|
|
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 |
|
M13: The Great Globular Clus
…
| Title |
M13: The Great Globular Cluster in Hercules |
| Explanation |
M13 [ http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m013.html ] is one of the most prominent and best known globular clusters [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/globular_clusters.html ]. Visible with binoculars in the constellation of Hercules [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Hercules.html ], M13 is frequently one of the first objects found by curious sky gazers seeking celestials wonders [ http://www.janis.or.jp/users/kitahara/e-m13-big.html ] beyond normal human vision. M13 [ http://www.concentric.net/~Richmann/m13w.htm ] is a colossal home to over 100,000 stars, spans over 150 light years [ http://www.howstuffworks.com/question94.htm ] across, lies over 20,000 light years distant, and is over 12 billion years old. At the 1974 dedication of Arecibo Observatory [ http://www.naic.edu/ ], a radio message [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000123.html ] about Earth was sent in the direction of M13 [ http://www.windows.umich.edu/cgi-bin/tour_def/the_universe/Globulars.html ]. The reason for the low abundance of unusual blue straggler stars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971104.html ] in M13 is currently unknown [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1997ApJ...484L.145F ]. |
|
An Intermediate Polar Binary
…
| Title |
An Intermediate Polar Binary System |
| Explanation |
How can two stars create such a strange and intricate structure? Most stars are members of multiple-star systems [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_system ]. Some stars are members of close binary systems [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991219.html ] where material from one star swirls around the other in an accretion disk [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020927.html ]. Only a handful of stars, however, are members of an intermediate polar [ http://www-phys.llnl.gov/Research/CataclysmicVariables/mauche_ips.html ], a system featuring a white dwarf star [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000910.html ] with a magnetic field [ http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/wmfield.html ] that significantly pushes out the inner accretion disk [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010508.html ], only allowing material to fall down its magnetic poles. Shown above [ http://www.space-art.co.uk/html/starstwo/fstarstwo.html ] is an artist's depiction of an intermediate [ http://lheawww.gsfc.nasa.gov/users/mukai/iphome/images/gallery.html ] polar [ http://lheawww.gsfc.nasa.gov/users/mukai/iphome/iphome.html ] system, also known as a DQ Hercules [ http://www.britastro.org/vss/00191a.html ] system. The foreground white dwarf [ http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l1/dwarfs.html ] is so close to the normal star that it strips away its outer atmosphere. As the white dwarf spins, the columns of infalling gas rotate with it. The name intermediate polar [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermediate_polar ] derives from observations of emitted light polarized [ http://www.polarization.com/ ] at a level intermediate to non-disk binary systems known as polars [ http://www-phys.llnl.gov/Research/CataclysmicVariables/mauche_polars.html ]. Intermediate polars [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1994PASP..106..209P ] are a type of cataclysmic variable [ http://www-phys.llnl.gov/Research/CataclysmicVariables/ ] star system. |
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Comet SWAN Outburst
| Title |
Comet SWAN Outburst |
| Explanation |
Near its closest approach to planet Earth, comet SWAN [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap0610004.html ] (C/2006 M4) brightened unexpectedly earlier this week [ http://www.spaceweather.com/comets/ gallery_cometswan.html ], becoming visible to naked-eye observers under dark night skies. Telescopic observers also noticed dramatic changes [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap061019.html ] in the comet's colorful coma and tail [ http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/comet_worldbook.html ], seen in this view recorded on October 25th. To make the picture, images totaling eight minutes in exposure time were stacked and centered on the comet as it moved relatively quickly against the background star field. The picture covers about 1 degree on the sky. Northern hemisphere observers should still find the comet [ http://www.skyhound.com/sh/comets.html ] an easy binocular target in the early evening, even though moonlight will increase the overall sky brightness in the next few days. Look toward [ http://skytonight.com/observing/home/4477131.html ] the northwestern horizon and the constellation Hercules. |
|
M13: The Great Globular Clus
…
| Title |
M13: The Great Globular Cluster in Hercules |
| Explanation |
In 1714, Edmond Halley [ http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/ halley_edmond.shtml ] noted that M13 "shows itself to the naked eye when the sky is serene and the Moon absent." Of course, M13 [ http://seds.org/messier/m/m013.html ] is now modestly recognized as the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules, one of the brightest globular star clusters [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globular_cluster ] in the northern sky. Telescopic views reveal the spectacular cluster's hundreds of thousands of stars. At a distance of 25,000 light-years, the cluster stars crowd [ http://www.astronomycafe.net/qadir/ask/a11508.html ] into a region 150 light-years in diameter, but approaching [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap031213.html ] the cluster core upwards of 100 stars could be contained in a cube just 3 light-years on a side. For comparison, the closest [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030323.html ] star to the Sun is over 4 light-years away. Along with the cluster's dense core, the outer reaches of M13 are highlighted in this deep color image [ http://www.tvdavisastropics.com/astroimages-1_000059.htm ]. A distant background galaxy, NGC 6207 [ http://www.noao.edu/outreach/aop/observers/n6207.html ] is also visible above and to the right of the Great Globular Cluster M13. |
|
Comet McNaught-Hartley
| Title |
Comet McNaught-Hartley |
| Explanation |
Outbound and climbing [ http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/ 0103skyevents.shtml ] above the plane [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001014.html ] of our solar system, comet McNaught-Hartley [ http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/whats_visible.html#1999T1 ] (C/1999 T1) is presently soaring through northern skies. This telescopic picture [ http://www.heavensgloryobservatory.com/ ], a composite of many 30 second exposures made through three color filters, recorded the delicate colors in its diminutive coma [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980410.html ] and faint tail [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970314.html ] on February 26th. Combining the exposures to produce the final image registered on the comet causes stars to appear as "dotted trails", evidence of the comet's [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/comets.html ] motion relative to the distant stellar background. Discovered by [ http://www.maa.mhn.de/Comet/Lcomets/1999t1.html ] southern hemisphere observers, this comet's closest approach to the Sun occurred in December last year as it passed just outside planet Earth's orbit. For now the brightest comet in the sky [ http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/ ], this primordial chunk of [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010302.html ] solar system is crossing from the constellation Hercules [ http://www.allthesky.com/constellations/hercules/ constell.html ] to Draco [ http://www.seds.org/Maps/Stars_en/Fig/draco.html ] and will continue to fade. Never visible [ http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/will_be_visible.html ] to the unaided eye, McNaught-Hartley is still at about 10th magnitude and can be viewed by comet seekers [ http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/classroom/ captaincomet.html ] using small telescopes. |
|
The Hercules Cluster of Gala
…
| Title |
The Hercules Cluster of Galaxies |
| Explanation |
These are galaxies of the Hercules Cluster [ http://www.astr.ua.edu/gifimages/hercules.html ], an archipelago of island universes [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap051222.html ] a mere 500 million light-years away [ http://www.faqs.org/faqs/astronomy/faq/part8/ section-14.html ]. Also known as Abell 2151, this cluster [ http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/superc/her.html ] is loaded with gas and dust rich, star-forming spiral [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070529.html ] galaxies but has relatively few elliptical [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060520.html ] galaxies, which lack gas and dust and the associated newborn stars. The colors in this remarkably deep composite [ http://www.astrophoto.com/A2151LRGB.htm ] image clearly show the star forming galaxies with a blue tint and galaxies with older stellar populations with a yellowish cast. The sharp picture spans about 1/2 degree across the cluster center, corresponding to over 4 million light-years at the cluster's estimated distance. In the cosmic vista many galaxies seem to be colliding [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040612.html ] or merging [ http://www.astr.ua.edu/pairs2.html ] while others seem distorted [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030607.html ] - clear evidence that cluster galaxies [ http://www.seds.org/messier/gal_clus.html ] commonly interact. In fact, the Hercules Cluster itself may be seen as the result of ongoing mergers of smaller galaxy clusters and is thought to be similar to young [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040226.html ] galaxy clusters in the much more distant, early Universe [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060323.html ]. |
|
M13: The Great Globular Clus
…
| Title |
M13: The Great Globular Cluster in Hercules |
| Explanation |
M13 is [ http://seds.org/messier/m/m013.html ] modestly recognized as the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules [ http://www.utahskies.org/deepsky/constellations/ hercules.html ]. A system of stars numbering in the hundreds of thousands, it is one of the brightest globular star clusters [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globular_cluster ] in the northern sky. At a distance of 25,000 light-years, the cluster stars crowd [ http://www.astronomycafe.net/qadir/ask/a11508.html ] into a region 150 light-years in diameter, but approaching [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap031213.html ] the cluster core over 100 stars would be contained in a cube just 3 light-years on a side. For comparison, the closest [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030323.html ] star to the Sun is over 4 light-years away. This stunning view of the cluster combines recent telescopic images of the cluster's dense core with digitized photographic plates recorded between 1987 and 1991 using the Samuel Oschin Telescope [ http://www.astro.caltech.edu/palomarnew/ sot.html ], a wide-field survey instrument at Palomar Observatory. The resulting composite highlights both inner and outer reaches of the giant star cluster. Among the distant background galaxies also visible, NGC 6207 [ http://www.noao.edu/outreach/aop/observers/n6207.html ] is above and to the left of the Great Globular Cluster M13. |
|
An Intermediate Polar Binary
…
| Title |
An Intermediate Polar Binary System |
| Explanation |
How can two stars create such a strange and intricate structure? Most stars are members of multiple-star systems [ http://www.synapses.co.uk/astro/multistr.html ]. Some stars are members of close binary systems [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991219.html ] where material from one star swirls around the other in an accretion disk [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020927.html ]. Only a handful of stars, however, are members of an intermediate polar [ http://www-phys.llnl.gov/Research/CataclysmicVariables/mauche_ips.html ], a system featuring a white dwarf star [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000910.html ] with a magnetic field [ http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/wmfield.html ] that significantly pushes out the inner accretion disk [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010508.html ], only allowing material to fall down its magnetic poles. Shown above [ http://www.space-art.co.uk/html/starscapes2/fstarscapes_two2.html?ip ] is an artist's depiction of an intermediate [ http://lheawww.gsfc.nasa.gov/users/mukai/iphome/images/gallery.html ] polar [ http://lheawww.gsfc.nasa.gov/users/mukai/iphome/iphome.html ] system, also known as a DQ Hercules [ http://www.britastro.org/vss/00191a.html ] system. The foreground white dwarf [ http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l1/dwarfs.html ] is so close to the normal star that it strips away its outer atmosphere. As the white dwarf spins, the columns of infalling gas rotate with it. The name intermediate polar [ http://www.space-art.co.uk/markgarlick/articles/f_articles2.htm?astronomy_cvs ] derives from observations of emitted light polarized [ http://www.polarization.com/ ] at a level intermediate to non-disk binary systems known as polars [ http://www-phys.llnl.gov/Research/CataclysmicVariables/mauche_polars.html ]. Intermediate polars [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1994PASP..106..209P ] are a type of cataclysmic variable [ http://www-phys.llnl.gov/Research/CataclysmicVariables/ ] star system. |
|
M13: The Great Globular Clus
…
| Title |
M13: The Great Globular Cluster in Hercules |
| Explanation |
M13 [ http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m013.html ] is one of the most prominent and best known globular clusters [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/globular_clusters.html ]. Visible with binoculars in the constellation of Hercules [ http://www.astronomical.org/portal/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=40 ], M13 is frequently one of the first objects found by curious sky gazers [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020813.html ] seeking celestials wonders [ http://www.astropics.co.uk/m13.htm ] beyond normal human vision. M13 [ http://www.concentric.net/~Richmann/m13w.htm ] is a colossal home to over 100,000 stars, spans over 150 light years [ http://www.howstuffworks.com/question94.htm ] across, lies over 20,000 light years distant, and is over 12 billion years old. At the 1974 dedication of Arecibo Observatory [ http://www.naic.edu/ ], a radio message [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000123.html ] about Earth was sent in the direction of M13 [ http://www.windows.umich.edu/cgi-bin/tour_def/the_universe/Globulars.html ]. The reason for the low abundance of unusual blue straggler stars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971104.html ] in M13 is currently unknown [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1997ApJ...484L.145F ]. |
|
Analemma over Ancient Nemea
| Title |
Analemma over Ancient Nemea |
| Explanation |
An analemma [ http://www.analemma.com/ ] is that figure-8 curve that you get when you mark the position [ http://www.twigsdigs.com/sundials/office/ ] of the Sun at the same time each day throughout planet Earth's [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030626.html ] year. Above, 44 separate exposures [ http://www.perseus.gr/ Astro-Solar-Analemma-140000.htm ] (plus one foreground exposure) were recorded on a single piece of film to illustrate the regular solar motion -- a Herculean task performed during the calendar year 2003. Appropriately, in the foreground are the ruins at Ancient Nemea where [ http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Hercules/ lion.html ] the hero of Greek Mythology pursued the first of his twelve labours. Solstices [ http://www.archaeoastronomy.com/ index.shtml ], like the one that occurred [ http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/ EarthSeasons.html ] at 0057 UT on June 21, correspond to the top and bottom of the figure-8 or the northern and southernmost excursions of the Sun in the sky. The tilt of planet Earth's axis and the variation in speed as it moves around its orbit combine to produce the graceful analemma curve [ http://www.analemma.com/Pages/framesPage.html ]. |
|
M13: The Great Globular Clus
…
| Title |
M13: The Great Globular Cluster in Hercules |
| Explanation |
M13 [ http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m013.html ] is one of the most prominent and best known globular clusters [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980719.html ]. Visible with binoculars in the constellation of Hercules [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Hercules.html ], M13 is frequently one of the first steps beyond the ordinary visible to the casual sky gazer. M13 [ http://www.concentric.net/~Richmann/m13w.htm ] is a colossal home to over 100,000 stars, spans over 150 light years across, lies over 20,000 light years distant, and is over 12 billion years old. At the 1974 dedication of Arecibo Observatory [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970412.html ], a radio message [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970717.html ] about Earth was sent in the direction of M13 [ http://www.kbcc.cuny.edu/life/m13_cluster.htm ]. The reason for the low abundance of unusual blue straggler stars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971104.html ] in M13 is currently unknown [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1997ApJ...484L.145F&db_key=AST&high=34f6e1de7f02656 ]. |
|
Hercules Galaxies
| Title |
Hercules Galaxies |
| Explanation |
These are galaxies of the Hercules Cluster [ http://www.astr.ua.edu/gifimages/hercules.html ], an archipelago of "island universes" [ http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/~sellwood/lectures/notes18.html ] a mere 650 million light-years distant. This cluster is loaded with gas and dust rich, star forming, spiral galaxies [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970726.html ] but has relatively few elliptical galaxies [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961106.html ], which lack gas and dust and the associated newborn stars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980411.html ]. Colors in the composite image show the star forming galaxies with a blue tint and ellipticals with a slightly yellowish cast. In this cosmic vista many galaxies seem to be colliding [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971027.html ] or merging [ http://www.astr.ua.edu/pairs2.html ] while others seem distorted - clear evidence that cluster galaxies [ http://www-xray.ast.cam.ac.uk/oday/clusters_demo.html ] commonly interact. Over time, the galaxy interactions are likely to affect the the content of the cluster [ http://www-xray.ast.cam.ac.uk/oday/clusters_composition.html ] itself. Researchers believe that the Hercules [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/ Hercules.html ] Cluster [ http://crux.astr.ua.edu/white/mug/cluster/clusters.html ] is significantly similar to young galaxy clusters [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980821.html ] in the distant, early Universe and that exploring galaxy types and their interactions in nearby Hercules will help unravel the threads of galaxy [ ftp://crux.astr.ua.edu/web/goodies/data_resources/galaxies.text ] and cluster evolution [ http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/background-text/galaxpdx.txt ]. |
|
NGC 6210: The "Turtle in Spa
…
| Title |
NGC 6210: The "Turtle in Space" Planetary Nebula |
| Explanation |
A Turtle in Space? Planetary nebula [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980809.html ] NGC 6210 may look like a giant space turtle, but it is actually much more massive and violent. Fortunately, this gas cloud in Hercules [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Hercules.html ] lies about 6500 light years away. NGC 6210 [ http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pr/1998/36/index.html ] was investigated [ http://presto.stsci.edu/cgi-bin/get-proposal-info?6792 ] with the Hubble Space Telescope [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950810.html ] because it showed evidence of unusual relative abundances of nebular gas. The resulting detailed representative-color picture, above [ http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pr/1998/36/pr-photos.html ], shows jets of hot gas streaming through holes in an older, cooler shell of gas. The central star that created the planetary nebula [ http://www.noao.edu/jacoby/pn_gallery.html ] is clearly visible in the center of the inset image. Analyses of data involving this recently released picture [ http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pr/1998/36/pr-photos.html ] may help explain the origin of chemical abundances [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1993A%26A...280..581P&db_key=AST&high=34f6e1de7f27697 ] in this nebula and our Galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971229.html ]. |
|
The Hercules Cluster of Gala
…
| Title |
The Hercules Cluster of Galaxies |
| Explanation |
These are galaxies of the Hercules Cluster [ http://www.mistisoftware.com/astronomy/Galaxies_HerculesCluster.htm ], an archipelago of "island universes" [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020518.html ] a mere 650 million light-years distant. This cluster is loaded with gas and dust rich, star forming, spiral galaxies [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970726.html ] but has relatively few elliptical galaxies [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961106.html ], which lack gas and dust and the associated newborn stars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap031026.html ]. Colors in the composite image show the star forming galaxies with a blue tint and ellipticals with a slightly yellowish cast. In this cosmic vista many galaxies seem to be colliding [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040612.html ] or merging [ http://www.astr.ua.edu/pairs2.html ] while others seem distorted - clear evidence that cluster galaxies [ http://www.seds.org/messier/gal_clus.html ] commonly interact. Over time, the galaxy interactions are likely to affect the the content of the cluster [ http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/topics/clusters_group/clusters_intro.html ] itself. Researchers believe that the Hercules [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/ Hercules.html ] Cluster [ http://crux.astr.ua.edu/white/mug/cluster/clusters.html ] is significantly similar to young galaxy clusters [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980821.html ] in the distant, early Universe and that exploring galaxy types and their interactions in nearby Hercules will help unravel the threads of galaxy [ http://www.stsci.edu/science/starburst/ ] andcluster evolution [ http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/topics/clusters_group/evolution.html ]. |
|
Spherical Planetary Nebula A
…
| Title |
Spherical Planetary Nebula Abell 39 |
| Explanation |
Ghostly in appearance, Abell 39 [ http://www.noao.edu/image_gallery/html/im0636.html ] is a remarkably simple, spherical nebula about five light-years across. Well within our own Milky Way [ http://anzwers.org/free/universe/galaxy.html ] galaxy, the cosmic sphere [ http://math.rice.edu/~pcmi/sphere/ ] is roughly 7,000 light-years distant toward the constellation Hercules. Abell 39 is a planetary nebula [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030614.html ], formed as a once sun-like star's outer atmosphere was expelled over a period of thousands of years. Still visible, the nebula's central star is evolving into a hot white dwarf. Although faint, the nebula's simple geometry has proven to be a boon [ http://www.noao.edu/outreach/press/pr01/pr0102.html ] to astronomers [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/ nph-bib_query?bibcode=2000AAS...197.0616J ] exploring the chemical abundances and life cycles [ http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/teachers/lifecycles/ stars.html ] of stars. In this deep image [ http://www.mistisoftware.com/astronomy/ Nebulae_pk47p42v1.htm ] recorded under dark night skies, very distant background [ http://www.noao.edu/outreach/aop/observers/ bggalaxies.html ] galaxies can be found -- some visible right through the nebula itself. |
|
Small Star
| Title |
Small Star |
| Explanation |
A dim double star [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970219.html ] system cataloged as Gliese 623 lies 25 light-years from Earth, in the constellation of Hercules [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/ constellations/Hercules.html ]. The individual stars of this binary system [ http://astrosun.tn.cornell.edu/courses/astro201/binstar.htm ] were distinguished for the first time when the Hubble Space Telescope's Faint Object Camera recorded this image [ http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/PR/94/54.html ] in June 1994. They are separated by 200 million miles - about twice the Earth/Sun distance [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap981212.html ]. On the right, the fainter Gliese 623b is 60,000 times less luminous than the Sun and approximately 10 times less massive. The fuzzy rings around its brighter companion, Gliese 623a, are image artifacts. The lowest mass stars are classified [ http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/background-text/brdwarfs.txt ] as red dwarf stars [ http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/PR/95/03.html ], but even red dwarfs are massive enough to trigger hydrogen fusion [ http://ippex.pppl.gov/ippex/About_fusion/index.html ] in their cores to sustain their feeble starlight. Slightly less massive objects, known as brown dwarfs [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951204.html ], can shine only briefly as their central temperatures are too low to utilize hydrogen as nuclear fuel. The present estimates of the mass of Gliese 623b are right at this red dwarf/brown dwarf border but future observations should help clarify the nature of one of our Galaxy's small stars. Dim and difficult [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990603.html ] to detect, an abundance of objects like Gl623b has been proposed as a possible solution to the mystery of [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/gifcity/matter.html ]"Dark Matter" in the Universe [ http://astro.queensu.ca/~dursi/dm-tutorial/dm1.html ]. |
|
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 |
|
ASTER Gibraltar
PIA02657
Sol (our sun)
ASTER
| Title |
ASTER Gibraltar |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
The Strait of Gibraltar separates Spain from Morocco. This image, acquired on July 5, 2000, covers an area 34 kilometers (21 miles) wide and 59 kilometers (37 miles) long in three bands of the reflected visible and infrared wavelength region. The promontory on the eastern side of the conspicuous Spanish port is the Rock of Gibraltar. Once one of the two classical Pillars of Hercules, the Rock was crowned with silver columns by Phoenician mariners to mark the limits of safe navigation for the ancient Mediterranean peoples. The rocky promontory still commands the western entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. The rocky limestone and shale ridge rises abruptly from the sea, to a maximum elevation of 426 meters (1,398 feet). A British colony, Gibraltar occupies a narrow strip of land at the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula. It is separated from the Spanish mainland by a neutral zone contained on a narrow, sandy isthmus. Because of its strategic location and formidable topography, Gibraltar serves mainly as a British fortress. Most of its sparse land is taken up by air and naval installations, and the civilian population is small. Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) is one of five Earth-observing instruments launched December 18, 1999, on NASA's Terra satellite. The instrument was built by Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry. A joint U.S./Japan science team is responsible for validation and calibration of the instrument and the data products. Dr. Anne Kahle at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, is the U.S. science team leader, Moshe Pniel of JPL is the project manager. ASTER is the only high-resolution imaging sensor on Terra. The primary goal of the ASTER mission is to obtain high-resolution image data in 14 channels over the entire land surface, as well as black and white stereo images. With revisit time of between 4 and 16 days, ASTER will provide the capability for repeat coverage of changing areas on Earth's surface. Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) is one of five Earth-observing instruments launched December 18, 1999, on NASA's Terra satellite. The instrument was built by Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry. A joint U.S./Japan science team is responsible for validation and calibration of the instrument and the data products. Dr. Anne Kahle at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, is the U.S. science team leader, Moshe Pniel of JPL is the project manager. ASTER is the only high-resolution imaging sensor on Terra. The primary goal of the ASTER mission is to obtain high-resolution image data in 14 channels over the entire land surface, as well as black and white stereo images. With revisit time of between 4 and 16 days, ASTER will provide the capability for repeat coverage of changing areas on Earth's surface. The broad spectral coverage and high spectral resolution of ASTER will provide scientists, in numerous disciplines with critical information for surface mapping and monitoring dynamic conditions and temporal change. Examples of applications include monitoring glacial advances and retreats, potentially active volcanoes, thermal pollution, and coral reef degradation, identifying crop stress, determining cloud morphology and physical properties, evaluating wetlands, mapping surface temperature of soils and geology, and measuring surface heat balance. |
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