Page 4 - Aerotech News and Review, September 17, 2021

ARMSTRONG, from 3
ic Design to Land on Mars, or Prandtl- 703 in Palmdale, Calif. They include 747SP aircraft.
M aircraft, is successful, it could col- a DC-8 jetliner converted into a flying Flying at altitudes of between
lect and transmit valuable information science laboratory, two high-altitude 39,000 to 45,000 feet and above 99
back to Earth. Lockheed ER-2s (civilian versions of percent of the water vapor in the atmo-
the U-2Rs) and a Gulfstream C-20A sphere, SOFIA facilitates observations
Airborne science (G-III). A Beechcraft B-200 Super that are unobtainable from telescopes
NASA Armstrong operates a fleet King Air is based at Armstrong’s main on the ground. Because SOFIA can
of specialized aircraft of varied capa- facility at Edwards Air Force Base. fly virtually anywhere in the world,
bilities to support environmental and
Earth science research missions under SOFIA change instruments between flights,
the Airborne Science program of the NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory and implement new capabilities, it
agency’s Science Mission Directorate. for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is provides greater adaptability than any
As part of the directorate’s Earth the world’s largest airborne astro- space-based telescope.
Science Division, NASA’s Airborne nomical observatory, complementing NASA Armstrong’s stellar past has
Science Program uses these unique NASA’s space telescopes as well as built the foundation for a busy future
aircraft and sensors to conduct obser- major Earth-based telescopes. SOFIA as the next chapter of the center’s his-
vations and collect atmospheric data, features a German-built far-infrared tory unfolds.
as well as calibrate and validate satel- telescope with an effective diameter NASA Langley/Advanced Concepts Lab, AMA Inc. photograph
lite data. of 100-inches. The telescope weighs Above: This artist’s concept image
A number of the science aircraft are 19 tons and is mounted in the rear shows NASA’s first all-electric
X-plane, the X-57 Maxwell, in its
based at NASA Armstrong Building fuselage of a highly modified Boeing final configuration, flying in cruise
The Space Shuttle mode over NASA’s Armstrong Flight
Endeavour, Research Center in Edwards, Calif.
mounted securely In Mod IV test flights, X-57’s high-lift
atop one of motors will deactivate during cruise
NASA’s modified mode, and their propeller blades will
Boeing 747 Shuttle fold into the nacelles to reduce drag.
Carrier Aircraft, left The motors will reactivate and use
NASA’s Armstrong centrifugal force to spin the blades
Flight Research back out to provide necessary lift for
Center at Edwards landing.
Air Force Base Editor’s note: Christian Gelzer,
in Southern
California at Elena Johnson, Matt Kamlet, Megan
sunrise, nine days Person, and Teresa Whiting contrib-
after concluding uted to this story.
mission STS-111
to the International Photograph by Nick Galante For more photographs,
Space Station. The solar-electric Helios Prototype flying wing is shown near the Hawaiian and video, visit
NASA photograph by Jim Ross Islands of Niihau and Lehua during its first test flight on solar power. www.aerotechnews.com

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