X-Plane Files: THE LIFE OF X-1 ZERO SIX THREE
X-Plane Files: THE LIFE OF X-1 ZERO SIX THREE
XS-1 on the ramp with the B-29 mothership in 1949. This is the second XS-1 built; it later was converted into the X-1E. Unlike the XS-1-1, which was flown by the Air Force, the XS-1-2 was flown mostly by Bell and NACA pilots. It gathered much more research data than the more famous XS-1-1, known as Glamorous Glennis. Photo by NASA
A little while back, we began a series of articles looking at the air-test work which NASA and its forebear, the N.A.C.A., conducted at their facility in the Mojave Desert, located within the massive military test complex now known as Edwards Air Force Base. The civilian-run organization has often conducted its aerospace tests with active-duty military aircraft on bailment, with data shared back and forth to either help the U.S. aerospace industry, or the military itself.
After last year s extensive wind tunnel testing at Langley Research Center s Low-Speed Aeroacoustic Wind Tunnel in Virginia, NASA s all-electric X-57 Maxwell is currently preparing for ground vibration testing (GVT) at NASA s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California.
This Modification 2 process is accomplished in tandem with cruise motor controller testing, and observing the electric vehicle at various vibration levels on the tarmac to assist engineers in validating the integrity of the plane for full flight conditions.
Credit: NASA/Armstrong Flight Research Center
When in its final flight configuration, called Modification 4, NASA will install 12 electric high-lift motors and propellers onto the top-mounted wing.
[1], the ability to undergo testing multiple times – and often on different types of commercial flight vehicles
[2] – adds the necessary rigor and refinement to advance these innovations.
Evolved versions of two NASA-supported technologies that have flown previously through Flight Opportunities will be put to the test on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo.
Virgin Galactic Makes Space for Second Time in Ten Weeks with Three on Board
Taking off for the first time from New Mexico’s Spaceport America and expected to reach an altitude of more than 50 miles (80 kilometers), the rocket-powered suborbital space plane will expose the payloads to more than two minutes of microgravity, enabling researchers to assess performance and make necessary design updates based on the data collected.