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Images of United States of America from 1981 and 1977
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Female Astronauts
| Title |
Female Astronauts |
| Full Description |
Astronauts Dr. N. Jan Davis (left) and Dr. Mae C. Jemison (right) were mission specialists on board the STS-47 mission. Born on November 1, 1953 in Cocoa Beach, Florida, Dr. N. Jan Davis received a Master degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1983 followed by a Doctorate in Engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville in 1985. In 1979 she joined NASA Marshall Space Flight Center as an aerospace engineer. A veteran of three space flights, Dr. Davis has logged over 678 hours in space since becoming an astronaut in 1987. She flew as a mission specialist on STS-47 in 1992 and STS-60 in 1994, and was the payload commander on STS-85 in 1997. In July 1999, she transferred to the Marshall Space Flight Center, where she became Director of Flight Projects. Dr. Mae C. Jemison, the first African-American woman in space, was born on October 17, 1956 in Decatur, Alabama but considers Chicago, Illinois her hometown. She received a Bachelor degree in Chemical Engineering (and completed the requirements for a Bachelor degree in African and Afro-American studies) at Stanford University in 1977, and a Doctorate degree in medicine from Cornell University in 1981. After receiving her doctorate, she worked as a General Practitioner while attending graduate engineering classes in Los Angeles. She was named an astronaut candidate in 1987, and flew her first flight as a science mission specialists on STS-47, Spacelab-J, in September 1992, logging 190 hours, 30 minutes, 23 seconds in space. In March 1993, Dr. Jemison resigned from NASA, thought she still resides in Houston, Texas. She went on to publish her memoirs, Find Where the Wind Goes: Moments from My Life, in 2001. The astronauts are shown preparing to deploy the lower body negative pressure (LBNP) apparatus in this 35mm frame taken in the science module aboard the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Endeavor. Fellow astronauts Robert L. Gibson (Commander), Curtis L. Brown (Junior Pilot), Mark C. Lee (Payload Commander), Jay Apt (Mission Specialist), and Mamoru Mohri (Payload Specialist) joined the two on their maiden space flight. The Spacelab-J mission was a joint effort between Japan and the United States. |
| Date |
09/15/1992 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
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Former NASA Administrators M
…
| Title |
Former NASA Administrators Meet in Washington, DC |
| Full Description |
The administrators who directed the United States space program since the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in October 1958 met at a NASA Alumni meeting held in Washington June 3, 1980. Shown above, left to right, are: James E. Webb, Administrator from February 14, 1961, to October 7, 1968, T. Keith Glennan, Administrator from August 19, 1958, to January 20, 1961, Dr. Robert A Frosch, Administrator from June 21, 1977, to January 20, 1981, Dr. Thomas O. Paine, Administrator from March 21, 1969, to September 15, 1970 and Acting Administrator from October 8, 1968, to March 20, 1969, Dr. George M. Low, Acting Administrator from September 16, 1970, to April 26, 1971, Dr. Alan M. Lovelace, Acting Administrator from Amy 2, 1977, to June 20, 1977. |
| Date |
06/03/1980 |
| NASA Center |
Headquarters |
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X-15 with test pilot Capt. J
…
| Photo Description |
Captain Joe Engle is seen here next to the X-15-2 (56-6671) rocket-powered research aircraft after a flight. Engle made 16 flights in the X-15 between October 7, 1963, and October 14, 1965. Three of the flights, on June 29, August 10, and October 14, 1965, were above 50 miles, qualifying him for astronaut wings under the Air Force definition. (NASA followed the international definition of space as starting at 62 miles.) Engle was selected as a NASA astronaut in 1966, making him the only person who had flown in space before being selected as an astronaut. First assigned to the Apollo program, he served on the support crew for Apollo 10, and then as backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 14. In 1977, he was commander of one of two crews who were launched from atop a modified Boeing 747 in order to conduct approach and landing tests with the Space Shuttle Enterprise. Then in November 1981, he commanded the second flight of the Shuttle Columbia and manually flew the re-entry--performing 29 flight test maneuvers--from Mach 25 through landing roll out. This was the first and, so far, only time that a winged aerospace vehicle has been manually flown from orbit through landing. He accumulated the last of his 224 hours in space when he commanded the Shuttle Discovery during STS-51-I in August of 1985. |
| Project Description |
The X-15 was a rocket-powered aircraft 50 ft long with a wingspan of 22 ft. It was a missile-shaped vehicle with an unusual wedge-shaped vertical tail, thin stubby wings, and unique fairings that extended along the side of the fuselage. The X-15 weighed about 14,000 lb empty and approximately 34,000 lb at launch. The XLR-99 rocket engine, manufactured by Thiokol Chemical Corp., was pilot controlled and was capable of developing 57,000 lb of rated thrust (actual thrust reportedly climbed to 60,000 lb). North American Aviation built three X-15 aircraft for the program. The X-15 research aircraft was developed to provide in-flight information and data on aerodynamics, structures, flight controls, and the physiological aspects of high-speed, high-altitude flight. A follow-on program used the aircraft as a testbed to carry various scientific experiments beyond the Earth's atmosphere on a repeated basis. For flight in the dense air of the usable atmosphere, the X-15 used conventional aerodynamic controls such as rudder surfaces on the vertical stabilizers to control yaw and canted horizontal surfaces on the tail to control pitch when moving in synchronization or roll when moved differentially. For flight in the thin air outside of the appreciable Earth's atmosphere, the X-15 used a reaction control system. Hydrogen peroxide thrust rockets located on the nose of the aircraft provided pitch and yaw control. Those on the wings provided roll control. Because of the large fuel consumption, the X-15 was air launched from a B-52 aircraft at 45,000 ft and a speed of about 500 mph. Depending on the mission, the rocket engine provided thrust for the first 80 to 120 sec of flight. The remainder of the normal 10 to 11 min. flight was powerless and ended with a 200-mph glide landing. Generally, one of two types of X-15 flight profiles was used: a high-altitude flight plan that called for the pilot to maintain a steep rate of climb, or a speed profile that called for the pilot to push over and maintain a level altitude. The X-15 was flown over a period of nearly 10 years--June 1959 to Oct. 1968--and set the world's unofficial speed and altitude records of 4,520 mph (Mach 6.7) and 354,200 ft (over 67 mi) in a program to investigate all aspects of piloted hypersonic flight. Information gained from the highly successful X-15 program contributed to the development of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo manned spaceflight programs, and also the Space Shuttle program. The X-15s made a total of 199 flights and were manufactured by North American Aviation. X-15-1, serial number 56-6670, is now located at the National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC. North American X-15A-2, serial number 56-6671, is at the United States Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. The X-15-3, serial number 56-6672, crashed on 15 November 1967, resulting in the death of Maj. Michael J. Adams. |
| Photo Date |
1965 |
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C-140 JetStar landing on Rog
…
JetStar in flight
| Title |
JetStar in flight |
| Description |
This 18-second movie clip shows the NASA Dryden Lockheed C-140 JetStar in flight with its pylon-mounted air-turbine-drive system used to gather information on the acoustic characteristics of subscale advanced design propellers. Data was gathered through 28 flush-mounted microphones on the skin of the aircraft. From 1976 to 1987 the NASA Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio -- today known as the Glenn Research Center -- engaged in research and development of an advanced turboprop concept in partnership with Hamilton Standard, Windsor Locks, Connecticut, the largest manufacturer of propellers in the United States. The Advanced Turboprop Project took its impetus from the energy crisis of the early 1970's and sought to produce swept propeller blades that would increase efficiency and reduce noise. As the project progressed, Pratt & Whitney, Allison Gas Turbine Division of General Motors, General Electric, Gulfstream, Rohr Industries, Boeing, Lockheed, and McDonnell Douglas, among others, also took part. NASA Lewis did the much of the ground research and marshaled the resources of these and other members of the aeronautical community. The team came to include the NASA Ames Research Center, Langley Research Center, and the Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility (before and after that time, the Dryden Flight Research Center). Together, they brought the propeller to the flight research stage, and the team that worked on the project won the coveted Collier Trophy for its efforts in 1987. To test the acoustics of the propeller the team developed, it mounted propeller models on a C-140 JetStar aircraft fuselage at NASA Dryden. The JetStar was modified with the installation of an air-turbine-drive system. The drive motor, with a test propeller, was mounted on a pylon atop the JetStar. The JetStar was equipped with an array of 28 microphones flush-mounted in the fuselage of the aircraft beneath the propeller. Microphones mounted on the wings and on an accompanying Learjet chase aircraft provided far-field acoustic data. Between May 21, 1981 and August of 1982, the JetStar completed roughly 45 research flights with three different propellers in varying configurations. Dryden engineers analyzed some of the resultant data, while they sent flight tapes to Hamilton Standard, Lewis, and Langley for analysis there. The results indicated a need for noise-reduction technology to keep the noise levels down to the project goals. An improved version of the advanced turboprop underwent flight testing in 1987 on a Gulfstream II over Georgia in 1987. These flight tests verified predictions of a 20- to 30-percent fuel savings. However, with the end of the energy crisis, the need for such savings disappeared, and the Advanced Turboprop Project did not lead to the expected industry-wide adoption of the new propeller systems on transport aircraft. In the 1960s, the same JetStar that was used to test the advanced turboprop had been equipped with an electronic variable-stability, flight-control system. Called then a General Purpose Airborne Simulator (GPAS), the aircraft could duplicate the flight characteristics of a wide variety of advanced aircraft and was used for supersonic transport and general aviation research, and as a training and support system for Space Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests at Dryden in 1977. Over the years, the JetStar has also been used for a variety of other flight research projects, including laminar-flow-control flight tests in the mid-1980s. |
| Date |
01.01.1981 |
|
X-15 with test pilot Capt. J
…
| Title |
X-15 with test pilot Capt. Joe Engle |
| Description |
Captain Joe Engle is seen here next to the X-15-2 (56-6671) rocket-powered research aircraft after a flight. Engle made 16 flights in the X-15 between October 7, 1963, and October 14, 1965. Three of the flights, on June 29, August 10, and October 14, 1965, were above 50 miles, qualifying him for astronaut wings under the Air Force definition. (NASA followed the international definition of space as starting at 62 miles.) Engle was selected as a NASA astronaut in 1966, making him the only person who had flown in space before being selected as an astronaut. First assigned to the Apollo program, he served on the support crew for Apollo X and then as backup lunar module pilot for Apollo XIV. In 1977, he was commander of one of two crews who were launched from atop a modified Boeing 747 in order to conduct approach and landing tests with the Space Shuttle Enterprise. Then in November 1981, he commanded the second flight of the Shuttle Columbia and manually flew the re-entry--performing 29 flight test maneuvers--from Mach 25 through landing roll out. This was the first and, so far, only time that a winged aerospace vehicle has been manually flown from orbit through landing. He accumulated the last of his 224 hours in space when he commanded the Shuttle Discovery during STS-51-I in August of 1985. The X-15 was a rocket-powered aircraft 50 ft long with a wingspan of 22 ft. It was a missile-shaped vehicle with an unusual wedge-shaped vertical tail, thin stubby wings, and unique fairings that extended along the side of the fuselage. The X-15 weighed about 14,000 lb empty and approximately 34,000 lb at launch. The XLR-99 rocket engine, manufactured by Thiokol Chemical Corp., was pilot controlled and was capable of developing 57,000 lb of rated thrust (actual thrust reportedly climbed to 60,000 lb). North American Aviation built three X-15 aircraft for the program. The X-15 research aircraft was developed to provide in-flight information and data on aerodynamics, structures, flight controls, and the physiological aspects of high-speed, high-altitude flight. A follow-on program used the aircraft as a testbed to carry various scientific experiments beyond the Earth's atmosphere on a repeated basis. For flight in the dense air of the usable atmosphere, the X-15 used conventional aerodynamic controls such as rudder surfaces on the vertical stabilizers to control yaw and canted horizontal surfaces on the tail to control pitch when moving in synchronization or roll when moved differentially. For flight in the thin air outside of the appreciable Earth's atmosphere, the X-15 used a reaction control system. Hydrogen peroxide thrust rockets located on the nose of the aircraft provided pitch and yaw control. Those on the wings provided roll control. Because of the large fuel consumption, the X-15 was air launched from a B-52 aircraft at 45,000 ft and a speed of about 500 mph. Depending on the mission, the rocket engine provided thrust for the first 80 to 120 sec of, flight. The remainder of the normal 10 to 11 min. flight was powerless and ended with a 200-mph glide landing. Generally, one of two types of X-15 flight profiles was used: a high-altitude flight plan that called for the pilot to maintain a steep rate of climb, or a speed profile that called for the pilot to push over and maintain a level altitude. The X-15 was flown over a period of nearly 10 years--June 1959 to Oct. 1968--and set the world's unofficial speed and altitude records of 4,520 mph (Mach 6.7) and 354,200 ft (over 67 mi) in a program to investigate all aspects of piloted hypersonic flight. Information gained from the highly successful X-15 program contributed to the development of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo manned spaceflight programs, and also the Space Shuttle program. The X-15s made a total of 199 flights and were manufactured by North American Aviation. X-15-1, serial number 56-6670, is now located at the National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC. North American X-15A-2, serial number 56-6671, is at the United States Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. The X-15-3, serial number 56-6672, crashed on 15 November 1967, resulting in the death of Maj. Michael J. Adams. |
| Date |
01.01.1965 |
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