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Lunar Lander Exhibit
NASA's Lunar Lander exhibit
9/25/00
| Description |
NASA's Lunar Lander exhibit is located at the Mississippi I-10 Welcome Center in Hancock County, Miss., just west of Bay St. Louis and 45 miles east of New Orleans on I-10 at Exit 2. The exhibit features a 30-foot-tall replica of a Lunar Lander used as a trainer by the Apollo 13 astronauts. Apollo 13 astronaut and Mississippi native Fred Haise left space-boot prints and signature in concrete at the base of the exhibit. |
| Date |
9/25/00 |
|
Apollo 13 Astronaut Fred Hai
Astronaut Fred Haise Jr. of
4/17/00
| Description |
Astronaut Fred Haise Jr. of Biloxi, Miss., views his Apollo 13 mission patch, the flight on which he served in 1970, in a StenniSphere display donated to NASA by the American Needlepoint Guild. The exhibit is on permanent display at StenniSphere, the visitor center at John C. Stennis Space Center. In its first year of operation, more than 251,000 visitors representing over 40 countries have viewed the 123 hand-stitched patches in the exhibit. Forty-two guild members from 20 states made the trip to StenniSphere for the opening of the exhibit, one of the most popular at StenniSphere. |
| Date |
4/17/00 |
|
Apollo XIII Astronaut Fred H
South Mississippi native Fre
1/1/95
| Description |
South Mississippi native Fred Haise was one of the three American astronauts on the Apollo XIII mission that was originally intended to land on the moon. Haise visited Stennis Space Center to greet the public and sign autographs. Haise, and fellow astronauts Jim Lovell and Jack Swigert were outward bound, 200,000 miles from Earth, when both Serice Module oxygen tanks ruptured. The crew returned safely to Earth. The incident became the topic for the feature film, Apollo 13. |
| Date |
1/1/95 |
|
Leaders break ground for INF
Community leaders from Missi
11/20/08
| Description |
Community leaders from Mississippi and Louisiana break ground for the new INFINITY at NASA Stennis Space Center facility during a Nov. 20 ceremony. Groundbreaking participants included (l to r): Gottfried Construction representative John Smith, Mississippi Highway Commissioner Wayne Brown, INFINITY board member and Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise, Stennis Director Gene Goldman, Studio South representative David Hardy, Leo Seal Jr. family representative Virginia Wagner, Hancock Bank President George Schloegel, Mississippi Rep. J.P. Compretta, Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians representative Charlie Benn and Louisiana Sen. A.G. Crowe. |
| Date |
11/20/08 |
|
NASA TV's This Week @NASA, D
* The three crew members of
12/04/09
| Description |
* The three crew members of Expedition 21 made a safe landing in a Soyuz spacecraft after departing the International Space Station several hours earlier. * NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden presented Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise, Jr. with NASA's Ambassador of Exploration Award during a special ceremony in Biloxi, Mississippi, Haise√¢s hometown. * Thirty-seven years ago the Apollo 17 mission began with this early morning launch from the Kennedy Space Center. * NASA'S revolutionary Kepler space telescope has been honored by two leading magazines. Popular Science Magazine dubbed the planet-hunting telescope the 2009 Best of What's New Grand Award, and Popular Mechanics lauded its achievement with a 2009 Breakthrough Award. * NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer is on track to begin its mission this week. WISE is scheduled to lift off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California aboard a Delta II rocket. |
| Date |
12/04/09 |
|
NASA TV's This Week at NASA,
President Barack Obama made
04/16/10
| Description |
President Barack Obama made a trip to the Kennedy Space Center on Thursday to explain his plan for America's space program. Accompanied by Florida Senator and former shuttle astronaut Bill Nelson, Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin, and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, President Obama addressed an audience comprised of elected officials, leaders from industry, academia and KSC employees. * STS-125, the fifth space shuttle servicing mission that gave the Hubble Space Telescope a new lease on life, and L-CROSS, the mission that definitively proved the presence of water on the moon, received awards from the Space Foundation at its 26th annual National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs. * What do a lunar habitat module, paper that captures sound as energy, and a drug delivery system for use in space have in common? They're all concepts being developed for commercialization by high school students who competed in the Conrad Foundation's Innovation Summit. * Huntsville's U.S. Space & Rocket Center hosted the 17th annual Great Moonbuggy Race. Competing were upwards of 600 student drivers, engineers and mechanics representing more than 70 teams from 18 states, Puerto Rico, Canada, Germany, India and Romania. * The John Glenn Lecture Series at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington honored the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission. Joining Commander Jim Lovell was Apollo 13 Flight Controller, Gene Kranz, Lunar Module Pilot, Fred Haise, and astronaut Ken Mattingly, who was replaced on the mission by the late Jack Swiegert after contracting measles just before the mission's start. * Yuri's Night 2010 celebrated humankind's achievements in space exploration with music, dance, fashion, and art at countless locations around the world, including several NASA centers. |
| Date |
04/16/10 |
|
Lunar Roving Vehicle Test Un
| Title |
Lunar Roving Vehicle Test Unit with Astronauts |
| Full Description |
In this November 1971 photograph, (from left to right) Astronauts John Young, Eugene Cernan, Charles Duke, Fred Haise, Anthony England, Charles Fullerton, and Donald Peterson await deployment tests of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) qualification test unit in Building 4649 at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The LRV, developed under the direction of the MSFC, was designed to allow Apollo astronauts a greater range of mobility on the lunar surface during last three lunar exploration missions, Apollo 15, Apollo 16 and Apollo 17. |
| Date |
11/1/1971 |
| NASA Center |
Marshall Space Flight Center |
|
Haise Commands First Enterpr
| Title |
Haise Commands First Enterprise Test Flights |
| Full Description |
The first crew members for the Space Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests (ALT) are photographed at the Rockwell International Space Division's Orbiter Assembly Facility at Palmdale, California. The Shuttle Enterprise is Commanded by former Apollo 13 Lunar Module pilot, Fred Haise (left) with C. Gordon Fullerton as pilot. The Shuttle Orbiter Enterprise was named after the fictional Starship Enterprise from the popular 1960's television series, Star Trek. |
| Date |
09/17/1976 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Research pilot Fred Haise
Research pilot and former as
| Photo Description |
Research pilot and former astronaut Gordon Fullerton is congratulated by retired astronaut Fred Haise upon Fullerton's induction into the Astronaut Hall of Fame |
| Project Description |
Former astronaut Gordon Fullerton (left), currently chief research pilot at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, is congratulated by former astronaut Fred Haise (right) upon Fullerton's induction into the Astronaut Hall of Fame at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on April 30, 2005. Fullerton and Haise were one of two flight crews who flew the Approach and Landing Tests of the prototype Space Shuttle orbiter Enterprise at Dryden in 1977. Fullerton, who had served on the support crews for four Apollo moon landing missions in the early 1970s, went on to fly two Shuttle missions, STS-3 in 1982 and STS-51F in 1985. STS-3 became the only Shuttle mission to date to land at White Sands, N.M., and STS-51F was completed successfully despite the failure of one of the Shuttle's main engines during ascent to orbit. Haise, a member of the crew on the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission, was also a research pilot at NASA Dryden during his pre-astronaut career. Former astronauts Joseph Allen and Bruce McCandless were also inducted during the 2005 ceremonies at the KSC Visitor Center. In addition to honoring former members of NASA's astronaut corps who have made significant contributions to the advancement of space flight, the annual induction ceremonies serve as a fund-raiser for the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. The foundation funded 17 $10,000 scholarships to college students studying science and engineering in 2004. |
| Photo Date |
04/30/2005 |
|
M2-F1 in flight over lakebed
| Photo Description |
Following the first M2-F1 airtow flight on 16 August 1963, the Flight Research Center used the vehicle for both research flights and to check out new lifting-body pilots. These included Bruce Peterson, Don Mallick, Fred Haise, and Bill Dana from NASA. Air Force pilots who flew the M2-F1 included Chuck Yeager, Jerry Gentry, Joe Engle, Jim Wood, and Don Sorlie, although Wood, Haise, and Engle only flew on car tows. In the three years between the first and last flights of the M2-F1, it made about 400 car tows and 77 air tows. |
| Project Description |
The wingless, lifting body aircraft design was initially concieved as a means of landing an aircraft horizontally after atmospheric reentry. The absence of wings would make the extreme heat of re-entry less damaging to the vehicle. In 1962, Dryden management approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to flight test the wingless concept. It would look like a "flying bathtub," and was designated the M2-F1, the "M" referring to "manned" and "F" referring to "flight" version. It featured a plywood shell placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at Dryden. Construction was completed in 1963. The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were over Rogers Dry Lake at the end of a tow rope attached to a hopped-up Pontiac convertible driven at speeds up to about 120 mph. This vehicle needed to be able to tow the M2-F1 on the Rogers Dry Lakebed adjacent to NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC) at a minimum speed of 100 miles per hour. To do that, it had to handle the 400-pound pull of the M2-F1. Walter "Whitey" Whiteside, who was a retired Air Force maintenance officer working in the FRC's Flight Operations Division, was a dirt-bike rider and hot-rodder. Together with Boyden "Bud" Bearce in the Procurement and Supply Branch of the FRC, Whitey acquired a Pontiac Catalina convertible with the largest engine available. He took the car to Bill Straup's renowned hot-rod shop near Long Beach for modification. With a special gearbox and racing slicks, the Pontiac could tow the 1,000-pound M2-F1 110 miles per hour in 30 seconds. It proved adequate for the roughly 400 car tows that got the M2-F1 airborne to prove it could fly safely and to train pilots before they were towed behind a C-47 aircraft and released. These initial car-tow tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind the C-47 tow plane at greater altitudes. The C-47 took the craft to an altitude of 12,000 where free flights back to Rogers Dry Lake began. Pilot for the first series of flights of the M2-F1 was NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Typical glide flights with the M2-F1 lasted about two minutes and reached speeds of 110 to 120 mph. A small solid landing rocket, referred to as the "instant L/D rocket," was installed in the rear base of the M2-F1. This rocket, which could be ignited by the pilot, provided about 250 pounds of thrust for about 10 seconds. The rocket could be used to extend the flight time near landing if needed. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, and the U.S. Air Force's X-24 program, with an X-24A and -B built by Martin. The Lifting Body program also heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program. The M2-F1 program demonstrated, the feasibility of the lifting body concept for horizontal landings of atmospheric entry vehicles. It also demonstrated a procurement and management concept for prototype flight test vehicles that produced rapid results at very low cost (approximately $50,000, excluding salaries of government employees assigned to the project). |
| Photo Date |
August 30, 1963 |
|
Apollo 13 Crew Returns Home
| Name of Image |
Apollo 13 Crew Returns Home |
| Date of Image |
1970-04-17 |
| Full Description |
This photograph shows Apollo 13 astronauts Fred Haise, John Swigert, and James Lovell aboard the recovery ship, USS Iwo Jima after safely touching down in the Pacific Ocean at the end of their ill-fated mission. The mission was aborted after 56 hours of flight, 205,000 miles from Earth, when an oxygen tank in the service module exploded. The command module, Odyssey, brought the three astronauts back home safely. |
|
Apollo 13 Crew at Press Conf
| Name of Image |
Apollo 13 Crew at Press Conference |
| Date of Image |
1970-01-01 |
| Full Description |
Apollo 13 astronauts Fred Haise, John Swigert, and James Lovell are pictured during the press conference after their ill-fated mission. The Apollo 13 mission (the third lunar landing mission) was aborted after 56 hours of flight, 205,000 miles from Earth, when an oxygen tank in the service module exploded. |
|
Lunar Roving Vehicle Test Un
| Name of Image |
Lunar Roving Vehicle Test Unit With Astronauts |
| Date of Image |
1971-11-01 |
| Full Description |
In this November 1971 photograph, (from left to right) Astronauts John Young, Eugene Cernan, Charles Duke, Fred Haise, Anthony England, Charles Fullerton, and Donald Peterson await deployment tests of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) qualification test unit in building 4649 at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The LRV, developed under the direction of the MSFC, was designed to allow Apollo astronauts a greater range of mobility on the lunar surface during the last three lunar exploration missions, Apollo 15, Apollo 16, and Apollo 17. |
|
Lunar Lander Exhibit
| Title |
Lunar Lander Exhibit |
| Description |
NASA's Lunar Lander exhibit is located at the Mississippi I-10 Welcome Center in Hancock County, Miss., just west of Bay St. Louis and 45 miles east of New Orleans on I-10 at Exit 2. The exhibit features a 30-foot-tall replica of a Lunar Lander used as a trainer by the Apollo 13 astronauts. Apollo 13 astronaut and Mississippi native Fred Haise left space-boot prints and signature in concrete at the base of the exhibit. |
| Date |
09.25.2000 |
|
M2-F1 in flight over lakebed
| Title |
M2-F1 in flight over lakebed on tow line |
| Description |
Following the first M2-F1 airtow flight on 16 August 1963, the Flight Research Center used the vehicle for both research flights and to check out new lifting-body pilots. These included Bruce Peterson, Don Mallick, Fred Haise, and Bill Dana from NASA. Air Force pilots who flew the M2-F1 included Chuck Yeager, Jerry Gentry, Joe Engle, Jim Wood, and Don Sorlie, although Wood, Haise, and Engle only flew on car tows. In the three years between the first and last flights of the M2-F1, it made about 400 car tows and 77 air tows. The wingless, lifting body aircraft design was initially concieved as a means of landing an aircraft horizontally after atmospheric reentry. The absence of wings would make the extreme heat of re-entry less damaging to the vehicle. In 1962, Dryden management approved a program to build a lightweight, unpowered lifting body as a prototype to flight test the wingless concept. It would look like a "flying bathtub," and was designated the M2-F1, the "M" referring to "manned" and "F" referring to "flight" version. It featured a plywood shell placed over a tubular steel frame crafted at Dryden. Construction was completed in 1963. The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were over Rogers Dry Lake at the end of a tow rope attached to a hopped-up Pontiac convertible driven at speeds up to about 120 mph. This vehicle needed to be able to tow the M2-F1 on the Rogers Dry Lakebed adjacent to NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC) at a minimum speed of 100 miles per hour. To do that, it had to handle the 400-pound pull of the M2-F1. Walter "Whitey" Whiteside, who was a retired Air Force maintenance officer working in the FRC's Flight Operations Division, was a dirt-bike rider and hot-rodder. Together with Boyden "Bud" Bearce in the Procurement and Supply Branch of the FRC, Whitey acquired a Pontiac Catalina convertible with the largest engine available. He took the car to Bill Straup's renowned hot-rod shop near Long Beach for modification. With a special gearbox and racing slicks, the Pontiac could tow the 1,000-pound M2-F1 110 miles per hour in 30 seconds. It proved adequate for the roughly 400 car tows that got the M2-F1 airborne to prove it could fly safely and to train pilots before they were towed behind a C-47 aircraft and released. These initial car-tow tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind the C-47 tow plane at greater altitudes. The C-47 took the craft to an altitude of 12,000 where free flights back to Rogers Dry Lake began. Pilot for the first series of flights of the M2-F1 was NASA research pilot Milt Thompson. Typical glide flights with the M2-F1 lasted about two minutes and reached speeds of 110 to l20 mph. A small solid landing rocket, referred to as the "instant L/D rocket," was installed in the rear base of the M2-F1. This rocket, which could be ignited by the pilot, provided about 250 pounds of thrust for about 10 seconds. The rocket could be used to extend the flight time near landing if, needed. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, and the U.S. Air Force's X-24 program, with an X-24A and -B built by Martin. The Lifting Body program also heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program. The M2-F1 program demonstrated the feasibility of the lifting body concept for horizontal landings of atmospheric entry vehicles. It also demonstrated a procurement and management concept for prototype flight test vehicles that produced rapid results at very low cost (approximately $50,000, excluding salaries of government employees assigned to the project). |
| Date |
01.01.1963 |
|
M2-F1 on lakebed with pilots
| Title |
M2-F1 on lakebed with pilots Milt Thompson, Chuck Yeager, Don Mallick, and Bruce Peterson |
| Description |
After the initial M2-F1 airtow flights, the NASA Flight Research Center used the vehicle to check out other pilots. Bruce Peterson was scheduled to take over as the M2-F1 project pilot from Milt Thompson, while Don Mallick was to be his backup. Col. (later Brig. Gen.) Charles (Chuck) Yeager, then commandant of the Air Force's Aerospace Research Pilots School, wanted to evaluate a possible lifting-body trainer for the school. This photo shows all of these distinguished pilots on or in the M2-F1, with Col. Yeager in the pilot's seat. The lifting body concept evolved in the mid-1950s as researchers considered alternatives to ballistic reentries of piloted space capsules. The designs for hypersonic, wingless vehicles were on the boards at NASA Ames and NASA Langley facilities, while the US Air Force was gearing up for its Dyna-Soar program, which defined the need for a spacecraft that would land like an airplane. Despite favorable research on lifting bodies, there was little support for a flight program. Dryden engineer R. Dale Reed was intrigued with the lifting body concept, and reasoned that some sort of flight demonstration was needed before wingless aircraft could be taken seriously. In February 1962, he built a model lifting body based upon the Ames M2 design, and air-launched it from a radio controlled "mothership." Home movies of these flights, plus the support of research pilot Milt Thompson, helped pursuade the facilities director, Paul Bikle, to give the go-ahead for the construction of a full-scale version, to be used as a wind-tunnel model and possibly flown as a glider. Comparing lifting bodies to space capsules, an unofficial motto of the project was, "Don't be Rescued from Outer Space--Fly Back in Style." The construction of the M2-F1 was a joint effort by Dryden and a local glider manufacturer, the Briegleb Glider Company. The budget was $30,000. NASA craftsmen and engineers built the tubular steel interior frame. Its mahogany plywood shell was hand-made by Gus Briegleb and company. Ernie Lowder, a NASA craftsman who had worked on the Howard Hughes "Spruce Goose," was assigned to help Briegleb. The prototype of a 21st Century spacecraft required the fabrication of hundreds of small wooden parts meticulously nailed and glued together. It was a product of craftsmanship that was nearly obsolete in the 1940s. Final assembly of the remaining components (including aluminum tail surfaces, push rod controls, and landing gear from a Cessna 150) was done back at the NASA facility. In the meantime, other NASA engineers devised a special M2-F1 flight simulator, and a hot rod shop near Long Beach souped-up a Pontiac convertible to be used as the lifting body ground-tow vehicle. The M2-F1 did not have ailerons. Instead, it had elevons which were attached to each of the two rudders. A large flap on the trailing edge of the body acted as an elevator. This unconventional arrangement prompted the engineers to rethink the flight control system as well., They eventually devised two schemes. One system was fairly traditional. It used rudder pedal inputs to move the rudders for yaw control, and stick inputs to provide differential deflections of the elevons for roll. The other system used stick inputs to control the rudders for yaw, while rudder pedal deflections moved the elevons for roll. Milt Thompson tried both systems in the simulator and surprised the design team when he said he preferred system number two. He reasoned that although sideslip delayed roll (which was a result of dihedral effect), the roll rate was twice as high using the rudders instead of the elevons. He said he would rather have the higher roll rates available to him if needed, while the slip could be overcome with proper piloting technique. This was the system that Thompson practiced on the simulator, and he used it during the initial auto tows. Auto tows were done using a 1000 foot rope fastened to the NASA Pontiac. Rogers Dry Lake provided miles of unobstructed motoring. On April 5, 1963, Thompson lifted the M2-F1's nose off of the ground for the first time on tow. Speed was 86 miles per hour. The little craft seemed to bounce uncontrollably back and forth on the main landing gear, and stopped when he lowered the nose to the ground. He tried again, but each time with the same results. He felt it was a landing gear problem that could have caused the aircraft to roll on its back if he had lifting the main gear off of the ground. Looking at movies of the tests, engineers decided that the bouncing was probably caused by unwanted rudder movements. Flight control system number two was replaced in favor of number one, and it never bounced again. Speeds on tow inched up to 110 miles per hour, which allowed Thompson to climb to about 20 feet, then glide for about 20 seconds after releasing the line. That was the most that could be expected during an auto tow. In the spring of 1963 the M2-F1 was shipped to Ames Research Center, where it was mounted on twenty-foot poles inside the 40-foot by 80-foot wind tunnel. For two weeks, Thompson and engineers Ed Browne and Dick Eldredge took turns "flying" it as air blasted by at a 135 miles per hour. They learned more about its flying qualities, and accumulated important data for the upcoming aero tows. A NASA C-47 was used for all of the aero tows. The first was on August 16, 1963. The M2-F1 had recently been equipped with an ejection seat, small rockets in the tail to extend the landing flare for about 5 seconds (if needed), and Thompson prepared for the flight with a few more tows behind the Pontiac. Forward visibility in the M2-F1 was very limited on tow, requiring Thompson to fly about 20 feet higher than the C-47 so he could see the plane through the nose window. Towing speed was about 100 miles per hour. Tow release was at 12,000 feet. The lifting body descended at an average rate of about 3,600 feet-per-minute. At 1,000 feet above the ground, the nose was lowered to increase speed to, about 150 mph, flare was at 200 feet from a 20 degree dive. The landing was smooth, and the lifting body program was on its way. The M2-F1 was flown until August 16, 1966. It proved the lifting body concept and lead the way for subsequent, metal "heavyweight" designs. Chuck Yeager, Bruce Peterson, Bill Dana, Jerry Gentry, James Wood, Don Sorlie, Fred Haise, Joe Engle, and Don Mallick also flew the M2-F1. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, and to the Air Force's X-24 program, for which the vehicles were built by Martin. The Lifting Body program also heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program. |
| Date |
11.12.1963 |
|
Apollo 13 Astronaut Fred Hai
| Title |
Apollo 13 Astronaut Fred Haise and Apollo 13 Mission Patch |
| Description |
Astronaut Fred Haise Jr. of Biloxi, Miss., views his Apollo 13 mission patch, the flight on which he served in 1970, in a StenniSphere display donated to NASA by the American Needlepoint Guild. The exhibit is on permanent display at StenniSphere, the visitor center at John C. Stennis Space Center. In its first year of operation, more than 251,000 visitors representing over 40 countries have viewed the 123 hand-stitched patches in the exhibit. Forty-two guild members from 20 states made the trip to StenniSphere for the opening of the exhibit, one of the most popular at StenniSphere. |
| Date |
04.17.2000 |
|
Apollo XIII Astronaut Fred H
| Title |
Apollo XIII Astronaut Fred Haise Visits Stennis |
| Description |
South Mississippi native Fred Haise was one of the three American astronauts on the Apollo XIII mission that was originally intended to land on the moon. Haise visited Stennis Space Center to greet the public and sign autographs. Haise, and fellow astronauts Jim Lovell and Jack Swigert were outward bound, 200,000 miles from Earth, when both Serice Module oxygen tanks ruptured. The crew returned safely to Earth. The incident became the topic for the feature film, Apollo 13. |
| Date |
01.01.1995 |
|
Dale Reed with model in fron
| Title |
Dale Reed with model in front of M2-F1 |
| Description |
Dale Reed with a model of the M2-F1 in front of the actual lifting body. Reed used the model to show the potential of the lifting bodies. He first flew it into tall grass to test stability and trim, then hand-launched it from buildings for longer flights. Finally, he towed the lifting-body model aloft using a powered model airplane known as the "Mothership." A timer released the model and it glided to a landing. Dale's wife Donna used a 9 mm. camera to film the flights of the model. Its stability as it glided--despite its lack of wings--convinced Milt Thompson and some Flight Research Center engineers including the center director, Paul Bikle, that a piloted lifting body was possible. The lifting body concept evolved in the mid-1950s as researchers considered alternatives to ballistic reentries of piloted space capsules. The designs for hypersonic, wingless vehicles were on the boards at NASA Ames and NASA Langley facilities, while the US Air Force was gearing up for its Dyna-Soar program, which defined the need for a spacecraft that would land like an airplane. Despite favorable research on lifting bodies, there was little support for a flight program. Dryden engineer R. Dale Reed was intrigued with the lifting body concept, and reasoned that some sort of flight demonstration was needed before wingless aircraft could be taken seriously. In February 1962, he built a model lifting body based upon the Ames M2 design, and air-launched it from a radio controlled "mothership." Home movies of these flights, plus the support of research pilot Milt Thompson, helped pursuade the facilities director, Paul Bikle, to give the go-ahead for the construction of a full-scale version, to be used as a wind-tunnel model and possibly flown as a glider. Comparing lifting bodies to space capsules, an unofficial motto of the project was, "Don't be Rescued from Outer Space--Fly Back in Style." The construction of the M2-F1 was a joint effort by Dryden and a local glider manufacturer, the Briegleb Glider Company. The budget was $30,000. NASA craftsmen and engineers built the tubular steel interior frame. Its mahogany plywood shell was hand-made by Gus Briegleb and company. Ernie Lowder, a NASA craftsman who had worked on the Howard Hughes "Spruce Goose," was assigned to help Briegleb. The prototype of a 21st Century spacecraft required the fabrication of hundreds of small wooden parts meticulously nailed and glued together. It was a product of craftsmanship that was nearly obsolete in the 1940s. Final assembly of the remaining components (including aluminum tail surfaces, push rod controls, and landing gear from a Cessna 150) was done back at the NASA facility. In the meantime, other NASA engineers devised a special M2-F1 flight simulator, and a hot rod shop near Long Beach souped-up a Pontiac convertible to be used as the lifting body ground-tow vehicle. The M2-F1 did not have ailerons. Instead, it had elevons which were attached to each of the two rudders. A large flap, feet. The lifting body descended at an average rate of about 3,600 feet-per-minute. At 1,000 feet above the ground, the nose was lowered to increase speed to about 150 mph, flare was at 200 feet from a 20 degree dive. The landing was smooth, and the lifting body program was on its way. The M2-F1 was flown until August 16, 1966. It proved the lifting body concept and lead the way for subsequent, metal "heavyweight" designs. Chuck Yeager, Bruce Peterson, Bill Dana, Jerry Gentry, James Wood, Don Sorlie, Fred Haise, Joe Engle, and Don Mallick also flew the M2-F1. More than 400 ground tows and 77 aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation, and to the Air Force's X-24 program, for which the vehicles were built by Martin. The Lifting Body program also heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program., on the trailing edge of the body acted as an elevator. This unconventional arrangement prompted the engineers to rethink the flight control system as well. They eventually devised two schemes. One system was fairly traditional. It used rudder pedal inputs to move the rudders for yaw control, and stick inputs to provide differential deflections of the elevons for roll. The other system used stick inputs to control the rudders for yaw, while rudder pedal deflections moved the elevons for roll. Milt Thompson tried both systems in the simulator and surprised the design team when he said he preferred system number two. He reasoned that although sideslip delayed roll (which was a result of dihedral effect), the roll rate was twice as high using the rudders instead of the elevons. He said he would rather have the higher roll rates available to him if needed, while the slip could be overcome with proper piloting technique. This was the system that Thompson practiced on the simulator, and he used it during the initial auto tows. Auto tows were done using a 1000 foot rope fastened to the NASA Pontiac. Rogers Dry Lake provided miles of unobstructed motoring. On April 5, 1963, Thompson lifted the M2-F1's nose off of the ground for the first time on tow. Speed was 86 miles per hour. The little craft seemed to bounce uncontrollably back and forth on the main landing gear, and stopped when he lowered the nose to the ground. He tried again, but each time with the same results. He felt it was a landing gear problem that could have caused the aircraft to roll on its back if he had lifting the main gear off of the ground. Looking at movies of the tests, engineers decided that the bouncing was probably caused by unwanted rudder movements. Flight control system number two was replaced in favor of number one, and it never bounced again. Speeds on tow inched up to 110 miles per hour, which allowed Thompson to climb to about 20 feet, then glide for about 20 seconds after releasing the line. That was the most that could be expected during an auto tow. In the spring of 1963 the M2-F1 was shipped to Ames Research Center, where it was mounted on twenty-foot poles inside the 40-foot by 80-foot wind tunnel. For two weeks, Thompson and engineers Ed Browne and Dick Eldredge took turns "flying" it as air blasted by at a 135 miles per hour. They learned more about its flying qualities, and accumulated important data for the upcoming aero tows. A NASA C-47 was used for all of the aero tows. The first was on August 16, 1963. The M2-F1 had recently been equipped with an ejection seat, small rockets in the tail to extend the landing flare for about 5 seconds (if needed), and Thompson prepared for the flight with a few more tows behind the Pontiac. Forward visibility in the M2-F1 was very limited on tow, requiring Thompson to fly about 20 feet higher than the C-47 so he could see the plane through the nose window. Towing speed was about 100 miles per hour. Tow release was at 12,000 |
| Date |
03.06.1967 |
|
Preparing With the Apollo 13
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle
Apollo 13 lunar module pilot
450171main_70PC-59
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2010-05-03 |
| creator |
NASA |
| identifier |
450171main_70PC-59 |
|
Flight Research Pilots
drydenimagegallery, nasa
ED05-0095-02 Research pilot
333272main_ED05-0095-02
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2009-07-07 |
| creator |
NASA |
| identifier |
333272main_ED05-0095-02 |
|
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -
| Description |
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Owen Garriott, chairman of the Astronaut Hall of Fame, waits to address guests at the Astronaut Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony held at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex?s Apollo/Saturn V Center. Hall of Famers seated on stage are (from left, back row), Dick Gordon, Walt Cunningham, Bill Anders, Ed Mitchell, Al Worden, Charles Duke, Jack Lousma, Bill Pogue, Robert Crippen, Dan Brandenstein, Robert ?Hoot? Gibson and Stephen Covey. In front are (left to right) Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Vance Brand. The new inductees (not pictured) are Gordon Fullerton, Bruce McCandless and Joe Allen. Recognized for their individual flight accomplishments and contributions to the success and future success of the U.S. space program, this elite group of inductees is among only 60 astronauts to be honored in the Hall of Fame and the fourth group of Space Shuttle astronauts named. |
| Release Date |
04/30/2005 |
|
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -
| Description |
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the Astronaut Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, new inductee Gordon Fullerton (left) is congratulated by Chairman Owen Garriott. At right is Hall of Famer Fred Haise. Other Hall of Famers are gathered on stage for the ceremony, which is being held in the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex?s Apollo/Saturn V Center. Recognized for their individual flight accomplishments and contributions to the success and future success of the U.S. space program, this elite group of inductees is among only 60 astronauts to be honored in the Hall of Fame and the fourth group of Space Shuttle astronauts named. |
| Release Date |
04/30/2005 |
|
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -
| Description |
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Owen Garriott, chairman of the Astronaut Hall of Fame, speaks to guests at the Induction Ceremony of three new additions to the Hall of Fame: Gordon Fullerton, Bruce McCandless and Joe Allen. Seated on stage are current Hall of Famers, from left in the back row, Charles Duke, Jack Lousma, Bill Pogue, Dan Brandenstein, Robert ?Hoot? Gibson and Stephen Covey, in front row, Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Vance Brand. Recognized for their individual flight accomplishments and contributions to the success and future success of the U.S. space program, this elite group of inductees is among only 60 astronauts to be honored in the Hall of Fame and the fourth group of Space Shuttle astronauts named. |
| Release Date |
04/30/2005 |
|
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -
| Description |
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the Astronaut Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, new inductee Gordon Fullerton addresses guests. Behind him are current Hall of Famers (from left, back row) Al Worden, Charles Duke, Jack Lousma, Bill Pogue, Dan Brandenstein, Robert ?Hoot? Gibson and Stephen Covey, (in front row) Fred Haise and Vance Brand. The other new inductees are Bruce McCandless and Joe Allen. The event is being held in the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex?s Apollo/Saturn V Center. Recognized for their individual flight accomplishments and contributions to the success and future success of the U.S. space program, this elite group of inductees is among only 60 astronauts to be honored in the Hall of Fame and the fourth group of Space Shuttle astronauts named. |
| Release Date |
04/30/2005 |
|
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -
| Description |
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Members of the Astronaut Hall of Fame are applauded by the guests at the Astronaut Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony held at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex?s Apollo/Saturn V Center. From left are Al Gordon, John Young, Walt Cunningham, Bill Anders, Owen Garriott, Ed Mitchell, Gordon Fullerton, Al Worden, Charlie Duke, Joe Allen, Jack Lousma, Bruce McCandless, Bill Pogue, Robert Crippen, Jim Lovell, Dan Brandenstein, Robert ?Hoot? Gibson, Fred Haise, and Stephen Covey. Not pictured are Scott Carpenter and Vance Brand. McCandless, Allen and Fullerton are the 2005 inductees. Recognized for their individual flight accomplishments and contributions to the success and future success of the U.S. space program, this elite group of inductees is among only 60 astronauts to be honored in the Hall of Fame and the fourth group of Space Shuttle astronauts named. |
| Release Date |
04/30/2005 |
|
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -
| Description |
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the Astronaut Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, new inductee Bruce McCandless speaks to the guests. Seen behind him are current Hall of Famers (back row) Al Gordon, Walt Cunningham, Jack Lousma, Bill Pogue, Robert Crippen, Dan Brandenstein and Robert ?Hoot? Gibson, (front row) Scott Carpenter, John Young, Owen Garriott, Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Vance Brand. Garriott is chairman of the Astronaut Hall of Fame. The other new inductees are Joe Allen and Gordon Fullerton. The event is being held in the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex?s Apollo/Saturn V Center. Recognized for their individual flight accomplishments and contributions to the success and future success of the U.S. space program, this elite group of inductees is among only 60 astronauts to be honored in the Hall of Fame and the fourth group of Space Shuttle astronauts named. |
| Release Date |
04/30/2005 |
|
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -
| Description |
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the Astronaut Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Chairman Owen Garriott (center) places a medal around the neck of new inductee Gordon Fullerton. At right is Hall of Famer Fred Haise. Other Hall of Famers are gathered on stage for the ceremony, which is being held in the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex?s Apollo/Saturn V Center. Recognized for their individual flight accomplishments and contributions to the success and future success of the U.S. space program, this elite group of inductees is among only 60 astronauts to be honored in the Hall of Fame and the fourth group of Space Shuttle astronauts named. |
| Release Date |
04/30/2005 |
|
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -
| Description |
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Owen Garriott, chairman of the Astronaut Hall of Fame, speaks to guests at the Induction Ceremony of three new additions to the Hall of Fame: Gordon Fullerton, Bruce McCandless and Joe Allen. Seated on stage are current Hall of Famers, from left in the back row, Dick Gordon, Walt Cunningham, Bill Anders, Ed Mitchell, Al Worden, Charles Duke, Jack Lousma, Bill Pogue, Robert Crippen, Dan Brandenstein, Robert ?Hoot? Gibson and Stephen Covey. In front, from left, are Master of Ceremonies LeVar Burton, who starred in the television series ?Star Trek: The Next Generation,? and Hall of Famers Scott Carpenter and John Young, and at right, Jim Lovell and Fred Haise. The ceremony is being held in the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex?s Apollo/Saturn V Center. Recognized for their individual flight accomplishments and contributions to the success and future success of the U.S. space program, this elite group of inductees is among only 60 astronauts to be honored in the Hall of Fame and the fourth group of Space Shuttle astronauts named. |
| Release Date |
04/30/2005 |
|
C-75-3012 - SHUTTLE IN 10X10
| Title |
C-75-3012 - SHUTTLE IN 10X10 FOOT SUPERSONIC WIND TUNNEL SWT PHOTO WITH FRED HAISE AUTOGRAPH |
|
Apollo 13 Astronaut Fred Hai
| Title |
Apollo 13 Astronaut Fred Haise during water egress training |
| Description |
Astronaut Fred W. Haise Jr., lunar module pilot of the Apollo 13 lunar landing mission, participates in water egress training in a water tank in bldg 260 at the Manned Spacecraft Center. |
| Date Taken |
1970-01-17 |
|
Astronaut Fred Haise simulat
| Title |
Astronaut Fred Haise simulates lunar surface EVA during training exercise |
| Description |
Astronaut Fred W. Haise Jr., lunar module pilot of the Apollo 13 lunar landing mission, simulates lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) during training exercises in the Kennedy Space Center's Flight Crew Training bldg. Haise, wearing an Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), is holding a Solar Wind Composition experiment. |
| Date Taken |
1970-02-04 |
|
Apollo 13 Astronaut Fred Hai
| Title |
Apollo 13 Astronaut Fred Haise during lunar surface simulation training |
| Description |
Astronaut Fred W. Haise Jr., lunar module pilot of the Apollo 13 lunar landing mission, participates in lunar surface simulation training at the Manned Spacecraft Center. Haise is attached to a Six Degrees of Freedom Simulator. Using mock-ups, he simulates traversing with the two subpackages of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) via a barbell mode. |
| Date Taken |
1970-01-19 |
|
Apollo 13 Astronaut Fred Hai
| Title |
Apollo 13 Astronaut Fred Haise during lunar surface simulation training |
| Description |
Astronaut Fred W. Haise Jr., lunar module pilot of the Apollo 13 lunar landing mission, participates in lunar surface simulation training at the Manned Spacecraft Center. Haise is attached to a Six Degrees of Freedom Simulator. |
| Date Taken |
1970-01-19 |
|
Artist's concept of Apollo 1
| Title |
Artist's concept of Apollo 13 astronauts exploring lunar surface |
| Description |
An artist's concept by Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical, San Diego, California, showing two Apollo 13 astronauts exploring the lunar surface. In the center background is the Lunar Module. Astronauts James Lovell Jr and Fred Haise Jr. are represented by the two men in this picture. |
| Date Taken |
1970-03-23 |
|
Astronaut Fred Haise partici
| Title |
Astronaut Fred Haise participates in simulation training |
| Description |
Astronaut Fred W. Haise Jr., Apollo 13 lunar module pilot, participates in simulation training in preparation for the scheduled lunar landing mission. He is in the Apollo Lunar Module Mission Simulator in the Kennedy Space Center's Flight Crew Training building. |
| Date Taken |
1970-04-07 |
|
Astronaut Fred Haise in suit
| Title |
Astronaut Fred Haise in suiting room prior to launch |
| Description |
A space suit technician talks with Astronaut Fred W. Haise Jr., lunar module pilot for the Apollo 13 mission, during suiting up procedures at Kennedy Space Center. |
| Date Taken |
1970-04-11 |
|
Apollo 13 crew recovery afte
| Title |
Apollo 13 crew recovery after splashdown |
| Description |
Astronaut John L. Swigert Jr., Apollo 13 command module pilot, is lifted aboard a helicopter in a "Billy Pugh" net while Astronaut James A. Lovell Jr., commander, awaits his turn. Astronaut Fred Haise Jr., lunar module pilot, is already aboard the helicopter. In the life raft with Lovell and in the water are several U.S. Navy Underwater Demolition Team Swimmers who assisted in the recovery operations. The Apollo 13 spacecraft splashed down at 12:07:44 p.m., April 17, 1970. |
| Date Taken |
1970-04-17 |
|
View of Mission Control Cent
| Title |
View of Mission Control Center during Apollo 13 splashdown |
| Description |
Overall view of Mission Operations Control Room in Mission Control Center at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) during the ceremonies aboard the U.S.S. Iwo Jima, prime recovery ship for the Apollo 13 mission. The Apollo 13 spacecraft, with Astronauts James Lovell, John Swigert, and Fred Haise aboard splashed down in the South Pacific at 12:07:44 p.m., April 17, 1970. |
| Date Taken |
1970-04-17 |
|
View of Mission Control Cent
| Title |
View of Mission Control Center during Apollo 13 splashdown |
| Description |
Overall view of Mission Operations Control Room in Mission Control Center at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) during the ceremonies aboard the U.S.S. Iwo Jima, prime recovery ship for the Apollo 13 mission. The Apollo 13 spacecraft, with Astronauts James Lovell, John Swigert, and Fred Haise aboard splashed down in the South Pacific at 12:07:44 p.m., April 17, 1970. |
| Date Taken |
1970-04-17 |
|
Astronaut Fred Haise first c
| Title |
Astronaut Fred Haise first commander for Shuttle Approach and Landing Test |
| Description |
Astronaut Fred W. Haise Jr., commander of the first crew for the Space Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests (ALT), is photographed at the Rockwell International Space Division's Orbiter assembly facility at Palmdale, California on the day of the rollout of the Shuttle Orbiter 101 "Enterprise" spacecraft. The DC-9 size airplane-like Orbiter 101 is in the background. |
| Date Taken |
1976-09-17 |
|
|