As 2004 drew to a
close, NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force
Base looked back on a year of challenge and accomplishment in its
role of NASA's lead center for atmospheric flight research.
A few of the highlights included:
X-43A / Hyper-X -- On March 27, four decades
of supersonic-combustion ramjet propulsion research culminated in a
successful flight of the X-43A hypersonic technology demonstrator,
the first time a scramjet-powered aircraft had flown freely. After
being launched by Dryden's venerable B-52B mothership off the coast
of Southern California, a modified first-stage Pegasus booster
rocketed the X-43A to 95,000 feet before the X-43A separated and
flew under its own scramjet power at an airspeed of Mach 6.8, or
about 5,000 mph, for about 11 seconds. On Nov. 16, another
identical scramjet-powered X-43A did it again, this time reaching
hypersonic speeds above Mach 9.6, or about 6,800 mph, in the final
flight of the X-43A project.
Both flights set world airspeed records for an aircraft powered by
an air-breathing engine, and proved that scramjet propulsion is a
viable technology for powering future space-access vehicles and
hypersonic aircraft.
Access 5 -- In May, Access 5, the joint
government-industry program to enable use of the national airspace
by remotely operated unmanned aircraft was kicked off. Primarily
funded by NASA through the High-Altitude, Long-Endurance Remotely
Operated Aircraft in the National Airspace project within the
Vehicle Systems Program, Access 5 brings NASA, the Federal Aviation
Administration, the Department of Defense and six major industry
members together to plan the safe, orderly and efficient
integration of unmanned aircraft into civil airspace over the next
five years. The focus is not only on development of procedures and
standards, but also on technologies such as command and control,
detection and avoidance.
Airborne Science -- Advanced technology was
used to improve our understanding of biological and cultural
resources and their sustainable development. The Central and South
America AirSAR 2004 mission used an Airborne Synthetic Aperture
Radar aboard NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory. The mission took place
during the several weeks in March over Costa Rica, Chile, Patagonia
and the Antarctic Peninsula.
Other major Earth science missions during the year involving the
converted jetliner included the INTEX global air pollution surveys
and an AirSAR mission that captured 3-D images of seven active
Alaskan volcanoes to evaluate volcanic hazards and to improve the
understanding of the eruption process and frequency. NASA
Dryden's
ER-2 high-altitude science aircraft also was kept busy during 2004
on a variety of atmospheric sampling and imaging missions.
Active Aeroelastic
Wing -- After a lengthy hiatus, Dryden's Active
Aeroelastic Wing F/A-18 returned to the skies in mid-December to
begin its second phase of research flights. Following completion of
the first phase that evaluated the flight characteristics of a more
flexible wing, NASA Dryden and Boeing Phantom Works engineers
developed control laws over the past 18 months to enable active
control of wing flexibility for primary maneuvering control. About
35 flights at both subsonic and supersonic speeds are planned in
Phase II of the AAW project before it concludes next spring.
Initial data from the first four research flights indicate that AAW
control law roll rates were higher than predicted. Active
Aeroelastic Wing employs conventional control surfaces such as
ailerons and leading-edge flaps to aerodynamically induce twist.
From flight test and simulation data, the program will develop
structural modeling techniques and tools to help design lighter,
more flexible high aspect-ratio wings for future high-performance
aircraft, which could enable more economical operation or greater
payload capability.
B-52B "Mothership" Retirement -- After almost
50 years of serving as a test and research aircraft, NASA's
venerable Boeing B-52B air-launch "mothership" was retired from
service on December 17. With no future programs needing its
capability envisioned in the foreseeable future and maintainability
becoming increasingly difficult for the one-of-a-kind aircraft, the
decision was made to retire the eight-engine converted bomber to a
place of honor on display at the Edwards Air Force Base north gate.
First flown in June 1955, the B-52B air-launched a variety of
exotic research aircraft ranging from the X-15 rocket plane of the
1960s to the X-43A scramjet of 2004 during its storied career.
In 2005, NASA Dryden
will be supporting both the Vision for Space Exploration and Space
Shuttle Return-to-Flight with several engineering and flight
research tasks.
Exploration Systems -- NASA's Exploration
Systems Mission Directorate selected Dryden to participate in two
research and technology development activities. Dryden has been
tasked with leading the Aero Assisted Mars Transfer Vehicle Study,
with other NASA centers and universities supporting the effort. For
the second, the Ceramic Aft Heat Shield Hot Structures Test, Dryden
would provide the necessary thermal and load testing of a candidate
aft heat shield design for the planned Crew Exploration Vehicle.
Additionally, the directorate has tasked Dryden to provide
increased support to a number of engineering disciplines that
support the overall exploration vision via integrated product and
design teams.
Space Shuttle Return to Flight -- NASA Dryden
will support Space Shuttle Return-to-Flight engineering efforts
with a series of flights by the center's F-15B Research Testbed
aircraft in early 2005. The flights will obtain data on the
shuttle's external fuel tank insulating foam debris or "divot"
trajectories for computer code validation. Among several
objectives, the flights will help engineers quantify divot
trajectories using high-speed videography and provide flight
verification of debris tracking systems to be used for the next
shuttle launch.
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