|
|
Discovery Comes Home
The Boeing 747 Shuttle Carri
…
9/22/09
| Description |
The Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, with space shuttle Discovery on top, is towed from the Shuttle Landing Facility's runway 33 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida after touching down on Sept. 21 at 12:05 p.m. EDT. The two-day return flight from Edwards Air Force Base in California began at 9:20 a.m. EDT Sept. 20. After three fueling stops that included an overnight stay in Louisiana, the piggybacked shuttle had to navigate through a line of showers across Louisiana and around Kennedy. Discovery had landed at Edwards Sept. 11 after the 13-day STS-128 mission to the International Space Station. Landings at Kennedy were waved off on two days due to inclement weather, leading to the landing at Edwards. Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett Sept. 21, 2009 |
| Date |
9/22/09 |
|
Welcome Back, Endeavour
&rsaquo, View Landing Video
…
12/1/08
| Description |
&rsaquo, View Landing Video </br></br> Space shuttle Endeavour kicks up dust as it touches down at Edwards Air Force Base in California to end the STS-126 mission, completing its 16-day journey of over 6.6 million miles in space. Image credit: NASA/Tony Landis Nov. 30, 2008 |
| Date |
12/1/08 |
|
Landing of Space Shuttle End
…
Space shuttle Endeavour wrap
…
11/30/08
| Title |
Landing of Space Shuttle Endeavour |
| Date |
11/30/08 |
| Description |
Space shuttle Endeavour wraps up its STS-126 mission with a smooth touchdown at Edwards Air Force Base in California. |
|
Coming Home
Ground crews begin towing Sp
…
5/26/09
| Description |
Ground crews begin towing Space Shuttle Atlantis from the main runway at Edwards Air Force Base following its landing May 24, 2009, which concluded the... |
| Date |
5/26/09 |
|
Coming Home
Ground crews begin towing Sp
…
5/26/09
| Description |
Ground crews begin towing Space Shuttle Atlantis from the main runway at Edwards Air Force Base following its landing May 24, 2009, which concluded the... |
| Date |
5/26/09 |
|
X-38
One of NASA's three X-38 Cre
…
11/4/09
| Description |
One of NASA's three X-38 Crew Return Vehicle technology demonstrators that flew at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., a decade ago has found a new home in America's heartland. In this image from test flights in 1999, the X-38 research vehicle drops away from NASA's B-52 mothership immediately after being released from the B-52's wing pylon. More than 30 years earlier, this same B-52 launched the original lifting-body vehicles flight tested by NASA and the Air Force at what is now called the Dryden Flight Research Center and the Air Force Flight Test Center. The wingless lifting body craft was transferred this past weekend from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston to the Strategic Air and Space Museum, located just off Interstate 80 at Ashland, Neb., about 20 miles southeast of Omaha. The X-38 adds to the museum's growing collection of aerospace vehicles and other historical artifacts. The move of the second X-38 built to the museum has a fitting connection, as the X-38 vehicles were air-launched from NASA's famous B-52B 008 mothership. The B-52 bomber served as the backbone of the Air Force's Strategic Air Command during the command's history. Prior to cancellation, the X-38 program was developing the technology for proposed vehicles that could return up to seven International Space Station crewmembers to Earth in case of an emergency. These vehicles would have been carried to the space station in the cargo bay of a space shuttle and attached to station docking ports. If an emergency arose that forced the ISS crew to leave the space station, a Crew Return Vehicle would have undocked and returned them to Earth much like the space shuttle, although the vehicle would have deployed a parafoil for the final descent and landing. Photo Credit: NASA/Carla Thomas |
| Date |
11/4/09 |
|
STS-128 Comes Home
Streams of smoke trail from
…
9/11/09
| Description |
Streams of smoke trail from the main landing gear as space shuttle Discovery touches down on Runway 22L at Edwards Air Force Base to conclude the 14-day STS-128 mission to the International Space Station. Image Credit: Jim Ross |
| Date |
9/11/09 |
|
Preparing for the Voyage Hom
…
Members of the STS-128 missi
…
9/14/09
| Description |
Members of the STS-128 mission crew line up behind Space Shuttle Discovery and the Mate DeMate Device at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center prior to their departure. From left are Jose Hernandez, Kevin Ford, Christer Fuglesang, Rick Sturckow, Danny Olivas and Patrick Forrester. Discovery landed Sept. 11, 2009, at Edwards Air Force Base after an almost 14-day mission to the International Space Station. Image Credit: NASA/Jim Ross |
| Date |
9/14/09 |
|
On the Tarmac
Technicians clad in protecti
…
9/16/09
| Description |
Technicians clad in protective suits check for any hazardous gases emanating from space shuttle Discovery moments after it rolled to a stop on the main runway at Edwards Air Force Base on Sept. 11. The checks are required before the crews move in for recovery operations. Image Credit: NASA/Brian Soukup |
| Date |
9/16/09 |
|
The Journey Home
NASA's modified Boeing 747 c
…
9/21/09
| Description |
NASA's modified Boeing 747 carrying the space shuttle Discovery taxis toward the runway at Edwards Air Force Base shortly before dawn on Sept. 20, 2009, prior to taking off on their two-day ferry flight to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Discovery landed at Edwards on Sept. 11, after a 14-day mission STS-128 to the International Space Station. Image Credit: NASA/Jim Ross |
| Date |
9/21/09 |
|
A Triumphant Return
The crew of space shuttle At
…
5/26/09
| Description |
The crew of space shuttle Atlantis gathered on the runway at Edwards Air Force Base at the successful conclusion of the STS-125 mission to upgrade the... |
| Date |
5/26/09 |
|
A Triumphant Return
The crew of space shuttle At
…
5/26/09
| Description |
The crew of space shuttle Atlantis gathered on the runway at Edwards Air Force Base at the successful conclusion of the STS-125 mission to upgrade the... |
| Date |
5/26/09 |
|
F-15B #836 Research Testbed
Project Description NASA's D
…
9/23/08
| Description |
Project Description NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California, conducted a series of flights with the center's F-15B Research Testbed aircraft in support of Space Shuttle Return-to-Flight engineering efforts. The Shuttle Return to Flight team requested data on the structural survivability of external tank insulating foam debris or "divots" that are shed from the tank during a Shuttle launch. The Lifting Insulating Foam Trajectory (LIFT) flight test series used NASA's F-15B to test these ÔøΩÔøΩ_ÔøΩ__divotsÔøΩÔøΩ_ÔøΩ__ in a real flight environment at speeds up to about Mach 2. Small-scale divoting, commonly called popcorning, results from adhesive strength failure of external tank thermal protection system (TPS) foam brought about by decreasing atmospheric pressure combined with increased heating during Shuttle ascent. According to LIFT project manager Stephen Corda, objectives of the flight tests on the F-15B included determining divot structural survivability in a flight environment, assessing divot stability, quantifying divot trajectories using videography, and providing flight verification of debris tracking systems to be used for Shuttle launches. "We're using the unique capabilities of the supersonic F-15B aircraft and the aerodynamic flight test fixture to provide a means to eject these debris or divots from the fixture, and then photograph them with a high speed digital video system, where we're able to video these divots in flight at up to 10,000 frames per second," Corda noted. The debris tracking systems were verified using the F-15B as a surrogate Space Shuttle while the aircraft ejects TPS foam divots. These tracking systems included a Weibel Doppler radar and a high-definition video system aboard a NASA WB-57 aircraft. NASA' s Space Shuttle Systems Engineering and Integration office at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas, funded the LIFT flight tests at NASA Dryden as part of the STS-114 Return-to-Flight effort. JSC aeroscience engineer Ricardo Machin said the current LIFT flight tests will help them validate the models that they use for debris transport analysis. "In particular, it's going to help us understand whether the divots break up once they come off the external tank, and secondly whether they will trim and begin to fly, or if they'll tumble. The difference between trimming and flying makes a huge difference ÔøΩÔøΩ_ÔøΩ__ the amount of kinetic energy that this piece of debris can impart to the shuttle," Machin said. The LIFT flight test requires two new capabilities: an in-flight foam divot ejection system, and a high-speed video system to track and record the trajectories of the divots in flight. Both capabilities were developed by Dryden engineers. Dryden's LIFT team designed, fabricated, and ground-tested four different divot ejection systems, completing 70 ground tests to determine and refine the best approach. NASA Dryden engineers designed and procured the very high-speed digital video equipment, including development of a system to synchronize the cameras with the divot ejection system. In addition, they developed videography analysis techniques in order to quantify divot trajectories. The Dryden team completed the design and ground tests of these systems over a compact 2 1/2-month period. Photo Description A close-up of the panels on the F-15B's flight test fixture shows five divots of TPS foam were successfully ejected during the LIFT experiment. February 16, 2005 Nasa Photo / Tony Landis EC05-0030-03 |
| Date |
9/23/08 |
|
Shuttle Columbia in the Mate
…
The Space Shuttle Columbia c
…
10/9/08
| Description |
The Space Shuttle Columbia can be seen in the post-flight processing facility known as the MDD (Mate-Demate Device) at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, CA, in this aerial view taken shortly after completing its first orbital mission with a landing at Edwards Air Force Base. April, 1981 NASA / Photo ECN-14962 |
| Date |
10/9/08 |
|
NASA's Crew Transport Vehicl
…
NASA's Crew Transport Vehicl
…
10/9/08
| Description |
NASA's Crew Transport Vehicle, or CTV, pulls up to the Space Shuttle Discovery to offload the crew after a successful landing August 9, 2005 at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The landing marked the end of the STS-114 mission. Space Shuttle Discovery landed safely at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California at 5:11:22 a.m. PDT this morning, following the very successful 14-day STS-114 return to flight mission. During their two weeks in space, Commander Eileen Collins and her six crewmates tested out new safety procedures and delivered supplies and equipment the International Space Station. August 9, 2005 NASA / Photo Carla Thomas ED05-0166-05 |
| Date |
10/9/08 |
|
Shuttle Discovery Rests on t
…
The sun rises on the Space S
…
10/9/08
| Description |
The sun rises on the Space Shuttle Discovery as it rests on the runway at Edwards Air Force Base, California, after a safe landing August 9, 2005 to complete the STS-114 mission. Space Shuttle Discovery landed safely at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California at 5:11:22 a.m. PDT this morning, following the very successful 14-day STS-114 return to flight mission. During their two weeks in space, Commander Eileen Collins and her six crewmates tested out new safety procedures and delivered supplies and equipment the International Space Station. August 9, 2005 NASA / Photo Carla Thomas ED05-0166-06 |
| Date |
10/9/08 |
|
Shuttle Discovery on the Run
…
The sun rises on the Space S
…
10/9/08
| Description |
The sun rises on the Space Shuttle Discovery as it rests on the runway at Edwards Air Force Base, California, after a safe landing August 9, 2005 to complete the STS-114 mission. Space Shuttle Discovery landed safely at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California at 5:11:22 a.m. PDT this morning, following the very successful 14-day STS-114 return to flight mission. During their two weeks in space, Commander Eileen Collins and her six crewmates tested out new safety procedures and delivered supplies and equipment the International Space Station. Discovery spent two weeks in space, where the crew demonstrated new methods to inspect and repair the Shuttle in orbit. The crew also delivered supplies, outfitted and performed maintenance on the International Space Station. A number of these tasks were conducted during three spacewalks. August 9, 2005 NASA / Photo Carla Thomasa ED05-0166-07 |
| Date |
10/9/08 |
|
Shuttle Discovery, with reco
…
Space Shuttle Discovery, acc
…
10/9/08
| Description |
Space Shuttle Discovery, accompanied by a convoy of recovery vehicles, is towed up the taxiway at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California, following its landing on August 9, 2005. Space Shuttle Discovery landed safely at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California at 5:11:22 a.m. PDT this morning, following the very successful 14-day STS-114 return to flight mission. During their two weeks in space, Commander Eileen Collins and her six crewmates tested out new safety procedures and delivered supplies and equipment the International Space Station. Discovery spent two weeks in space, where the crew demonstrated new methods to inspect and repair the Shuttle in orbit. The crew also delivered supplies, outfitted and performed maintenance on the International Space Station. A number of these tasks were conducted during three spacewalks. August 9,2005 NASA /Photo Tom Tschida ED05-0166-11 |
| Date |
10/9/08 |
|
Shuttle Columbia Touches Dow
…
The Space Shuttle Columbia t
…
10/9/08
| Description |
The Space Shuttle Columbia touches down on lakebed runway 23 at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., to conclude the first orbital shuttle mission. April 14, 1981 NASA / Photo ED06-0045-1 |
| Date |
10/9/08 |
|
STS-125
ED09-0127-01 Space Shuttle A
…
5/24/09
| Description |
ED09-0127-01 Space Shuttle Atlantis touches down on Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base May 24 to conclude its almost 5.3-million-mile STS-125 mission to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. May 24, 2009 NASA Photo / Carla Thomas |
| Date |
5/24/09 |
|
STS-125
ED09-0127-91 NASA 911, a Boe
…
6/1/09
| Description |
ED09-0127-91 NASA 911, a Boeing 747 modified to carry the space shuttles, lifts off Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base carrying the shuttle Atlantis on its back on the first leg of Atlantis' ferry flight back to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. June 1, 2009 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida<br > |
| Date |
6/1/09 |
|
STS-125
ED09-0127-099 Space Shuttle
…
6/1/09
| Description |
ED09-0127-099 Space Shuttle Atlantis is carried by one of NASA's modified 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft over California's high desert after leaving NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base on a ferry flight back to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. June 1, 2009 NASA Photo / Jim Ross |
| Date |
6/1/09 |
|
STS-125
ED09-0127-101 NASA Dryden ph
…
6/1/09
| Description |
ED09-0127-101 NASA Dryden photographer Jim Ross captured this overhead view of Space Shuttle Atlantis atop NASA's modified 747 carrier aircraft over California's high desert from an F/A-18 mission support aircraft after departing Edwards Air Force Base on a ferry flight back to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. June 1, 2009 NASA Photo / Jim Ross |
| Date |
6/1/09 |
|
STS-125
ED09-0127-110 Southern Calif
…
6/1/09
| Description |
ED09-0127-110 Southern California's high desert provides the backdrop as one of NASA's two modified 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft ferries Space Shuttle Atlantis back to the Kennedy Space Center after departing NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base. Atlantis had landed at Edwards to conclude shuttle mission STS-125, the final servicing mission of the Hubble Space Telescope. June 1, 2009 NASA Photo / Jim Ross |
| Date |
6/1/09 |
|
STS-125
ED09-0127-90 Paced by a NASA
…
6/4/09
| Description |
ED09-0127-90 Paced by a NASA F-18, one of NASA's modified Boeing 747 space shuttle carriers, lifts off Runway 22L at Edwards Air Force Base with the shuttle Atlantis on its back on the first leg of Atlantis' ferry flight back to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. June 1, 2009 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida |
| Date |
6/4/09 |
|
STS-125
ED09-0127-92 NASA 911, one o
…
6/4/09
| Description |
ED09-0127-92 NASA 911, one of NASA's two modified Boeing 747 space shuttle carriers, lifts off Runway 22L at Edwards Air Force Base with the shuttle Atlantis on its back on the first leg of Atlantis' ferry flight back to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. June 1, 2009 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida |
| Date |
6/4/09 |
|
STS-125
ED09-0127-93 NASA 911, a Boe
…
6/4/09
| Description |
ED09-0127-93 NASA 911, a Boeing 747 modified to carry the space shuttles, soars skyward off Runway 22L at Edwards Air Force Base with the shuttle Atlantis on its back on the first leg of Atlantis' ferry flight back to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. June 1, 2009 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida |
| Date |
6/4/09 |
|
STS-125
ED09-0127-94 As media photog
…
6/4/09
| Description |
ED09-0127-94 As media photographers record the moment, NASA shuttle carrier aircraft No. 911 lifts the Space Shuttle Atlantis into the morning sky upon departure from Edwards Air Force Base on the first leg of Atlantis' ferry flight back to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. June 1, 2009 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida |
| Date |
6/4/09 |
|
STS-125
ED09-0127-95 NASA space shut
…
6/4/09
| Description |
ED09-0127-95 NASA space shuttle carrier aircraft 911 lifts its nose wheel off the pavement during its takeoff roll on Runway 22L at Edwards Air Force Base to ferry the Space Shuttle Atlantis back to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. June 1, 2009 NASA Photo / Carla Thomas |
| Date |
6/4/09 |
|
STS-125
ED09-0127-96 Eight days afte
…
6/4/09
| Description |
ED09-0127-96 Eight days after its arrival on the same runway, Space Shuttle Atlantis is hauled aloft by NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft 911 off Runway 22L at Edwards Air Force Base on the first leg of its ferry flight back to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. June 1, 2009 NASA Photo / Carla Thomas |
| Date |
6/4/09 |
|
STS-117
ED07-0137-16 The Space Shutt
…
7/1/09
| Description |
ED07-0137-16 The Space Shuttle Atlantis is towed from the runway at Edwards Air Force Base to NASA Dryden's Mate-Demate Device (MDD) for post-flight processing. NASA Photo / Jim Ross June 22, 2007 |
| Date |
7/1/09 |
|
STS-126
Under soggy skies on a Sunda
…
12/8/08
| Description |
Under soggy skies on a Sunday morning, the Space Shuttle Endeavour is encased in the Mate-DeMate gantry during turnaround processing at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center following its STS-126 landing at Edwards Air Force Base a week earlier. Read STS-126 Status Report December 7, 2008 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida ED08-0306-84 |
| Date |
12/8/08 |
|
STS-126
Moments after sunrise, the m
…
12/10/08
| Description |
Moments after sunrise, the modified Boeing 747 carrier aircraft carrying the Space Shuttle Endeavour lifts off from Edwards Air Force Base on the first leg of its ferry flight back to the Kennedy Space Center on Dec. 10, 2008. ›, Read STS-126 Status Report December 10, 2008 NASA Photo / Tony Landis ED08-0306-112 |
| Date |
12/10/08 |
|
STS-126
The modified Boeing 747 carr
…
12/10/08
| Description |
The modified Boeing 747 carrier aircraft carrying the Space Shuttle Endeavour soars aloft from Edwards Air Force Base on the first leg of its ferry flight back to the Kennedy Space Center just after sunrise on Dec. 10, 2008. ›, Read STS-126 Status Report December 10, 2008 NASA Photo / Jim Ross ED08-0306-113 |
| Date |
12/10/08 |
|
STS-126
The Space Shuttle Endeavour
…
12/10/08
| Description |
The Space Shuttle Endeavour atop its modified Boeing 747 carrier aircraft lifts off from Edwards Air Force Base on the first leg of its ferry flight back to the Kennedy Space Center just after sunrise on Dec. 10, 2008. ›, Read STS-126 Status Report December 10, 2008 NASA Photo / Tom Tschida ED08-0306-114 |
| Date |
12/10/08 |
|
Lifting Body Aircraft
A fleet of lifting-body rese
…
1/5/09
| Description |
A fleet of lifting-body research vehicles were flown at Dryden from 1963 to 1975 to validate the concept of flying a wingless craft back to Earth from space and landing it like a conventional aircraft at a pre-determined site. Aerodynamic lift - essential to flight in the atmosphere - was obtained from the shape of the vehicles rather than from wings, as on a normal aircraft. In 1962, Flight Research Center director Paul Bikle approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to test the wingless concept. The M2-F1's half-cone shape looked like a "flying bathtub" and featured a plywood shell over a tubular steel frame. Initially towed aloft by a Pontiac convertible driven at speeds up to 120 mph across Rogers Dry Lake, the vehicle was later towed behind a C-47 and released for glide flights from greater altitudes. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1 before it was retired. A historical artifact now owned by the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum, the M2-F1 is on long-term loan to Dryden for display purposes. The success of the M2-F1 program led to development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies, the M2-F2 and the HL-10, that were carried to launch altitude beneath the wing of a modified B-52 and launched to complete rocket-powered flight profiles followed by a glide landing on the dry lakebed. The first flight of the M2-F2 (which looked much like the M2-F1) took place on July 12, 1966. On May 10, 1967, during the 16th flight, a landing accident severely damaged the vehicle and seriously injured NASA research pilot Bruce Peterson. It was subsequently rebuilt with modifications for improved control characteristics and re-designated M2-F3. During more than two-dozen flights, the M2-F3 reached a top speed of 1,064 mph (Mach 1.6) and a maximum altitude of 71,500 feet. It is now on display in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. The HL-10 had a more streamlined aerodynamic shape than did the M2-series vehicles. It featured a longitudinally curved bottom and a laterally rounded top and had a delta planform. Following its maiden flight on Dec. 22, 1966, it set several program records, including the fastest speed reached by any of the lifting bodies - 1,228 mph (Mach 1.86) - and highest lifting body flight - 90,303 feet. Data from these flights contributed substantially to development of the space shuttles. The HL-10 is now on public display at the entrance to Dryden. In 1969 another shape, the bulbous X-24A, was introduced. It was flown 28 times, providing data that helped engineers to design a prototype Crew Return Vehicle some three decades later. The X-24A was later modified into a new configuration, the X-24B - nicknamed the "flying flatiron" - with a rounded top, flat bottom and a double-delta planform that ended in a pointed nose. To reduce the costs of constructing a new research vehicle, the new shape was built as a shell around the original X-24A vehicle. Significantly, it was used for two landings on the main concrete runway at Edwards Air Force Base, demonstrating that accurate unpowered re-entry vehicle landings were operationally feasible. Following its retirement in 1975, the X-24B was placed on display in the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Photo Description The X-24B is seen in flight over the high desert. NASA Photo |
| Date |
1/5/09 |
|
STS-128
ED09-0253-01 Streams of smok
…
9/11/09
| Description |
ED09-0253-01 Streams of smoke trail from the main landing gear tires as Space Shuttle Discovery touches down on Runway 22L at Edwards Air Force Base to conclude the almost 14-day STS-128 mission to the International Space Station. September 11, 2009 NASA photo / Jim Ross |
| Date |
9/11/09 |
|
STS-128
ED09-0253-02 Space Shuttle D
…
9/11/09
| Description |
ED09-0253-02 Space Shuttle Discovery rolls out on Runway 22L after landing at Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California's high desert to conclude mission STS-128 to the International Space Station. September 11, 2009 NASA photo / Tom Tschida |
| Date |
9/11/09 |
|
STS-128
ED09-0253-03 Its nose still
…
9/11/09
| Description |
ED09-0253-03 Its nose still high in the air, Space Shuttle Discovery rolls down Runway 22L at Edwards Air Force Base shortly before sunset on Sept. 11, 2009 and the end of mission STS-128. September 11, 2009 NASA photo / David Huskey / WSTF |
| Date |
9/11/09 |
|
STS-128
ED09-0253-04 Trailing its dr
…
9/11/09
| Description |
ED09-0253-04 Trailing its drag chute, Space Shuttle Discovery slows to a stop after landing at Edwards Air Force Base to conclude its almost 14-day, 5.7-million-mile journey to the International Space Station on mission STS-128. September 11, 2009 NASA photo / Tony Landis |
| Date |
9/11/09 |
|
STS-128
ED09-0253-05 Members of the
…
9/12/09
| Description |
ED09-0253-05 Members of the STS-128 mission crew are greeted by Air Force and NASA officials as they exit the Crew Transfer Vehicle following their landing of Space Shuttle Discovery at Edwards Air Force Base on Sept. 11, 2009. September 11, 2009 NASA photo / Tom Tschida |
| Date |
9/12/09 |
|
STS-128
ED09-0253-07 The setting sun
…
9/12/09
| Description |
ED09-0253-07 The setting sun provides a beautiful backdrop to Space Shuttle Discovery and the Crew Transport Vehicle after Discovery's landing at Edwards Air Force Base on Sept. 11, 2009. September 11, 2009 NASA photo / Tom Tschida |
| Date |
9/12/09 |
|
STS-128
ED09-0253-08 Space Shuttle D
…
9/12/09
| Description |
ED09-0253-08 Space Shuttle Discovery reflects the colorful clouds illuminated by the setting sun over California's high desert following its landing at Edwards Air Force Base on Sept. 11, 2009. September 11, 2009 NASA photo / Tony Landis |
| Date |
9/12/09 |
|
STS-128
ED09-0253-09 Members of the
…
9/12/09
| Description |
ED09-0253-09 Members of the STS-128 mission crew line up behind Space Shuttle Discovery in front of the Mate DeMate Device at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center prior to their departure. From left are Jose Hernandez, Kevin Ford, Christer Fuglesang, Rick Sturckow, Danny Olivas and Patrick Forrester. Not pictured- Tim Kopra). Discovery had landed the preceding evening at Edwards Air Force Base after an almost 14-day mission to the International Space Station. September 12, 2009 NASA photo / Jim Ross |
| Date |
9/12/09 |
|
STS-128
ED09-0253-13 Mission special
…
9/12/09
| Description |
ED09-0253-13 Mission specialist Jose Hernandez waves as Space Shuttle Discovery's crew board a Gulfstream II Shuttle Training Aircraft for the trip back to Houston from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base. Discovery had landed at Edwards the preceding evening to conclude mission STS-128 to the International Space Station. September 12, 2009 NASA photo / Jim Ross |
| Date |
9/12/09 |
|
Columbia On Final Approach
| Title |
Columbia On Final Approach |
| Full Description |
The underside of Columbia as it makes its final approach before landing on the Rogers Dry Lakebed at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The Shuttle was piloted by Richard Truly who would go on to become NASA's eighth Administrator. |
| Date |
11/16/1981 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Sally Ride, First U.S. Woman
…
| Title |
Sally Ride, First U.S. Woman in Space |
| Full Description |
Sally Ride was the first American woman in space. Born on May 26, 1951 in Los Angeles, California, she received a Bachelor in Physics and English in 1973 from Stanford University and, later, a Master in Physics in 1975 and a Doctorate in Physics in 1978, also from Stanford. NASA selected Dr. Ride as an astronaut candidate in January 1978. She completed her training in August 1979, and began her astronaut career as a mission specialist on STS-7, which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on June 18, 1983. The mission spent 147 hours in space before landing on a lakebed runway at Edwards Air Force Base, California on June 24, 1983. Dr. Ride also served as a mission specialist on STS-41-G, which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on October 5, 1984 and landed 197 hours later at Kennedy Space Center, Florida on October 13, 1984. In June 1985, NASA assigned Dr. Ride to serve as mission specialist on STS-61-M. She discontinued mission training in January 1986 to serve as a member of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger accident, also known as the Rogers Commission. Upon completing the investigation she returned to NASA Headquarters as Special Assistant to the Administrator for Long Range and Strategic Planning, where she lead a team that wrote NASA Leadership and America's Future in Space:A Report to the Administrator in August 1987. Dr. Ride has also written a children's book, To Space and Back, describing her experiences in space, has received the Jefferson Award for Public Service, and has twice been awarded the National Spaceflight Medal. Her latest books include Voyager: An Adventure to the Edge of the Solar System and The Third Planet: Exploring the Earth from Space. She was also a member of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB), which investigated the February 1, 2003 loss of Space Shuttle Columbia. Dr. Ride is currently a physics professor and Director of the California Space Institute at the University of California, San Diego. |
| Date |
06/1984 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Shuttle Enterprise Free Flig
…
| Title |
Shuttle Enterprise Free Flight |
| Full Description |
The Space Shuttle prototype Enterprise flies free after being released from NASA's 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) over Rogers Dry Lakebed during the second of five free flights carried out at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, as part of the Shuttle program's Approach and Landing Tests (ALT). The tests were conducted to verify orbiter aerodynamics and handling characteristics in preparation for orbital flights with the Space Shuttle Columbia beginning in April 1981. A tail cone over the main engine area of Enterprise smoothed out turbulent air flow during flight. It was removed on the two last free flights to accurately check approach and landing characteristics. A series of test flights during which Enterprise was taken aloft atop the SCA, but was not released, preceded the free flight tests. The Space Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests (ALT) program allowed pilots and engineers to learn how the Space Shuttle and the modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) handled during low-speed flight and landing. The Enterprise, a prototype of the Space Shuttles, and the SCA were flown to conduct the approach and landing tests at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, from February to October 1977. The first flight of the program consisted of the Space Shuttle Enterprise attached to the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. These flights were to determine how well the two vehicles flew together. Five "captive-inactive" flights were flown during this first phase in which there was no crew in the Enterprise. The next series of captive flights was flown with a flight crew of two on board the prototype Space Shuttle. Only three such flights proved necessary. This led to the free-flight test series. The free-flight phase of the ALT program allowed pilots and engineers to learn how the Space Shuttle handled in low-speed flight and landing attitudes. For these landings, the Enterprise was flown by a crew of two after it was released from the top of the SCA. The vehicle was released at altitudes ranging from 19,000 to 26,000 feet. The Enterprise had no propulsion system, but its first four glides to the Rogers Dry Lake runway provided realistic, in-flight simulations of how subsequent Space Shuttles would be flown at the end of an orbital mission. The fifth approach and landing test, with the Enterprise landing on the Edwards Air Force Base concrete runway, revealed a problem with the Space Shuttle flight control system that made it susceptible to Pilot-Induced Oscillation (PIO), a potentially dangerous control problem during a landing. Further research using other NASA aircraft, especially the F-8 Digital-Fly-By-Wire aircraft, led to correction of the PIO problem before the first orbital flight. The Enterprise's last free-flight was October 26, 1977, after which it was ferried to other NASA centers for ground-based flight simulations that tested Space Shuttle systems and structure. |
| Date |
01/01/1977 |
| NASA Center |
Dryden Flight Research Center |
|
STS-1 Launch
| Title |
STS-1 Launch |
| Full Description |
The April 12 launch at Pad 39A of STS-1, just seconds past 7 a.m., carries astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen into an Earth orbital mission scheduled to last for 54 hours, ending with unpowered landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California. |
| Date |
4/12/1981 |
| NASA Center |
Kennedy Space Center |
|
STS-27, Orbiter Atlantis, Li
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| Title |
STS-27, Orbiter Atlantis, Liftoff |
| Full Description |
Space Shuttle Atlantis takes flight on its STS-27 mission on December 2, 1988, 9:30 a.m. EST, utilizing 375,000 pounds thrust produced by its three main engines. The STS-27 was the third classified mission dedicated to the Department of Defense (DoD). After completion of mission, Orbiter Atlantis landed December 6, 1988, 3:36 p.m. PST at Edwards Air Force Base, California. |
| Date |
12/2/1988 |
| NASA Center |
Marshall Space Flight Center |
|
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