NASA Staff Dr.Darden, Mach 3 Sonic Boom Model Wind Tunnel

NASA Staff Dr.Darden, Matthew Overhold, Kathy Needleman, Robert Mack. Mach 3 Sonic Boom Model Wind Tunnel

NASA Staff Dr.Darden, Matthew Overhold, Kathy Needleman, Robert Mack. Mach 3 Sonic Boom Model Wind Tunnel

X-15A-2 post flight photo showing heat damage from Mach 6.7 flight on 3 Oct 67. Flt. 2-53-97; pilot-Pete Knight.

FAST QUIET EXPERIMENT TEST ON THE MACH 3 BURNER RIG

This photo shows a head-on view of NASA's SR-71B, used for pilot proficiency and training, on the ramp at the Air Force's Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, shortly before delivery to the Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility (later, Dryden Flight Research Center) at Edwards, California. NASA operated two of these unique aircraft, an SR-71A, for high-speed, high altitude research, and this SR- 71B pilot trainer for most of the decade of the 1990s. The "B" model is special because of its raised rear cockpit, which provided a second pilot position so a trainer and an experienced pilot could both see what was going on during flights. The SR-71 was designed and built by the Lockheed Skunk Works, now the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. Studies have shown that less than 20 percent of the total thrust used to fly at Mach 3 is produced by the basic engine itself. The balance of the total thrust is produced by the unique design of the engine inlet and "moveable spike" system at the front of the engine nacelles, and by the ejector nozzles at the exhaust which burn air compressed in the engine bypass system. Data from the SR-71 high speed research program will be used to aid designers of future supersonic/hypersonic aircraft and propulsion systems, including a high speed civil transport.

The X-2, initially an Air Force program, was scheduled to be transferred to the civilian National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) for scientific research. The Air Force delayed turning the aircraft over to the NACA in the hope of attaining Mach 3 in the airplane. The service requested and received a two-month extension to qualify another Air Force test pilot, Capt. Miburn "Mel" Apt, in the X-2 and attempt to exceed Mach 3. After several ground briefings in the simulator, Apt (with no previous rocket plane experience) made his flight on 27 September 1956. Apt raced away from the B-50 under full power, quickly outdistancing the F-100 chase planes. At high altitude, he nosed over, accelerating rapidly. The X-2 reached Mach 3.2 (2,094 mph) at 65,000 feet. Apt became the first man to fly more than three times the speed of sound. Still above Mach 3, he began an abrupt turn back to Edwards. This maneuver proved fatal as the X-2 began a series of diverging rolls and tumbled out of control. Apt tried to regain control of the aircraft. Unable to do so, Apt separated the escape capsule. Too late, he attempted to bail out and was killed when the capsule impacted on the Edwards bombing range. The rest of the X-2 crashed five miles away. The wreckage of the X-2 rocket plane was later taken to NACA's High Speed Flight Station for analysis following the crash.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A fish-eye view shows space shuttle Atlantis lifting off from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. At left in the foreground is the White Room, which provides access into the shuttle. On the horizon is the Atlantic Ocean. A blue mach diamond appears below the engine nozzle at right. The mach diamonds are a formation of shock waves in the exhaust plume of an aerospace propulsion system. Atlantis will rendezvous with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope on the STS-125 mission. Liftoff was on time at 2:01 p.m. EDT. Atlantis' 11-day flight will include five spacewalks to refurbish and upgrade the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments that will expand Hubble's capabilities and extend its operational lifespan through at least 2014. The payload includes a Wide Field Camera 3, fine guidance sensor and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph. Photo credit: NASA/Sandra Joseph-Kevin O'Connell

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Atlantis roars into the cloudy sky above Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on the STS-125 mission. Blue cones of light, mach diamonds, can be seen beneath the engine nozzles. The mach diamonds are a formation of shock waves in the exhaust plume of an aerospace propulsion system. Atlantis will rendezvous with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope on the STS-125 mission. Liftoff was on time at 2:01 p.m. EDT. Atlantis' 11-day flight will include five spacewalks to refurbish and upgrade the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments that will expand Hubble's capabilities and extend its operational lifespan through at least 2014. The payload includes a Wide Field Camera 3, fine guidance sensor and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph. Photo credit: NASA/Michael Gayle-Rusty Backer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Atlantis roars into the cloudy sky above Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on the STS-125 mission. Blue cones of light, mach diamonds, can be seen beneath the engine nozzles. The mach diamonds are a formation of shock waves in the exhaust plume of an aerospace propulsion system. Atlantis will rendezvous with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Liftoff was on time at 2:01 p.m. EDT. Atlantis' 11-day flight will include five spacewalks to refurbish and upgrade the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments that will expand Hubble's capabilities and extend its operational lifespan through at least 2014. The payload includes a Wide Field Camera 3, fine guidance sensor and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph. Photo credit: NASA/Tony Gray-Tom Farrar

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Atlantis roars into the cloudy sky above Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on the STS-125 mission. Blue cones of light, mach diamonds, can be seen beneath the engine nozzles. The mach diamonds are a formation of shock waves in the exhaust plume of an aerospace propulsion system. Atlantis will rendezvous with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Liftoff was on time at 2:01 p.m. EDT. Atlantis' 11-day flight will include five spacewalks to refurbish and upgrade the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments that will expand Hubble's capabilities and extend its operational lifespan through at least 2014. The payload includes a Wide Field Camera 3, fine guidance sensor and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph. Photo credit: NASA/Tony Gray-Tom Farrar

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Blue mach diamonds appear beneath the main engines on Space Shuttle Endeavour as it hurtles into the sky on mission STS-118. The 22nd shuttle flight to the International Space Station, the mission will continue space station construction by delivering a third starboard truss segment, S5, and other payloads such as the SPACEHAB module and the external stowage platform 3. Liftoff of Endeavour was on time at 6:36 p.m. EDT. Photo credit: NASA/Jerry Cannon, Mike Kerley

Women Scientists: Lucille Coltrane, Jean Clark Keating, Katherine Cullie Speegle, Doris 'Dot' Lee, Ruth Whitman, and Emily Stephens Mueller,Lucille Coltrane is at the far left. She was a computer and worked for Norm Crabill who provided positive identification. Lucille authored a NACA Research Memorandum, Investigation of Two Bluff Shapes in Axial Free Flight Over a Mach Number Range From 0.35 to 2.15 in 1958. Next to Lucille is Jean Clark Keating. Jean was identified by Mary Woerner who said that both Jean and her husband Jerry are now deceased. The third woman from the left is Katherine Cullie Speegle. Katherine co-authored two research papers: Preliminary Results From a Free-Flight Investigation of Boundary-Layer Transition and Heat Transfer on a Highly Polished 8-Inch-Diameter Hemisphere-Cylinder at Mach Numbers up to 3 and Reynolds Numbers Based on a Length of 1 Foot up to 17.7 x 10 to the 6th and Heat Transfer For Mach Numbers Up to 2.2 and Pressure Distributions for Mach Numbers Up to 4.7 From Flight Investigations of a Flat-Face Cone and a Hemisphere-Cone. Norm remembered the woman standing as Doris. Mary Alice identified her as Doris 'Dot' Lee, who worked with Katherine Speegle. Dot was married to a NASA engineer named John Lee. Next to Doris is Ruth Whitman. Norm remembered she and her husband owned a Howard DGA 15 at the airport in WEst Point. That prompted Mary Alice to remember her name and that her husband was Jim. The woman seated on the right is Emily Stephens Mueller. Norm remembers that Emily went to Houston as part of the Space Task Group, but retired back here on the peninsula. In 2008, Emily attended the NACA Reunion X11. She walked over to a table of books about the history of NACA, former NACA facilities and the organization's aviation pioneers and saw a book about women of flight from the Dryden Research Center and paused, then pointed somewhat in amazement. "That’s me," she said of a picture on the cover of her on the far left of a li

Women Scientists: Lucille Coltrane, Jean Clark Keating, Katherine Cullie Speegle, Doris 'Dot' Lee, Ruth Whitman, and Emily Stephens Mueller,Lucille Coltrane is at the far left. She was a computer and worked for Norm Crabill who provided positive identification. Lucille authored a NACA Research Memorandum, Investigation of Two Bluff Shapes in Axial Free Flight Over a Mach Number Range From 0.35 to 2.15 in 1958. Next to Lucille is Jean Clark Keating. Jean was identified by Mary Woerner who said that both Jean and her husband Jerry are now deceased. The third woman from the left is Katherine Cullie Speegle. Katherine co-authored two research papers: Preliminary Results From a Free-Flight Investigation of Boundary-Layer Transition and Heat Transfer on a Highly Polished 8-Inch-Diameter Hemisphere-Cylinder at Mach Numbers up to 3 and Reynolds Numbers Based on a Length of 1 Foot up to 17.7 x 10 to the 6th and Heat Transfer For Mach Numbers Up to 2.2 and Pressure Distributions for Mach Numbers Up to 4.7 From Flight Investigations of a Flat-Face Cone and a Hemisphere-Cone. Norm remembered the woman standing as Doris. Mary Alice identified her as Doris 'Dot' Lee, who worked with Katherine Speegle. Dot was married to a NASA engineer named John Lee. Next to Doris is Ruth Whitman. Norm remembered she and her husband owned a Howard DGA 15 at the airport in WEst Point. That prompted Mary Alice to remember her name and that her husband was Jim. The woman seated on the right is Emily Stephens Mueller. Norm remembers that Emily went to Houston as part of the Space Task Group, but retired back here on the peninsula. In 2008, Emily attended the NACA Reunion X11. She walked over to a table of books about the history of NACA, former NACA facilities and the organization's aviation pioneers and saw a book about women of flight from the Dryden Research Center and paused, then pointed somewhat in amazement. "That’s me," she said of a picture on the cover of her on the far left of a li

Women Scientists: Lucille Coltrane, Jean Clark Keating, Katherine Cullie Speegle, Doris "Dot" Lee, Ruth Whitman, and Emily Stephens Mueller,Lucille Coltrane is at the far left. She was a computer and worked for Norm Crabill who provided positive identification. Lucille authored a NACA Research Memorandum, Investigation of Two Bluff Shapes in Axial Free Flight Over a Mach Number Range From 0.35 to 2.15 in 1958. Next to Lucille is Jean Clark Keating. Jean was identified by Mary Woerner who said that both Jean and her husband Jerry are now deceased. The third woman from the left is Katherine Cullie Speegle. Katherine co-authored two research papers: Preliminary Results From a Free-Flight Investigation of Boundary-Layer Transition and Heat Transfer on a Highly Polished 8-Inch-Diameter Hemisphere-Cylinder at Mach Numbers up to 3 and Reynolds Numbers Based on a Length of 1 Foot up to 17.7 x 10 to the 6th and Heat Transfer For Mach Numbers Up to 2.2 and Pressure Distributions for Mach Numbers Up to 4.7 From Flight Investigations of a Flat-Face Cone and a Hemisphere-Cone. Norm remembered the woman standing as Doris. Mary Alice identified her as Doris 'Dot' Lee, who worked with Katherine Speegle. Dot was married to a NASA engineer named John Lee. Next to Doris is Ruth Whitman. Norm remembered she and her husband owned a Howard DGA 15 at the airport in WEst Point. That prompted Mary Alice to remember her name and that her husband was Jim. The woman seated on the right is Emily Stephens Mueller. Norm remembers that Emily went to Houston as part of the Space Task Group, but retired back here on the peninsula. In 2008, Emily attended the NACA Reunion X11. She walked over to a table of books about the history of NACA, former NACA facilities and the organization's aviation pioneers and saw a book about women of flight from the Dryden Research Center and paused, then pointed somewhat in amazement. "ThatÕs me," she said of a picture on the cover of her on the far left of a line of women. She was at Dryden from 1948-49.

The brilliant exhaust from the solid rocket boosters (center) and blue mach diamonds from the main engine nozzles mark the perfect launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour from Launch Pad 39A. Launch of Endeavour into a clear blue Florida sky occurred at 12:43:40 p.m. EST. Known as the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), STS-99 will chart a new course to produce unrivaled 3-D images of the Earth's surface. The result of the SRTM could be close to 1 trillion measurements of the Earth's topography. The mission is expected to last 11days, with Endeavour landing at KSC Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 4:36 p.m. EST. This is the 97th Shuttle flight and 14th for Shuttle Endeavour

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Blue mach diamonds appear beneath the main engines on Space Shuttle Endeavour as it hurtles into the sky on mission STS-118. In the background, lower right, are the Banana Creek, Cape Canaveral beaches and the Atlantic Ocean. The 22nd shuttle flight to the International Space Station, the mission will continue space station construction by delivering a third starboard truss segment, S5, and other payloads such as the SPACEHAB module and the external stowage platform 3. Liftoff of Endeavour was on time at 6:36 p.m. EDT. Photo credit: NASA/John Kechele, Scott Haun, Tom Farrar

NASA research pilot Bill Dana after his fourth free flight (1 glide and 3 powered) in the HL-10. This particular flight reached a maximum speed of Mach 1.45. Dana made a total of nine HL-10 flights (1 glide and 8 powered), and his lifting body experience as a whole included several car tow and 1 air tow flights in the M2-F1; 4 glide and 15 powered flights in the M2-F3; and 2 powered flights in the X-24B. He is wearing a pressure suit for protection against the cockpit depressurizing at high altitudes. The air conditioner box held by the ground crewman provides cool air to prevent overheating.

The brilliant exhaust from the solid rocket boosters (center) and blue mach diamonds from the main engine nozzles mark the perfect launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour from Launch Pad 39A. Launch of Endeavour into a clear blue Florida sky occurred at 12:43:40 p.m. EST. Known as the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), STS-99 will chart a new course to produce unrivaled 3-D images of the Earth's surface. The result of the SRTM could be close to 1 trillion measurements of the Earth's topography. The mission is expected to last 11days, with Endeavour landing at KSC Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 4:36 p.m. EST. This is the 97th Shuttle flight and 14th for Shuttle Endeavour

From the program’s inception, Neil Armstrong was actively engaged in both the piloting and engineering aspects of the X-15. He flew the first mission using a new flow-direction sensor (ball nose) and the first flight with a self-adaptive flight control system. Collaborating closely with designers and engineers on the system’s development, he made seven flights in the X-15 between December 1960 and July 1962. During these missions, he reached a peak altitude of 207,500 feet in the X-15-3 and a top speed of 3,989 mph (Mach 5.74) in the X-15-1.

A technician at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory examines one of the massive axial-flow compressor stages that created the high-speed air flow through the 8- by 6-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel. The tunnel’s first run was on April 3, 1949, just over a week before this photograph was taken. The 8- by 6 was the laboratory’s first large supersonic wind tunnel and the NACA’s largest supersonic tunnel at the time. The 8- by 6-foot tunnel was originally an open-throat non-return tunnel. The supersonic air flow was blown through the tubular facility and expelled out the other end into the atmosphere with a roar. Complaints from the local community led to the addition of a muffler at the tunnel exit in 1956 and the eventual addition of a return leg. The return leg allowed the tunnel to be operated as either an open system with large doors venting directly to the atmosphere for propulsion system tests or as a closed loop for aerodynamic tests. The air flow was generated by a large seven-stage axial-flow compressor, seen in this photograph, that was powered by three electric motors with a combined 87,000 horsepower. The system required 36,000 kilowatts of power per hour to generate wind velocities of Mach 1.5, and 72,000 kilowatts per hour for Mach 2.0.

The Pegasus rocket that powered NASA's X-43A scramjet to almost Mach 10 test conditions leaves a bright arc in the Pacific sky during the boost phase.

NASA X-43A Monitor Station Operator Brad Neal performs final checks and pre-flight preparations aboard the B-52 for the third X-43A research vehicle Mach 10 flight on November 16, 2004. Takeoff of the B-52B mothership carrying the X-43A took place at 1 p.m., PST, with launch of the booster rocket/X-43A approximately an hour later.

Orbital Sciences Corp. technicians remove protective shrouds from the modified Pegasus booster before takeoff on the X-43A's Mach 9.6 record scramjet flight.

NASA's B-52B mothership, escorted by two F-18s, makes a final flyover after its last research mission that launched the X-43A on its record Mach 9.6 flight.

The third X-43A hypersonic research aircraft and its modified Pegasus booster rocket drop away from NASA's B-52B launch aircraft over the Pacific Ocean on November 16, 2004. The mission originated from the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Moments later the Pegasus booster ignited to accelerate the X-43A to its intended speed of Mach 10.

NASA avionics technicians Randy Wagner and Terry Bishop make final adjustments on the scramjet-powered X-43A before its record Mach 9.6 flight.

The third X-43A hypersonic research aircraft and its modified Pegasus booster rocket left the runway, carried aloft by NASA's B-52B launch aircraft from the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on November 16, 2004. About an hour later the Pegasus booster was launched from the B-52 to accelerate the X-43A to its intended speed of Mach 10.

The small size of the X-43A scramjet is evident in this nose-on view while mounted to its modified Pegasus booster under the wing of NASA's B-52B mothership.

The third X-43A hypersonic research aircraft and its modified Pegasus booster rocket accelerate after launch from NASA's B-52B launch aircraft over the Pacific Ocean on November 16, 2004. The mission originated from the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Minutes later the X-43A separated from the Pegasus booster and accelerated to its intended speed of Mach 10.

With the X-43A and its booster rocket tucked under its right wing, NASA's venerable B-52B mothership climbs out after takeoff on its final research mission.

NASA engineers monitor mission progress from a Dryden control room prior to launch of the X-43A scramjet and its booster from NASA's B-52B mothership.

The third X-43A hypersonic research aircraft, attached to a modified Pegasus booster rocket, was taken to launch altitude by NASA's B-52B launch aircraft from the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on November 16, 2004. About an hour later the Pegasus booster was released from the B-52 to accelerate the X-43A to its intended speed of Mach 10.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers attach boundary layer transition, or BLT, tile to space shuttle Discovery before its launch on the STS-119 mission in February 2009. The specially modified tiles and instrumentation package will monitor the heating effects of early re-entry boundary layer transition at high mach numbers. These data support analytical modeling and design efforts for both the space shuttles and NASA next-generation spacecraft, the Orion crew exploration vehicle. On the STS-119 mission, Discovery also will carry the S6 truss segment to complete the 361-foot-long backbone of the International Space Station. The truss includes the fourth pair of solar array wings and electronics that convert sunlight to power for the orbiting laboratory. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers attach boundary layer transition, or BLT, tile to space shuttle Discovery before its launch on the STS-119 mission in February 2009. The specially modified tiles and instrumentation package will monitor the heating effects of early re-entry boundary layer transition at high mach numbers. These data support analytical modeling and design efforts for both the space shuttles and NASA next-generation spacecraft, the Orion crew exploration vehicle. On the STS-119 mission, Discovery also will carry the S6 truss segment to complete the 361-foot-long backbone of the International Space Station. The truss includes the fourth pair of solar array wings and electronics that convert sunlight to power for the orbiting laboratory. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, boundary layer transition, or BLT, tile is being affixed to space shuttle Discovery before its launch on the STS-119 mission in February 2009. The specially modified tiles and instrumentation package will monitor the heating effects of early re-entry boundary layer transition at high mach numbers. These data support analytical modeling and design efforts for both the space shuttles and NASA next-generation spacecraft, the Orion crew exploration vehicle. On the STS-119 mission, Discovery also will carry the S6 truss segment to complete the 361-foot-long backbone of the International Space Station. The truss includes the fourth pair of solar array wings and electronics that convert sunlight to power for the orbiting laboratory. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers attach boundary layer transition, or BLT, tile to space shuttle Discovery before its launch on the STS-119 mission in February 2009. The specially modified tiles and instrumentation package will monitor the heating effects of early re-entry boundary layer transition at high mach numbers. These data support analytical modeling and design efforts for both the space shuttles and NASA next-generation spacecraft, the Orion crew exploration vehicle. On the STS-119 mission, Discovery also will carry the S6 truss segment to complete the 361-foot-long backbone of the International Space Station. The truss includes the fourth pair of solar array wings and electronics that convert sunlight to power for the orbiting laboratory. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs

Attached to the same B-52B mothership that once launched X-15 research aircraft in the 1960s, NASA's third X-43A performed a captive carry evaluation flight from Edwards Air Force Base, California on September 27, 2004. The X-43 remained mated to the B-52 throughout this mission, intended to check its readiness for launch scheduled later in the fall.

Attached to the same B-52B mothership that once launched X-15 research aircraft in the 1960s, NASA's third X-43A performed a captive carry evaluation flight from Edwards Air Force Base, California on September 27, 2004. The X-43 remained mated to the B-52 throughout this mission, intended to check its readiness for launch scheduled later in the fall.

At Cape Canaveral Air Station's (CCAS) Complex 3/4, officials held a ceremony kicking off a year-long series of events commemorating 50 years of launches from the Space Coast that began with the Bumper rockets. At left is Jim Thompson, who is with CCAS. Unveiling the 50th anniversary logo at left is the artist Darlene Egli. On stage, from left to right, are Lt. Col. Randall K. Horn, Commander, CCAS; Congressman David Weldon, 15th Congressional District of the State of Florida; Lieutenant Governor of the State of Florida Frank T. Brogan; Center Director Roy D. Bridges; and Executive Director Edward F. Gormel, Joint Performance Management Office. Also present (but not seen) is Brig. Gen. Donald P. Pettit, Commander, 45th Space Wing. After six Bumper launches at White Sands Proving Grounds, N.M., and a failed Bumper 7, a successful Bumper 8 lifted off July 24, 1950, from Complex 3/4 to conduct aerodynamic investigations around Mach 7 at relatively low altitudes. The kick-off event also inaugurated a student art contest to design a commemorative etching. The winning artwork will be permanently displayed on a 24-inch black granite square in the U.S. space Walk Hall of Fame in Titusville, Fla

At Cape Canaveral Air Station's Complex 3/4, officials held a ceremony, kicking off a year-long series of events commemorating 50 years of launches from the Space Coast, that began with the Bumper rockets. From left are Lieutenant Governor of the State of Florida Frank T. Brogan; Congressman David Weldon, 15th Congressional District of the State of Florida; Center Director Roy D. Bridges; and Executive Director Edward F. Gormel, Joint Performance Management Office. Also present (but not seen) is Brig. Gen. Donald P. Pettit, Commander, 45th Space Wing. After six Bumper launches at White Sands Proving Grounds, N.M., and a failed Bumper 7, a successful Bumper 8 lifted off July 24, 1950, from Complex 3/4 to conduct aerodynamic investigations around Mach 7 at relatively low altitudes. The kick-off event also inaugurated a student art contest to design a commemorative etching. The winning artwork will be permanently displayed on a 24-inch black granite square in the U.S. Space Walk Hall of Fame in Titusville, Fla

At Cape Canaveral Air Station's (CCAS) Complex 3/4, officials held a ceremony kicking off a year-long series of events commemorating 50 years of launches from the Space Coast that began with the Bumper rockets. At left is artist Darlene Egli who designed the 50th anniversary logo next to her. On stage, from left to right, are Lt. Col. Randall K. Horn, Commander, CCAS; Brig. Gen. Donald P. Pettit, Commander, 45th Space Wing; Congressman David Weldon, 15th Congressional District of the State of Florida; Lieutenant Governor of the State of Florida Frank T. Brogan; Center Director Roy D. Bridges; and Executive Director Edward F. Gormel, Joint Performance Management Office. After six Bumper launches at White Sands Proving Grounds, N.M., and a failed Bumper 7, a successful Bumper 8 lifted off July 24, 1950, from Complex 3/4 to conduct aerodynamic investigations around Mach 7 at relatively low altitudes. The kick-off event also inaugurated a student art contest to design a commemorative etching. The winning artwork will be permanently displayed on a 24-inch black granite square in the U.S. Space Walk Hall of Fame in Titusville, Fla

At Cape Canaveral Air Station's (CCAS) Complex 3/4, officials held a ceremony kicking off a year-long series of events commemorating 50 years of launches from the Space Coast that began with the Bumper rockets. At right, Norris Gray, a Bumper Program veteran, unveils a street sign that will be used to mark the road leading to the launch complex from which Bumper was launched. Seen on the stage are, left to right, Lt. Col. Randall K. Horn (at the podium), Commander, CCAS; Congressman David Weldon, 15th Congressional District of the State of Florida; Lieutenant Governor of the State of Florida Frank T. Brogan; Center Director Roy D. Bridges; and Executive Director Edward F. Gormel, Joint Performance Management Office. Also present (but not seen) is Brig. Gen. Donald P. Pettit, Commander, 45th Space Wing. After six Bumper launches at White Sands Proving Grounds, N.M., and a failed Bumper 7, a successful Bumper 8 lifted off July 24, 1950, from Complex 3/4 to conduct aerodynamic investigations around Mach 7 at relatively low altitudes. The kick-off event also inaugurated a student art contest to design a commemorative etching. The winning artwork will be permanently displayed on a 24-inch black granite square in the U.S. Space Walk Hall of Fame in Titusville, Fla

Screwjacks located on the exterior of the second throat section in the 10- by 10-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lewis Research Center. The 10- by 10 tunnel was the most powerful propulsion wind tunnel in the country when it began operating in 1956. The facility can generate wind speeds from Mach 3 to 3.5. A flexible wall nozzle located just upstream from the test section can be adjusted using screw jacks to produce the desired air flow. The 61-foot long second throat, seen here from the outside, was located just beyond the test section. It slows the supersonic air flow down to prevent shock waves. The second throat’s side walls can be adjusted up to three inches on each side using these electrically-driven screwjacks. The air and the 1.25-inch thick walls are cooled by water injection. During the 1960s the 10- by 10-foot tunnel supported the development of virtually all US launch vehicle systems. It was used for Atlas-Centaur, Saturn rockets, and Atlas-Agena testing.

Joseph A. Walker was a Chief Research Pilot at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center during the mid-1960s. He joined the NACA in March 1945, and served as project pilot at the Edwards flight research facility on such pioneering research projects as the D-558-1, D-558-2, X-1, X-3, X-4, X-5, and the X-15. He also flew programs involving the F-100, F-101, F-102, F-104, and the B-47. Walker made the first NASA X-15 flight on March 25, 1960. He flew the research aircraft 24 times and achieved its fastest speed and highest altitude. He attained a speed of 4,104 mph (Mach 5.92) during a flight on June 27, 1962, and reached an altitude of 354,300 feet on August 22, 1963 (his last X-15 flight). He was the first man to pilot the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle (LLRV) that was used to develop piloting and operational techniques for lunar landings. Walker was born February 20, 1921, in Washington, Pa. He lived there until graduating from Washington and Jefferson College in 1942, with a B.A. degree in Physics. During World War II he flew P-38 fighters for the Air Force, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with Seven Oak Clusters. Walker was the recipient of many awards during his 21 years as a research pilot. These include the 1961 Robert J. Collier Trophy, 1961 Harmon International Trophy for Aviators, the 1961 Kincheloe Award and 1961 Octave Chanute Award. He received an honorary Doctor of Aeronautical Sciences degree from his alma mater in June of 1962. Walker was named Pilot of the Year in 1963 by the National Pilots Association. He was a charter member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, and one of the first to be designated a Fellow. He was fatally injured on June 8, 1966, in a mid-air collision between an F-104 he was piloting and the XB-70.

Famed astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon during the historic Apollo 11 space mission in July 1969, served for seven years as a research pilot at the NACA-NASA High-Speed Flight Station, now the Dryden Flight Research Center, at Edwards, California, before he entered the space program. Armstrong joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) at the Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory (later NASA's Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio, and today the Glenn Research Center) in 1955. Later that year, he transferred to the High-Speed Flight Station at Edwards as an aeronautical research scientist and then as a pilot, a position he held until becoming an astronaut in 1962. He was one of nine NASA astronauts in the second class to be chosen. As a research pilot Armstrong served as project pilot on the F-100A and F-100C aircraft, F-101, and the F-104A. He also flew the X-1B, X-5, F-105, F-106, B-47, KC-135, and Paresev. He left Dryden with a total of over 2450 flying hours. He was a member of the USAF-NASA Dyna-Soar Pilot Consultant Group before the Dyna-Soar project was cancelled, and studied X-20 Dyna-Soar approaches and abort maneuvers through use of the F-102A and F5D jet aircraft. Armstrong was actively engaged in both piloting and engineering aspects of the X-15 program from its inception. He completed the first flight in the aircraft equipped with a new flow-direction sensor (ball nose) and the initial flight in an X-15 equipped with a self-adaptive flight control system. He worked closely with designers and engineers in development of the adaptive system, and made seven flights in the rocket plane from December 1960 until July 1962. During those fights he reached a peak altitude of 207,500 feet in the X-15-3, and a speed of 3,989 mph (Mach 5.74) in the X-15-1. Armstrong has a total of 8 days and 14 hours in space, including 2 hours and 48 minutes walking on the Moon. In March 1966 he was commander of the Gemini 8 or