NASA engineer Larry Hudson and Ikhana ground crew member James Smith work on a ground validation test with new fiber optic sensors that led to validation flights on the Ikhana aircraft. NASA Dryden Flight Research Center is evaluating an advanced fiber optic-based sensing technology installed on the wings of NASA's Ikhana aircraft. The fiber optic system measures and displays the shape of the aircraft's wings in flight. There are other potential safety applications for the technology, such as vehicle structural health monitoring. If an aircraft structure can be monitored with sensors and a computer can manipulate flight control surfaces to compensate for stresses on the wings, structural control can be established to prevent situations that might otherwise result in a loss of control.

This test conducted in May 1988 shows what happens during launch if a space shuttle main engine fails. The test was conducted in the 10X10 supersonic wind tunnel at the John H. Glenn Research Center.

During the meeting, Dr. Calvin and center leaders will explore how technologies being developed at NASA Glenn could help reduce the effects of climate change. The panelists who will be leading the discussion include: Dr. Calvin; Larry Sivic, Associate Director; Dr. Rickey Shyne, Director of Research and Engineering; Bryan Smith, Director of Facilities, Test, & Manufacturing; and W. Allen Kilgore, Acting Director of Aeronautics. Director of Space Flight Systems Dr. Mike Barrett will serve as the moderator.

During the meeting, Dr. Calvin and center leaders will explore how technologies being developed at NASA Glenn could help reduce the effects of climate change. The panelists who will be leading the discussion include: Dr. Calvin; Larry Sivic, Associate Director; Dr. Rickey Shyne, Director of Research and Engineering; Bryan Smith, Director of Facilities, Test, & Manufacturing; and W. Allen Kilgore, Acting Director of Aeronautics. Director of Space Flight Systems Dr. Mike Barrett will serve as the moderator.

A Highly Maneuverable Aircraft Technology (HiMAT) inlet model installed in the test section of the 8- by 6-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lewis Research Center. Engineers at the Ames Research Center, Dryden Flight Research Center, and Rockwell International designed two pilotless subscale HiMAT vehicles in the mid-1970s to study new design concepts for fighter aircraft in the transonic realm without risking the lives of test pilots. The aircraft used sophisticated technologies such as advanced aerodynamics, composite materials, digital integrated propulsion control, and digital fly-by-wire control systems. In late 1977 NASA Lewis studied the HiMAT’s General Electric J85-21 jet engine in the Propulsion Systems Laboratory. The researchers charted the inlet quality with various combinations anti-distortion screens. HiMAT employed a relatively short and curved inlet compared to actual fighter jets. In the spring of 1979, Larry Smith led an in-depth analysis of the HiMAT inlet in the 8- by 6 tunnel. The researchers installed vortex generators to battle flow separation in the diffuser. The two HiMAT aircraft performed 11 hours of flying over the course of 26 missions from mid-1979 to January 1983 at Dryden and Ames. Although the HiMAT vehicles were considered to be overly complex and expensive, the program yielded a wealth of data that would validate computer-based design tools.