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    June 17, 2005Dryden Flight Research Center

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration

    Volume 47 Issue 3

    See Griffin, page 16

    By Jay Levine

    Agency.

    a

    human exploration of Mars.

    he said.

    a

    Michael Griffin

    New administrator

    shares his philosophies

    GriffinvisitsDryden

    X-Press Editor

    NASAs newadministrator,M i c h a e lGriffin, held aMay 24 townhall meetinga t D r y d e nin which hei n t r o d u c e dh i m s e l f t oe m p l o y e e sand fielded questions about hisphilosophy and vision for the

    In keeping with goals laid outin 2004 by President George Bush,Griffin said NASAs chief focus willbe on returning the Space Shuttlessafely to flight and retiring theorbiters by 2010. Other prioritiesinclude completing the InternationalSpace Station, developingreplacement for the Space Shuttlesand engaging in missions to returnto the Moon and eventually begin

    In the short term, Griffin saidrestructuring of the aeronauticsdirectorate will continue.

    There are some dislocations and

    there will be some pain associatedwith that. We will bear it together,

    But while streamlining ofoperations and personnel willcontinue into the next fiscal year,he said he also wants to seecongressional and Agency leadersdevelop a vision for aeronautics thatcould lead to eventual rebuilding ofthe first A in NASA. Once the rightskill mix is achieved and a cohesive vision for aeronautics is outlined,Griffin said he sees aeronauticsresearch growing with renewedvigor.

    In the national debate ondirection and focus for aeronautics,Griffin said one area to which

    ED05 0082-03 NASA Photo by Tom Tschida

    With Drydens assistance, the Altair uninhabited air vehicle recently completed a series of missions for the National Oceanic and At-mospheric Administration.

    Altair effort scores winfor NASA/NOAA teamBy Jay Levine the National Oceanic and Atmospheric of atmospheric and oceanic research

    X-Press Editor Administration. flights off the California coastline. A se ri es of sc ie nc e mi ss io ns Dryden assisted NOAA with lease of the Dryden Mission Manager Chris

    conducted in May with the Altair Altair aircraft, built by General Atomics Jennison said the mission had manyuninhabited air vehicle marked the Aeronautical Systems Inc. of San Diego,first UAV collaboration by Dryden and and provided instrumentation for a series See Mission, page 12

    By Roberta Ross Dryden chief pilotPublic Affairs Specialist and former astro-

    Dryden chief research pilot and naut C. Gordonformer astronaut C. Gordon Fullerton Fullerton, left, is

    was inducted April 30 into the U.S. welcomed into the

    Astronaut Hall of Fame at the Kennedy Astronaut Hall of

    Space Center Visitor Complex in Fame by retired as-tronaut Fred Haise.

    Florida.In the background

    Fullerton was joined by two other is Vance Brand,2005 candidates, Joseph Allen and former astronautBruce McCandless. A committee and Drydens dep-of former NASA officials and flight uty director of pro-

    controllers, journalists, historians and grams.Hall of Fame astronauts selected thetrio.

    See Fullerton, page 13 ED05 0095-2 NASA Photo

    Fullerton joins Hall of Fame

    Inside

    Dryden remembers Roy A different kind of UAV fliesKevin Walsh is racing across

    X-43A team wins honor, page 2 Bryant, page 4 America, page 6 at Dryden, page 8

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    Good progress made in transformation

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    as engineers and technicians.

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    News June 17, 2005

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    or in place.

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    Recovery System.

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    history into another success story.

    EC000-222-2 NASA Photo

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    jj

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    jalmost Mach 10.

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    Kevin L. Petersen

    See Recognition, page 3

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    management.

    their leadership in the use of Earth

    nizations, he added.

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    http://www.science.nasa.gov.

    dune.

    Mars sand trap

    e l i m i n a t eany needfor forcedworkforcereductions.

    Fo r t h eshort term,the picturefor onsitecontractorsissomewhatmixed. Wewill need tocontinue to

    reduce some contract obs to meetour institutional restructuring goals.But if reimbursable work continues toincrease, as projected, it will provideadditional funding for civil servantsand contractors, support staff as well

    It is important to note that this goodnews must be tempered by realism.If NASA should have to enact furtherreductions, we may have to go backto the drawing board. But as far as Ican tell at the moment, we may avoidany worst-case scenarios. We still needto reduce overhead and other costs tomake us more competitive for newbusiness, but as so many did withreimbursable work, a lot of peopleseem to be pitching in. We also mustpay close attention to the way weapproach our work, shifting staffing tomeet requirements and prioritizing sopeople are not overworked. We alsoare seeking to enable people whoseskills may not fit into future pro ectionsof Center needs to transition into newcareer fields.

    Despite such requirements, itappears that we are moving in the rightdirection. Some time ago, we shiftedsome of our focus to unpiloted aerial vehicles. This has paid off and wecurrently have several UAV technology

    Center Directors column

    DC-8 part of new

    NASAagreement

    NASA chooses23 new projects

    Explore. Discover. Understand.

    We all recognize that NASA isundergoing maor change. For Dryden,this has meant reductions in the NASAaeronautics budget, the consequentneed to draw down staffing and the

    necessity for refocusing operations toaccommodate these changes. We all areworking to adust to this transformationprocess and will continue to do so forthe foreseeable future. All the solutionsto these issues are not yet entirely clear

    But we are making good progress inour transformation efforts, and I wantto share with you some good news.First, in the area of compliance withrequired reductions in staffing, we aredoing better than expected. We had agoal of reducing Civil Service workforcelevels from 565 full-time equivalents, orFTEs in fiscal year 2005 to 514 FTEs for

    FY2006. With buyouts and people whohave found employment elsewhere, wealready project a figure of about 500FTEs, including temporary employees,by the end of the current fiscal year,well ahead of our goal for FY2006. Inthe process, we lost a great deal ofvaluable experience, but this presentsgreat opportunities for other people totake on roles that have been vacated.

    Second, with the help of many peoplehere, Drydens program planning officeand others have done a magnificent obof finding new work for the Center.For several years through FY2003, thelevel of reimbursable work at Drydenhad been about $3 million annually.In FY2004, that level rose to about $12million. It more than doubled to roughly$25 million this year, and we expect itto rise to over $30 million in FY2006.This reimbursable work will help offsetcivil servant and contractor costs andallow a more gradual realignmentof our workforce skills and capacity.Barring the unforeseen, this should

    efforts underway. In addition, NASAs Vehicle Systems program includessonic boom mitigation, with prospectsfor flights with the F/A-18 and F-15.There also is the prospect that alow-sonic-boom demonstrator willbe built and flown here. We expectto get autonomous aerial refuelingdemonstration, or AARD work withthe Defense Advanced ResearchProjects Agency and to work with theDepartment of Homeland Securityon a Propulsion Control for Aircraft

    In addition, some UAV work withthe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration may help to answerquestions about global warming andother issues. And prospects lookgood for our participation in theExploration Systems efforts to realize

    the vision for space exploration.These pro ects are only some of thosewe anticipate in the coming monthsand years.

    Many people contributed to theincrease in reimbursable work. Forexample, Gerard Schkolnik had a bighand in bringing the AARD project toDryden. John Carter and Robert Currydid a great job of bringing about thePCARS effort with the Department ofHomeland Security. In the flight loadslab, Larry Hudson and Thomas Horndemonstrated an entrepreneurial spiritby helping to arrange the recentlycompleted, successful loads testing ofthe U.S. Navy E-2C Hawkeye, a pro ectthat may bring other, similar work tothe Center.All these are examples of ways in

    which many of you have contributedto a positive transformation of theway we do business at Dryden. Withyour help, we can continue turning adifficult transition period in Drydens

    Dryden X-43A team representedat Aviation Weeks Laurel Awards

    Catherine Bahm, left, and Laurie Marshall Grindle, X-43A deputy chief engineer and chief

    engineer for flight three, respectively, represented Dryden at a recent award ceremony. In thecenter is J. Victor Lebacqz, NASA associate administrator for Aeronautics.

    By David E. Steitz/Doc MirelsonNASA Headquarters Public AffairsTwo members of Drydens X-43A

    flight research proect team attendedceremonies April 5 in which the X-43A/Hyper-X proect team and several of itsma or players were honored by Aviation Week and Space Technology in thepublications 48th annual Laurel Awardsprogram at the National Air and SpaceMuseum in Washington, D.C.

    Laurel honorees were nominated bythe editors of the aerospace magazinefor extraordinary individual and teamaccomplishments in the global aviation,aerospace and defense industries.

    The Laureates Hall of Fame Award in

    Aeronautics/Propulsion went to Hyper- X Program Manager Vince Rauschand supersonic-combustion ram etengine developer Randall Voland,both of Langley Research Center,Hampton, Va. The award also citedAnthony Castrogiovanni, president of ATK-GASL of Tullahoma, Tenn., co-designers of the X-43As engine, andthe entire X-43/Hyper-X scramjet teamfor their completion of the first twofree flights of an operating scrametengine integrated with a representativehypersonic airframe.

    The two flights from Dryden, inMarch and November 2004, set world

    speed records for aircraft powered bya non-rocket, air-breathing engine,the first near Mach 7 (seven times thespeed of sound) and the second at

    Dryden aerodynamics engineerLaurie Marshall Grindle and controlsengineer Catherine Bahm, chiefengineer and deputy chief engineer,respectively, for the final X-43A

    fl ight, represented the Dryden X-43 pro ect team at the awardspresentation.

    Another of NASAs aeronauticsefforts, the Synthetic Vision Systems, orSVS, project, was among five honoredin the Information Technology/Electronics award category. The pro ect

    Center Director

    at NASANews

    NASA has signed a cooperativeagreement with the University ofNorth Dakota, Grand Forks, tohouse and operate the Agencys DC-8et aircraft. The purpose of the agree-ment is to create a National SuborbitalEducation and Research Center at theuniversity with the DC-8 suborbitallaboratory as the centerpiece.

    The agreement is intended to ex-pand the science conducted usingthe DC-8 and enhance hands-oneducational opportunities for stu-dents. The agreement is valued at$25 million over a five-year period.

    Transfer of the aircraft to the univer-sity is targeted for fall 2005, pendingcompletion of a safety review. Theaircraft will be housed at the GrandForks Air Force Base.

    NASAs Science mission director-ate has selected 23 pro ects that willharness Earth science data to im-

    prove decision-making processes.NASA will contribute approximately$22 million over the three-year lifeof these projects with national or-ganizations that include water man-agement, public health, air quality,ecosystem stewardship and disaster

    These projects were chosen for

    science observation and model pre-dictions, said NASAs Deputy Asso-ciate Administrator, Science missiondirectorate, Dr. Ghassem Asrar.Also a key factor in the selectionprocess was the initiative shown in

    putting together partnerships withpublic, private and academic orga-

    Peer panels and NASA programmanagers reviewed 172 proposalsfor their merit, cost, and relevanceto NASA goals and objectives. Thepro ects include participants from22 states and more than 59 organi-zations.

    For a listing of the proects on theInternet, visit http://science.hq.nasa.gov/earth-sun/applications/index.html. For information about NASAsScience mission directorate, visit

    NASAs Mars Exploration Rovermission engineers and manag-ers cheered when images from theMartian surface confirmed that roverOpportunity successfully escapedfrom a sand trap.

    From about 108 million milesaway, the rover team at NASAs JetPropulsion Laboratory, Pasadena,Calif., had worked diligently fornearly five weeks to extricate therover. The long-distance roadsideassistance was a painstaking op-eration undertaken to free the six- wheeled rover, which was miredin the soft sand of a small Martian

    Rover escapes

    NASA Dryden X-Press2

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    June 17, 2005 Explore. Discover. Understand. News

    War on Error Dryden in brief

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    Orange counties.

    ED05 0117-09

    EC05 0062-1

    more

    Former crew chief diesa

    Dryden chief, has

    Boeing 747 modifications

    and a said

    pilot and chief

    Dave

    Brig. Gen. Curtis Bedke, commander of the Air Force Flight

    Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, received some first-hand insight in May on how to fly a Space Shuttle approach

    and landing, courtesy of NASA astronaut and STS-114 missioncommander Eileen Collins. Bedke was aboard one of NASAs

    modified Grumman Gulfstream-II Shuttle Training Aircraftas Collins flew a series of simulated Space Shuttle approaches

    to Edwards main runway in preparation for the upcomingShuttle mission. Although Kennedy Space Center is the primary

    landing site for Space Shuttle missions, flight crews practicethe Shuttles steep approach and landing at Edwards in case

    weather or other situations preclude a landing at the Florida

    site and force a diversion to Edwards and Dryden.

    U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif., chairman of the House Sub-committee on Space and Aeronautics, was briefed by X-43A

    Chief Engineer Laurie Grindle during a recent tour of Dryden.Calvert, accompanied by several staff members, was briefed

    by Center Director Kevin Petersen and members of his staffon Drydens role as a flight research institution, and then

    reviewed some of the Centers recent, current and upcomingflight research pro ects. Calverts tour was the second in a series

    of visits to all 10 NASA field centers designed to better acquainthim with the roles and responsibilities of each. A subcommit-

    tee of the House Science Committee, Calverts committee hasoversight of NASA and other federal agencies dealing with

    aeronautics and space issues. He represents Californias 44th

    Congressional District, which covers portions of Riverside and

    NASA Photo by Tom Tschida

    NASA Photo by Tom Tschida

    Congressman learnsabout Dryden

    Collins gives Bedke glanceat Space Shuttle landings

    Robert G. Boyd, former

    crewdied. In a career spanning

    three decades, Boyd workedwith the F-100, F5D and the

    for the Space Shuttle Car-

    rier. He was a good mangood friend,

    Bill Dana, retired Drydenengineer.

    Stoddard provided

    this 1970s image of Boyd. Do-nations in his honor are being

    accepted by the Desert TortoisePreserve in California City.

    Effects of physiological factors can be reduced

    EC05 0088-07 NASA Photo by Tom Tschida

    Thomas Curran, left, and Tony Kern had a simple message for Dryden em-ployees fatigue can kill you. In separate presentations, they stressed that

    the conditions leading to errors can be addressed.

    By Sarah MerlinX-Press Assistant Editor

    Sleep. Its not just for meetings

    anymore.That was the light-heartedtake on a life-threatening issuethat two career aviation safetyofficials brought to Dryden in April in their Global War onError presentation.

    Fatigue, and other physiologicalfactors, are key contributorsto human error, and can beaddressed simply by being awareof their very human root causes,Thomas Curran and Tony Kerntold employees in respectivetalks. Couched in aviationterms but with applicationsfor everyday life, the GWOE

    presentations highlighted thereality that being an Iron Manis not enough, Curran said.Even the best intentions, thebest effort, the best training arenot enough.

    Fatigue can kill you.Curran is a Federal Aviation

    Administration Aviation SafetyInspector for Operations. Duringhis career as an airline pilot, in which he logged over 16,700hours of flight experience inmulti-engine aircraft, he was acrewmember on a commercialtransport that crashed on

    approach to Guantanamo Bay,Cuba, in 1993. Fatigue was citedas a primary contributor to thecrash.

    Kern, a retired Air Force pilot who flew B-1B bombers, wasinvolved in a mid-air collisionover Saudi Arabia in a KC-135. He is an author of fivebooks on pilot performance andsenior partner in ConvergentKnowledge Solutions, a Florida-based firm specializing inimproved human performancein high-risk endeavors.

    Curran and Kern recalledtheir personal experiences in

    illustrating the role of humanfactors in accident prevention.

    Fatigue, Curran said, causesprofessionals to take dangerouss h o r t c u t s i n e s t a b l i s h e dprocedures and makes it difficultto grasp abstract concepts andtheir consequences. In anexamination by the NationalTransportation Safety Boardof 37 accident cases, he said,fatigue was identified as acontributing factor in a third of

    the incidents.Curran recommended stepsbeyond the basics of appropriatelevels of rest to prevent fatigue-induced tragedies. Citing NASAsexperience with the loss ofSpace Shuttle Columbia, he saida willingness to speak up andmake dissenting viewpointsknown was critical to missionsafety.

    You have an obligation tochallenge, and then to respondto situations that appeardangerous or unsound, he said.Even if its legal as was thecase with crew-rest conditions

    in the 1993 transport accident,which met FAA regulations itdoesnt mean its okay.

    B e y o n d f a t i g u e , K e r nelaborated on other physiologicalstress factors that contribute tothe underpinnings of error,most of them inherent in humannature.

    Rather than viewing humanerror as an adversary, Kern said,a military science approachshould be taken to recognizing

    and then preventing conditionsthat cause mistakes to happen.

    Its better to develop peoplescapabilities as an offense againsterror, he said, calling thecrooked timber of humaninfallibility a tool in accidentprevention.Working with the kind of high

    achievers that typically becomeNASA pilots and engineers,for instance, Kern said it wasimportant to recognize thatthe character traits of highachievers are desirable, and

    See War on Error, page 16

    Recognition ... from page 2was recognized as a government-industry-university research team, for bringing SVS andenhanced-vision avionics to an impressivelevel of functionality, significantly improvingaircraft safety during reduced visibility flightconditions.

    Were elated to see the hard work andextraordinary achievement of our NASAaeronautics teams and individuals honored in thisway, said Dr. J. Victor Lebacqz, NASA associateadministrator for aeronautics research. TheX-43A teams accomplishments speak to exciting

    breakthroughs in aviation in the future, and theSynthetic Vision project touches the public rightnow with increased flight safety.

    The Laureates Hall of Fame Award in thespace category went to a collaborative team thatincludes the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena,Calif.; Cornell University, Cornell, N.Y.; theaerospace industry; and the Mars Exploration Rovermission team for its remarkable year investigatingthe Martian surface with Spirit and Opportunity.

    Also recognized in the space category wasthe International Space Stations Expedition 9crew, astronaut Mike Fincke and cosmonautGennady Padalka, as well as the U.S. andRussian ground teams. They were cited forcompleting several never-before-accomplished

    tasks during their six-month mission on theISS in 2004.

    Dr. Charles Elachi, JPL director, was recognizedfor his leadership of the Mars Exploration Roverprogram and the Cassini mission team, missionsdedicated to searching for signs of life on Mars andunveiling the mysteries of Saturns moon Titan.

    The JPL and Lockheed Martin Stardust team was honored for designing and guiding theStardust spacecraft to within 140 miles of thenucleus of the comet Wild 2. Stardust, scheduledto return to Earth early in 2006, has harvested the

    first comet dust.Themagazinealsorecognizedtheaccomplishmentsof Cassini spacecraft engineers and scientists.Following Cassinis long journey to Saturn, themission team carried out the highly successful June30 orbit insertion and gathered close-up data.

    Several historic NASA figures also werehonored with 2004 Laurel Legend awards. Legendawards are given to previous Laurel winners orindividuals chosen for contributions to the globalfield of aerospace over a period of years. Thisyears honorees included the late Maxim Faget,famed NASA spacecraft engineer. Also recognizedwere Americas first women astronauts: SallyRide, Kathy Sullivan, Rhea Seddon, Anna Fisher,Shannon Lucid and the late Judith Resnick.

    In memoriam

    NASA Dryden X-Press 3

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    News June 17, 2005Explore. Discover. Understand.

    Bryant leaves behind a legacyCompiled by Peter MerlinDryden History Office

    Noted NASA engineer Roy GlennBryant died May 30 at his Lancasterhome. He had retired from Dryden inApril after a 48-year career, much of

    it dedicated to work with the Centerslegendary research aircraftBryant was born Feb. 3, 1933, in

    Olton, Texas. He received a Bachelorof Science in mechanical engineeringfrom Texas Technological College inLubbock in 1956 and then joined theU.S. Army with a rank of lieutenant.After completing the Student Officer

    course at Ft. Belvoir, Va., Bryant wasassigned as platoon leader in the547th Engineer Combat Battalion atFt. Ord, Calif., where he served as anengineering instructor.

    On May 3, 1957, Bryant accepted anactive-duty assignment as an aeronauti-cal research engineer with the National

    Advisory Committee for Aeronautics,NASAs predecessor organization, join-ing the Project Coordinators Group atthe NACA High Speed Flight Station atEdwards, Calif. There he was respon-sible for coordinating flight researchactivities of the HSFS engineering, op-erations and instrumentation divisions.His first assignment was as project engi-neer for the JB-47A aircraft, which wasused for aerodynamic noise studies and

    NASA Photolanding-approach investigations. E-6172

    Bryant subsequently was assigned tomanage projects involving several of Roy Bryant is seen at far right in this 1959 image, wearing a flowered shirt, with other Dryden engineers as they inspected film records

    the so-called Century Series fighters of the X-15 from its first powered flight. Bryant had recently retired from Dryden following a 48-year career.

    such as the F-100, F-104 and F-107.

    While some projects, such as that withthe F-107A, were of short duration, hesometimes found himself associatedwith an airplane for longer than thespan of most peoples careers; Bryantmanaged research projects involvingthe F-104 from 1957 to 1994.

    Bryant ended his active-duty Armycareer in October 1958 just two weeksafter the NACA became NASA. At thattime, he became a full-time NASA em-ployee but remained in the Army Re-serve. At what was then known as theFlight Research Center (at Edwards),he served as an aeronautical researchengineer in the Special Projects Office,where he continued his duties as proj-

    ect coordinator.In October 1959, Bryant was trans-

    ferred to the stability and controlbranch of the Research Division. Whilecontinuing his work with various jet air-craft projects, he also served as a mem-

    EC87 275-5 NASA Photober of the X-15 Research Airplane FlightTest Organization until the programs Bryant makes a point to, from left, Richard Reeves, James Fletcher, Dale Compton andcompletion in 1968. The X-15, the first Ted Ayers. Below, Bryant is seated in the front row at left in this photo of the NASA bas-

    of the hypersonic rocket planes, was ketball team from 1959 to 1960.

    considered one of the most successfulaviation research programs of all time.

    During the 1970s, Bryant continuedto manage NASAs F-104 fleet. Thesesupersonic jets performed chase andsupport duties as well as serving as

    testbeds for various research projects.In September 1975, he became projectmanager for the NB-52B. This airplane,originally modified as a launch platformfor the X-15, became a workhorse atthe Flight Research Center. It was usedto carry or launch a wide variety ofresearch vehicles and experiments untilits retirement in December 2004.

    In 1976, Bryant was assigned asproject manager for the YF-17 Light- weight Fighter prototype used byNASA for base drag studies and tran-sonic maneuvering capabilities evalu-ations. Although forced to work under

    See Legacy, page 15 E-5175B NASA Photo

    gether on the YF-17.

    on command.

    a

    At the time of long-time NASAengineer Roy Bryants passing, col-leagues past and present reflectedon the career and the achievementsof one of the Centers most endur-ing figures.

    Former Dryden Chief Pilot GaryKrier recalled the period duringwhich he and Bryant worked to-

    Roy and I worked on several

    small projects together but we hadone outstanding experience in the70s that captured his being per-fectly, Krier reflected.

    Dryden had a brief window ofopportunity to fly one of the mostexotic aircraft of its time, the YF-17, which was the unsuccessful can-didate for the Lightweight Fightercompetition. Lord knows why itwas unsuccessful, because it wasa top-notch performer and flyer.It was the only aircraft I ever gavea Pilots Rating 1 during air-to-airrefueling because of its hands-offstability and perfect responsiveness

    The demands on Dryden weresevere, he continued. We hadNorthrop, the U.S. Navy, NASAresearchers, McDonnell Douglas,and the Air Force all wantingedge-of-the-envelope data that theprogram didnt acquire in its tightlyfunded, time-limited competition. Additionally, Roy P. Jackson,Northrop executive on exchange toNASA Headquarters demanded thatDryden finish the program aheadof the agreed schedule becauseNorthrop was going to take the air-

    Bryant fondlyremembered

    See Remembered, page 15

    NASA Dryden X-Press4

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    EC05 0049-1 NASA Photo by Tom Tschida

    This years unusually wet winter in the Mojave

    Desert fueled a burst of life among flora and

    NewsJune 17, 2005

    5

    EC05 0108-14

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    EC05 0108-05 EC05 0108-02

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    essay capturing highlights of the second raini-

    NASA Dryden X-Press

    Explore. Discover. Understand.

    NASA Photo by Tom Tschida

    NASA Photo by Tom Tschida

    NASA Photo by Tom Tschida

    NASA Photo by Tom Tschida NASA Photo by Tom Tschida

    NASA Photo by Tom Tschida

    fauna. Dryden photographers offer this brief photo

    est winter on record. The images were captured

    along the shores of the (not so) dry lake beds on

    Edwards Air Force Base.

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    News June 17, 2005Explore. Discover. Understand.

    ChallengeWalsh puts the pedal to the metal in race across U.S.By Sarah Merlin

    X-Press Assistant Editor

    When its quitting time at Drydenmost of us are out the door, just enoughenergy left to get home and deal withdinner and homework before we haveto get up and do it all over again.

    Not so for Kevin Walsh, chief engineeron the High-Altitude, Long-Endurance or HALE UAV project. Most days, forWalsh the 4:00 bell just means its timeto suit up, mount up and bike the backhalf of his 70-mile-round-trip commute;he did the first half around sun-up. On

    either leg of the trip, it may be windy,freezing cold, or 100 degrees.I guess I just love riding is his only

    explanation.Guess so. Walsh loves riding so much,

    in fact, that on June 19 hell be out ofthe gate in San Diego to tackle the RaceAcross America, an officially sanctioned12-day ultra-marathon cycling event.His goal is to average about 300 milesa day in hopes of making it across thefinish line in Atlantic City, N.J., by July1. The race marks the culmination of25 years of die-hard, take-no-prisonersbicycling that has dominated Walshslife and leisure hours. And he knowshes ready.

    Walsh says a high point in those 25years came in 2002, when he first quali-fied for the RAAM, as its known. Hecompleted the 508-mile Furnace Creekqualifying event in a sleepless 36 hoursand 20 minutes on the route from MagicMountain in Santa Clarita through 29Palms and into Death Valley. Peddlingas fast as 65 mph during the night, heaveraged about 14 mph taking intoaccount a total of some 35,000 feet ofelevation on parts of the ride. All in adays work for the 47-year-old fatherof two.

    Furnace Creek was just one of manyultra-marathon events Walsh has con-

    quered, and which together with thedaily commute have rendered himready for the RAAM. Hes ridden indozens of century and double-centuryevents (100 and 200-mile rides), his firstcentury race in 1980 and first double-century in 1982. He also still goes forpleasure rides with friends, and regu-larly pedals the 85 miles to WestlakeVillage to visit his in-laws.

    To reiterate: I really like going placeson a bike.

    Going places like Atlantic City willmean a test of everything Walsh has worked hard to attain in his cyclingcareer. To get this far, he says hes takenthe same detail-oriented approach tocycling that he does to engineering.

    Ultra-cycling is for neither the faintof heart nor the young. Most events,Walsh says, are populated by peopleconsidered long of tooth in other typesof athletic competition, in large partbecause years of training are requiredto develop the stamina needed to gothe distance. Taking the broader view,theres also the issue of what oldstersused to call stick-to-it-iveness; to ex-cel in Walshs world means to fail, toface setbacks, to recoup, to start over without ever considering giving up.Such experiences take time.

    ED05 0118-01 NASA Photo by Tom Tschida

    HALE project chief engineer Kevin Walsh reviews information in his office, but his bike

    is always near. Walsh will enter the 3,000-mile Race Across America on June 19, joining25 others who will make the trek from San Diego to Atlantic City, N.J. Stopping only two

    to three hours each night to sleep, Walsh hopes to average 300 miles per day and crossthe finish line July 1. Dai ly reports on his progress will be available on Drydens Web site

    at http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/home/walsh_updates.html

    ED05 0118-10 NASA Photo by Tom Tschida

    Endurance cyclist Kevin Walsh pedals past a retired SR-71 Blackbird used formerly byDryden researchers for high-speed test. Walsh regularly makes the 70-mile-round-trip

    commute to work on his bike as part of a rigorous training regimen. An avid cyclist forthe past 25 years, the Race Across America will take him through 13 states and across

    mountain summits as high as 10,000 feet.

    The challenges start with the de-mands on the body. As a member of aselect group known as elite athletes,Walshs physical condition approachesthe mystical. Six feet two inches talland 175 pounds, his blood pressure is110/65 and his cholesterol is 120. Hisresting heart rate, 34 beats per minute, would suggest looming tragedy innormal adults but is all that his ultra-efficient ticker requires to send bloodcoursing through his veins and limbs.

    During the race, hell consume 12 to14,000 calories daily, riding for about

    21 or 22 hours and sleeping for twoto three. Unlike such similar events asthe Tour de France, the RAAM has nobuilt-in rest periods. His meals willconsist of an eight-ounce flask con-taining a carbo, fat and protein-ladenpaste every one to two hours. Therellbe an ice cream treat before bedtime,the occasional fruit protein shake fora change of pace and of course plentyof fluids.As for stick-to-it-iveness, Walsh has

    exhibited his share. The small stuff in-volves people throwing beer bottles athim and being chased by dogs. Largerroadblocks included back surgery fiveyears ago followed by acupuncture and

    physical therapy and having to use awalker as, week by painstaking week,he slowly worked his way back intothe saddle.

    The day friends helped him off his walker and onto his bike for twosl-o-o-w-w-w blocks, he recalls, wasanother high point.

    It was the greatest feeling, just get-ting air in my face again, he says. Walsh credits his upbringing for

    much of what drives him, and is quickto credit the family and friends whokeep him going. His wife, Kristy, andtheir boys ages 18 and 20 have nomemory of a life that didnt include

    Walsh riding his bike. His dad was anIrish-Catholic Marine and a perfec-tionist.

    The oldest of four children, Walshgave early indications of possessing hisfathers drive; for six years, he aroseevery morning at 4:30 a.m. to delivernewspapers in the familys ChicagoHeights neighborhood.

    If its 10 degrees below or colder,dont wake me up, were his instruc-tions to his mom. Barring those condi-tions, though, he was on his bike andout the door seven days a week to tossthe Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times.Among other things, that kind of

    perseverance has taught Walsh the

    value of having a plan and stickingto it. Being an ultra-marathoner andcompeting in an event like the RAAM,he says like being a research engi-neer hinges on your ability to createa plan, refine it and then never waiverfrom it without a really good reason.Details count.

    You have to have a plan, he stress-es. And the prep is everything.

    For him, the latter has meant yearsin training, years of refining his equip-ment arsenal and his routine. It alsomeans having tools, supplies and

    See Challenge, page 10

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    NewsJune 17, 2005 Explore. Discover. Understand.

    Young named outstanding leaderIn high school, she took de- tion process. She also worked brieflywith its OutstandingBy Roberta Ross

    Public Affairs Specialist

    Gwens Youngs life has been any-thing but ordinary since she joinedNASA as a Presidential ManagementIntern at NASA Headquarters in Wash-ington, D.C., 22 years ago.

    Young, a native Pacific Islander, wasfresh out of college with a mastersdegree in public administration whenshe began work in the Agencyscomptrollers office in 1983.

    Now Drydens associate director formanagement, Youngs professionalexperience and growth through a seriesof increasingly responsible positionshas helped her serve as a role modelfor young women, demonstrating tothem that they can be anything theychoose to be regardless of ethnicity orbackground.

    The Federal Asian Pacific AmericanCouncil honored Young in June 2004

    light in challenging the boys

    Award for achievingIndividual Leadership

    to see who could get the

    personal goals and highest grades.

    displaying exceptional Though I did very well

    leadership qualities in high school, I had few

    that will inspire others role models to emulate, she

    to follow. recalls. Born in Hawaii as She obtained a Bachelor of

    Gwendolyn Vaisega Science degree in elementary

    Young her middle education and her masters

    name reflecting her from Brigham Young Uni-

    maternal grandmoth- versity in Provo, Utah. Her

    ers first name sheGwen Young selection as a Presidential

    on Capitol Hill for then-congressmanDaniel K. Akaka of Hawaii, support-ing his appropriation subcommitteesstaff work.

    Through these experiences, I learnedabout the federal budget process and

    decided to work in this area for the restof my career, she said.

    Before coming to Dryden, Youngserved as Resources Management Offi-cer, responsible for all budget activitiesat Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.She also worked in the Office of theInternational Space Station at bothNASA Headquarters and in the SpaceStation Program Office in Reston, Va.During this time, she completed a one-year detail as the NASA budget liaisonin the Air Force/NASAs Joint ProgramOffice of the National Launch System

    See Award, page 10

    was raised primarilyin Southern California. Her maternalgrandparents are Samoan; her paternalgrandmother is Hawaiian and grandfa-ther is Korean. As part of a military family that

    moved frequently, she took comfort inher studies, and unlike many girls, shethoroughly enjoyed math and science.

    Management Intern andher appointment to serve at NASAHeadquarters catapulted her careerprospects from the ordinary to theextraordinary.

    One of her major assignments atNASA Headquarters was supportingthe Agencys comptroller, ThomasNewman, during the budget formula-

    Bui selected for NAFP fellowshipsities, Hispanic-serving institutions,By Roberta Rosstribal colleges and universities and

    Dryden aerospace engineer TrongPublic Affairs Specialist

    other minority-serving institutions. The

    Bui will have the opportunity to share program also seeks to increase the abil-

    some of the most current NASA en- ity of these post-secondary schools to

    gineering technology at two regional respond to NASAs overall research and

    universities following his selection as a development mission.

    2005 NASA Administrators Fellowship Secondarily, the program seeks to

    Program Fellow. enhance professional development of

    Bui, an engineer in the propulsion NASA employees.

    and performance branch of Drydens Those employees selected by NASAs

    Research Engineering directorate, Office of Education to be NAFP fellows

    elected to teach in the aerospace spend approximately nine months

    engineering department at California teaching, conducting research in sci-

    Polytechnic State University, Pomona, ence/engineering or assisting in an

    for a full academic year. He also will administrative capacity at these insti-

    be an instructor with California State tutions. For the remaining nine to 13

    University, Fresnos mechanical engi- months of the two-year fellowship, the

    neering department satellite office at fellows are assigned to professional

    the Lancaster University Center in the development posts at NASA and other

    Antelope Valley. organizations.The NAFP is designed to enhance Buis professional development

    NASA Photo by Tom Tschida assignment will be working withfaculty teaching in science, technol- EC04 0359-3

    ogy, engineering and mathematics at Trong Bui, Drydens principal investigator for aerospike rocket tests, shows one of thehistorically black colleges and univer- rockets used in the first series of flights, conducted last summer in Texas. See Fellowship, page 10

    Losey named top NASA videographerA Dryden videographer has wonNASAs highest award for videogra-phy for 2004.

    Lori Losey, an employee of ArcataAssociates at Dryden, was honoredwith NASAs Videographer of theYear award for her work in two ofthe three categories in the NASAvideo competition, public affairs anddocumentation.

    In the public affairs category, Loseyreceived a first-place citation for herfootage of an Earth Science mission

    flown aboard NASAs DC-8 FlyingLaboratory in South America lastyear. Her footage not only depictedthe work of the scientists aboard theaircraft and on the ground, but she alsoobtained spectacular footage of floraand fauna in the missions target areathat helped communicate the projectsenvironmental research goals.

    Losey also took first place in thedocumentation category for her ac-quisition of technical videographyof the X-45A Unmanned Combat AirVehicle flight tests. The video, shotwith a hand-held camera from therear seat of a NASA F/A-18 mission

    EC04 0081-1 NASA Photo by Jim Ross

    Drydens Lori Losey was named NASAs 2004 Videographer of the Year in part for hercamera work during the AirSAR 2004 science mission in Chile.

    support aircraft, demonstrated her The award was presented to Losey

    capabilities in recording precise tech- during a NASA reception at the Na-

    nical visual data in a very challenging tional Association of Broadcasters

    airborne environment. convention in Las Vegas April 19.

    A three-judge panel evaluatedentries for public affairs, documen-tation and production videographyon professional excellence, technicalquality, originality, creativity withinrestrictions of the project and ap-plicability to NASA and its mission.Entries consisted of a continuousvideo sequence or three views of thesame subject for a maximum of threeminutes duration.

    Lori is a talented videographerwho has demonstrated extraordinaryabilities with the many opportuni-ties she has received in her careerat NASA, noted Linda Peters, ArcataAssociates Video Systems Supervisorat Dryden.

    Loseys award was the secondmajor NASA video award won bymembers of the Dryden video teamin two years. Last year, Steve Parceltook first place in the documentationcategory for his camera and editing work in documenting a June 2003checkout flight of the Helios Proto-type solar-electric aircraft equippedwith a supplementary experimentalfuel-cell power system.

    NASA Dryden X-Press 7

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    DrydsoftAPV-3

    By Beth Hagenauer and Jonas DinoDryden Public Affairs and Ames Research Center Public Affairs

    The old saying birds of a feather flock together can now be applied toa couple of small Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles flown in a NASA researchexperiment using principles derived from studies of fish and birdmotions to simultaneously guide them past obstacles.

    Engineers and technicians from NASA Ames Research Center, MoffettField, Calif., and Dryden recently conducted flight tests over a virtual forestfire to evaluate new flight-control software that will give UAVs the ability toautonomously react to obstacles during pre-programmed missions. The testswere conducted over a remote area of Edwards Air Force Base to investigatecooperative flight strategies for airborne monitoring and surveillance of naturaldisasters and for atmospheric sampling.

    We developed and flight tested several novel approaches for providingassistance to wildfire suppression crews using a team of two small UAVs, saidAmes John Melton, principal investigator for the Networked UAV TeamingExperiment. The aircraft were flown using a combination of rules from natureand robotics to cooperatively transit and search a virtual forest fire.

    NASA researchers borrowed a mathematical tool devised by Hollywood

    moviemakers to map and mimic the choreography of swarms of birds and fishas they wheel and turn without striking one another. These in turn guided theinexpensive robotic UAVs around obstacles such as simulated smoke plumes.

    Called the boid algorithm, this tool separates the activities of individual birdsor fish into three categories: heading matching, where the animals all try to keepthe same direction; flocking, where the animals move to come into proximitywith one another; and collision avoidance, in which the birds or fish maneuverto keep from colliding.

    Former Dryden research algorithm developer Jason Clark said the boidalgorithm has been adapted to direct remotely operated UAVs to fly withinpredetermined proximity to one other while avoiding collisions and maneuveringaround phantom objects placed digitally in their flight paths. Though still in itsinfancy, this emerging software technology promises to one day enable swarms

    EC05 0043-01 of UAVs to conduct aerial searches and participate collectively in activities such EC05 004Above, Drydens Tony Frackowiak prepares the two AV-3 aircraft for flight. The pair was as firefighting.part of a joint flight experiment by Ames Research Center and Dryden. For the tests, NASA used Piccolo autopilot system and global positioning

    system transmitters to enable a pair of RnR Products APV-3 UAVs to maneuverresponsively in relation to each other. With the two 12-foot wingspan UAVs, theNASA researchers proved the concepts inherent in the boid algorithm. Neitheraircraft communicated with the other directly, but sent and received signalsthrough a central computer station on the ground that directed both airplanesto maneuver as needed.

    In one test, the software automatically developed individual flight plans andtransmitted them to each aircraft. After passing their first few waypoints, one ofthe UAVs was commanded to begin orbiting over the virtual fire. The remainingsearch points were then transmitted to the second aircraft, which incorporatedthese points into its flight plan and the mission was completed.

    This technology may one day enable swarms of aircraft to move safely fromone area to another as a flock or group, said Melton. A number of UAVs couldbe flown stacked in a vertical column with instruments to collect air sampleson future science missions or help ground personnel monitor forest fires andother natural disasters.

    NASAs Aeronautics Research mission directorate is supporting a variety of

    technology development projects for remotely or autonomously controlled high-EC05 0043

    altitude, long-endurance UAV aircraft. Such UAVs have the potential to serve At top, reseas platforms for a wide variety of Earth science, surveillance, communications a landingrelay and disaster-mitigation missions, especially in circumstances where flying sion invest

    ing and sua manned aircraft is dangerous.The Networked UAV Teaming Experiment was sponsored by the directorates pling. Abo

    Aeronautics Systems Analysis project.

    EC05 0043-06

    Frackowiak, holding the vehicle, gets a hand with the APV-3, above. At right, Drydenoperations co-op student Shannon Kolensky holds steady one of the APV-3 UAVs, flown

    in the Networked UAV Teaming Experiment, during the aircrafts engine runup.

    EC05 0043-08

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    FocusJune 17, 2005 Explore. Discover. Understand.

    n, Ames team up to see how new flight controlare works in UAVs duri irtual i

    -46

    21

    ng a v firefight ng effort

    rchers watch as one of two small AV-3 aircraft flares for

    n a remote Edwards Air Force Base roadway. The mis-EC05 0043-44

    ated cooperative flight strategies for airborne monitor-

    veillance of natural disasters and for atmospheric sam- This spring, two identical APV-3 aircraft validated cooperative flight control software in the Networked UAV Teaming Ex-

    e, the team records data in a makeshift mission control. periment at Dryden. Engineers and technicians from Ames and Dryden conducted tests over a virtual forest fire to evalu-ate new software that will allow UAVs the ability to autonomously react to obstacles as they fly pre-programmed missions.

    EC05 0043-47EC05 0043-40

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    News June 17, 2005Explore. Discover. Understand.

    Dryden employees work to inspire studentsBy Alan BrownDryden News Chief

    Daydreams of flight gained a sharper focus recently as Edwards Air ForceBase Middle School students learned of potential aerospace careers duringthe schools recent Career Day.

    Several Dryden employees were among presenters who explained their jobsto students, encouraging them to consider aerospace careers while working

    hard in school.Students paid rapt attention as rocket scientist Trong Bui described hisresearch work on several projects, including his investigation of aerospikerocket engine nozzles.

    Engineer Jessica Lux-Baumann detailed her job of setting up Dryden missioncontrol rooms for research flights such as the two successful X-43A scramjetflights in 2004.

    The visual arts were in focus as Drydens lead photographer, Jim Ross,spoke of the possibilities in his specialty, aerial photography. While a volun-teer donned a flight suit and helmet, Ross explained difficulties encounteredin trying to hold a camera up to the eye to photograph NASAs advancedaircraft during research missions while wearing such gear in the back seat ofa high-performance jet.

    There was no shortage of eager response during question-and-answer pe-riods that followed each presentation.

    Career days are designed to encourage students to consider and work to-ward the many future possibilities in the work-a-day world. Edwards Middle

    School is a NASA Explorer School and was recently named a California Dis-tinguished School.

    Award... from page 7

    EC05 0089-02 NASA Photo by Tom Tschida

    Dryden aerospace engineer Trong Bui demonstrates aeronautics concepts to students at-tending a career day at Edwards Air Force Base Midddle School.

    program at Los Angeles Air ForceBase, Calif.Young transferred to Dryden in 1995

    when she was appointed the centersChief Financial Officer, responsiblefor overall financial and budget ac-tivities.As associate director for manage-

    ment since June 2002, Young has

    been responsible for Dryden busi-ness functions such as acquisition

    and finance to ensure that theseprovide efficient and effective sup-port of Center programs. Currently,Young and Dryden Deputy DirectorSteve Schmidt are tasked with re-structuring the institution to be morecompetitive in seeking new businessopportunities both from within andoutside NASA. Their challenge is tomake the type of cuts that do notnegatively affect the Center or its

    key responsibilities in such areas assafety, security and other fiduciaryresponsibilities while reducing over-head costs. Young, who celebrates her 22nd

    year with NASA in June, says that shehas thoroughly enjoyed her time withNASA and looks forward to an excitingfuture ahead.

    Im never bored, she quipped, justvery tired.

    In her spare time, Young is active onthe board of her condominium associa-tion, in her church and likes to cook. Young enjoys mentoring young

    women, encouraging them to believein themselves and to know they canaccomplish anything they choose. Sheparticipates in the Women of NASAprogram in hopes of being a role model

    to girls from minority backgrounds andto girls who enjoy math.

    Challenge ... from page 6friends (six of them, taking 12-hourshifts) following in an RV during therace, each with a clearly defined role inWalshs RAAM experience. Dryden me-teorologist Ed Teats will be monitoringthe weather for the entire trip, relayinginformation to the RV crew.

    Crewing for a friend in the 2004RAAM was another part of Walshs prepwork, and it taught him some valuable

    lessons about adhering to the plan.A month before the race, one rider

    got a new bike, and the effects weredisastrous. The seat change impactedthe riders right knee, setting off adomino injury effect throughout hisbody and causing him to drop out. Itsnot a mistake Walsh will ever make.

    Those lessons, and everything elsethat went into two decades of prepa-ration, will serve him well in meetingwhat by any measure will be dauntingchallenges posed by the RAAM.

    Since the first RAAM, in 1982, onlyabout half of the 121 people whove

    qualified have officially finished. Just26 people will participate in this yearsevent as solo riders; solo and team en-trants ride the same course. Riders willcross 13 states, climbing and descend-ing 109,880 feet before reaching thefinish. The route is shared with normaltraffic on secondary roads with an oc-casional venture onto a freeway.

    The only fear is other cars on the

    road, Walsh admits. And though the race route will

    take Walsh across three summits inColorado over 10,000 feet, the steep-est hills will be the rollers in WestVirginia near races end. He hopes toget 350 miles behind him the first day,but knows he will cover progressivelysmaller distances each day.

    Ill make real-time decisions, hesays, depending on how I feel.

    But thats okay, because thats theplan. And anybody who knows Walshalso knows that the plan is focusedon making it across the finish line.

    ED05 0118-12 NASA Photo by Tom Tschida

    He may not be faster than an X-1E rocket plane, but NASA aerospace engineer Kevin

    Walsh will be going at a good clip as he attempts to cover an average of 300 miles a dayin the 12-day Race Across America.

    Fellowship ... from page 7Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co.s gaining valuable insight to help guide establishing a relationship with the University at San Luis Obispo and a Advanced Development Programs in future NASA initiative and enhancing Agency. doctorate in aeronautics and astro-Palmdale. their own technical, research and Bui will be Drydens second NAFP nautics at Stanford University, Palo

    I think this will be a terrific experi- management skills to assist NASA in recipient. Dryden electrical engineer Alto, Calif.ence, and I will look forward to making meeting its science and technology Kurt Kloesel previously received a Bui recently was honored by histhe most of this opportunity at Cal Poly goals. The fellows also assist host NAFP fellowship in 2000 and taught peers at Dryden with a One NASAPomona, Fresno State, and Lockheed- institutions in familiarizing themselves in the Department of Electrical Engi- Center Best award for his collaborationMartin in the next two years, said with NASAs mission, in the exchange neering/Center for Applied Radiation with industry, the military and otherBui, who joined NASA in 1990 and has of NASA-specific technology, proce- Research at Prairie View A&M, Prairie NASA centers on the Dryden aerospikeworked at Dryden since 1997. dures for initiating and responding to View, Texas. rocket test he directed in 2004.

    NASA employee fellows share infor- NASA contracts/proposals and gen- Bui earned bachelors and masters More information on the NAFP maymation about NASA-specific technology erally providing the institutions with degrees in aeronautical engineer- be found at http://www.uncfsp.org/ with colleges and universities, while background information pertinent to ing from California Polytechnic State nasa/nafp/.

    NASA Dryden X-Press10

    http://www.uncfsp.org/nasa/nafp/http://www.uncfsp.org/nasa/nafp/http://www.uncfsp.org/nasa/nafp/http://www.uncfsp.org/nasa/nafp/
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    NewsJune 17, 2005

    Solvent cleanup planned

    Dryden in brief

    j

    j

    for the day.

    Dryden News Chief

    tion to warrant further investigation.

    jtaking no further action at the five soil sites.

    Branch, 3611 Rosamond Blvd., Rosamond;

    Lancaster Blvd., Lancaster;

    Base;

    location.

    demia science consortia.

    displayed a space suit mock-up.

    sues

    was ChangeAmerica.

    Gwen at right, Dryden associate for

    management, volunteers to participate in a dance

    Heritage The theme for this

    tivities held during the month included a bowl-a-thon,

    a new

    EC05 0076-04

    EC05 0110-011

    EC05 0086-02

    Aloha, friends

    Help availableNASA Photo

    Explore. Discover. Understand.

    Dryden employees participated May 6 in Saluteto Youth: the Career Connection in Palmdale.

    More than 1,700 area high school uniorsand seniors took the opportunity to meet localemployers and discuss career and service op-portunities available in the Antelope Valley. Theevent was hosted by Los Angeles World Airportsat the former Rockwell International/SR Technicsfacility ad acent to the Air Force Production Flight

    Test Installation (Plant 42). Drydens displays andexhibits were focused on the aerospace careerpathway, one of nine career tracks featured forstudents to explore at the event. A NASA F-18 mission support aircraft flown

    by Dryden chief research pilot and former as-tronaut Gordon Fullerton with Dryden engineerMike Thomson was among aircraft on display

    Dryden employees supportPalmdales salute to youth

    By Alan Brown

    A proposed plan to clean up potentially hazard-

    ous chemical contamination at three groundwatersites at Dryden is available for public inspectionat area libraries.

    During a recent meeting, Air Force and NASAenvironmental officials detailed plans to cleanup a plume of trichloroethene, or TCE, locatedin groundwater beneath Drydens aircraft rampareas along the western shore of Rogers DryLake. The proposed cleanup plan was preparedby the Edwards Air Force Base EnvironmentalManagement Office in cooperation with Dryden,the U.S. and California Environmental ProtectionAgencies and the Lahontan Regional Water Qual-ity Control Board.

    Its believed that the plume was created whenTCE, a solvent formerly used in aircraft andground-equipment cleaning operations, wasreleased to the soil and migrated to the ground-water beneath. Environmental officials believethe relatively low concentrations of TCE, a prob-able carcinogen, represent no hazard to Drydenemployees or visitors due to the chemical plumebeing in groundwater that is beneath asphaltpavement and concrete ramp areas; the ground-water is not a current source of drinking water.However, the levels of contamination are abovethat allowed by federal and state environmentalregulations for groundwater that could be a futuredrinking water source.

    The area addressed in the cleanup plan origi-nally included 19 locations at Dryden where his-torical records and archival research had shown

    that hazardous chemicals had been used or stored.Subsequent investigation determined that eight of

    those locations three involving groundwater andfive soil had high enough levels of contamina-

    The proposed plan as approved by the federaland state EPAs describes the sites, human healthrisk assessment and the five cleanup options con-sidered by the Air Force and NASA for the threegroundwater sites, and outlines the ustification for

    The proposed plan can be accessed onlineat http://www.edwards.af.mil/penvmng/Docu-ments/reviewdocs.htm.

    Printed copies also are available for review at:Kern County Public Library, Wanda Kirk

    Los Angeles County Public Library, 601 W.

    Col. Vernon P. Saxon Jr. Aerospace Museum,26962 20 Mule Team Rd., Boron; Air Force Flight Test Center Library, 5 W.Yeager Blvd., Bldg. 2665, Edwards Air Force

    Edwards Environmental Management Office,5 E. Popson Ave., Building 2650A, EdwardsAir Force Base, by appointment only at this

    Persons desiring additional information maycontact Gary Hatch, 95th Air Base Wing Envi-ronmental Public Affairs at (661) 277-1454, [email protected].

    A Dryden exhibit staffed by Mary Ann Harnessof Code T focused on the Space Shuttle return-to-flight effort, while Dryden-sponsored roboticsteams from Lancaster and Tehachapi high schoolsdemonstrated robots they entered in recent FIRST For Inspiration and Recognition of Science andTechnology robotics competition, an annual,international event sponsored by industry-aca-

    Linda Tomczuk, Katrina Emery and SondraGeddes of Drydens Office of Academic Invest-ments offered information about NASA careers,the Summer High School Apprenticeship ResearchProgram and other academic programs and also

    The event was sponsored by a group of Ante-lope Valley business, government and academicinterests.

    Martha Ackmann, senior lecturer in Womens Studies atMount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, speaks to Dryden

    and Edwards Air Force Base employees at the NationalWomens History Month Observance. The celebration also

    featured a 5K Fun Run, a panel discussion on career is-with senior-level female panel members answering

    questions from junior-level employees and an essay con-test for local high school students. The theme for this years

    National Womens History Month Women

    Young, director

    les-son provided by The Hula Girls at the Asian American Pa-

    cific Islander Festival 2005. years event was Liberty and Freedom for All. Other ac-

    food sampling event and martial arts exhibition. Dryden

    and the Air Force Flight Test Center co-hosted the events.

    Dan Fuselier, member of the Employee Assistance

    Program team, looks through exhibits on reasonable accom-modation at a workshop conducted recently for Dryden em-

    ployees by the Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity. The

    office has established procedures to allow qualifying individ-uals with a disability to request reasonable accommodationto enable them to perform the essential duties of their job. For

    information regarding reasonable accommodation, call ext.7447 or visit room 1023 in Building 4800.

    NASA Photo by Tom Tschida

    NASA Photo by Tom Tschida

    NASA Photo by Tom Tschida

    Womens history

    Drydens Mary Ann Harness talks to attendees at the Salute to Youth event held recently in Palmdale.

    NASA Dryden X-Press 11

    http://www.edwards.af.mil/penvmng/Documents/reviewdocs.htmhttp://www.edwards.af.mil/penvmng/Documents/reviewdocs.htmmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.edwards.af.mil/penvmng/Documents/reviewdocs.htmhttp://www.edwards.af.mil/penvmng/Documents/reviewdocs.htm
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    News June 17, 2005Explore. Discover. Understand.

    Mission ... from page 1

    istration. Dryden assisted NOAA with

    lead for the

    sis on Linux Development

    EC05 0090-19

    EC05 0090-16

    Above, the Altair aircraft is outfitted for a

    series of missions conducted for the Na-

    tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin-

    that agencys first efforts at completing

    a science mission with an uninhabitedair vehicle. At left is an instrument de-

    veloped at Dryden by Larry Freudinger, program Research Envi-

    ronment for Vehicle Embedded Analy-program.

    NASA Photo by Tom Tschida

    NASA Photo by Tom Tschida

    UAVs will allow us to seesuccesses but some objectives will weather before it happens,require a second set of sorties, scheduleddetect toxins before we breathefor later this summer.them and discover harmful andUAVs of Altairs class hold greatcostly algal blooms before thepromise for the advancement of Earthfish do and theres an urgencyscience, Jennison said. There areto more effectively addressstill many technical challenges to bethese issues, said Vice Adm.discovered and conquered in theirConrad C. Lautenbacher Jr.,

    application and in their merging into Undersecretary of Commercethe airspace with other users, but werefor Oceans and Atmosphere andmaking progress.NOAA Administrator.As part of those missions, Drydens

    Developing cutting-edgescience instrument, called the Researchtechnologies and transferringEnvironment for Vehicle Embeddedthe knowledge to people andAnalysis on Linux, or REVEAL performedagencies that can use it is awell, said Drydens Larry Freudinger,primary goal of NASAs VehicleREVEAL development team lead.Systems program, a branchThe REVEAL system is a programmableof the Aeronautics missiondata acquisition and processingdirectorate.tool designed to help researchers

    Demonstration of high-develop network-oriented solutionsa l t i t u d e , lo n g-e n d u r a n c efor interacting with science instrumentsaircraft work is one of theon remote aircraft. REVEAL gatherscornerstones of the new Vehicleand stores information about theSystems program, said Richardaircraft and other instruments, performs Wlezien, Vehicle Systemsadditional calculations and relaysprogram manager at NASAtime-critical status data via satelliteHeadquarters.between the aircraft and ground-

    This is the one place wherebased researchers. Leveraging network Aeronautics can give directtechnologies for integrating aircraftsupport to Exploration Systemsinstrumentation lowers costs andand Earth Science missions. Wewhile interactive network connectivityalso look forward to workingprovides instrument operators with the with other agencies as weflexibility needed to adapt to changingdid with NOAA during thesituations. Altair missions. We believeWere very pleased with REVEALsthere has to be something ininaugural performance on Altair and itsbetween ground-based andability to adapt to the challenges of UAV-space-based operations. Thisbased science missions, Freudingerseries of missions is the first stepsaid. Our prototype airborne sensordown that road.Web capability delivered an immediate

    Dryden officials hope to seereturn on investment by providing the Center play key roles innear-real-time status information to all

    Vehicle Systems efforts, saidAltair project participants with InternetJoel Sitz, Dryden UAV missionaccess.director.NASAs digital camera system

    The recent Altair scienceand electro-optical infrared sensormission demonstrations arealso proved their mettle during thea continuation of Drydensmission. The digital camera systememerging role in helping thewas used in shoreline mapping, andscience community understandcharacterization of the shore andand discover how UAVs can beinland features for habitat mappinginserted into a global observationand ecosystem monitoring. About 260

    images documenting nearly 25 percent Scott C. Rayder, NOAA chief of staff, experiment is aimed at introducing a system, he said. The vision willnew era of science by using a UAV require the development of new UAVof the Channel Islands were obtained wrote in a letter to Center Directorin an operational environment to fill technologies and mission capabilities.during the mission series. Kevin Petersen:

    The electro-optical infrared sensor research gaps in critical areas such At Dryden, were used to integratingas weather and water, climate and systems into aircraft; now were lookingdemonstrated capabilities for day I wanted to contact you

    ecosystem monitoring. at inserting aircraft into systems.and night surveillance and marine to thank you and your staffThe Altair, whose development The Altair, a high-altitude civilmammal surveys. Real-time surveillance fr o m NAS A Sc ien ce a nd

    was funded in part by NASA through derivative of General Atomics Predatorcapabilities were demonstrated in areas Aeronautics directorates for

    north of Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa. your contributions to the recent the Environmental Research Aircraft B military UAV, was designed for scientificand Sensor Technology, or ERAST, and commercial research missions.Images of a sea lion rookery Altair missions. NOAA wouldprogram carried a payload of With an 86-foot wingspan, it can reachcontaining more than 100 members like to voice our support forinstruments. Mission objectives altitudes up to 52,000 feet and remain were clear enough to be used in continuation and growth ofinc lu d e d eva lua tio n o f UAVs airborne for more than 30 hours.population studies. The instruments the NOAA/NASA partnershipfor future NOAA scientific and Altair has proven its ability tosuccessfully identified a U.S. Coast to develop UAV technologyoperational requirements for oceanic perform long-endurance, high-altitudeGuard helicopter and several surface supporting network centricand atmospheric research, climate scientific missions in controlled airspace vessels. Studies using the imagery global observation systems.

    proved the technology could be used research, marine sanctuary mapping, for NASA, and we look forward tolaw enforcement, nautical charting continuing to demonstrate the strengthby enforcement officials in tracking and While I understand moreand fisheries assessment. of government agency-industryidentifying vessels at distances of up to work needs to be done to

    NASA is glad to see that UAVs collaborations by adding NOAA as our15 nautical miles. Video captured by the mature UAV systems for theseare being used for more and more new partner, said Thomas J. Cassidy Jr.,cameras also illustrated the potential for critical applications, NOAA

    diverse and important operations, president and chief executive officer ofusing real-time images in surveillance looks forward to continuationand ecosystem monitoring. of the partnership with NASA said Terrence Hertz, deputy associate General Atomics Aeronautical Systems.

    administrator for technology, NASA Partners on the mission also includedThe mission series also served to resolve the challenges and Aeronautics Research mission NASAs suborbital program officeto solidify the partnership between realize the true operationaldirectorate. Were looking forward of the Science mission directorate;Dryden and NOAA, said Frank Cutler, capabilities UAVs can provide.to more breakthrough research sensor support for NOAAs coastalDryden Earth Science Capabilities Both agencies are breaking new

    Demonstration project manager. ground here and it is NOAAs in areas such as regenerative fuel monitoring and survey elements wascells, multi-UAV operations through provided by the NASA Aero Science(NOAA staff) are learning what intention to leverage thenetworking and routine access to ER-2 sensor technical staff. Real-time,it takes to operate a UAV within the experience and capabilities ofthe national airspace system that will Internet-based flight-progress trackingnational airspace system, he said. NASAs Science and Aeronauticsallow UAVs to play an expanding was provided by an Earth ScienceNOAA representatives learned the Directorates staff to make itrole in Earth science and other types Capabilities Demonstration project, thevalue of Drydens expertise in operating happen.

    UAVs and that we can help them of missions. Over the Horizon Telepresence andUAVs potential to help NOAA reach Networking Team, in conjunction withexecute their missions. It looks like The Altair mission marked the first

    some of its objectives is not lost on NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center,this is the beginning of a successful time NOAA has funded a UAV Earth

    relationship. science demonstration mission. The officials of that agency. Huntsville, Ala.NASA Dryden X-Press12

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    June 17, 2005 Explore. Discover. Understand. News

    Fullerton ... from page 1 Dryden in brief

    McCarthy died in October 2003.

    FIRST

    j

    science and technology.

    following activities:

    Lancaster at 6:30 p.m.-

    one carafe of wine.

    or Jessica Lux-Baumann, ext. 3820.

    Scholarship honorsmemory of McCarthyAntelope Valley College has established a scholarship

    in memory of Dr. Marianne McCarthy, former Drydeneducation program manager.

    McCarthy was instrumental in establishing theFor Inspiration and Recognition of Science

    and Technology robotics program at LancasterHigh School in 1999. FIRST robotics, an annual,international science competition sponsored by anindustry-academia consortium, has since expandedto Tehachapi, Highland and Mo ave high schools.In association with California State University, LosAngeles, she also developed the Science Ambassador

    Project through which elementary and middle schoolteachers enrolled in a Master of Science program atCSULA with the intent of using NASA educationalsupport to stimulate minority childrens interest in

    The Dr. Marianne McCarthy Scholarship in Educationwill support students aspiring to become a teacher ofmathematics or science in kindergarten through eighthgrade. The scholarship will be awarded annually toan AVC student to provide funds for the transfer andcompletion of a baccalaureate degree and a teachingcredential at California State University, BakersfieldsAVC campus.

    For information about donating to the scholarshipfund, contact Bridget Razo, director of the AntelopeValley College Foundation, (661) 722-6313.

    Activities on tapfor employees

    The Dryden Exchange Council is sponsoring the

    July 23 - A bus trip to the Hollywood Bowl for an

    evening of Tchaikovksy, featuring 1994 TchaikovskyInternational Competition Winner Jennifer Koh assoloist for the Violin Concerto in D. The concert willend with the 1812 Overture featuring a fireworksdisplay. Tickets are $18 and $28, and buses will depart

    Aug. 19 Lancaster JetHawks Aerospace AppreciationNight. The JetHawks play the Bakersfield Blaze. Specialfeatures of the evening include a Bobble Head dollgiveaway, post-game fireworks and an appearance byformer Dryden pilot and astronaut Vance Brand. Ticketsare $5 and go on sale July 21.

    Pizza nights, at Round Table Pizza in Lancaster, alsoare being planned for August. Cost for each event is$10 per person, and includes one large two-toppingpizza and choice of four sodas, one pitcher of beer or

    Tickets and information for all events may beobtained by calling the Dryden Gift Shop, ext. 2113,

    Fullerton logged more than 382hours in space flight as a NASAastronaut from September 1969 untilNovember 1986, when he retiredfrom the astronaut corps and joinedDrydens staff of research pilots. Asan astronaut, Fullerton served on thesupport crews for the Apollo 14, 15,

    16 and 17 lunar missions at JohnsonSpace Center, Houston.In 1977, Fullerton was assigned to

    one of two two-man flight crews thatpiloted the Space Shuttle prototypeEnterprise during the Approach andLanding Test program at Dryden.

    Fullerton piloted the eight-daySTS-3 Space Shuttle orbital flighttest mission March 22-30, 1982. Onthat mission, the orbiter Columbiawas exposed to extremes in thermalstress and the 50-foot RemoteManipulator System, used to grappleand maneuver payloads to orbit, wastested. STS-3 landed at NorthrupStrip, White Sands, N.M., because

    Edwards Rogers Dry Lake was toowet after heavy seasonal rains.

    Fullerton later commanded theSTS-51F Spacelab 2 mission flownon the orbiter Challenger in 1985.This mission was the first pallet-only Spacelab mission and thefirst to make use of the SpacelabInstrument Pointing System. It carried13 major experiments in the fields ofastronomy, solar physics, ionosphericscience and life science and a super-fluid helium experiment. The eight-day mission ended with a landing atEdwards.After earning Bachelor of Science

    and Master of Science degrees inmechanical engineering from theCalifornia Institute of Technology,Pasadena, Fullerton joined the U.S. Air Force in 1958, where he flewboth fighters and bombers. Heattended the Air Force AerospaceResearch Pilot School (now the AirForce Test Pilot School) at Edwardsin 1964 and served as a test pilotwith the Bomber Operations Divisionat Wright-Patterson Air Force Base,Ohio. In 1966, Fullerton was selectedto serve as a member of the flightcrew for the Air Force MannedOrbiting Laboratory program until itstermination in 1969. He completed a30-year military career, retiring as acolonel in 1988. At Dryden Fullerton continues

    work as a civilian research pilot, andcurrently is chief of the flight crewbranch. With more than 15,000 hoursof flying time, Fullerton has piloted135 types of aircraft, including a widerange of civil, military and specializedresearch aircraft. He has been theproject pilot on a number of majorflight research programs at Dryden.

    To be eligible for induction intothe U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame,candidates must be a U.S. citizen,have been out of the active astronaut

    corps at least five years, have madehis or her first flight at least 20 yearsprior to the induction year, be NASA-trained and have orbited the Earthat least once. Committee membersconsider not only accomplishmentsin space but also candidatescontributions to the advancementof space exploration both beforeand after their missions. For moreinformation about the AstronautScholarship Foundation, visit http://www.AstronautScholarship.org.

    Information about the 2005 Hallof Fame inductees may be found athttp://kennedyspacecenter.com.

    EC98 44749-27 NASA Photo

    Dryden Chief Pilot C. Gordon Fullerton was inducted April 30 into

    the Astronaut Hall of Fame. As an astronaut, Fullerton flew twoSpace Shuttle missions. He piloted Columbia on STS-3 in March

    1982 and was Challengers commander for STS-51F. He also is ac-complished as a research pilot. Among other projects in which he

    played key roles, he was one of two NASA research pi lots to evaluatethe handling qualities of the Tu-144LL supersonic flying laboratory

    for NASAs High Speed Research Program in 1998. He is picturedabove at the controls of the Tu-144LL.

    EC05 0084-01

    New system installed

    NASA Photo by Tony Landis

    The Office of the Chief Financial Officer recently completed

    upgrades to its Treasury Department payment system withthe help of a few U.S. Treasury Department installation rep-

    resentatives. The secure payment system receiving the up-grade is used for payment transmittals from the government

    to vendors. Members of the installation team, from left, areDebbie Koehler, Lori Davey (seated), James Prial (U.S. Trea-

    sury Department), Eric Huffmaster, Nadine Cooper, Juan Na-varra (Treasury Department), Vickie Moore, Sheryl Dylewsky

    (partially hidden) and Lydia Dorfman.

    ECN 892 NASA Photo

    Fullerton was a key player in the 1977 Approach and Landing Tests,a series of five research missions with the Space Shuttle Prototype

    Enterprise. The series made important contributions to validatinginstrumentation, aerodynamics and control systems. The subsonic-

    to-landing research proved the Shuttles integrated systems and fly-by-wire controls, and provided valuable experience for pilots. Above,

    the NASA 747 releases Enterprise for its first flight without the tail-cone.

    EC02 0102-1 NASA Photo by Jim Ross

    Fullerton is at home behind the stick of a wide variety of NASA air-craft.

    NASA Dryden X-Press 13

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    Research Roundup June 17, 2005Explore. Discover. Understand.

    Super Guppy makes brief appearanceBy Peter MerlinDryden History Office

    It attracts attention everywhere itgoes, and probably inspires no smallnumber of UFO sightings. The bizarre-looking Super Guppy cargo transport,the last of its kind, made a low and

    slow journey from Houston, Texas, toEdwards Air Force Base April 14 forlanding gear maintenance at Dryden.

    The gear had to be completelychanged out,said Dryden maintenancetechnician De Garcia of DynCorp. Itsroutine maintenance, he said, on aplane whose profile is anything butroutine. Various versions of the outsize

    Guppy transports, built by the now-defunct Aero Spacelines Inc. of SantaBarbara, Calif., have been used atNASA since the days of the Apolloprogram. Its a unique airplane, builtto transport such bay-busting cargo assatellites, rocket stages and jumbo-jetfuselage assemblies.

    The Super Guppy is based atEllington Field near Houston andassigned to Johnson Space Center.DynCorp personnel are responsiblefor maintaining the unusual craft thatis made, in part, from technologydating to the Second World War.Guppy transports were built usingparts of Boeing Model 377 and C-97Stratocruisers, passenger and cargoaircraft based on the B-29 Superfortressbomber of World War II fame. Parts fromthe third prototype Stratocruiser, builtin 1948, were used in the first Guppyand eventually were incorporated into

    NASAs airplane. Not surprisingly, thebulbous craft has unique maintenancerequirements.

    We needed to jack it up indoors,said Garcia, and Dryden has the onlyhangar big enough for the job. Workon the airplane took place in Hangar1623. Originally built to house theLockheed C-5 Galaxy, then the largestcargo plane in the world, the hangarnow shelters NASAs DC-8 and ER-2aircraft.

    Beginning in 1962, ASI built andoperated several Guppy variants: the377PG Pregnant Guppy, 377MG MiniGuppy, 377SG Super Guppy, 377MGT

    (Mini Guppy Turbine, or Guppy 101)and the 377SGT (also known as theSuper Guppy Turbine, or Guppy 201).

    The Guppy 101 crashed duringFAA certification tests at Edwards onMay 12, 1970. The first 377SGT SuperGuppy (N211AS) made its maidenflight on August 24 of the same year.Soon after, ASI suffered financialtroubles and eventually, the 377PG and377MG were sold to American Jet Corp.in Van Nuys, Calif. NASA subsequentlyacquired the 377SG. ASIs board of

    EC05 0091-78 NASA Photo by Tony Landis

    After replacement of its landing gear, NASAs Super Guppy turbine cargo plane departs Dryden, above, for a return trip to JohnsonSpace Center in Texas. Below, Dryden flight technician De Garcia tests equipment performance on the Super Guppy.

    EC05 0091-12 NASA Photo by Tony Landis

    directors decided to sell the 377SGT a week. The No. 4 aircraft was laterto Frances Airbus Industrie. used by the European Space Agency Airbus committed to purchase of to transport space hardware.

    one aircraft in 1970, with a contractual In 1997, NASA acquired Super Guppycommitment for ASI to build a second. No. 4 (French registration F-GEAI)After the second was delivered Airbus from ESA under an International Spaceorde red two more Super Guppy Station barter agreement. The ESAmodels. Super Guppy No. 3 flew in supplied the Guppy to offset the cost1979 and No. 4 in 1980. The four to NASA of carrying ESA experimentalturbine-powered Super Guppy aircraft equipment to the International Spacebecame a vital part of Airbus Industries Station as part of two future Spaceproduc tion process , ope rat ing a Shuttle flights. NASAs newest Superregularly scheduled route five days Guppy crew spent four weeks in

    France getting checked out on flightprocedures.

    On October 23, 1997, the airplane(now registered as N941NA) landedat Ellington Field, near Houston. Itreplaced NASAs 377SG (N940NA), anolder model of the Super Guppy, whichwas retired and is currently on display

    at Pima Air Museum in Tucson, Ariz.N941NA is the only Guppy still flying.

    To c r e a t e t h e 3 7 7 S G T, A S Itechnicians built an entirely newfuselage to connect parts taken froma Stratocruiser, including the nosesection and pressurized cockpit, wings,lower sections of engine nacelles,parts of the tail surfaces and the mainlanding gear. The nose wheel camefrom a Boeing 707, but it was rotated180 degrees prior to installation. A 23-foot center section was inserted intothe wing to give additional clearancebetween the propeller tips and thefuselage. The air-conditioned forward

    cabin features seating for three crewand four passengers.

    The 377SGT is equipped with AllisonT-56-501-D22C turboprop engines thatgive the Super Guppy an airspeed ofaround 200 knots at low altitudes. Athigher altitudes the aircraft is limited to185 knots. ASI took engine cowlings ofthe type used on Lockheed Electra/P-3Orion airplanes, but used propellersand spinners from a C-130 Hercules.

    See Guppy, page 15

    of duty.

    j

    Eglin 1-62.

    May 3, 1948 D-558-I (37971)crashed on takeoff due to compressordisintegration. Howard Lilly became

    the first NACA pilot to die in the line

    May 12, 1950 RKO Pictures filmed alaunch of Ma . Charles Chuck Yeagerin the X-1-1 (46-062) for the motionpicture Jet Pilot. It was the last flightof 46-062, which was then retired andplaced on display in the SmithsonianInstitutions Air and Space Museum inWashington, D.C.

    May 6, 1960 A U-2A (56-6711) fromEdwards North Base was brought tothe NASA Flight Research Center and

    painted in fictitious NASA markingswith a bogus tail number (55741). Newsmedia representatives were allowed tophotograph the aircraft to support thegovernment-supplied cover story thatFrancis Gary Powers, who had beenshot down over Russia in a U-2 on May1, was on a NASA research flight.

    May 2, 1962 X-15 (56-6672) wastransported to Eglin Air Force Base,Fla., beneath NB-52A (52-0003) for dis-

    play at a presidential visit. The captiveflight and return were dubbed Project

    May 21, 1962 During an inspectionof Delamar Dry Lake, Nev., by NeilArmstrong, JF-104A (56-0749) suffereddamage to its ventral fin and landinggear doors. Armstrong made an emer-gency landing at Nellis Air Force Base,Nev. Milt Thompson went to pick himup in F-104B (57-1303), but blew a tireon landing. Bill Dana picked Armstrongup in T-33A (58-0692). Thompson re-turned to Edwards in a visiting C-47.

    May 8, 1963 C-140 JetStar (N814NA)was delivered to the NASA FRC.

    May 25, 1969 F-8A (141353) wasdelivered to the NASA FRC for theSupercritical Wing program.

    May 5, 1974 John A. Manke flew thefirst supersonic X-24B flight, achievinga speed of Mach 1.086 (708 mph).

    May 22, 1975 Jacques Yves Cous-teau visited the NASA FRC, andwatched John Manke land the X-24Bon the lakebed. Cousteau was al-lowed to greet Manke on the lakebed,after touchdown. Manke exited theaircraft wearing diving flippers.

    NASA Dryden X-Press14

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    NewsJune 17, 2005 Explore. Discover. Understand.

    Practice makes perfectDryden, Air Force prepare for Shuttle contingenciesBy Leslie WilliamsPublic Affairs Specialist

    Personnel from Dryden and Edwards Air Force Base

    conducted a training exercise recently that would enablethem to effectively handle the rescue of a Space Shuttlecrew in the unlikely event of a landing mishap at thebase.

    The exercise was designed to train fire/rescue andmedical crews in aiding the Shuttle crew in exiting theShuttle after a simulated landing mishap on or nearthe Edwards runway and escaping from the mishaparea. The exercises are held periodically to familiarizenew personnel with Shuttle landing and crew rescueprocedures and to acquaint the rescue team with newShuttle recovery equipment designed to cool and purgethe orbiter within an hour of touchdown.

    The Shuttle Discovery is targeted for liftoff on missionSTS-114 to the International Space Station this summerfrom NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Although

    Kennedy is also the primary landing site for Space Shuttlemissions, Edwards remains the alternate landing site incase weather or other situations preclude a landing inFlorida.

    EC05 0079-32 NASA Photo by Tony Landis

    EC05 0091-46

    The

    in 1983 and 1986.j

    jin 1987.

    Legacy... from page 4

    F-18 work.

    j

    test points he was given.

    could do it.That was Roy Bryant.

    without Roys help.

    assistance.

    j

    memorial services for Bryant.

    made Roy very, very special.

    gear housing.

    parts of one of the first Stratocruisers.

    j

    jj

    wheeled out of the way.A

    the pallet for flight.

    j

    usable volume of 39,000 cubic feet.

    Johnson May 4.

    Remembered ... from page 4

    Guppy... from page 14

    NASA Photo

    NASA Photo by Tony Landis

    a demanding schedule, he wasrecognized for creating a highlyefficient test plan to acquire all therequested data.

    Bryant later served as NASA proj-ect manager for two joint U.S.-U.K.research activities involving remote-

    ly piloted scale models. First, in1981, he coordinated NASA supportof the Cooperative High-IncidenceResearch Program, or CHIRP.success of CHIRP led to two High-Incidence Research Model projects

    He also served as pro ect managerfor the F-4C Spanwise Blowingproject in 1983 and the Daedalushuman-powered aircraft pro ect

    Over the course of his career,Bryant received group achievementawards for participation in the fol-lowing programs:

    X-15 Resea rch AirplaneFlight Test Organization

    Lightweight Fighter TestTeam

    B-52 Operations Team Solid Rocket Booster De-

    celeration Subsystem Develop-ment Air Drop Test Team

    Thermal Protection SystemTest Team

    B-52 Wing Pylon P roofLoad Team

    D