External links


- [http://www.edwards.af.mil Edwards AFB]
  - [http://www.edwards.af.mil/vtour/ Virtual tour of Edwards AFB]
- [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/edwards.htm GlobalSecurity.org]
- [http://www1.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/ Videos and Pictures of current and historical tests at DFRC]
- Category:United States Air Force bases Category:U.S. Air Force bases slated for realignment Category:Kern County, California Category:Airports in California ja:エドワーズ空軍基地

B-52 Stratofortress

The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range strategic bomber flown by the United States Air Force since 1954, replacing the Convair B-36 and the Boeing B-47. Although built for the role of Cold War-era nuclear deterrent, its conventional capabilities are these days the more important role in USAF operations, where its long range, heavy weapons load and fearsome reputation have proven valuable.

Mission

Air Combat Command's B-52 is a long-range heavy bomber that can perform a variety of missions. The bomber is capable of flying at high subsonic speeds at altitudes up to 50,000 feet (15 km). It can carry nuclear or precision guided conventional ordnance and has the capability to navigate the world precisely.

Background

For more than 50 years, the B-52 Stratofortress has been the backbone of the manned strategic bomber force for the United States. The B-52 is capable of dropping or launching a wide array of weapons in the U.S. inventory, including gravity bombs, cluster bombs, precision guided missiles and Joint Direct Attack Munitions. When updated with the latest technology, the B-52 will be capable of delivering the full complement of joint developed weapons; allowing it to continue into the 21st century as an important element of U.S. military capabilities. Current engineering analyses show the B-52's life span to extend beyond the year 2045. 2045Two B-52 prototypes were built, and were designated XB-52 and YB-52. In actuality, both aircraft were almost identical, but the YB-52 incorporated enough changes to warrant a different designation. The most notable difference between the prototypes and the B-52A was that the X and Y aircraft used a tandem cockpit for the pilot and co-pilot, very similar to that on the B-47. The cockpit for the B-52A was completely redesigned due to the insistence of General Curtis LeMay, Commander of the Strategic Air Command, who was opposed to the tandem seating arrangement. Although the XB-52 was the first prototype to be completed and rolled out, the YB-52 was the first to fly - on April 15, 1952 - due to damage on the XB-52's wing trailing edges caused by a hydraulic system failure. The XB-52 eventually flew for the first time on October 2, 1952. Unfortunately, both aircraft were scrapped in the mid-1960s, though the YB-52 was available for viewing in the USAF Museum from the late '50s until the time when it was decided to scrap it. The B-52A first flew in August 1954 and the B model entered service in 1955. A total of 744 B-52s were built with the last, a B-52H, delivered in October 1962. Only the H model is still in the Air Force inventory and is assigned to Air Combat Command and the Air Force Reserves. The oldest B-52 still flying was a B-52B that was built in 1955, though it also has the fewest flight hours of any surviving B-52. It was operated by NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center and was used for drop tests of various research aircraft until its retirement on December 17, 2004. On July 30, 2001, Dryden received a B-52H that is expected to fully replace the older B-model aircraft by the end of 2004. The first of 102 B-52H's was delivered to Strategic Air Command in May 1961. The H model can carry up to 20 air launched cruise missiles. In addition, it can carry the conventional cruise missile that was launched in several contingencies during the 1990s, starting with Operation Desert Storm and culminating with Operation Allied Force. The B-52 contributed to the U.S. success in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, providing the ability to loiter high over the battlefield and provide Close Air Support (CAS) through the use of precision guided munitions. The long range and endurance of the B-52 provided a U.S. presence unmatched by any other combat aircraft. B-52's also played a key role in the second Gulf War in 2002-2003 (Operation Iraqi Freedom), where they provided close air support and bombing. The Air Force intends to keep the B-52 in service until around 2050, an unprecedented length of service for an aircraft model. This is especially amazing considering that the last plane was built in 1962; the Air Force fully expects to be flying 90-year-old airframes. Boeing has suggested re-engining of the B-52H fleet with the Rolls-Royce RB211 534E-4. This would involve replacing the eight Pratt & Whitney TF33s (total thrust 17,000 lb or 605 kN) with four RB211s (total thrust 37,400 lb.). The RR engines will increase the range/payload of the fleet and reduce fuel consumption. However the cost of the project would be significant. Procurement would cost approximately $2.56 billion ($36 million × 71 aircraft). A General Accounting Office study of the proposal concluded that Boeing's estimated savings of $4.7 billion would not be realized. They found that it would cost the Air Force $1.3 billion over keeping the existing engines. [http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/systems/b-52-upgrade.htm] Another recently approved upgrade for the B-52 is the B-52 SOJ (Stand Off Jammer) program which will allow it to assume an airborne communications/jamming role. Approximately a quarter of the fleet will be converted to take on this mission, with the Air Force seeking funding to convert the entire fleet. The B-52 SOJ will retain all of its bomber functions and capabilities, however now after having expended its weapons load it will continue to loiter over the combat area providing electronic warfare cover for follow on strikes. The additional equipment will be carried in 30 ft external pods under the wings. [http://www.isrjournal.com/story.php?F=1166029]

Features

In a conventional conflict, the B-52 can perform strategic attack, air interdiction, offensive counter-air and maritime operations. During Operation Desert Storm, B-52s delivered 40 percent of all the weapons dropped by coalition forces. All B-52s are equipped with an electro-optical viewing system that uses platinum silicide forward-looking infrared and high resolution low-light-level television sensors to augment targeting, battle assessment, and flight safety, thus further improving its combat ability and low-level flight capability. Pilots wear night vision goggles (NVGs) to enhance their vision during night operations. Night vision goggles provide greater safety during night operations by increasing the pilot's ability to visually clear terrain, avoid enemy radar and see other aircraft in a covert/lights-out environment. Starting in 1989, on-going modifications incorporates the Global Positioning System, heavy stores adapter beams for carrying 2,000 pound (900 kg) munitions, and a full array of advanced weapons currently under development. The use of aerial refueling gives the B-52 a range limited only by crew endurance, or in the extreme, required maintenance. It has an unrefueled combat range in excess of 8,800 statute miles (14,000 km). It is highly effective when used for ocean surveillance, and can assist the U.S. Navy in anti-ship and mine-laying operations. Two B-52s, in two hours, can monitor 140,000 square miles (364,000 km²) of ocean surface. If on land, this area is about as large as a circle centered at New York City and covered as far as Washington, DC, Syracuse and Boston (radius = 212 statute miles or 340 km). However, the actual shape of coverage would vary. The aircraft's flexibility was evident in Operation Desert Storm and again during Operation Allied Force. B-52s struck wide-area troop concentrations, fixed installations and bunkers, and ruined the morale of Iraq's Republican Guard. The Persian Gulf War involved the longest strike mission in the history of aerial warfare when B-52s took off from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, launched conventional air launched cruise missiles and returned to Barksdale—a 35 hour, non-stop combat mission. During Operation Allied Force, B-52s opened the conflict with conventional cruise missile attacks and then transitioned to delivering general purpose bombs and cluster bomb units on Serbian army positions and staging areas.

General characteristics

staging area
- Contractor: Boeing Military Airplane Co.
- Speed: 650 mph, 1000 km/h (Mach 0.86)
- Range: Unrefueled 8,800 statute miles (14,200 km)
- Armament: Approximately 70,000 lb (31,500 kg) mixed ordnance—bombs, land mines and missiles. (Modified to carry air-launched cruise missiles, AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship and AGM-142 Have Nap missiles.)
  - The nuclear weapons capacity has previously included B28, B43, B53, B61, and B83 free-fall nuclear bombs, or various combinations of twelve AGM-129 Advanced Cruise Missiles (ACMS), 20 AGM-86A Air Launched Cruise Missiles (ALCM) and eight bombs.
  - The B-52A through F carried a tail-mounted armament of four .50 cal (12.7 mm) machine guns with the gunner sitting in the tail, The B-52G retained the quad .50 cals but the gunner moved up front with the rest of the crew and controlled the guns via remote. The B-52H replaced the quad .50's with a single 20 mm M61A1 Vulcan which offered much greater defensive fire power. In the mid-1990s, the tail gun was removed from all of the B-52H aircraft to reduce weight.
  - The G and H models are distinguishable from previous models due to their shorter (by 8 feet) vertical tailplane. This configuration had previously been tested on a B-52A.
  - The H model is distinguishable from all previous variants by having visually different engine pods. The B-52H uses TF33-3 turbofan engines, which provided 20% greater range, 70% more thrust and are considerably quieter than the J57 engine which had been used on all previous variants
  - The B-52 is the only known bomber to have shot down jet-powered fighter aircraft; one unit of the type shot down two MiG-17 fighter planes during the Vietnam War.
- Accommodations: Five (Pilot, Co-Pilot, Navigator, Radar Navigator (AKA Bombardier) & Electronic Warfare Officer with all sitting in ejection seats
- Unit Cost: $74 million
- Date Deployed: February 1955 · Inventory: Active force, 85; ANG, 0; Reserve, 9

Production


- XB-52 - The first B-52 prototype. 1 built
- YB-52 - The second protoype. 1 built
- B-52A - The first production model. 3 built
- B-52B - 50
- RB-52B - 27 B-52Bs converted into reconnaissance aircraft. 2X 20mm Cannon Replaced 4X .50 cal in tail
- B-52C - 35
- B-52D - 170
- B-52E - 100
- B-52F - 89
- B-52G - 193
- B-52H - 102
  - Total produced - 744

Specifications (B-52H)

right

Trivia


- Among its crew, the B-52 is affectionately known as the "BUFF", an acronym for "big ugly fat fucker" (or "big ugly fat fellow" in more polite company).
- The B-52's wheels are all steerable, because the enormous wingspan of the plane means it cannot always orient itself properly with the runway when landing in a strong cross-wind. The wheels are made to point down the runway even if the nose of the plane does not.
- A hairstyle known as the "B-52", because of its resemblance to the nose cone of this aircraft, was popular in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
- The musical band The B-52's were not directly named after this aircraft, but after the B-52 hairstyle members of the band wear.
- There is also a cocktail named for the B-52, the B-52 shooter.
- The B-52 bomber gained notoriety after Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb Cold War movie satire. The cockpit of the plane is one of only four movie settings. The Air Force refused to allow Stanley Kubrick permission to photograph the cockpit interior; he developed his B-52 cockpit by extrapolating from photos of the interior of a B-50 Superfortress. His guess was so accurate that his production company was later investigated by the Department of Defense.
- In The Living Daylights,a B-52 was parked at a British base in Gibraltar.
- The NASA B-52B Mothership, NASA tail number 008, was retired from active service with NASA on 17 December, 2004, after almost 50 years flying service. This was the B-52 famous for dropping such aerospace research vehicles as the X-15, X-24, HiMAT, Lifting Body vehicles, X-43, and others. It was the oldest active B-52 at the time, having first flown on June 11, 1955, and entering service with NASA in 1959. It was the last B-52B in service.
- The B-52's longevity is marked by the fact that in at least one family of airmen, the grandfather, father, and son have all served as B-52 crew.
- Two of the six ejection seats eject downwards from the bottom of the plane.
- In the early 1980s Boeing submitted an unsolicited proposal for a "Super" B-52. It would have offered upgraded engines, improved electronics and avionics and vastly improved ergonomics for the crew. The plan was considered but dropped in favor of the B-1B that was then being considered to replace the then-20+ year old B-52G/H fleet.
- On the night of December 27, 1972, North Vietnamese pilot and future cosmonaut Pham Tuan became the first person ever to shoot down a US B-52 bomber, during the Vietnam War. The bomber had been circling the Hanoi sky during the US campaign Operation Rolling Thunder.
- As part of the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between the United States and Russia, 365 B-52s were flown to the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. The bombers were stripped of all usable parts, then unceremoniously chopped into five pieces by a 13,000-pound steel blade dropped from a crane. The modern-day guillotine crashed down four times on each plane, severing the mammoth wings and leaving the fuselage in three pieces. The ruined B-52s remained in place for three months in order for orbiting Russian satellites to confirm the bombers had been destroyed, after which they were sold for scrap at 12 cents a pound.

Related content

Category:U.S. bomber aircraft 1950-1959 Category:Vietnam War aircraft

External links


- http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/bomber/b-52_hist.htm -- detailed historical overview
- http://www.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?fsID=83 -- B-52 Stratofortress Fact Sheet
- [http://fmc.dotnet-services.nl/operation_iraqi_freedom.htm USAF B-52 mission flights from Fairford to Iraq (2003) monitored by the Frequency Monitor Centre]
- [http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/FactSheets/FS-005-DFRC.html NASA Dryden B-52 fact sheet] ja:B-52 (爆撃機)

Shuttle Carrier Aircraft

The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) are two extensively modified Boeing 747 jetliners that NASA uses to transport a space shuttle orbiter. One is a 747-100 model, while the other is a short range 747-100SR. The SCAs are used to ferry space shuttles from landing sites back to the launch complex at the Kennedy Space Center, and also to and from other locations too distant for the orbiters to be delivered by ground transportation. The orbiters are placed atop the SCAs by Mate-Demate Devices, large gantry-like structures which hoist the orbiters off the ground for post-flight servicing, and then mate them with the SCAs for ferry flights. The first aircraft, N905NA, was originally manufactured for American Airlines and still carried visible American markings while testing Enterprise in the 1970s. It was acquired in 1974 and initially used for trailing wake vortex research as part of a broader study by NASA Dryden, as well as Shuttle tests involving a F-104 flying in close formation and simulating a "release" from the 747. The aircraft was extensively modified in 1976, with the cabins being stripped, mounting struts added, and the fuselage strengthened; vertical stabilizers were added to the tail to aid stability when the Orbiter was being carried. (In practice, these were very rarely removed). The avionics and engines were also upgraded, and an escape system added to ship N905NA similar to that used on Boeing's first 747 test flights, the flight crew escape tunnel system was later removed following the completion of the Approach and Landing Tests (ALT) due to concerns regarding possible engine ingestion of an escaping crew member. Flying with the drag of the Orbiter imposes fuel penalties - the range is reduced to just over 1000 nautical miles (1900 km), compared to an unladen range of 5500 nautical miles (10,000 km), meaning the SCAs normally have to stop several times on a transcontinental flight to refuel. The combination 747-shuttle travels about one and a half times the length of the airplane per US gallon of fuel. (0.023 miles per US gallon or 102 L/km) It takes a crew of about 170 a week to prepare the shuttle and SCA for flight, and each transcontinental trip costs about $230,000[http://slate.msn.com/id/2124238/fr/rss/]. Studies were made to equip the aircraft with aerial refuelling equipment, a practice used for several US Air Force 747s. However, during formation flying with a tanker aircraft to test this, some minor cracking was found on the tailfin of N905NA. It was felt that, whilst this was not likely to be due to the test flights, there was no sense pushing matters too far; as there was no urgent requirement to provide an aerial refuelling capacity, the tests were suspended. US Air Force (KSC) after the successful STS-32 mission, is poised atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) as the duo fly by the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at KSC.]] In 1988, in the wake of the Challenger accident, NASA procured a surplus 747-100SR from JAL. N911NA, as it was newly registered, entered service with NASA in 1990 after similar modifications; it was first used in 1991 to ferry the new shuttle Endeavour from the manufacturers in Palmdale, California to Kennedy Space Center. The two aircraft are functionally identical, although careful examination can differentiate between them; N911NA has five upper-deck windows, whilst N905NA only has two. N905NA is depicted in both the photograph and the diagram on this page. In Soviet service, the Antonov An-225 Mriya performed the same role in transporting the Shuttle Buran; the C-5 Galaxy was considered for the role by NASA, but rejected in favour of the 747. The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft currently resides at the Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California

Media

See also


- Captive carry

External links


- [http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/FactSheets/FS-013-DFRC.html NASA fact sheet]
- [http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Photo/STS-Ferry/Medium/index.html NASA SCA images] Category:Special-purpose aircraft Category:Space Shuttle program ja:シャトル輸送機

Colonel

---- Colonel is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with the corresponding ranks existing in nearly every country in the world. The rank of Colonel is one of the oldest in existence, dating as far back to the time of the Roman Empire. In the modern age, a Colonel is usually a military title rated as the highest field rank below the general grades.

Origins

Ancient uses of the word colonel date back to Roman regiments, where a colonel was the officer in charge of a column of soliders. The term then reappeared in the Middle Ages, as a nobleman in command of a large number of soldiers, forming early units similar to battalions and regiments. The head colonel of the battlefield would usually become the Colonel General, and command all other colonels and their troops. The modern usage of the word colonel began in the late sixteenth century, when companies were first formed into larger regiments or columns (colonne in Italian) under the leadership of a colonnello. (In modern English, the word is pronounced similarly to kernel as a result of having entered the language from Middle French in two competing forms, coronel and colonel. The more etymological colonel was favored in literary works and eventually became the standard spelling despite losing the pronunciation war to the dissimilated coronel.) After the shift from primarily mercenary to national armies, but prior to the professionalization of the armed services of European nations subsequent to the French revolution, a Colonel became a nobleman who purchased the right to head a regiment from the previous holder of that right. He would in turn receive money from another nobleman to serve as his lieutenant, literally lieutenant colonel. The funding to provide for the troops came from the monarch or his government; the Colonel had to be responsible for it. If he were not, or were otherwise court-martialed, he was dismissed ("cashiered"), and the monarch would receive money from another nobleman to command the regiment. Otherwise, the only pension for the Colonel was selling the right to another nobleman when he was ready to retire. In England, supporters of the practice said that the country had been ill-served by the professional army created by Cromwell (ultimately Charles I was executed) and that the country could only be "safe" from the army if it was officered by men "with a stake in the country", that is, men who could afford to purchase a commission. By the time of the late 19th century, Colonel was a professional military rank and typically held by an officer in command of a regiment. As European military influence expanded throughout the world, the rank of Colonel became adopted by nearly every nation in existence under a variety of names. With the rise of Communism, some of the large Communist militaries saw fit to expand the Colonel rank into several grades, resulting in the unique Senior Colonel rank which was found in countries such as the Soviet Union and is still used in such nations as China and North Korea.

Colonel ranks by country

The following articles deal with the rank of Colonel as it is used in various national militaries.
- Colonel (Canada)
- Colonel (United Kingdom)
- Colonel (United States)
- Coronel (Spain)
- Polkovnik (Russia)
- Polkovnyk (Ukraine)
- Oberst (Germany)
- Sangchwa (North Korea)
- Taeryong (South Korea)

See also


- Comparative military ranks

References

Keegan, John; & Wheatcroft, Andrew (1996). Who's Who in Military History: From 1453 to the Present Day. London: Routledge. Category:Military ranks ja:大佐

F-111

The General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark (the nickname was unofficial for most of its lifespan, but it was officially named "Aardvark" at its retirement ceremony for the United States Air Force) was a long-range strategic bomber, reconnaissance, and tactical strike aircraft. The F-111 project was long considered by some to be an expensive failure, but the end result was an outstanding deep interdiction/strike aircraft that more than paid for itself in several conflicts.

Development

The F-111's beginnings were in the TFX, an ambitious early 1960s project to combine the U.S. Air Force requirement for a fighter-bomber with the U.S. Navy's need for a long-range carrier defense fighter to replace the F-4 Phantom II and the F-8 Crusader. The fighter design philosophy of the day concentrated on very high speed, raw power, and air-to-air missiles. The USAF's Tactical Air Command (TAC) was largely concerned with the fighter-bomber and deep strike/interdiction role, which in the early 1960s still focused on the use of nuclear weapons. In June 1960 the USAF issued a specification for a long-range interdiction/strike aircraft able to penetrate Soviet air defenses at very low altitudes and very high speeds to deliver tactical nuclear weapons against crucial Soviet targets like airfields and supply depots. Included in the specification were a low-level speed of Mach 1.2, a high-altitude speed of Mach 2.5, a combat radius of 890 mi (1,475 km), good short-field performance, and a ferry range long enough to reach Europe unrefueled. Dogfighting maneuverability and cannon armament were considered of little importance. This would change within a few years as experience showed that close-in dogfighting remained important in air combat: guns and an emphasis on agility were reintroduced to fighter design, but only after the F-111 was developed. The U.S. Navy, meanwhile, had since 1957 been searching for a long-range, high-endurance interceptor to defend its carrier groups against the new generation of Soviet jet bombers, which by then were being armed with huge anti-ship missiles with nuclear warheads. The Navy needed a Fleet Air Defense (FAD) aircraft with better loitering performance and load-carrying ability than the F-4 Phantom II, equipped with a powerful radar and a battery of long-range missiles to intercept both bombers and their missiles. Since the cancellation of the F6D Missileer in December 1960 the Navy had been reconsidering variable geometry for the FAD requirement. The trend toward ever bigger, more powerful fighters posed a problem for the Navy: the current generation of naval fighters were already barely capable of landing on an aircraft carrier deck, and a still larger and faster fighter would pose even greater problems. An airframe optimised for high speed — most obviously with a high-angle swept wing — is inefficient at cruising speeds, which reduces range, payload, and endurance, and leads to very high landing speeds. On the other hand, an airframe with a straight or modestly swept wing, while easier to handle and able to carry heavy loads over longer distances on a minimum of fuel, has lower ultimate performance. Variable geometry, which the Navy had tried and abandoned for the XF10F Jaguar in 1953, offered the possibility of combining both in a single airframe. Both of these requirements were about to be marred by politics, and then checkered by considerable controversy. Newly appointed Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, who had just come from a successful stint as president of the Ford Motor Company, was a great believer in "commonality" — adapting a single common mechanical platform that could be customized for various applications. He felt that imposing this principle on military procurement would lead to substantial cost savings. As a result, on 16 February 1961, less than a month after taking office, McNamara ordered the services to consider a single basic aircraft that could be developed in different versions for each service. At one stage, it was even planned to use it for the U.S. Army and Marine Corps as a close air support platform. Although the services insisted that a single aircraft was not technically feasible, McNamara ordered the development of a common aircraft to proceed anyway. The program was dubbed TFX (Tactical Fighter Experimental). Requests for proposals were issued to Boeing, General Dynamics, Lockheed, Northrop, Grumman, McDonnell, Douglas Aircraft, North American Aviation, and Republic Aviation. Nine proposals were received in December 1961, and while the USAF and Navy felt that none were entirely suitable, on 19 January 1962 they indicated that the Boeing and General Dynamics proposals looked most promising. After a series of subsequent proposals, in September 1962 the USAF and Navy indicated they preferred the Boeing design, but McNamara again overrode their decision, and the Department of Defense awarded the contract to General Dynamics on 24 November 1962, in part because the General Dynamics design promised to be more affordable and allow greater commonality — a decision that was to seem particularly ironic consider what followed. Grumman, which had greater experience with carrier aircraft, was engaged as the primary subcontractor. The TFX design eventually emerged as an aircraft in the 20-ton (empty) class with a maximum take-off weight of almost 50 tons. It had been intended to use titanium for large portions of the airframe to save weight, but this proved prohibitively expensive. The TFX was powered by two afterburning Pratt & Whitney TF30-P-100 turbofans in the 80 kN class. The shoulder-mounted wings were attached to a pair of giant pivots, allowing it to tak