LLRV flight #1-16-61F with Bell 47 Helicopter providing chase support. The use of chase planes was a critical part of flight research well before the establishment of what was then called the NACA Muroc Flight Test Unit in September 1947 (now the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center). They act as a second set of eyes for the research pilot, warning him of any problems. When test flights of the LLRV began in October 1964, chase support for the vehicle was supplied by a Bell 47 helicopter. It could hover close by, providing information such as altitude and descent rate. LLRV test operations were phased out in late 1966 and early 1967. When Apollo planning was underway in 1960, NASA was looking for a simulator to profile the descent to the Moon's surface. Three concepts surfaced: an electronic simulator, a tethered device, and the ambitious Dryden contribution, a free-flying vehicle. All three became serious projects, but eventually the NASA Flight Research Center’s (FRC) Lunar Landing Research Vehicle (LLRV) became the most significant one. After conceptual planning and meetings with engineers from Bell Aerosystems Company, Buffalo, N.Y., NASA FRC issued a $3.6 million production contract awarded in 1963, for delivery of the first of two vehicles for flight studies. Built of tubular aluminum alloy like a giant four-legged bedstead, the vehicle was to simulate a lunar landing profile from around 1500 feet to the Moon’s surface. The LLRV had a turbofan engine mounted vertically in a gimbal, with 4200 pounds of thrust. The engine, lifted the vehicle up to the test altitude and was then throttled back to support five-sixths of the vehicle's weight, thus simulating the reduced gravity of the Moon. Two lift rockets with thrust that could be varied from 100 to 500 pounds handled the LLRV's rate of descent and horizontal translations. Sixteen smaller rockets, mounted in pairs, gave the pilot control in pitch, yaw, and roll. The pilot’s platform extended forward between t

American Apollo spacecraft as seen from Soviet Soyuz spacecraft in orbit

AST-32-2695 (17-19 July 1975) --- The American Apollo spacecraft as seen in Earth orbit from the Soviet Soyuz spacecraft during the joint U.S.-USSR Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission. The Command/Service Module and Docking Module are contrasted against a black-sky background. The horizon of Earth is below. This picture was furnished by the USSR in an exchange of photography taken during the ASTP flight. The bell-shaped engine nozzle of the service propulsion system protrudes from the rear of the Service Module. Note the docking mechanism on the Docking Module. The American and Soviet spacecraft were joined together in space for approximately 47 hours on July 17-18-19, 1975. PHOTO COURTESY: USSR ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

American Apollo spacecraft as seen from Soviet Soyuz spacecraft in orbit

AST-32-2686 (17-19 July 1975) --- The American Apollo spacecraft as seen in Earth orbit from the Soviet Soyuz 19 spacecraft during the joint U.S.-USSR Apollo Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) mission. The Command and Service Module (CSM) and Docking Module (DM) are contrasted against a black-sky background. Light reflected in the camera streaks the image. Note the docking mechanism and docking target on the DM. On the left the bell-shaped engine nozzle of the service propulsion system protrudes from the rear of the Service Module (SM). The American and Soviet spacecraft were joined together in space for approximately 47 hours on July 17, 18, 19, 1975. This picture was furnished by the USSR in an exchange of photography taken during the ASTP flight. The Apollo crew consisted of astronauts Thomas P. Stafford, commander; Donald K. "Deke" Slayton, docking module pilot; and Vance D. Brand, command module pilot. The Soyuz 19 crew consisted of cosmonauts Aleksei A. Leonov, command pilot; and Valeri N. Kubasov, flight engineer.

Publicity Photos of Bell Computing Machines at 19 Foot Pressure Tunnel

Publicity Photos of Bell Computing Machines at 19 Foot Pressure

Publicity Photos of Bell Computing Machines at 19 Foot Pressure Tunnel

Stan Butchart climbing into B-47

From December 10, 1966, until his retirement on February 27, 1976, Stanley P. Butchart served as Chief (later, Director) of Flight Operations at NASA's Flight Research Center (renamed on March 26, 1976, the Hugh L. Dryden Flight Research Center). Initially, his responsibilities in this position included the Research Pilots Branch, a Maintenance and Manufacturing Branch, and an Operations Engineering Branch, the last of which not only included propulsion and electrical/electronic sections but project engineers for the X-15 and lifting bodies. During his tenure, however, the responsibilities of his directorate came to include not only Flight Test Engineering Support but Flight Systems and Loads laboratories. Before becoming Chief of Flight Operations, Butchart had served since June of 1966 as head of the Research Pilots Branch (Chief Pilot) and then as acting chief of Flight Operations. He had joined the Center (then known as the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics' High-Speed Flight Research Station) as a research pilot on May 10, 1951. During his career as a research pilot, he flew a great variety of research and air-launch aircraft including the D-558-I, D-558-II, B-29 (plus its Navy version, the P2B), X-4, X-5, KC-135, CV-880, CV-990, B-47, B-52, B-747, F-100A, F-101, F-102, F-104, PA-30 Twin Comanche, JetStar, F-111, R4D, B-720, and B-47. Although previously a single-engine pilot, he became the Center's principal multi-engine pilot during a period of air-launches in which the pilot of the air-launch aircraft (B-29 or P2B) basically directed the operations. It was he who called for the chase planes before each drop, directed the positioning of fire rescue vehicles, and released the experimental aircraft after ensuring that all was ready for the drop. As pilot of the B-29 and P2B, Butchart launched the X-1A once, the X-1B 13 times, the X-1E 22 times, and the D-558-II 102 times. In addition, he towed the M2-F1 lightweight lifting body 14 times behind an R4

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