- May 15, 1991 - Full-scale X-30 structural test
component, representing a wing control surface, arrived at Dryden's
Thermostructural Research Laboratory for loads and temperature testing
- Jul. 12, 1991 - First flight of F-18 High Alpha
(Angle-of-Attack) Research Vehicle (HARV) with thrust vectoring system
engaged to enhance control and maneuvering at high angles of attack;
104th flight of the HARV, which arrived at Dryden Oct. 22, 1984, and
initially flew a series of missions without thrust vectoring to obtain
experience with aerodynamic measurements at high angles of attack
and to develop the flight research techniques needed for this measurement
- Aug. 14, 1991 - First all-NASA SR-71 flight with
research pilots Steve Ishmael and Rogers Smith in the cockpit. It
was the first Mach 3 mission flown at Dryden since the last YF-12
flight Oct. 31, 1979
- Sept. 30, 1991 - Seven-year X-29 Advanced Technology
Demonstrator program ended after 362 research missions with the two
forward-swept wing aircraft. No. 1 aircraft was flown 242 times to
validate design concepts. X-29 No. 2 was flown 140 times in high-angle-of-attack
studies. USAF later flew No. 2 in a vortex control study
- Oct. 3, 1991 - Dryden aeronautical engineer Marta
Bohn-Meyer became first-ever female crewmember to fly in an SR-71
- Nov. 1, 1991 - Tests of pressure sensitive luminescent
paint on a flight test pylon mounted under an F-104 aircraft ended
on this date, opening the door for a new method of measuring surface
pressures on aircraft.
- Dec. 12, 1991 - F-18 HARV, with pilot Ed Schneider,
achieved its design point of roughly 70 degrees angle of attack
- April 23, 1992 - First flight of an X-31 aircraft
from Dryden following relocation of X-31 International Test Organization
from Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, in a DOD study of thrust vectoring
for air combat at high angles of attack. Karl Lang of the German firm
Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm, one of the participating firms in the
project, was the pilot
- May 16, 1992 - Maiden landing of the Space Shuttle
Endeavour, built to replace Challenger. Landing was viewed by an estimated
125,000 people, including 2,500 school students.
- July 1, 1992 - Single-day Dryden record of six
missions tied by X-29 No. 2 after the aircraft returned to flight
for a 60-flight Air Force study using vortex flow controls on nose
to study improved control at high angles of attack
- Oct. 24, 1992 - Research Aircraft Integration Facility
(RAIF) officially opened, giving Dryden a unique capability to carry
out interdependent systems testing, systems troubleshooting, and rapid
pre-and post-flight systems checks on several aircraft simultaneously.
On Nov. 17, 1995, Center Director Ken Szalai renamed the facility
as the Walter C. Williams Research Aircraft Integration Facility
- Dec. 22, 1992 - Flights began with Dryden's CV-990
Landing Systems Research Aircraft (LSRA), equipped with a space shuttle
landing gear fixture that later lead to increased orbiter cross wind
landing limits at the Kennedy Space Center, and aided in the decision
to resurface the Kennedy runway
- Mar. 9, 1993 - NASA SR-71 flew on first science
mission, taking a JPL ultraviolet camera to 85,000 feet for night
photo studies. Flight was also first SR-71 night mission at Dryden
- Apr. 21, 1993 - The F-15 HIDEC was landed using
only engine power to turn, climb, and descend. Gordon Fullerton was
the pilot on this milestone event, which was part of what became the
Propulsion Controlled Aircraft project
- Apr. 29, 1993 - The thrust-vectored X-31 executed
a minimum radius 180-degree turn--the "Herbst Maneuver"--while
flying at more than 70-degrees angle of attack, beyond the aerodynamic
limits of any other aircraft
- May 21, 1993 - First research flight with Dryden's
F-18 Systems Research Aircraft (SRA) checked out an electric actuator
that monitored and controlled one of the aircraft's ailerons, and
became a testbed for advanced electric and fiber optics components
- June 15, 1993 - Modified F-15 called ACTIVE--Advanced
Control Technology for Integrated Vehicles - replaced the HIDEC as
Dryden's integrated systems aircraft. It featured forward canards
and was later fitted with thrust vectoring nozzles to study their
use for pitch and yaw control
- June 24, 1993 - Replica of X-15 rocket research
aircraft, displayed at the corner of Lilly Ave. and Lakeshore Dr.,
was dedicated
- Nov. 1, 1993 - The Space Shuttle Columbia, on mission
STS-58, landed at 7:06 a.m. (PST), the last planned landing of a shuttle
at Edwards. Nearly 35,000 people, including about 5000 Dryden guests,
viewed the morning event
- Dec. 21, 1993 - The Perseus remotely piloted aircraft
flew for the first time in a project to develop technologies to be
used to construct and fly unpiloted vehicles on high-altitude science
missions
- Feb. 3, 1994 - Final flight of an F-104 at Dryden,
a symbolic farewell with NASA 826, was piloted by Tom McMurtry, Chief,
Flight Operations Division. First acquired in 1956, 11 F-104's flew
at Dryden over a 38-year period as chase and research aircraft. Last
research mission with NASA 826 was Jan. 31, 1994. The other remaining
F-104, NASA 825, was flown on its last research mission Jan 24, 1994
- Mar. 1, 1994 - Dryden named a Center again. Transition
period to institute independent administrative functions ended Sept.
30, 1994
- Mar. 18, 1994 - 10,000th research mission was logged
by Dryden's Western Aeronautical Test Range (WATR), a flight with
the F-18 HARV.Facility was developed in the 1950's to support the
X-15 program
- July 20, 1994 - 25th anniversary of Apollo 11 featured
salute to Dryden's Lunar Landing Research Vehicle (LLRV), used to
develop moon-landing training techniques
- Aug. 3, 1994 - Sixth and last Pegasus® mission
using NASA's B-52 "008" as the launch vehicle was successful.
Future airborne launches to be with an L-1011 owned and operated by
Pegasus® developer, Orbital Sciences Corp
- Aug. 4, 1994 - X-31 logged 438th flight, new record
for experimental aircraft. Record holder had been X-29, set on its
last flight in 1992
- Oct. 1, 1994 - Dryden assumed full Center status
as NASA's Center of Excellence in Atmospheric Flight Research. NASA
personnel numbered 465
- May 13, 1995 - X-31 completed final research flights,
making a total of 555 for the program
- June 11, 1995 - NASA's B-52, No. 008, became 40
years old. Based at Dryden since mid-1959, it is the oldest B-52 still
flying
- Aug. 11, 1995 - CV-990 LSRA completed study of
space shuttle landing gear, with a total of 155 research flights.
Final tests subjected orbiter wheels to total failure modes on the
lakebed surface and a concrete runway at Edwards
- Aug. 29, 1995 - Aided by NASA-developed propulsion
controlled aircraft (PCA) system, a McDonnell-Douglas MD-11 made first-ever,
safe landings of an actual transport aircraft using only engine power
for control
- Sept. 11, 1995 - Pathfinder set a new altitude
record for solar-powered aircraft. The remotely controlled, unpiloted
prototype attained an altitude of 50,567 feet during a nearly 12-hour
flight. Solar cells on the top surface of the all-wing aircraft powered
6 electric, propeller-turning motors for propulsion. Pathfinder is
part of NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology
(ERAST) program
- Oct. 13, 1995 - First flight of the two-seat F16-XL
with the active glove installed. The F-16XL was piloted by Dana Purifoy,
and began a program researching laminar flow at supersonic speeds
using a suction panel that covers 60 percent of the wing chord. Previous
studies with the single-seat F-16XL used a glove that covered only
20 percent of the chord
- Nov. 30, 1995 - Improved software enabled a McDonnell-Douglas
MD-11 to make a final landing at Edwards without the need for the
pilot to manipulate the flight controls while using only engine power
for control
- Jul. 2, 1996 - NASA announced award of X-33 contract
to Lockheed Martin Corp. to design, build, and fly a vehicle that
will demonstrate advanced technologies to dramatically increase reliability
and lower the cost of putting a pound of payload in space. The test
vehicle was projected to fly from the DFRC in the year 2002
- Sep. 6, 1996 - F-18 HARV made final flight in 385-flight
research program that increased our understanding of flight at high
angles of attack
- Nov. 1, 1996 - F-15 ACTIVE research aircraft conducted
first thrust vectoring of engine exhaust at speeds approaching Mach
2
- Nov. 24, 1996 - First flight of Tu-144LL flying
laboratory inaugurated year-long flight test program in support of
NASA's High Speed Research program
- Nov. 26, 1996 - Year-long Supersonic Laminar-Flow
Control program concluded with 45th flight on highly modified F-16XL
research aircraft. Program proved that laminar--or smooth--airflow
could be obtained over a significant portion of an aircraft wing's
chord at speeds of Mach 2 by use of a suction system pulling turbulent
boundary-layer air through tiny holes in the wing skin
- Jun. 27, 1997 - A YO-3A (NASA tail number 718)
transferred to Dryden from the Ames Research Center, beginning a series
of aircraft transfers from Ames. It was followed by a C-130B (NASA
tail number 707) on Jun. 30,1997; a Beechcraft 200 Super King Air
Oct. 3, 1997; two ER-2's (706 and 709 respectively) on Nov. 3 and
6, 1997; a DC-8 (717) on Dec. 29, 1997; and a Learjet (705) on Feb.
9, 1998. The ER-2's and the DC-8 became a part of a new Airborne Science
Branch that was forming at Dryden during the period of the transfers.
Except for 707, all of the NAS numbers changed to Dryden's 800 series;
the aircraft kept the last two digits from the Ames numbers
- Jul. 7, 1997 - The Pathfinder solar-powered, remotely
piloted aircraft set a new, unofficial altitude record for solar-powered
aircraft of 71,500 feet at the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Kaua'i,
HI, breaking its previous records of 50, 567 feet set on Sep. 11,
1995, and 67,350 on Jun. 9, 1997
- Jul. 30, 1997 - NASA's first X-38 Advanced Technology
Demonstrator for a proposed Crew Return Vehicle from the International
Space Station completed its first captive flight beneath B-52 008.
Built by Scaled Composites of Mojave, Calif., the X-38 resulted from
the cooperation of NASA's Johnson Space Center and DFRC
- Oct. 31, 1997 - A NASA SR-71 completed its first
flight as part of the NASA/Rocketdyne/Lockheed Martin Linear Aerospike
SR-71 Experiment (LASRE) to test a one-tenth-scale, half-span model
of the engine to be used on the X-33. Developed by a firm now called
Boeing North American-Rocketdyne, it does not include a bell-shaped
nozzle, making it smaller and lighter than normal rocket engines of
comparable thrust
- Nov. 12, 1997 - A NASA/Boeing X-36 Tailless Fighter
Agility Research Aircraft successfully completed the 31st flight since
May 17, 1997--demonstrating the feasibility of future tailless fighters
to achieve levels of agility superior to today's best military fighter
aircraft. Two 28-percent-scale, remotely piloted X-36s participated
in the program, which featured a tailless configuration to reduce
the radar signature of the aircraft
- Dec. 20, 1997 - NASA research pilot Mark Stucky
flew a QF-106 on the first towed flight behind an Air Force C-141
in the joint Eclipse project with Kelly Space & Technology (KST)
to demonstrate a reusable tow launch vehicle concept developed by
KST. Kelly hoped to use the data from the tow tests to validate a
tow-to-launch procedure for reusable space launch vehicles. Stucky
flew six successful tow tests between December 1997 and February 6,
1998
- Feb., 1998 - The specially instrumented DC-8 resumed
flying its medium-altitude, science-gathering missions in the middle
of the month following maintenance and upgrades of its satellite communications
system. Already in January, one of Dryden's ER-2s flew an experiment
to collect high-altitude particulate matter. Both aircraft flew a
variety of missions over widely scattered geographic regions during
the rest of the calendar year to gather data about Earth science,
including weather and climate
- Mar. 12, 1998 - NASA's B-52 008 dropped the first
X-38 atmospheric test vehicle for the first full test of its parafoil
parachute. The parafoil deployed within seconds of the vehicle's release
from an altitude of approximately 23,000 feet. The unpiloted X-38,
with a lifting-body shape originally developed for the X-24A project
in the early to mid-1970s, descended to a landing on Rogers Dry Lakebed.
The X-38 is an 80-percent-scale prototype of a crew return vehicle
for the International Space Station
- Mar. 24, 1998 - An L-188 Electra aircraft owned
by the National Science Foundation and operated by the National Center
for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, flew near Boulder with
an Airborne Coherent LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) for Advanced
In-flight Measurement on its first flight to test its ability to detect
previously invisible forms of clear air turbulence. Coherent Technologies
Inc. of Lafayette, Colorado, built the device for the DFRC, which
participated in the effort as part of NASA's Aviation Safety Program,
for which the lead center was Langley. Results of the test indicated
that the device did successfully detect the clear air turbulence
- Jun. 1998 - NASA's F-15B Aerodynamic Flight Facility
aircraft successfully completed a series of six flights testing Thermal
Protection System materials for the X-33 Advanced Technology Demonstrator
at Dryden
- Aug 6, 1998 - NASA's remotely piloted Pathfinder-Plus
solar-powered aircraft flew to a record altitude of 80,285 feet above
Kaua'i in the Hawaiian Islands following a long ascent
- Oct. 22, 1998 - The Pegasus® Hypersonic Experiment,
a highly instrumented glove on the Pegasus® booster's delta wing,
gathered more than 90 seconds of hypersonic temperature, pressure,
and airflow data after the booster was launched from an Orbital Sciences
Corporation L-1011 aircraft
- Nov. 10, 1998 - The remotely piloted Centurion
aircraft flew for the first time in a series of three low-altitude
flights in which its power came from batteries to operate its 14 electronic
motors and its electronic systems. The other two flights occurred
on Nov. 19 and Dec. 3, with the aircraft reaching 400 feet on the
third flight
- Nov. 19, 1998 - A NASA ER-2 aircraft based at Dryden
set a provisional new world altitude record of 68,700 feet for medium
weight aircraft
- Feb. 6, 1999 - The X-38 demonstrator for a crew
return vehicle completed a successful free flight after release from
the B-52 carrier aircraft
- Apr. - May 1999 - The Altus II aircraft -- developed
and built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, of San Diego, CA,
for NASA's ERAST program -- conducted nine scientific flights over
the Hawaiian island of Kaua'i in support of the Atmospheric Radiation
Measurement studies conducted by Sandia National Laboratories for
the Department of Energy. It and a partner Twin Otter aircraft gathered
measurements of atmospheric radiation both around cirrus cloud layers
and in the clear sky. The two aircraft did an in-flight comparison
of the data from their instruments, contributing to an improved understanding
of the interacting elements of the global climate system
- Jun. 29, 1999 - The prototype test version of the
X-34, designed to demonstrate launch-vehicle technologies that will
reduce the cost of access to space, made its first captive-carry flight
attached to the belly of its newly modified L-1011 carrier aircraft
- Sept. 8, 1999 - First flight of the Helios Prototype
aircraft, the larger follow-on to Pathfinder, Pathfinder-Plus, and
Centurion in the series of high-flying, solar-powered aircraft developed
by AeroVironment, Inc., of Monrovia, CA, as part of the ERAST program
- Sept. 15, 1999 - The final checkout flight by one
of the DFRC's ER-2 aircraft completed a series of tests of the entire
radar and telemetry range from Edwards AFB to Dugway Proving Grounds,
Utah, for the first flights of the X-33
- March 17, 2000 - F-18 Systems Research Aircraft
makes its 200th flight
- March 30, 2000 - X-38 Vehicle 132 completed its
third and final free flight. Launched from Dryden's B-52, it completed
the highest, fastest, and longest X-38 flight to date. It was released
at an altitude of 39,000 feet and flew freely for 45 seconds, reaching
a speed of over 500 miles per hour before deploying its parachutes
for a landing on Rogers Dry Lakebed
- June 11, 2000 - 45th anniversary of the first flight
of NB-52 008, the drop aircraft used for many of the X-15 and lifting
body flights. It is both the oldest B-52 still flying, and the one
with the least total flight time.
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