|
|
Turtle in Space Describes Ne
…
| Title |
Turtle in Space Describes New Hubble Image |
|
Pegasus Mated under Wing of
…
| Photo Description |
A close-up view of the Pegasus space-booster attached to the wing pylon of NASA?s B-52 launch aircraft at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The Pegasus rocket booster was designed as a way to get small payloads into space orbit more easily and cost-effectively. It has also been used to gather data on hypersonic flight. |
| Project Description |
Pegasus is an air-launched space booster produced by Orbital Sciences Corporation and Hercules Aerospace Company (initially, later, Alliant Tech Systems) to provide small satellite users with a cost-effective, flexible, and reliable method for placing payloads into low earth orbit. Pegasus has been used to launch a number of satellites and the PHYSX experiment. That experiment consisted of a smooth glove installed on the first-stage delta wing of the Pegasus. The glove was used to gather data at speeds of up to Mach 8 and at altitudes approaching 200,000 feet. The flight took place on October 22, 1998. The PHYSX experiment focused on determining where boundary-layer transition occurs on the glove and on identifying the flow mechanism causing transition over the glove. Data from this flight-research effort included temperature, heat transfer, pressure measurements, airflow, and trajectory reconstruction. Hypersonic flight-research programs are an approach to validate design methods for hypersonic vehicles (those that fly more than five times the speed of sound, or Mach 5). Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, provided overall management of the glove experiment, glove design, and buildup. Dryden also was responsible for conducting the flight tests. Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, was responsible for the design of the aerodynamic glove as well as development of sensor and instrumentation systems for the glove. Other participating NASA centers included Ames Research Center, Mountain View, California, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, and Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Orbital Sciences Corporation, Dulles, Virginia, is the manufacturer of the Pegasus vehicle, while Vandenberg Air Force Base served as a pre-launch assembly facility for the launch that included the PHYSX experiment. NASA used data from Pegasus launches to obtain considerable data on aerodynamics. By conducting experiments in a piggyback mode on Pegasus, some critical and secondary design and development issues were addressed at hypersonic speeds. The vehicle was also used to develop hypersonic flight instrumentation and test techniques. NASA's B-52 carrier-launch vehicle was used to get the Pegasus airborne during six launches from 1990 to 1994. Thereafter, an Orbital Sciences L-1011 aircraft launched the Pegasus. The Pegasus launch vehicle itself has a 400- to 600-pound payload capacity in a 61-cubic-foot payload space at the front of the vehicle. The vehicle is capable of placing a payload into low earth orbit. This vehicle is 49 feet long and 50 inches in diameter. It has a wing span of 22 feet. (There is also a Pegasus XL vehicle that was introduced in 1994. Dryden has never launched one of these vehicles, but they have greater thrust and are 56 feet long.) |
| Photo Date |
August 2, 1994 |
|
PHYSX Glove Test
| Photo Description |
A mock-up of the stainless-steel Pegasus Hypersonic Experiment (PHYSX) Projects experimental "glove" undergoes hot-loads tests at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The thermal ground test simulates heats and pressures the wing glove will experience at hypersonic speeds. Quartz heat lamps subject this model of a Pegasus booster rocket's right wing glove to the extreme heats it will experience at speeds approaching Mach 8. The glove has a highly reflective surface, underneath which are hundreds of temperature and pressure sensors that will send hypersonic flight data to ground tracking facilities during the experimental flight. |
| Project Description |
Pegasus is an air-launched space booster produced by Orbital Sciences Corporation and Hercules Aerospace Company (initially, later, Alliant Tech Systems) to provide small satellite users with a cost-effective, flexible, and reliable method for placing payloads into low earth orbit. Pegasus has been used to launch a number of satellites and the PHYSX experiment. That experiment consisted of a smooth glove installed on the first-stage delta wing of the Pegasus. The glove was used to gather data at speeds of up to Mach 8 and at altitudes approaching 200,000 feet. The flight took place on October 22, 1998. The PHYSX experiment focused on determining where boundary-layer transition occurs on the glove and on identifying the flow mechanism causing transition over the glove. Data from this flight-research effort included temperature, heat transfer, pressure measurements, airflow, and trajectory reconstruction. Hypersonic flight-research programs are an approach to validate design methods for hypersonic vehicles (those that fly more than five times the speed of sound, or Mach 5). Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, provided overall management of the glove experiment, glove design, and buildup. Dryden also was responsible for conducting the flight tests. Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, was responsible for the design of the aerodynamic glove as well as development of sensor and instrumentation systems for the glove. Other participating NASA centers included Ames Research Center, Mountain View, California, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, and Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Orbital Sciences Corporation, Dulles, Virginia, is the manufacturer of the Pegasus vehicle, while Vandenberg Air Force Base served as a pre-launch assembly facility for the launch that included the PHYSX experiment. NASA used data from Pegasus launches to obtain considerable data on aerodynamics. By conducting experiments in a piggyback mode on Pegasus, some critical and secondary design and development issues were addressed at hypersonic speeds. The vehicle was also used to develop hypersonic flight instrumentation and test techniques. NASA's B-52 carrier-launch vehicle was used to get the Pegasus airborne during six launches from 1990 to 1994. Thereafter, an Orbital Sciences L-1011 aircraft launched the Pegasus. The Pegasus launch vehicle itself has a 400- to 600-pound payload capacity in a 61-cubic-foot payload space at the front of the vehicle. The vehicle is capable of placing a payload into low earth orbit. This vehicle is 49 feet long and 50 inches in diameter. It has a wing span of 22 feet. (There is also a Pegasus XL vehicle that was introduced in 1994. Dryden has never launched one of these vehicles, but they have greater thrust and are 56 feet long.) |
| Photo Date |
September 13, 1995 |
|
Close-up of Pegasus Rocket W
…
| Title |
Close-up of Pegasus Rocket Wing and PHYSX Glove Experiment |
| Description |
This close-up view of the stainless-steel Pegasus Hypersonic Experiment (PHYSX) Projects experimental "glove" shows a highly reflective surface, underneath which are hundreds of temperature and pressure sensors that will send hypersonic flight data to ground tracking facilities during the experiment's flight. The glove and the Pegasus rocket wing it is attached to were load-tested at Scaled Composites, Inc., in Mojave, California, in January 1997. The Pegasus wing with attached PHYSX glove was placed in a wooden triangular test-rig, mounted to the floor atop the waterbags. Technicians slowly filled water bags beneath the wing, applying the pressure, or "wing-loading," required to determine whether the wing could withstand its design limit for stress. Pegasus is an air-launched space booster produced by Orbital Sciences Corporation and Hercules Aerospace Company (initially, later, Alliant Tech Systems) to provide small satellite users with a cost-effective, flexible, and reliable method for placing payloads into low earth orbit. Pegasus has been used to launch a number of satellites and the PHYSX experiment. That experiment consisted of a smooth glove installed on the first-stage delta wing of the Pegasus. The glove was used to gather data at speeds of up to Mach 8 and at altitudes approaching 200,000 feet. The flight took place on October 22, 1998. The PHYSX experiment focused on determining where boundary-layer transition occurs on the glove and on identifying the flow mechanism causing transition over the glove. Data from this flight-research effort included temperature, heat transfer, pressure measurements, airflow, and trajectory reconstruction. Hypersonic flight-research programs are an approach to validate design methods for hypersonic vehicles (those that fly more than five times the speed of sound, or Mach 5). Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, provided overall management of the glove experiment, glove design, and buildup. Dryden also was responsible for conducting the flight tests. Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, was responsible for the design of the aerodynamic glove as well as development of sensor and instrumentation systems for the glove. Other participating NASA centers included Ames Research Center, Mountain View, California, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, and Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Orbital Sciences Corporation, Dulles, Virginia, is the manufacturer of the Pegasus vehicle, while Vandenberg Air Force Base served as a pre-launch assembly facility for the launch that included the PHYSX experiment. NASA used data from Pegasus launches to obtain considerable data on aerodynamics. By conducting experiments in a piggyback mode on Pegasus, some critical and secondary design and development issues were addressed at hypersonic speeds. The vehicle was also used to develop hypersonic flight instrumentation and test techniques. NASA's B-52 carrier-launch vehicle was used to get the Pegasus, airborne during six launches from 1990 to 1994. Thereafter, an Orbital Sciences L-1011 aircraft launched the Pegasus. The Pegasus launch vehicle itself has a 400- to 600-pound payload capacity in a 61-cubic-foot payload space at the front of the vehicle. The vehicle is capable of placing a payload into low earth orbit. This vehicle is 49 feet long and 50 inches in diameter. It has a wing span of 22 feet. (There is also a Pegasus XL vehicle that was introduced in 1994. Dryden has never launched one of these vehicles, but they have greater thrust and are 56 feet long.) |
| Date |
01.01.1997 |
|
Pegasus Engine Ignites after
…
| Title |
Pegasus Engine Ignites after Drop from B-52 Mothership |
| Description |
Against the midnight blue of a high-altitude sky, Orbital Sciences' Pegasus winged rocket booster ignites after being dropped from NASA's B-52 mothership on a July 1991 flight. A NASA chase plane for the flight is also visible above the rocket and below the B-52. Pegasus is an air-launched space booster produced by Orbital Sciences Corporation and Hercules Aerospace Company (initially, later, Alliant Tech Systems) to provide small satellite users with a cost-effective, flexible, and reliable method for placing payloads into low earth orbit. Pegasus has been used to launch a number of satellites and the PHYSX experiment. That experiment consisted of a smooth glove installed on the first-stage delta wing of the Pegasus. The glove was used to gather data at speeds of up to Mach 8 and at altitudes approaching 200,000 feet. The flight took place on October 22, 1998. The PHYSX experiment focused on determining where boundary-layer transition occurs on the glove and on identifying the flow mechanism causing transition over the glove. Data from this flight-research effort included temperature, heat transfer, pressure measurements, airflow, and trajectory reconstruction. Hypersonic flight-research programs are an approach to validate design methods for hypersonic vehicles (those that fly more than five times the speed of sound, or Mach 5). Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, provided overall management of the glove experiment, glove design, and buildup. Dryden also was responsible for conducting the flight tests. Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, was responsible for the design of the aerodynamic glove as well as development of sensor and instrumentation systems for the glove. Other participating NASA centers included Ames Research Center, Mountain View, California, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, and Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Orbital Sciences Corporation, Dulles, Virginia, is the manufacturer of the Pegasus vehicle, while Vandenberg Air Force Base served as a pre-launch assembly facility for the launch that included the PHYSX experiment. NASA used data from Pegasus launches to obtain considerable data on aerodynamics. By conducting experiments in a piggyback mode on Pegasus, some critical and secondary design and development issues were addressed at hypersonic speeds. The vehicle was also used to develop hypersonic flight instrumentation and test techniques. NASA's B-52 carrier-launch vehicle was used to get the Pegasus airborne during six launches from 1990 to 1994. Thereafter, an Orbital Sciences L-1011 aircraft launched the Pegasus. The Pegasus launch vehicle itself has a 400- to 600-pound payload capacity in a 61-cubic-foot payload space at the front of the vehicle. The vehicle is capable of placing a payload into low earth orbit. This vehicle is 49 feet long and 50 inches in diameter. It has a wing span of 22 feet. (There is also a Pegasus XL vehicle that was introduced in 1994. Dryden has never, launched one of these vehicles, but they have greater thrust and are 56 feet long.) |
| Date |
07.17.1991 |
|
Pegasus Mated under Wing of
…
| Title |
Pegasus Mated under Wing of B-52 Mothership - Close-up |
| Description |
A close-up view of the Pegasus space-booster attached to the wing pylon of NASA's B-52 launch aircraft at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The Pegasus rocket booster was designed as a way to get small payloads into space orbit more easily and cost-effectively. It has also been used to gather data on hypersonic flight. Pegasus is an air-launched space booster produced by Orbital Sciences Corporation and Hercules Aerospace Company (initially, later, Alliant Tech Systems) to provide small satellite users with a cost-effective, flexible, and reliable method for placing payloads into low earth orbit. Pegasus has been used to launch a number of satellites and the PHYSX experiment. That experiment consisted of a smooth glove installed on the first-stage delta wing of the Pegasus. The glove was used to gather data at speeds of up to Mach 8 and at altitudes approaching 200,000 feet. The flight took place on October 22, 1998. The PHYSX experiment focused on determining where boundary-layer transition occurs on the glove and on identifying the flow mechanism causing transition over the glove. Data from this flight-research effort included temperature, heat transfer, pressure measurements, airflow, and trajectory reconstruction. Hypersonic flight-research programs are an approach to validate design methods for hypersonic vehicles (those that fly more than five times the speed of sound, or Mach 5). Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, provided overall management of the glove experiment, glove design, and buildup. Dryden also was responsible for conducting the flight tests. Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, was responsible for the design of the aerodynamic glove as well as development of sensor and instrumentation systems for the glove. Other participating NASA centers included Ames Research Center, Mountain View, California, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, and Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Orbital Sciences Corporation, Dulles, Virginia, is the manufacturer of the Pegasus vehicle, while Vandenberg Air Force Base served as a pre-launch assembly facility for the launch that included the PHYSX experiment. NASA used data from Pegasus launches to obtain considerable data on aerodynamics. By conducting experiments in a piggyback mode on Pegasus, some critical and secondary design and development issues were addressed at hypersonic speeds. The vehicle was also used to develop hypersonic flight instrumentation and test techniques. NASA's B-52 carrier-launch vehicle was used to get the Pegasus airborne during six launches from 1990 to 1994. Thereafter, an Orbital Sciences L-1011 aircraft launched the Pegasus. The Pegasus launch vehicle itself has a 400- to 600-pound payload capacity in a 61-cubic-foot payload space at the front of the vehicle. The vehicle is capable of placing a payload into low earth orbit. This vehicle is 49 feet long and 50 inches in diameter. It has a wing span of 22 feet. (There, is also a Pegasus XL vehicle that was introduced in 1994. Dryden has never launched one of these vehicles, but they have greater thrust and are 56 feet long.) |
| Date |
01.01.1994 |
|
Pegasus Rocket Model
| Title |
Pegasus Rocket Model |
| Description |
A small, desk-top model of Orbital Sciences Corporation's Pegasus winged rocket booster. Pegasus is an air-launched space booster produced by Orbital Sciences Corporation and Hercules Aerospace Company (initially, later, Alliant Tech Systems) to provide small satellite users with a cost-effective, flexible, and reliable method for placing payloads into low earth orbit. Pegasus has been used to launch a number of satellites and the PHYSX experiment. That experiment consisted of a smooth glove installed on the first-stage delta wing of the Pegasus. The glove was used to gather data at speeds of up to Mach 8 and at altitudes approaching 200,000 feet. The flight took place on October 22, 1998. The PHYSX experiment focused on determining where boundary-layer transition occurs on the glove and on identifying the flow mechanism causing transition over the glove. Data from this flight-research effort included temperature, heat transfer, pressure measurements, airflow, and trajectory reconstruction. Hypersonic flight-research programs are an approach to validate design methods for hypersonic vehicles (those that fly more than five times the speed of sound, or Mach 5). Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, provided overall management of the glove experiment, glove design, and buildup. Dryden also was responsible for conducting the flight tests. Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, was responsible for the design of the aerodynamic glove as well as development of sensor and instrumentation systems for the glove. Other participating NASA centers included Ames Research Center, Mountain View, California, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, and Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Orbital Sciences Corporation, Dulles, Virginia, is the manufacturer of the Pegasus vehicle, while Vandenberg Air Force Base served as a pre-launch assembly facility for the launch that included the PHYSX experiment. NASA used data from Pegasus launches to obtain considerable data on aerodynamics. By conducting experiments in a piggyback mode on Pegasus, some critical and secondary design and development issues were addressed at hypersonic speeds. The vehicle was also used to develop hypersonic flight instrumentation and test techniques. NASA's B-52 carrier-launch vehicle was used to get the Pegasus airborne during six launches from 1990 to 1994. Thereafter, an Orbital Sciences L-1011 aircraft launched the Pegasus. The Pegasus launch vehicle itself has a 400- to 600-pound payload capacity in a 61-cubic-foot payload space at the front of the vehicle. The vehicle is capable of placing a payload into low earth orbit. This vehicle is 49 feet long and 50 inches in diameter. It has a wing span of 22 feet. (There is also a Pegasus XL vehicle that was introduced in 1994. Dryden has never launched one of these vehicles, but they have greater thrust and are 56 feet long.) |
| Date |
01.01.1996 |
|
Pegasus Rocket Wing and PHYS
…
| Title |
Pegasus Rocket Wing and PHYSX Glove Being Prepared for Stress Loads Testing |
| Description |
A technician adjusts the Pegasus Hypersonic Experiment (PHYSX) Project's Pegasus rocket wing with attached PHYSX glove before a loads-test at Scaled Composites, Inc., in Mojave, California, in January 1997. For the test, technicians slowly filled water bags beneath the wing to create the pressure, or "wing-loading," required to determine whether the wing could withstand its design limit for stress. The wing sits in a wooden triangular frame which serves as the test-rig, mounted to the floor atop the waterbags. PHYSX was launched aboard a Pegasus rocket on October 22, 1998. Pegasus is an air-launched space booster produced by Orbital Sciences Corporation and Hercules Aerospace Company (initially, later, Alliant Tech Systems) to provide small satellite users with a cost-effective, flexible, and reliable method for placing payloads into low earth orbit. Pegasus has been used to launch a number of satellites and the PHYSX experiment. That experiment consisted of a smooth glove installed on the first-stage delta wing of the Pegasus. The glove was used to gather data at speeds of up to Mach 8 and at altitudes approaching 200,000 feet. The flight took place on October 22, 1998. The PHYSX experiment focused on determining where boundary-layer transition occurs on the glove and on identifying the flow mechanism causing transition over the glove. Data from this flight-research effort included temperature, heat transfer, pressure measurements, airflow, and trajectory reconstruction. Hypersonic flight-research programs are an approach to validate design methods for hypersonic vehicles (those that fly more than five times the speed of sound, or Mach 5). Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, provided overall management of the glove experiment, glove design, and buildup. Dryden also was responsible for conducting the flight tests. Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, was responsible for the design of the aerodynamic glove as well as development of sensor and instrumentation systems for the glove. Other participating NASA centers included Ames Research Center, Mountain View, California, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, and Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Orbital Sciences Corporation, Dulles, Virginia, is the manufacturer of the Pegasus vehicle, while Vandenberg Air Force Base served as a pre-launch assembly facility for the launch that included the PHYSX experiment. NASA used data from Pegasus launches to obtain considerable data on aerodynamics. By conducting experiments in a piggyback mode on Pegasus, some critical and secondary design and development issues were addressed at hypersonic speeds. The vehicle was also used to develop hypersonic flight instrumentation and test techniques. NASA's B-52 carrier-launch vehicle was used to get the Pegasus airborne during six launches from 1990 to 1994. Thereafter, an Orbital Sciences L-1011 aircraft launched the Pegasus. The Pegasus launch vehicle itself has a 400- to 600-pound, payload capacity in a 61-cubic-foot payload space at the front of the vehicle. The vehicle is capable of placing a payload into low earth orbit. This vehicle is 49 feet long and 50 inches in diameter. It has a wing span of 22 feet. (There is also a Pegasus XL vehicle that was introduced in 1994. Dryden has never launched one of these vehicles, but they have greater thrust and are 56 feet long.) |
| Date |
01.01.1997 |
|
Pegasus Rocket Wing and PHYS
…
| Title |
Pegasus Rocket Wing and PHYSX Glove Undergoes Stress Loads Testing |
| Description |
The Pegasus Hypersonic Experiment (PHYSX) Project's Pegasus rocket wing with attached PHYSX glove rests after load-tests at Scaled Composites, Inc., in Mojave, California, in January 1997. Technicians slowly filled water bags beneath the wing, to create the pressure, or "wing-loading," required to determine whether the wing could withstand its design limit for stress. The wing sits in a wooden triangular frame which serves as the test-rig, mounted to the floor atop the waterbags. Pegasus is an air-launched space booster produced by Orbital Sciences Corporation and Hercules Aerospace Company (initially, later, Alliant Tech Systems) to provide small satellite users with a cost-effective, flexible, and reliable method for placing payloads into low earth orbit. Pegasus has been used to launch a number of satellites and the PHYSX experiment. That experiment consisted of a smooth glove installed on the first-stage delta wing of the Pegasus. The glove was used to gather data at speeds of up to Mach 8 and at altitudes approaching 200,000 feet. The flight took place on October 22, 1998. The PHYSX experiment focused on determining where boundary-layer transition occurs on the glove and on identifying the flow mechanism causing transition over the glove. Data from this flight-research effort included temperature, heat transfer, pressure measurements, airflow, and trajectory reconstruction. Hypersonic flight-research programs are an approach to validate design methods for hypersonic vehicles (those that fly more than five times the speed of sound, or Mach 5). Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, provided overall management of the glove experiment, glove design, and buildup. Dryden also was responsible for conducting the flight tests. Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, was responsible for the design of the aerodynamic glove as well as development of sensor and instrumentation systems for the glove. Other participating NASA centers included Ames Research Center, Mountain View, California, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, and Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Orbital Sciences Corporation, Dulles, Virginia, is the manufacturer of the Pegasus vehicle, while Vandenberg Air Force Base served as a pre-launch assembly facility for the launch that included the PHYSX experiment. NASA used data from Pegasus launches to obtain considerable data on aerodynamics. By conducting experiments in a piggyback mode on Pegasus, some critical and secondary design and development issues were addressed at hypersonic speeds. The vehicle was also used to develop hypersonic flight instrumentation and test techniques. NASA's B-52 carrier-launch vehicle was used to get the Pegasus airborne during six launches from 1990 to 1994. Thereafter, an Orbital Sciences L-1011 aircraft launched the Pegasus. The Pegasus launch vehicle itself has a 400- to 600-pound payload capacity in a 61-cubic-foot payload space at the front of the vehicle. The vehicle is, capable of placing a payload into low earth orbit. This vehicle is 49 feet long and 50 inches in diameter. It has a wing span of 22 feet. (There is also a Pegasus XL vehicle that was introduced in 1994. Dryden has never launched one of these vehicles, but they have greater thrust and are 56 feet long.) |
| Date |
01.01.1997 |
|
PHYSX Glove Test
| Title |
PHYSX Glove Test |
| Description |
A mock-up of the stainless-steel Pegasus Hypersonic Experiment (PHYSX) Projects experimental "glove" undergoes hot-loads tests at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The thermal ground test simulates heats and pressures the wing glove will experience at hypersonic speeds. Quartz heat lamps subject this model of a Pegasus booster rocket's right wing glove to the extreme heats it will experience at speeds approaching Mach 8. The glove has a highly reflective surface, underneath which are hundreds of temperature and pressure sensors that will send hypersonic flight data to ground tracking facilities during the experimental flight. Pegasus is an air-launched space booster produced by Orbital Sciences Corporation and Hercules Aerospace Company (initially, later, Alliant Tech Systems) to provide small satellite users with a cost-effective, flexible, and reliable method for placing payloads into low earth orbit. Pegasus has been used to launch a number of satellites and the PHYSX experiment. That experiment consisted of a smooth glove installed on the first-stage delta wing of the Pegasus. The glove was used to gather data at speeds of up to Mach 8 and at altitudes approaching 200,000 feet. The flight took place on October 22, 1998. The PHYSX experiment focused on determining where boundary-layer transition occurs on the glove and on identifying the flow mechanism causing transition over the glove. Data from this flight-research effort included temperature, heat transfer, pressure measurements, airflow, and trajectory reconstruction. Hypersonic flight-research programs are an approach to validate design methods for hypersonic vehicles (those that fly more than five times the speed of sound, or Mach 5). Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, provided overall management of the glove experiment, glove design, and buildup. Dryden also was responsible for conducting the flight tests. Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, was responsible for the design of the aerodynamic glove as well as development of sensor and instrumentation systems for the glove. Other participating NASA centers included Ames Research Center, Mountain View, California, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, and Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Orbital Sciences Corporation, Dulles, Virginia, is the manufacturer of the Pegasus vehicle, while Vandenberg Air Force Base served as a pre-launch assembly facility for the launch that included the PHYSX experiment. NASA used data from Pegasus launches to obtain considerable data on aerodynamics. By conducting experiments in a piggyback mode on Pegasus, some critical and secondary design and development issues were addressed at hypersonic speeds. The vehicle was also used to develop hypersonic flight instrumentation and test techniques. NASA's B-52 carrier-launch vehicle was used to get the Pegasus airborne during six launches from 1990 to 1994. Thereafter, an Orbital Sciences L-1011 aircraft, launched the Pegasus. The Pegasus launch vehicle itself has a 400- to 600-pound payload capacity in a 61-cubic-foot payload space at the front of the vehicle. The vehicle is capable of placing a payload into low earth orbit. This vehicle is 49 feet long and 50 inches in diameter. It has a wing span of 22 feet. (There is also a Pegasus XL vehicle that was introduced in 1994. Dryden has never launched one of these vehicles, but they have greater thrust and are 56 feet long.) |
| Date |
01.01.1995 |
|
|
