NASA Hosts Social Media Event to Welcome Endeavour to California

John Yembrick/Jason Townsend

Headquarters, Washington                                        

202-358-1584/202-358-0359

john.yembrick@nasa.gov / jason.c.townsend@nasa.gov

WASHINGTON -- To welcome space shuttle Endeavour to Southern California, NASA is inviting 40 of its social media followers to a NASA Social Sept. 19-20 at the agency's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base. Parts of the social will be carried live on NASA Television and the agency's website.

Endeavour is expected to land at Dryden on Sept. 19 and depart Sept. 20 for Los Angeles International Airport, where it will remain in a hangar until its transfer in October to a permanent home at the California Science Center.

During the two-day event, people who engage with NASA through Twitter, Facebook and Google+ will have a rare opportunity to see the landing and departure of Endeavour as it rides piggyback on NASA's 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. Participants also will speak with experts, tour shuttle support vehicles and other NASA aircraft, and interact with fellow NASA social media followers, space enthusiasts and members of NASA's social media team.

The NASA Social registration opens at noon EDT, Tuesday, Aug. 28, and closes at noon EDT, Thursday, Aug. 30. Forty participants will be selected randomly from online registrations. Because of space limitations, those selected to attend may not bring a guest. Each participant must be a U.S. citizen age 18 or older.

For more information on NASA Socials and to register, visit http://www.nasa.gov/social.

To join and track the conversation online during the NASA Socials, follow the hashtag #NASASocial. Use and reference the #OV105 hashtag to follow Endeavour's cross country journey.

For NASA TV streaming video, schedules and downlink information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.

For more about Dryden Flight Research Center, visit http://www.nasa.gov/dryden.

For information about Endeavour's arrival at the California Science Center, visit http://www.californiasciencecenter.org.

For information about connecting and collaborating with NASA, visit http://www.nasa.gov/connect.

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Transformed X-48c Flies Successfully

Michael Braukus

Headquarters, Washington     

202-358-1979

michael.j.braukus@nasa.gov

 

Gray Creech

Dryden Flight Research Center

661-276-2662

gray.creech-1@nasa.gov

 

Tom Koehler

Boeing Research & Technology Communications

425-373-2921

thomas.j.koehler@boeing.com

 

Edwards AFB, Calif. -- The remotely piloted X-48C aircraft successfully flew for the first time Tuesday at Edwards Air Force Base in California's Mojave Desert.

The aircraft, designed by The Boeing Co. and built by Cranfield Aerospace Limited of the United Kingdom, is flying again in partnership with NASA. The new X-48C model, which was formerly the X-48B Blended Wing Body aircraft, was modified to evaluate the low-speed stability and control of a low-noise version of a notional, future Hybrid Wing Body (HWB) aircraft design. The HWB design stems from concept studies being conducted by NASA's Environmentally Responsible Aviation project of future potential aircraft designs 20 years from now.

"We are thrilled to get back in the air to start collecting data in this low-noise configuration," said Heather Maliska, X-48C project manager at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center. "Our dedicated team has worked hard to get the X-48C off the ground for its first flight and we are excited learning about the stability and control characteristics of this low-noise configuration of the blended wing body."

Primary changes to the C model from the B model, which flew 92 flights at Dryden between 2007 and 2010, were geared to transforming it to an airframe noise-shielding configuration. External modifications included relocating the wingtip winglets inboard next to the engines, effectively turning them into twin tails. The aft deck of the aircraft was extended about 2 feet to the rear. Finally, the project team replaced the X-48B's three 50-pound thrust jet engines with two 89-pound thrust engines.

Because handling qualities of the X-48C will be different from those of the X-48B, the project team developed flight control system software modifications, including flight control limiters to keep the airplane flying within a safe flight envelope. This will enable a stronger and safer prototype flight control system suitable for future full-scale commercial hybrid or blended wing aircraft.

"We are very pleased to begin flight tests of the X-48C," said Mike Kisska, Boeing X-48C project manager. "Working with NASA, we've successfully passed another milestone in our work to explore and validate the aerodynamic characteristics and efficiencies of the blended wing body concept."

Additionally, the upcoming flight experiments with the X-48C will help researchers further develop methods to validate the design's aerodynamics and control laws, including a goal of reducing aerodynamic drag through engine yaw control tests.

During the planned second block of flight testing this fall, NASA will test engine yaw control software incorporated in the X-48C's flight computer. This research will use asymmetric engine thrust to create yaw, or nose left or right movements, for trim and for relatively slow maneuvers.

NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate and Boeing are funding the X-48 technology demonstration research effort, which supports NASA's goals of reduced fuel burn, emissions and noise.

The X-48C retains most dimensions of the B model, with a wingspan just longer than 20 feet, and a weight of about 500 pounds. The aircraft has an estimated top speed of about 140 mph, and a maximum altitude of 10,000 feet.

The Air Force Research Laboratory, Dayton, Ohio, also is a member of the project team.

For more information about the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, visit http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov.

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Educators Selected For NASA Explorer Schools Summer Workshops

Ann Marie Trotta

Headquarters, Washington

202-358-1601

ann.marie.trotta@nasa.gov

 

Jeannette Owens

Glenn Research Center, Cleveland

216-433-2990

jeannette.p.owens@nasa.gov

WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected 50 elementary, middle and high school educators from across the nation to work side by side with agency scientists and engineers to learn research techniques and identify connections to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.

The educators were chosen for these workshops because they demonstrated exemplary classroom practices and innovative use of NASA Explorer Schools (NES) resources to engage students in STEM activities. They will participate in one of four workshops that will take place between June 18 and July 26 at various NASA centers. This year's workshops are Extreme Green at the Glenn Research Center in Cleveland; Airborne Research Experience at Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif.; There is More to Light than Meets the Eye at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.; and Atmospheric Science at Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va.

The NES project invests in STEM educator development to help teachers inspire and engage the future scientists, engineers and technicians that NASA needs to continue its missions. The program offers a variety of educational assets, including classroom videos, educational concept lessons, professional development activities and live video chats.

For a complete list of the NES teacher participants, visit http://go.nasa.gov/Lt3Pr8.

For more information about NASA Explorer Schools program, visit http://explorerschools.nasa.gov.

For more information about NASA education programs, visit http://www.nasa.gov/education.

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Jet Engines Eat Cereal and Crayons (No, really)

Gray Creech, Public Affairs, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center

It might not surprise you to find cereal and crayons beneath your sofa cushions, especially if you are a parent with young children.

But what if you found them in a jet engine?

If you’re a NASA  engineer, you might declare success in a test of new aircraft engine health monitoring technology designed to provide early warning of engine problems, including the destructive effect of volcanic ash.

NASA’s Aviation Safety Program  is developing technology for improved sensors to help spot changes in vibration, speed, temperature and emissions which are symptomatic of engine glitches.

These advanced sensors could alert ground crews to problems that can be eliminated with preventive maintenance before becoming serious safety concerns.

Ultimately, the sensors could alert pilots to the presence of destructive volcanic ash particles too small for the eyes to see, giving more time for evasive action to prevent engine damage in flight.

 Letting a jet engine suck up foreign objects usually is a no-no, but engineers at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center  will bend the rules in an upcoming experiment with a U.S. Air Force C-17  cargo transport.

The cereal and crayons will leave a colorful trail of grains and wax that the researchers can see and study to gauge how well the sensors work.

Dryden engineers ran a similar test using water in December 2011 to lay the groundwork for more complex experiments. They operated the C-17 in normal use and simulated fault conditions after outfitting one of its two Pratt & Whitney F117  turbofan engines – military versions of Pratt & Whitney’s commercial airline PW-2000 turbofan engines – with the advanced sensors.

The second test, in early 2013, will use cereal and crayons to verify that the sensors can detect tiny bits of debris. After that, engineers will conduct a third and final test with very hard, glass-like particles that mimic volcanic ash. Because it is difficult and risky to create problems intentionally on a jet engine in flight, the aircraft will remain on the ground for both tests.

“The point of tossing cereal and crayons into the engine is to trigger some small change for the sensors to detect, without harming the engine,” said Dave Berger, a leader of the Vehicle Integrated Propulsion  (VIPR) test series. “Once the sensitivity of the sensors is established, we will end with a real-world scenario by introducing volcanic ash, which really can – and does – tear up an engine.”

The final test with simulated ash will assess how early the health monitoring sensors and their associated software can detect and report a problem. The test will result in the engine’s failure.

“Being able to take an overhauled engine and run it all the way to the end of its life through research experiments is a unique opportunity,” said Berger.

NASA is partnering with the U.S. Air Force  and Pratt & Whitney on the VIPR project. Since a volcanic eruption in Iceland disrupted air traffic worldwide for weeks in 2009, there is renewed interest in being able to detect volcanic ash in flight.

The Air Force has conducted extensive tests on the effects of volcanic ash ingestion into jet engines, but sensors that can detect the destructive effect of the ash were not available in those tests. They also are not available on current production jet engines.

Based at Dryden, VIPR is funded by NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate , which manages the Aviation Safety Program.

U.S. Air Force Develops NASA’s New MUTT

NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center soon will have a new dog in the yard, and it’s a real MUTT. That’s short for the Multi-Use Technology Testbed, a small unmanned aircraft being developed by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to test technologies that will be needed for new kinds of lightweight, flexible aircraft.

MUTT is one of the Air Force‘s newest X-planes, designated X-56A. The 7.5-foot-long aircraft has a 28-foot wingspan and will be powered by two 52-pound thrust JetCat P200-SX turbine engines. It is being built in California under contract to Lockheed Martin Corp., which will conduct the flight experiments for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).

Dryden will oversee the flights for AFRL during summer 2012, and then take ownership of the X-56A MUTT for follow-on research after the Air Force tests are finished in early autumn.

“Flexible wings and fuselages can result in significant reductions in the structural weight of aircraft,” says Gary Martin, deputy project manager for NASA’s Subsonic Fixed Wing Project at Dryden.

But unlike the short, stiff wings found on most aircraft today, long, thin wings like those on the X-56A are susceptible to uncontrollable vibrations, called flutter, that result from the force of air flowing over them. Thin wings can also be stressed by bending forces from wind gusts and atmospheric turbulence.

“To maintain the long-term health of the structure and ride quality in a more flexible airplane, we need to actively alleviate gust loads on the airplane and suppress flutter, so gust load alleviation and active flutter suppression are two of the key technologies that NASA is working to advance,” Martin said.

MUTT is designed to address this problem by enabling engineers to practice suppressing flutter by adjusting software programs in the aircraft’s flight control computer. With MUTT, researchers also expect to learn how better to ease gust loads, which will make flexible airplanes safer when they experience in-flight turbulence.

Although the X-56A MUTT is a low-speed, subsonic, sub-scale research aircraft, aircraft that fly faster than the speed of sound also can benefit from this research. The knowledge gained about flutter and gust suppression will be used in designing the proposed supersonic X-54, an aircraft that will demonstrate sonic boom-quieting technologies that could someday alleviate the noise concerns currently preventing supersonic commercial flight over land in the United States.

Written by Gray Creech, public affairs

 NASA Dryden Flight Research Center