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53-501: The program would eventually develop a total of three test prototype flight demonstrators for the proposed Crew Return Vehicle, each having incremental improvements on its predecessor. All three were wingless lifting body vehicles used in drop tests. The X-38 program was canceled in 2002 due to budget cuts. With crew being taken to the ISS by space shuttle, the maximum crew size for the ISS would be dependent on crew rescue capacity. Since it

106-441: A 7,500-square-foot (700 m) parafoil wing, the largest ever made. Flight control was mostly autonomous, backed up by a ground-based pilot. The X-38 was intended to be semi-permanently docked to the ISS. If the crew became sick or injured during the course of their mission, they would enter the rescue vehicle through a hatched docking mechanism. With execution of a short procedure, the crew return vehicles would automatically fly

159-625: A first look at structural loads. The vehicle can then proceed with its maiden flight , a major milestone in any aircraft or launch vehicle development program. There are several aspects to a flight test program, among which: Testing that is specific to military aircraft includes: Emergency situations are evaluated as a normal part of all flight test program. Examples are: engine failure during various phases of flight (takeoff, cruise, landing), systems failures, and controls degradation. The overall operations envelope (allowable gross weights, centers-of-gravity, altitude, max/min airspeeds, maneuvers, etc.)

212-437: A large aircraft are: Specific calibration instruments, whose behavior has been determined from previous tests, may be brought on board to supplement the aircraft's in-built probes. During the flight, these parameters are then used to compute relevant aircraft performance parameters, such as airspeed, altitude, weight, and center of gravity position. During selected phases of flight test, especially during early development of

265-593: A new aircraft, many parameters are transmitted to the ground during the flight and monitored by flight test and test support engineers, or stored for subsequent data analysis. This provides for safety monitoring and allows for both real-time and full-simulation analysis of the data being acquired. When the aircraft or launch vehicle is completely assembled and instrumented, many hours of ground testing are conducted. This allows exploring multiple aspects: basic aircraft vehicle operation, flight controls , engine performance, dynamic systems stability evaluation, and provides

318-472: A pilot to predict the takeoff, climb, cruise, and landing performance of an aircraft. These charts, provided by the manufacturer, are included in the AFM /POH. Information the manufacturer provides on these charts has been gathered from test flights conducted in a new aircraft, under normal operating conditions while using average piloting skills, and with the aircraft and engine in good working order. Engineers record

371-640: A single Russian Soyuz TMA vehicle that could be docked to the station at any given time. Later in May 2009 provisions were added for a total of two docked Soyuz vehicles simultaneously and the ISS crew was increased to 6 members. NASA has designed several crew return vehicles over the years with varying levels of detail. A small, in-house development study of the X-38 concept first began at Johnson Space Center (JSC) in early 1995; however, several types of emergency scenarios were recognized by NASA as early as 1992 that drove

424-502: A single test flight for an aircraft is known as a Test Card. This will consist of a description of the Test Points to be flown. The flight test engineer will try to fly similar Test Points from all test plans on the same flights, where practical. This allows the required data to be acquired in the minimum number of flight hours. The software used to control the flight test process is known as Flight Test Management Software, and supports

477-586: A specially trained test pilot , the data is gathered by a flight test engineer , and often visually displayed to the test pilot and/or flight test engineer using flight test instrumentation . It includes the analysis of a flight for certification. It analyze the internal and outer part of the flight by checking its all minute parts. Reporting includes the analyzed data result. Introduction Aircraft Performance has various missions such as Takeoff , Climb , Cruise , Acceleration , Deceleration , Descent , Landing and other Basic fighter maneuvers , etc.. After

530-412: A stake in the commercial success of the aircraft. These civil agencies are concerned with the aircraft's safety and that the pilot's flight manual accurately reports the aircraft's performance. The market will determine the aircraft's suitability to operators. Normally, the civil certification agency does not get involved in flight testing until the manufacturer has found and fixed any development issues and

583-548: A stop on the ground. Both the shape and size of the X-38 were different from that of the Space Shuttle. The Crew Return Vehicle would have fitted into the payload bay of the shuttle. This does not, however, mean that it would have been small. The X-38 weighed 10,660 kg and was 9.1 meters long. The battery system, lasting nine hours, was to be used for power and life support. If the Crew Return Vehicle

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636-536: Is an example of interpolating information from a takeoff distance chart: The make-up of the Flight Test Team will vary with the organization and complexity of the flight test program, however, there are some key players who are generally part of all flight test organizations. The leader of a flight test team is usually a flight test engineer (FTE) or possibly an experimental test pilot . Other FTEs or pilots could also be involved. Other team members would be

689-631: Is considered the Father of the Lifting Body Programs. He met with Muratore (1992-93) and shared his design of the X-24A that he used to present the concept of the X-38 to NASA (Wingless Flight, Chapter 9, pages 186-88). The X-38 program used uncrewed mockups to test the CRV design. Flight models were indicated with the letter V for "Vehicle" followed by a number. The X-38 V-131 and V-132 shared

742-445: Is essentially certain maneuvers to be flown (or systems to be exercised). Each single test is known as a Test Point. A full certification/qualification flight test program for a new aircraft will require testing for many aircraft systems and in-flight regimes; each is typically documented in a separate test plan. Altogether, a certification flight test program will consist of approximately 10,000 Test Points. The document used to prepare

795-487: Is established and verified during flight testing. Aircraft are always demonstrated to be safe beyond the limits allowed for normal operations in the Flight Manual. Because the primary goal of a flight test program is to gather accurate engineering data, often on a design that is not fully proven, piloting a flight test aircraft requires a high degree of training and skill. As such, such programs are typically flown by

848-407: Is imperative that the crew members be able to return to Earth in case of an unexpected emergency, a Crew Return Vehicle able to hold up to seven crew members was initially planned by the ISS program leadership. This would have allowed the full complement of seven astronauts to live and work on the ISS. During the early years of ISS on-orbit construction, the crew was limited to three, corresponding to

901-544: Is important to read every chart and understand how to use it. Read the instructions provided by the manufacturer. For an explanation on how to use the charts, refer to the example provided by the manufacturer for that specific chart. The information manufacturers furnish is not standardized. Information may be contained in a table format, and other information may be contained in a graph format. Sometimes combined graphs incorporate two or more graphs into one chart to compensate for multiple conditions of flight. Combined graphs allow

954-474: Is lacking For this reason, flight testing is carefully planned in three phases: preparation; execution; and analysis and reporting. For both commercial and military aircraft, as well as launch vehicles, flight test preparation begins well before the test vehicle is ready to fly. Initially what needs to be tested must be defined, from which the Flight Test Engineers prepare the test plan, which

1007-733: Is now sitting outside Building 49 wrapped in construction webbing at Johnson Space Center. As of January 2024, the X-38 V-131R is on loan from NASA to the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon . Data from General characteristics Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Flight testing Flight testing is a branch of aeronautical engineering that develops specialist equipment required for testing behaviour and systems of aircraft or testing

1060-407: Is ready to seek certification. Military programs differ from commercial in that the government contracts with the aircraft manufacturer to design and build an aircraft to meet specific mission capabilities. These performance requirements are documented to the manufacturer in the aircraft specification and the details of the flight test program (among many other program requirements) are spelled out in

1113-484: The Global Positioning System (a satellite -based coordinate system) to coordinate a safe trip home. Since the Crew Return Vehicle was designed with medical emergencies in mind, it made sense that the vehicle could find its way home automatically in the event that crew members were incapacitated or injured. If there was a need, the crew would have the capability to operate the vehicle by switching to

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1166-529: The U.S. Naval Test Pilot School are the programs designed to teach military test personnel. In the UK, most military flight testing is conducted by three organizations, the RAF , BAE Systems and QinetiQ . For minor upgrades the testing may be conducted by one of these three organizations in isolation, but major programs are normally conducted by a joint trials team (JTT), with all three organizations working together under

1219-521: The aerodynamic shape of the X-24A . This shape had to be enlarged for the Crew Return Vehicle needs (crew of seven astronauts) and redesigned, especially in the rear part, which became thicker. The X-38 V-131-R was designed at 80 percent of the size of a CRV [24.5 ft long (7.5 m), 11.6 ft wide (3.5 m), 8.4 ft high (2.6 m)], and featured the final redesigned shape (Two later versions, V-133 and V-201, were planned at 100 percent of

1272-420: The atmospheric phase of launch vehicles and reusable spacecraft . Instrumentation systems are developed using proprietary transducers and data acquisition systems. Data is sampled during the flight of an aircraft , or atmospheric testing of launch vehicles and reusable spacecraft . This data is validated for accuracy and analyzed to further modify the vehicle design during development, or to validate

1325-402: The post-mission phase of a returning booster flight on revenue launches—can be subject to the latter's statistically demonstrated higher risk of accidents or serious incidents. This is mainly due to the unknowns of a new aircraft or launch vehicle's handling characteristics and lack of established operating procedures, and can be exacerbated if test pilot training or experience of the flight crew

1378-506: The CRV size). The 80% scale versions were flown at 15,000 to 24,000 pound weight. The X-38 V-201 orbital prototype was 90 percent complete, but never flown. In drop tests the V-131, V-132 and V-131-R were dropped by a B-52 from altitudes of up to 45,000 ft (13,700 m), gliding at near transonic speeds before deploying a drogue parachute to slow them to 60 miles per hour (97 km/h). The later prototypes had their descent continue under

1431-481: The Flight Test Engineer in planning the test points to be flown as well as generating the required documentation. Once the flight test data requirements are established, the aircraft or launch vehicle is instrumented with a data acquisition system (DAS), or data acquisition unit (DAU) and sensors , to record that data for analysis. Typical instrumentation parameters recorded during a flight test for

1484-503: The Flight Test Instrumentation Engineer, Instrumentation System Technicians, the aircraft maintenance department (mechanics, electrical techs, avionics technicians, etc.), Quality/Product Assurance Inspectors, the ground-based computing/data center personnel, plus logistics and administrative support. Engineers from various other disciplines would support the testing of their particular systems and analyze

1537-549: The ISS design without any negotiations with international partners. NASA Administrator, Sean O'Keefe , appointed by President George W. Bush , stated in December 2001 that he intended to adhere to the recommendations of the IMCE, including the implementation of Core Complete. The X-38 project cancellation was announced on April 29, 2002 as a cost-cutting measure in accordance with the IMCE's recommendations. The Core Complete concept

1590-656: The backup systems. In addition, seven high-altitude low-opening ( HALO ) parachute packs were included in the crew cabin, a measure designed to provide for the ability to bail out of the craft. An Advanced Docking Berthing System (ADBS) was designed for the X-38 and the work on it led to the Low Impact Docking System the Johnson Space Center later created for the planned vehicles in Project Constellation . The X-38 vehicle

1643-421: The charts contain and how to extract information from the charts by direct reading and interpolation methods. Every chart contains a wealth of information that should be used when flight planning. Examples of the table, graph, and combined graph formats for all aspects of flight will be discussed. Interpolation Not all of the information on the charts is easily extracted. Some charts require interpolation to find

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1696-413: The complete development and certification of a new aircraft, launch vehicle, or reusable spacecraft. Therefore, the duration of a particular flight test program can vary from a few weeks to years. There are typically two categories of flight test programs – commercial and military. Commercial flight testing is conducted to certify that the aircraft meets all applicable safety and performance requirements of

1749-403: The crew members safely to Earth. Once undocked, the vehicle would be deorbited using a deorbital propulsion system (DPS). The eight-thruster DPS would adjust the spacecraft's attitude and retrofire to slow the X-38 down, allowing gravitational attraction to pull it back into Earth's atmosphere. A DPS module was developed by Aerojet and delivered to Johnson Space Center in 2002 for V-201. Following

1802-418: The data acquired for their specialty area. Since many aircraft development programs are sponsored by government military services, military or government-employed civilian pilots and engineers are often integrated into the flight test team. The government representatives provide program oversight and review and approve data. Government test pilots may also participate in the actual test flights, possibly even on

1855-407: The design of the vehicle. The flight test phase accomplishes two major tasks: 1) finding and fixing design problems and then 2) verifying and documenting the vehicle capabilities when the vehicle design is complete, or to provide a final specification for government certification or customer acceptance. The flight test phase can range from the test of a single new system for an existing vehicle to

1908-460: The flight data and create performance charts based on the behavior of the aircraft during the test flights. By using these performance charts, a pilot can determine the runway length needed to take off and land, the amount of fuel to be used during flight, and the time required to arrive at the destination. The data from the charts will not be accurate if the aircraft is not in good working order or when operating under adverse conditions. Always consider

1961-431: The flight testing, the aircraft has to be certified according to their regulations like FAA 's FAR , EASA 's Certification Specifications (CS) and India 's Air Staff Compliance and Requirements. 1. Flight Performance Evaluation and documentation 2. Reduction of Flight performance to standard conditions 3. Preparation and Validation of Performance Charts for Operating Data Manual (ODM) Performance charts allow

2014-516: The full envelope expansion paradigm of traditional aircraft testing. Previous and current test programs include the early drop tests of the Space Shuttle , the X-24B , SpaceShipTwo , Dream Chaser , Falcon 9 prototypes , OK-GLI , and SpaceX Starship prototypes . Flight testing—typically as a class of non-revenue producing flight, although SpaceX has also done extensive flight tests on

2067-922: The government certifying agency. In the United States, this is the Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ); in Canada, Transport Canada (TC); in the United Kingdom (UK), the Civil Aviation Authority ; and in the European Union , the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Since commercial aircraft development is normally funded by the aircraft manufacturer and/or private investors, the certifying agency does not have

2120-430: The information for specific flight conditions. Interpolating information means that by taking the known information, a pilot can compute intermediate information. However, pilots sometimes round off values from charts to a more conservative figure. Using values that reflect slightly more adverse conditions provides a reasonable estimate of performance information and gives a slight margin of safety. The following illustration

2173-463: The jettison of the DPS, the X-38 would have glided from orbit and used a steerable parafoil for its final descent and landing. The high speeds at which lifting body aircraft operate can make them challenging to land. The parafoil would have been used to slow the vehicle and make landing easier. The landing gear consisted of skids rather than wheels: the skids worked like sleds so the vehicle would have slid to

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2226-598: The military aircraft flight test is the Operational Test (OT). OT is conducted by a government-only test team with the dictate to certify that the aircraft is suitable and effective to carry out the intended mission. Flight testing of military aircraft is often conducted at military flight test facilities. The US Navy tests aircraft at Naval Air Station Patuxent River and the US Air Force at Edwards Air Force Base . The U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School and

2279-439: The necessity to compensate for the performance numbers if the aircraft is not in good working order or piloting skills are below average. Each aircraft performs differently and, therefore, has different performance numbers. Compute the performance of the aircraft prior to every flight, as every flight is different. Every chart is based on certain conditions and contains notes on how to adapt the information for flight conditions. It

2332-705: The need for crew return from the International Space Station: In early 1996, a contract was awarded to Scaled Composites , Inc., of Mojave, Calif., for the construction of three full-scale atmospheric test airframes. The first vehicle airframe was delivered to JSC in September 1996. In an unusual move for an X-plane , the program involved the European Space Agency and the German Space Agency DLR . It

2385-447: The pilot to predict aircraft performance for variations in density altitude, weight, and winds all on one chart. Because of the vast amount of information that can be extracted from this type of chart, it is important to be very accurate in reading the chart. A small error in the beginning can lead to a large error at the end. The remainder of this section covers performance information for aircraft in general and discusses what information

2438-404: The statement of work. In this case, the government is the customer and has a direct stake in the aircraft's ability to perform the mission. Since the government is funding the program, it is more involved in the aircraft design and testing from early-on. Often military test pilots and engineers are integrated as part of the manufacturer's flight test team, even before first flight. The final phase of

2491-493: The umbrella of an integrated project team (IPT) airspace. All launch vehicles , as well as a few reusable spacecraft, must necessarily be designed to deal with aerodynamic flight loads while moving through the atmosphere. Many launch vehicles are flight tested, with rather more extensive data collection and analysis on the early orbital launches of a particular launch vehicle design. Reusable spacecraft or reusable booster test programs are much more involved and typically follow

2544-769: Was also known as the X-35 (but that designation was already allocated by the USAF to Lockheed Martin's entry in the Joint Strike Fighter Program ) and the X-CRV (experimental - Crew Return Vehicle). Severe cost overruns plagued the ISS program during its development and construction during the late 1990s and early 2000s. To bring costs under control the International Space Station Management and Cost Evaluation (IMCE) Task Force

2597-623: Was created. The task force introduced a new concept known as "American Core Complete", whereby the U.S. would unilaterally reduce the previously agreed-upon American contributions to the ISS while retaining its role as the controlling member of the International partners. Core Complete (as opposed to the originally planned "Station Complete") deleted the American Habitation Module, the American CRV, and Node-3 from

2650-432: Was needed, it would only take two to three hours for it to reach Earth. The parafoil parachute, employed for landing , was derived from technology developed by the U.S. Army . This massive parafoil deploys in 5 stages for optimum performance. A drag chute would have been released from the rear of the X-38. This drag chute would have been used to stabilize and slow the vehicle down. The parafoil (area of 687 square meters)

2703-497: Was originally called X-35 . The program manager was John Muratore , while the Flight Test Engineer was future NASA astronaut Michael E. Fossum . Rob Meyerson , who later went on to become President of Blue Origin , was an early member of the team. The X-38 design used a wingless lifting body concept originally developed by the U.S. Air Force in the mid-1960s during the X-24 program. R. Dale Reed worked for NASA from 1955-2000 and

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2756-502: Was roundly criticized by many experts at the time since a majority of development work on the X-38 had been completed. The prototype space vehicle was approximately 90% complete at the time it was cancelled. The X-38 V-132 is now on permanent loan from NASA to the Strategic Air and Space Museum at Ashland, Nebraska. As of October 2015 the 90% complete X-38 V-201, having been moved out of Building 220 at Johnson Space Center,

2809-420: Was then released. It would open in five steps (a process called staging). While the staging process only takes 45 seconds, it is important for a successful chute deployment. Staging prevents high-speed winds from tearing the parafoil. The spacecraft's landing was to be completely automated. Mission Control would have sent coordinates to the onboard computer system. This system would also have used wind sensors and

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