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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 |
|
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 |
|
Shuttle Enterprise Mated to
…
| Photo Description |
The Space Shuttle Enterprise atop the NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft as it leaves NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The Enterprise, first orbiter built, was not spaceflight rated and was used in 1977 to verify the landing, approach, and glide characteristics of the orbiters. It was also used for engineering fit-checks at the shuttle launch facilities. Following approach and landing tests in 1977 and its use as an engineering vehicle, Enterprise was donated to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. |
| Project Description |
470,000 pounds. The engines burn a mixture of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. In orbit, the Space Shuttles circle the earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour with each orbit taking about 90 minutes. A Space Shuttle crew sees a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. When Space Shuttle flights began in April 1981, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, was the primary landing site for the Shuttles. Now Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is the primary landing site with Dryden remaining as the principal alternate landing site., Space Shuttles are the main element of America?s Space Transportation System and are used for space research and other space applications. The shuttles are the first vehicles capable of being launched into space and returning to Earth on a routine basis. Space Shuttles are used as orbiting laboratories in which scientists and mission specialists conduct a wide variety of scientific experiments. Crews aboard shuttles place satellites in orbit, rendezvous with satellites to carry out repair missions and return them to space, and retrieve satellites and return them to Earth for refurbishment and reuse. Space Shuttles are true aerospace vehicles. They leave Earth and its atmosphere under rocket power provided by three liquid-propellant main engines with two solid-propellant boosters attached plus an external liquid-fuel tank. After their orbital missions, they streak back through the atmosphere and land like airplanes. The returning shuttles, however, land like gliders, without power and on runways. Other rockets can place heavy payloads into orbit, but, they can only be used once. Space Shuttles are designed to be continually reused. When Space Shuttles are used to transport complete scientific laboratories into space, the laboratories remain inside the payload bay throughout the mission. They are then removed after the Space Shuttle returns to Earth and can be reused on future flights. Some of these orbital laboratories, like the Spacelab, provide facilities for several specialists to conduct experiments in such fields as medicine, astronomy, and materials manufacturing. Some types of satellites deployed by Space Shuttles include those involved in environmental and resources protection, astronomy, weather forecasting, navigation, oceanographic studies, and other scientific fields. The Space Shuttles can also launch spacecraft into orbits higher than the Shuttle?s altitude limit through the use of Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) propulsion units. After release from the Space Shuttle payload bay, the IUS is ignited to carry the spacecraft into deep space. The Space Shuttles are also being used to carry elements of the International Space Station into space where they are assembled in orbit. The Space Shuttles were built by Rockwell International?s Space Transportation Systems Division, Downey, California. Rockwell?s Rocketdyne Division (now part of Boeing) builds the three main engines, and Thiokol, Brigham City, Utah, makes the solid rocket booster motors. Martin Marietta Corporation (now Lockheed Martin), New Orleans, Louisiana, makes the external tanks. Each orbiter (Space Shuttle) is 121 feet long, has a wingspan of 78 feet, and a height of 57 feet. The Space Shuttle is approximately the size of a DC-9 commercial airliner and can carry a payload of 65,000 pounds into orbit. The payload bay is 60 feet long and 15 feet in diameter. Each main engine is capable of producing a sea level thrust of 375,000 pounds and a vacuum (orbital) thrust of |
| Photo Date |
1983 |
|
Shuttle Enterprise Being Wor
…
| Photo Description |
The Space Shuttle Enterprise being worked on in the weight & balance hangar. The Enterprise, the first orbiter built, was not spaceflight rated and was used in 1977 to verify the landing, approach, and glide characteristics of the orbiters in the Approach and Landing Tests (ALT) at Edwards Air Force Base, California. It was also used for engineering fit-checks at the shuttle launch facilities. Following approach and landing tests in 1977 and its use as an engineering vehicle, Enterprise was donated to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. |
| Project Description |
470,000 pounds. The engines burn a mixture of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. In orbit, the Space Shuttles circle the earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour with each orbit taking about 90 minutes. A Space Shuttle crew sees a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. When Space Shuttle flights began in April 1981, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, was the primary landing site for the Shuttles. Now Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is the primary landing site with Dryden remaining as the principal alternate landing site., Space Shuttles are the main element of America?s Space Transportation System and are used for space research and other space applications. The shuttles are the first vehicles capable of being launched into space and returning to Earth on a routine basis. Space Shuttles are used as orbiting laboratories in which scientists and mission specialists conduct a wide variety of scientific experiments. Crews aboard shuttles place satellites in orbit, rendezvous with satellites to carry out repair missions and return them to space, and retrieve satellites and return them to Earth for refurbishment and reuse. Space Shuttles are true aerospace vehicles. They leave Earth and its atmosphere under rocket power provided by three liquid-propellant main engines with two solid-propellant boosters attached plus an external liquid-fuel tank. After their orbital missions, they streak back through the atmosphere and land like airplanes. The returning shuttles, however, land like gliders, without power and on runways. Other rockets can place heavy payloads into orbit, but, they can only be used once. Space Shuttles are designed to be continually reused. When Space Shuttles are used to transport complete scientific laboratories into space, the laboratories remain inside the payload bay throughout the mission. They are then removed after the Space Shuttle returns to Earth and can be reused on future flights. Some of these orbital laboratories, like the Spacelab, provide facilities for several specialists to conduct experiments in such fields as medicine, astronomy, and materials manufacturing. Some types of satellites deployed by Space Shuttles include those involved in environmental and resources protection, astronomy, weather forecasting, navigation, oceanographic studies, and other scientific fields. The Space Shuttles can also launch spacecraft into orbits higher than the Shuttle?s altitude limit through the use of Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) propulsion units. After release from the Space Shuttle payload bay, the IUS is ignited to carry the spacecraft into deep space. The Space Shuttles are also being used to carry elements of the International Space Station into space where they are assembled in orbit. The Space Shuttles were built by Rockwell International?s Space Transportation Systems Division, Downey, California. Rockwell?s Rocketdyne Division (now part of Boeing) builds the three main engines, and Thiokol, Brigham City, Utah, makes the solid rocket booster motors. Martin Marietta Corporation (now Lockheed Martin), New Orleans, Louisiana, makes the external tanks. Each orbiter (Space Shuttle) is 121 feet long, has a wingspan of 78 feet, and a height of 57 feet. The Space Shuttle is approximately the size of a DC-9 commercial airliner and can carry a payload of 65,000 pounds into orbit. The payload bay is 60 feet long and 15 feet in diameter. Each main engine is capable of producing a sea level thrust of 375,000 pounds and a vacuum (orbital) thrust of |
| Photo Date |
1983 |
|
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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