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>>Flashing across California desert skies, the airplanes you see

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here are writing new chapters in the story
of man made flight....there she goes!

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>>This is my first opportunity
to greet you as deputy administrator

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of the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration.

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>>Together, you and I must make our new agency

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>>A most unusual place

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>>An organization that can challenge
conventional wisdom.

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>>We can engineer anything we can write the requirements for.

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>>We're going to make your idea work.

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This particular idea is quite disruptive.

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>>A typical flight, of course, starts
under the wing of the B-52 mothership.

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>>This sleek, high speed machine
would have made Rube Goldberg proud.

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>>The manner in which we fly
reentry from space,

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on the space shuttle was
pioneered on the X-15.

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>>The X-31 pretty much wrote the book on thurst vectoring, along with its sister program, the F-18 HARV.

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>>An observation of an occulation is

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one of the more challenging
missions that SOFIA can do.

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[Music/Background sound]

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>>Right now, we are looking
at the dawn of a new era of aviation.

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[Music/Background sound]

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[Music]

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>>Hic de ficit orbis...here ends
the world.

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>>Do satellites have practical uses?

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>>You could maintain continuous
transmission of telephone calls...

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>>A chain of sister satellites will
closely link all parts of the globe...

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>>Several of them can report continuously
on worldwide weather conditions...

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>>Here in outer space is a natural vacuum
for scientific experiments...

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>>It is the mountaintop
and the ridgeline of the future...

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>>The high ground of military capability
now...

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>>We will at first timidly penetrate
beyond the limits of the atmosphere

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and then we'll conquer
all the space around the sun.

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>>Men have been dropped out
of high-flying bombers and rocket aircraft

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to probe extremely high altitudes...

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>>Moving away from Earth
into the borders of space...

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>>Beyond the aerodynamically effective atmosphere...

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>>At extremely high altitudes,
the conventional aerodynamic control

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surfaces are not sufficiently responsive
for complete flight control.

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>>The answer??

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>>Reaction jets...

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>>What it would be to fly a vehicle
that didn't have atmosphere...

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Everything that anyone subsequently used for reaction
control

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systems in space derives from the work
they did out here.

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>>From the flying laboratories of the X-2
and X-3, there

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evolved a new kind of aircraft
capable of flying into space...the X-15.

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>>The epic mission for which

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it was designed: to skim
the upper limits of the world's

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blanket of air,

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>>Higher
than man has ever ventured before,

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>>and then to handle like a conventional plane
in landing.

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>>A rocket, airplane, and spacecraft
in one.

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>>Fundamental data applicable
to the problems of manned hypersonic

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and space vehicles can be obtained
in full-scale flight, providing

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basic information in advance of design
needs for future space missions.

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>>The first thing had to do
was get the engine lit.

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And then all of a sudden here
I was sitting there with my head back

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and I couldn't move it.

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>>60,000
LBS of thrust in a 30,000 LB airplane.

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When you lit that engine, why
you could tell you were hauling the mail.

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>>Test pilots aren't supposed to say
they're afraid, but I was impressed.

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>>During the climb,
we were controlling the airplane

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with the right hand sidestick controller;
and as we exited the atmosphere,

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we transitioned to a left-hand controller
and flew the airplane

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with the reaction controls.

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>>What is being done to protect man
in this heretofore unknown environment?

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>>We were looking at
what it would do to the pilot,

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what it would do to the airplane...all of
those things were unknowns.

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>>This multi-layered suit is complete
with air conditioning,

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pressurization, oxygen supply;
it gives the comfort and mobility

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needed to control an airplane
or a spacecraft.

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>>Reentry into the Earth's atmosphere
poses another set of problems.

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>>Air
friction will be heat parts of the plane

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to a red glow- 1200 degrees Fahrenheit.

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>>We coast the remaining 200 miles
back to Edwards for a powerless landing

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at the dry lake.

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>>The X-15 pioneered reentry

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from space
to an aerodynamically controlled landing.

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>>The flight program proved
that winged earth exit and reentry

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are well within the control
capabilities of man.

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>>The space program's workhorse,
pilots will routinely fly into space,

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do research for the Gemini and Apollo
programs, and fly back.

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>>Over the course of nine years
and 199 flights the X-15

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laid the groundwork for every space
exploration program that has followed.

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>>I don't think there's ever been
an experimental test program that has come

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close to providing as much information
to the industry as the X-15

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[Music/Background noise]

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>>NASA's Parasev explored

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the possibility of using flexible wings.

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>>A potential recovery system
for the Gemini spacecraft,

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it didn't work out quite the way
we hoped it would.

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>>...train ourselves in coming down
to a body without atmosphere...

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>>A program
to develop the piloting techniques

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that were used
during the final phase of the manned

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lunar landing was started
at the Flight Research Center in 1964.

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To compensate for the gravitational and
atmospheric differences between the earth

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and the moon, the LLRV was equipped
with a gimbaled jet engine

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that produced enough thrust
to counterbalance 5/6 of its weight,

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thereby simulating 1/6
gravity of the moon.

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>>It had more degrees of freedom
than an octopus.

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>>...30 seconds...

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>>When Mission Control advised me
that I had 30 seconds of fuel remaining,

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I thought 'no problem,

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it's just like the LLRV.'

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>>Scheduled to fly in 1965,

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the X-20 was a logical follow
on to the X-15.

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Under the control of a pilot-astronaut,
fully

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maneuverable
and capable of orbital flight.

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>>Though never completed, made
significant contributions to the problems

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of orbital mechanics,
inertial navigation and reentry dynamics

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>>Up to the

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present, manned spacecraft
have been cone-shaped.

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They lack maneuverability. But as more
and more men leave their world, easier,

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more flexible, less costly ways
to let them return must be found.

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>>If we were to eliminate the top
half of the configuration

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and have more of a flat top on it as so,

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maintaining the expanding forebody
on the aft end....then

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we would develop lift as shown
due to the pressures acting on the bottom

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surface of the vehicle.

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>>Lifting bodies are wingless vehicles
that obtain aerodynamic lift

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from the shape of their bodies.

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>>Capable both of high-speed
reentry and low-speed landing.

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The lifting body is reusable.

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Its initial cost could be spread over
hundreds of flights

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>>Speeds approaching

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Mach 2 and altitudes
greater than 90,000 feet.

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The pilot stabilized

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and controlled the craft
by using its fins and control surfaces.

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>>With a lifting body,
you could fly back to a chosen

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landing site without any mode of thrust,
just taking advantage of energy

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management.

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[Music/Background noise]

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>>Information

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obtained from flights of the YF-12
will be used to further the development

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and operation of the proposed space
shuttle.

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>>NASA's reusable shuttle orbiter-
part of a new, less

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expensive space transportation
system...

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>>With no air-breathing engines,

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it will be flown to a powerless landing,
like a glider.

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>>Dryden Center undertook
the first approach and landing tests

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of the space shuttle, air launching it
from the back of a Boeing 747.

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>>Okay
we arm...two lights and the orbiters go...

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>>Houston is go for sep,
have a great flight...

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>>...standby...that wasn't too bad...

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...ok she's flying good...

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>>During that series of flights
we were able to gain experience

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on the hydraulic and communications
and electrical systems;

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the handling qualities
of the shuttle...And

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were able to make some minor adjustments

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to flight control system
in the landing phase of the program.

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>>The tests demonstrated that the shuttle
has acceptable landing performance.

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Another milestone
in the space shuttle development program.

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[Music/Background noise]

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>>One of our F-15s

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was flight testing heat
shield tiles for the space shuttle-

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We learned a great deal
about thermal tiles

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and how to attach them for flight
in the atmosphere.

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>>Never before has a winged vehicle
been launched

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like a rocket, orbited the earth, returned
through frictional heating and landed,

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still aerodynamically sound,
to be launched again

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and again.

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>>Dryden has been providing
landing support.

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We maintain the visual landing aids

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activate our control room and provide
radar coverage for the landing itself.

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We also assist on the convoy operation
that is used to safe the orbiter

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and help the crew to egress.

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This specially modified
747 is towed underneath the shuttle

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here in the Mate-Demate Device
and the two are bolted together with seven

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large bolts for its return to the Kennedy
Space Center in Florida.

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[Music/Background sound]

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>>The JetStar test flies the microwave
scanning beam landing

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system used by the space shuttle
when it returns from orbit

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>>Do you wanna look at the tiles, NASA 1?

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Or have you seen what you want?

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>>This is the heaviest concentration right
here.

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>>We concur,

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we're seeing some damage
show up on tile number 2 and 3...

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[Music/Background sound]

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>>The initial test will involve
orbiter landing gears.

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In the extreme tests, we actually plan
to go enough beyond the design conditions

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to cause failure of the brakes
and actually blowing the tires

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[Music/Background sound]

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>>The unique

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feature of Pegasus is that rather
than starting from sea level

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and launching vertically from a launchpad,
we use this B-52 mothership

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to carry it to high altitude.

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>>Today's
initial launch of the Pegasus Air

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Launch Space Booster marks
the first time that a privately developed

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space launch vehicle has carried a
satellite payload into orbit.

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[Music/Background sound]

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>>Able to

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fly from airport runways-

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>>Ramjets, scramjets, and finally rocket propulsion-

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>>Directly into Earth's orbit.

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>>The rocket engine they are testing
on the back of this exotic

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Mach 3 spy
plane is part of the X-33 experimental

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aircraft designers hope will lead
to a replacement for the space shuttle.

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>>NASA some researchers are looking for
alternate means to reach orbit.

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One possible solution

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currently on the table would use air
breathing scramjet technology.

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>>This flight was a key milestone and
a major step forward in producing boosters

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that may send large and vital payloads
into space in a reliable, safe

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and inexpensive manner.

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[Music/Background sound]

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>>The development of the Space Station

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has also created a need for a second
kind of space vehicle, one

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that could bring astronauts back to Earth
safely in the event of an emergency.

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>>The shape provides a large amount
of cross range relative to a capsule.

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Instead of pulling the trigger
and going exactly where it's aimed,

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I can pull the trigger on a lifting body,
and I have 700 miles to either

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side of that initial path
that I can maneuver.

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>>The X-38 is equipped with a parafoil-
a giant steerable parachute-

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that allows it to fly to a pinpoint
low speed

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landing on simple, reliable skids.

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>>We can't tell you all the activities
that people will do in space,

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but we are certain the number of people
and activities will increase greatly

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as the cost comes down and safety
improves.

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>>The next great

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American led trillion dollar enterprise-
the commercial space enterprise.

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>>And we think that the technology
to support the commercial

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exploitation of space is an appropriate
task for NASA

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in the years ahead.

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[Music/Background sound]

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>>There
it is...standy for final recovey chute...

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>>Pad Abort Number One crew module is here
for mass properties testing.

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>>We were tasked
to install the instrumentation,

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all the instrumentation sensors and the
avionics systems to make this vehicle fly.

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>>The abort flight test provides

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important data that is used to validate

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the safety predictions
for the overall Orion

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spacecraft.

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>>SPC jettison...

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>>Pilot deploy...mains are out...

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[Music/Background sound]

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>>So I'm released...

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>>We took our

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exact same code that's going to fly SLS

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and we put it on the F-18.

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And then we had the F-18 fly trajectories

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that matched what we would see with SLS.

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>>We don't land successfully
without this radar that y'all tested.

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>>The radar has to hit

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just the right altitude and velocity
measurements at just the right time

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or the rest of the landing sequence
won't work.

243
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>>If you're not sure of the atmosphere
on Mars,

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this will compensate
for those type of design errors.

245
00:14:45,517 --> 00:14:47,419
>>And
this is an idea to try and fly a small

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00:14:47,419 --> 00:14:51,557
UAV on Mars, get some reconnaissance
photos of potential landing sites.

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>>The next step for the fiber optic
sensing system is gonna be to design

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a ruggedized system that will be able
to survive space application.

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>>3...2...1...mark!

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[Music/Background sound]

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>>The Flight

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00:15:15,614 --> 00:15:18,617
Opportunities program purchases
commercial suborbital

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00:15:18,617 --> 00:15:22,821
reusable launch vehicle services
to quickly fly technology payloads.

254
00:15:22,855 --> 00:15:26,992
>>It's a wonderful example
of how government and private business

255
00:15:26,992 --> 00:15:29,495
and academia can all work together
very well.

256
00:15:30,329 --> 00:15:35,901
[Music/Background sound]

257
00:15:36,335 --> 00:15:38,003
>>We're supporting

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00:15:38,003 --> 00:15:41,040
NASA's Flight Opportunities by testing
different technologies here in the desert

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00:15:41,040 --> 00:15:43,709
that'll hopefully land on another planet
one day.

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>>You

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can do space tourism,
you can do research education missions.