They Turned Goals Into Reality
Three flight research
projects involving NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center have been
cited in NASA's annual "Turning Goals Into Reality" awards program
for their contributions toward advancing the technology of
aeronautics.
The three projects involving NASA Dryden - Environmental
Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology, Active Aeroelastic Wing
and Shaped Sonic Boom Demonstration -- were among 17 projects in
the fields of safe and affordable air transportation, growth in
critical national industries, enhanced national security, and
scientific exploration and discovery that have contributed to
society that were honored at the sixth annual Turning Goals Into
Reality awards ceremonies July 14. The awards were presented to
project participants - including NASA, university and industry
researchers -- at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. and at the
National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles
International Airport outside the nation's capital.
The Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology
(ERAST) project team was honored for its contributions in exploring
revolutionary aeronautics concepts in the area of remotely operated
unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology. During its nine-year span
that concluded last September, the ERAST project contributed to
development of a range of aerodynamic, propulsion, control system
and communications technologies that benefited the maturing of a
range of high-altitude, long-endurance UAVs. The award was
presented to 25 members of the ERAST Alliance who participated in
the Dryden-led project, including the four NASA research centers
and other government and industry team members.
The Active Aeroelastic
Wing (AAW) project and the Shaped Sonic Boom Demonstration project
at NASA Dryden shared an award for partnerships that enhance
national security with the Abrupt Wing Stall project team headed by
NASA Langley Research Center at Hampton (VA).
The AAW project, which is due to begin the second phase of
flight tests this fall, was cited for its partnerships with NASA
Langley, the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Boeing Company.
AAW is exploring positive control of lighter-weight flexible wings
for maneuvering, a technology that could lead to lighter
structures, increasing both fuel efficiency and range or payloads
for future military and commercial aircraft.
The Shaped Sonic Boom Demonstration (SSBD) last year brought
together NASA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, an
industry team headed by Northrop Grumman Corp. and several other
military agencies to study how the perceived intensity of sonic
booms can be lessened by modifying the shape of an aircraft.
NASA Dryden flew its sensor-equipped F-15B research testbed
aircraft behind the SSBD test aircraft, a modified F-5E provided by
the Navy, to measure its sonic boom characteristics at various
distances and orientations. Dryden engineers also recorded the
intensity of the sonic boom over-pressures from both the test
aircraft and an unmodified F-5E with an elaborate array of ground
microphones and sensors. This flight test confirmation of
laboratory research could eventually lead to supersonic aircraft
with greatly reduced sonic boom characteristics being allowed to
fly over land instead of being restricted only to flight over
oceans.
"The receipt of these awards is a recognition of the critical
role of flight research in NASA's Aeronautics Technology
development efforts," commented David McBride, Flight Research
Program manager at NASA Dryden. "The credit for the awards belongs
to the people who made them possible - NASA's civil service and
contractor staff, and our industry partners. Without their
contributions this would not be possible."
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