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NASA is the national aeronautics and

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space administration nasa has many

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facilities around the United States and

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the people working here have a variety

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of jobs to do some work in aeronautics

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others concentrate on improving aircraft

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engines and still others are involved

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with a space shuttle program and Space

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Flight at all the center's many

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specialized skills are needed the Dryden

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Flight Research Center is NASA's primary

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installation for flight research we're

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located 90 miles north of Los Angeles on

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the western edge of the mojave desert

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the desert skies are clear and the

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weather is good enough for year-round

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flight testing also from dryden we have

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access to over 20,000 square miles of

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airspace for research flying we share

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the same dry lake bed surface and hard

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runway complex with Edwards Air Force

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Base these are the same runways our

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space shuttle fleet uses when they land

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here flight testing programs began at

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Dryden in the 1940s some of these

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vehicles may look a bit silly by today's

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standards but the many risks taken back

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then helped shape flight as we know it

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today the early X or experimental series

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proved that man could fly faster than

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the speed of sound test with the x-15 in

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the 1950s and 60s helped the United

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States develop a manned spacecraft this

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funny-looking bird was the xb-70 during

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its flights over Dryden NASA discovered

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some things that made supersonic flight

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with large aircraft more practical quite

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a few wingless vehicles were pulled

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through the air or flew from dryden

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during the 1960s and 70s NASA was

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looking for ways to prove spaceflight

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was possible with a reusable vehicle

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this research with the lifting bodies

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before all-electric flight control

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systems and fly-by-wire technology were

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put into today's aircraft they were much

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heavier and slower

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that's because mechanical rods and

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connectors used to fly the aircraft were

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made of heavier materials now computers

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could relay the pilot instructions to

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various parts of the aircraft in order

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to maintain flight the supercritical

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wing concept was also tested at NASA

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Dryden it cuts through the air better

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helping aircraft crews faster with less

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fuel tests today at Dryden include

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research with the f-18 high alpha

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research vehicle ex31 sr-71 blackbird

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f15 digital systems research aircraft

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f-16 XL laminar air flow studies and

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upper atmospheric studies with the

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remotely piloted Perseus the people

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working here need to know many things

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like math science and computer skills

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communication skills are important as

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well we need to be able to speak clearly

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and to be able to understand our fellow

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workers now let's take a look at some of

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the people and the labs and shops here

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at the Dryden Flight Research Center

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this is the thermal structures lab where

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people test all aspects of aircraft

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parts researchers would rather see what

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affects heat and stress have on aircraft

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components in a controlled environment

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versus in flight also at Dryden we make

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finally machined aircraft parts in

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another section people build and install

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sensitive electronics equipment and

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other aircraft parts we maintain

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aircraft communications and navigational

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equipment technicians in the

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environmental testing lab run the

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equipment through simulated flight

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conditions to ensure it's properly

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working before it flies here is our flow

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visualization lab or water tunnel model

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airplanes are fitted with dive ends

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which provide engineers with a way to

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see how the dye flows around the

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aircraft this flowing dye is similar to

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air flowing around the aircraft in

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flight adjustments made to the model can

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also apply to

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the aircraft and help improve flight

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this is much less expensive than taking

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the aircraft into the wind tunnel for

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testing highly-skilled computer

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technicians work in our data analysis

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facility here's where flight research

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data is processed and valuable flight

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information is shared with other NASA

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centers and test sites around the

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country the people working in our

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simulation labs need a wide variety of

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highly technical and computer skills

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aircraft flight simulators and computers

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create situations that are helpful for

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predicting how the aircraft will perform

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in flight our specially equipped control

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rooms are manned by experts who monitor

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various research gathering missions from

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the ground Dryden's life support team

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keeps flight suits parachutes oxygen

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supplies and other necessary equipment

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ready for our flight crews to conduct

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their research now as you can see NASA

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has helped shape aviation down through

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the years in many ways we have sent

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people and machines into space to the

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moon and are exploring other planets we

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have satellites circling the globe that

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help people better predict the weather

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and information gathered from some of

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NASA's computer simulations has even

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been used to make artificial heart

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valves the Dryden Flight Research Center

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is a vital component in the overall NASA

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picture what is being flight tested at

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Dryden today will most likely have an

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impact on tomorrow's air and spacecraft