Page 8 - Aerotech News and Review Dec. 16 2016

412th, from 7
nas here in the BAF so we can move forward.”
Data is being collected from directional signal testing, antenna pattern testing and system chan- nel testing. The team is observing how the ALQ- 161 responds to signals and what the system is looking at when it sees signals out in the field. The data will be analyzed to see if hardware, software, or both, need to be upgraded.
B-52 Stratofortress
Team Edwards accomplished another first this year by executing a clean separation of three Joint Attack Surface Standoff Missiles, or JASSMs, from the internal weapons bay of a B-52 Stra- tofortress.
The aircraft has long been capable of carrying JASSMs on its wing pylons, but this is the first time they have been successfully released from Conventional Rotary Launcher in the internal bay.
“That was a first-ever for the B-52, and is also going to be another amazing enhancement in B-52 combat capability for Global Strike,” said Brig. Gen. Carl Schaefer, 412th Test Wing com- mander, who flew the F-16 photo chase plane for the JASSM mission. “I got to chase the first-ever JASSM drop from the internal weapons bay of the B-52. We dropped it right here on the range at Edwards.”
The venerable bomber could carry up to 12 JASSMs on its wing pylons, said Jose Estrada, a weapons integration engineer with the 775th Test Squadron. Integration of CRL in internal weapons bay adds a capability of carrying eight more mis- siles in the aircraft, increasing the B-52’s JASSM payload by more than 60 percent.
So you can see the legacy of flight test at Ed- wards is alive and well and shows no sign of end- ing any time soon.
Talking to wing civilians, Schaefer took time to thank the workers at the base.
“I just want to say thank you,” Schaefer said. “Thank you for giving everything for your coun- try, for the things that you do day in and day out to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, and to deliver war-winning combat capa- bility to your nation.”
Editor’s note: Kenji Thuloweit, Chris Ball and Rebecca Amber contributed to this story.
MV-22 refuels F-35B
Air Force photograph by Chris Higgins
The roar of history can be heard at the Air Force Research Labora- tory Rocket Propulsion Division at Edwards Air Force Base.
While the test pilots at ‘Main Base’ were testing the aircraft of the future, the people of the Rocket Lab were testing the rocket engines that would not only defend the United States, but also put men on the moon.
The Rocket Lab was where the engines for the Thor, Atlas, Titan and Minuteman Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles were all tested. And the massive F-1 engine for the Saturn V rocket (the rocket that launched men to the moon, was tested at Edwards.
Today, the Aerospace Systems Directorate as it is now known, brings together world-class facilities including a fuels research facil- ity, structural testing labs, compressor research facility, rocket testing facilities, supersonic and subsonic wind tunnels, flight simulation lab, and many other cutting-edge research labs.
Among the technologies in development in the Aerospace Sys- tems Directorate are scramjet engines, alternative fuels, unmanned vehicles, hypersonic vehicles, collision avoidance and aircraft energy optimization.
In early 2016, the facility gained a new chief when Dr. Shawn Phil- lips became chief of the Rocket Propulsion Director and site director for AFRL at Edwards.
In August, Col. Anne L. Clark became the commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory Aerospace Systems Directorate Detach- ment 7 at Edwards.
She is now responsible for the work and wellbeing of 500 mili- tary, civilian and contractor personnel at the laboratory’s $2.5 billion, 65-square-mile research site. She also directs safety, security and logistics compliance activities supporting research and development operations valued at over $110 million per year.
In a continuing effort to encourage and inspire scientists of the
future, the personnel of the Rocket Lab are heavily involved in local STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) efforts.
In April, 60 local middle school students delved into the world of rocket science with a visit to Air Force Research Laboratory’s Propulsion Directorate.
From lessons on chemical propellants to seeing actual rocket boost- ers that were launched, the 8th-graders from Discovery School in Lancaster, Calif., got a whirlwind tour of the “Rocket Lab.”
The learning experience was part of the propulsion directorate’s education outreach in conjunction with President Barack Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative, which is meant to ensure that all young people can reach their full potential. The president is joining with cities and towns, businesses, and foundations who are taking steps to connect young people to mentoring, support networks, and the skills they need to find a good job or go to college and work their way into the middle class.
The president also has stressed the importance of expanding sci- ence, technology, engineering and math programs for young people. “We are trying to inspire junior high school students to become scientists and engineers,” said Kriss Vanderhyde, AFRL Education Outreach manager. “We found that the best way to do that is to get them out to one our sites, get them to do some hands-on functions like building rockets and show them what kinds of things are possible in
an engineering and science career.”
The day began at the Rocket Lab’s Heritage Room where the chil-
dren got up close and personal with old rocket boosters and engines, some both used and tested at Edwards.
Next were tours of the Chemical Laboratory and Electric Propul- sion Lab.
After lunch provided by the school, the hands-on part of the tour began with students being separated into groups or “program man- agement teams.” Each group was to build a rocket out of a two-liter soda bottle, tape and manila folders.
“We’re known as the ‘field trip school’ and we focus a lot on the Antelope Valley’s history and places because it’s in our backyard,” said Stephanie Faber, Discovery School teacher. “Discovery School has an AVID and STEM based curriculum. For our 8th graders, we have three modules and one of them is Flight in Space.”
After all the rockets were built and inspected, each of them were filled with some water and placed on a launch pad where they were pressurized. Then, the countdown begins and the rocket is launched into the stratosphere. In this case, the stratosphere is about 100 feet off the ground. But, the intent is to show the students that learning is limitless.
“It isn’t really that hard to get there, they just need a little inspira- tion. That’s what we’re trying to do; providing that inspiration to get them on track and maybe get them to think, ‘hey, this science and engineering is really not bad, maybe I should check it out,’” Vanderhyde said.
After the rocket challenge the students finished off the day with a chemistry demonstration by AFRL scientists.
And in November, AFRL launched a new approach to STEM classes.
The AFRL Rocket Lab is calling its new program ENSPIRE, which stands Engineering & Science Producing Inspirational Re- warding Education. The program seeks to inspire innovation in stu- dents to become more involved in STEM efforts by seeking unique and innovative STEM projects that develop the next generation of
See AFRL, Page 10
Marines from Marine Operational Test & Evaluation Squadron 22 out of Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Arizona, connect fuel hoses between a Marine MV-22 and F-35B. The relatively short test validated the equipment and procedures on both the F-35B and MV-22 for ground refueling.
Air Force Research Laboratory
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