Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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NAESA Nevvs"'-63
Narwhal Aeronautics and
Srace Adm'n'sration
Washington DC 20546
AC 202 755 8370
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C014TENTS
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CARRIER AIRCRAFT 14-19
PROGRM ANGMENT
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For Release
IMMEDIATE
David Garrett
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
- (Phone: 202/755-3090)
Bob Gordon
Johnson Space Center, Houston, Tex.
(Phone: 713/483-5111)
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assembly line, it will not fly into space until the early
1980s. Its first job in 1977 will be as a test vehicle.
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the back of the fuel tank and the solid boosters are attached
to each side of the external tank. The solid rocket boosters
payload into low Earth orbit about 320 kilometers (200 miles)
altitude.
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the country. The crew module and aft fuselage were fabricated
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CIiRONOLOG:CAXL EVENiTS
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is to
The Orbiter Approach and Landing Tests program
and automatic
verify subsonic airworthiness, pilot-guided These tests
approach landing capabilities of the Orbiter.
Edwards Air Force
which will be conducted at Dryden Center, with a series of
Base (EAFB), will begin in February 1977, of a modified 747
unmanned and manned flights mated on top
jetliner. (se3 ALT schedule.)
to be placed on
The-first tests call for the, 101 vehicle
on the runway of
top of the 747 for a number of taxi runsby six unmanned captive
EAFB. The taxi tests will be followed to an altitude of
flights where the Orbiter will be carried 747 but not released.
approximately 7,450 ma (25,000 ft.) by the
by a
These unmanned captive flights will be followed the Orbiter.
aboard
s'eries of captive flights with the ALT crewof the Orbiter's
Tsese tests are designed to verify most provide some veri-
systems and crew procedures as well as
fication of Orbiter dynamics and controlability.
conducted in July
The first manned "free" flights will be from the
aloft, released
1977. The Orbiter will be carried three to four
747 carrier and flown to an unpowered landing
strip at EAFB. The
minutes later on the dry lake bed landing flights, will carry
747, specifically modified for these test
m (28,lOO ft.) It
the Orbiter to an altitude of about 8,400 reach this altitude.
will take about 30 minutes for the 747 to
a race
The flight path of the Orbiter and 747 follows
the vehicles are
track pattern with separation occuring when
and flying parallel to the
about 13 km (8 mi.) to the right, the Orbiter will
landing runway. From the separation point,
fly a a"U shaped ground track to the runway.
747 will pitch
To perform the separation maneuver, the airspeed (KEAS).
down and accelerate to 250 knots equivalent
to idle, deploy
The 747 pilot will then reduce engine thrustthe vehicles at 260
the 747 inflight spoilers, and stabilize
this point the
KEAS, with a flight path of 9 degrees. At
and firifng a
Obiter pilot will initiate separation by arming about 6,600 m
series of explosive bolts at an altitude of
(22,000 ft.) above runway level.
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CARRIER AIRCRAFT
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are
Crew members for the 747 carrier aircraft pilots;
Fitzhugh L. Fulton, Jr., and Thomas C. Mcuurty,
flight test
Victor W. Horton and Thomas E. Guidry, Jr., from the NASA
engineers. Fulton, McMurty and Horton are
is a flight
Dryden Flight Research Center and Guidry
engineer from the NASA Johnsor. Space Center.
with wide
Fulton is a veteran multi-engine test pilot
pilot for the
experience as a launch pilot. He was launch as on other
X-15 and for manned lifting bodies, as well He was an
experimental aircraft flight test programs. Currently
XB-70 project pilot for NASA and the USAF. YF-12
Fulton is co-project pilot on the triple-sonic
flight research program.
for NASA
McMarty has been flying experimental aircraft Wing, he
since 1967. As project pilot on the Supercritical
shape. He has
made the first flight with the new airfol.Fly-Ehy-Wire aircraft
flown as co-proje':t pilot on the Digital Co-project pilot on
and the Supercrit.cal Wing F-l1, and as
NASA's 990 and C-141 multi-engine aircraft.
at DFRC
Horton is flight test engineer on the YF-12
B-52 air-launch
the
and has flown as launch-panel operator of engineer on the
aircraft. Guidry of JEC has flown as testResources aircraft.
C-135 Zero-G studies and the C-130 Earth
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PROGRAM MANAGEMEUT
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