NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center
Wake Surfing (Extended Cut)- Automated Cooperative Trajectories-Programmable Autopilot
updated
Join Lori in the back seat of an F-18 (and a few other aircraft) for an epic ride through the flights, the training, and the incredible experiences she’s seen in her endeavor to capture NASA’s revolutionary work in Aeronautics. Finally, join NASA in our appreciation of all our videographers across the agency who put themselves in unbelievable places and positions to get the best shot to share with the world.
NASA recently completed a series of tests to reduce risks prior to Phase 2 of its Quesst mission, which will test the ability of the X-59 experimental aircraft to make sonic booms quieter. The third series of Carpet Determination in Entirety Measurements (CarpetDIEM) flights examined the quality of a new generation of ground recording system units. They also allowed NASA to test the operational procedures needed to deploy the recording systems and retrieve the data they collect. For the tests, NASA set up 10 ground recording system units over a 30-mile stretch of California desert. Using an F-15 and an F-18 from NASA Armstrong, the testing involved 20 supersonic passes with speeds ranging from Mach 1.15 to Mach 1.4 and at altitudes ranging from 40,000 feet to 53,000 feet. Three of the passes involved an F-18 conducting a special inverted dive maneuver to produce a quiet sonic boom, with one getting as quiet as 67 perceived level decibels (PLdB). The testing also validated the use of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, ADS-B, an existing technology flown on all commercial aircraft and most private aircraft to report speed and position, to trigger the GRS units to begin recording.
For more info: www.nasa.gov/quesst
Based at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, the technicians also assembled sections, and did a final fit-check to ensure the wing model was ready for testing.
Learn more about how the technicians completed the work: nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/armstrong/nasa-armstrong-builds-model-wing-to-help-advance-unique-design
To learn more about some of the NASA Armstrong missions featured in this video, take a deep dive into these links: Armstrong Flight Research Center: nasa.gov/armstrong Armstrong History: nasa.gov/armstrong/history Advanced Air Mobility Mission: nasa.gov/aeronautics/drones-and-you AEROMMA science campaign: nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/armstrong/low-altitude-flights-study-everyday-emissions-2 ALOFT science campaign: nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/goddard/global-collaboration-leads-to-new-discoveries-in-lightning-research ecoDemonstrator: nasa.gov/image-article/nasa-and-partners-study-contrail-formation Flight Opportunities: nasa.gov/stmd-flight-opportunities NASA STEM: nasa.gov/learning-resources Student Airborne Research Program: nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/armstrong/nasa-student-airborne-research-program-celebrates-15-years-of-success Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project: nasa.gov/directorates/armd/iasp/sfd Weather instrumentation: nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/armstrong/nasa-armstrong-takes-weather-instrumentation-to-new-heights Wind study: nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/armstrong/nasa-concludes-wind-study X-57 Maxwell: nasa.gov/nasa-missions/x-57-aircraft X-59 Quesst: nasa.gov/quesst-the-vehicle
The X-1 was the first of many flight research efforts that would define our culture of research and discovery. Today, we continue those efforts, to advance NASA’s mission to explore the secrets of the universe for the benefit of all.
To learn more about NASA Armstrong, visit www.nasa.gov/armstrong.
nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/features/aam-plans-for-vertiports.html
The center’s Dryden Remotely Operated Integrated Drone (DROID 2), a fixed wing aircraft, completed the last flights for the Advanced Exploration of Reliable Operation at Low Altitudes: Meteorology, Simulation and Technology campaign on Aug. 31.
nasa.gov/feature/nasa-armstrong-supports-wind-study
The aircraft acted as a wind sensor as part of NASA’s multifaceted, multi-center approach to fill knowledge gaps and resolve wind and weather unknowns that could hinder flights under the agency’s Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) mission.
nasa.gov/aam
Photos are here.
images.nasa.gov/search?q=AFRC2023-0135&page=1&media=image,video,audio&yearStart=1920&yearEnd=2023
Students worked alongside scientists and aircraft professionals both on the ground and in the sky, using NASA Airborne Science Program’s flying science laboratories, like NASA Armstrong’s DC-8 aircraft. Outfitted specifically for science research projects, aircraft like the DC-8 help support both students and mission personnel to investigate science questions, aid in the understanding of our environment, and improve life on Earth.
Learn more about SARP: baeri.org/sarp
Learn more about NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center: nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/home/index.html
NASA’s AEROcAST (Advanced Exploration of Reliable Operation at Low Altitudes: Meteorology, Simulation and Technology) campaign is based at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. During the study drones, sensors, weather balloons, and other technology measure wind at altitudes below 2,000 feet – called the atmospheric boundary layer.
NASA Armstrong, and NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, are partners in collecting data to resolve unknowns that could hinder AAM (Advanced Air Mobility) flights. The campaign began on July 20, 2023, and continues through August 2023.
Learn more about NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center
nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/home/index.html
NASA’s team included engineers, scientists, technicians, and mission support folks who enrich the organization by showing up as themselves. On Earth and at NASA, there is space for everyone.
Learn more about NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center.
nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/home/index.html
The aircraft is intended to track, or “chase,” the quiet supersonic X-59 aircraft and provide a platform for videographers and photographers to document research and tests.
See the link for more information, and a gallery of the aircraft in the Paint Barn.
nasa.gov/feature/nasa-s-chase-aircraft-gets-a-facelift
NASA Armstrong sponsored several Antelope Valley teams during the event March 30 through April 1, and employee volunteers served as mentors and judges, and the mobile fabrication shop helped with team repairs.
For more information: nasa.gov/feature/nasa-armstrong-supports-robotics-competition
In a series of two deployments in early February and March, pilots from NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards Calif., flew the B200 King Air that was retrofitted with a specially designed radar developed by scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena Calif., to study new methods in measuring the snow levels.
The Signals of Opportunity Synthetic Aperture Radar (SoOpSAR) collects detailed data on the snow that melts from the mountainous region by utilizing radio signals in the environment to communicate information about the snow to scientists and how it contributes to the water supply.
Learn more: nasa.gov/feature/utilizing-nasa-s-b200-king-air-to-study-snowmelt-levels
The aircraft temporarily deployed to Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia, and flew over the Midwest and Eastern United States to gather data about snowstorms and the conditions in which they form. Equipped with a suite of scientific instruments, the ER-2 flies at altitudes of about 65,000 feet to get a top-down view of the clouds to measure the properties of storms.
Data collected during the final deployment of this three-year campaign, along with NASA’s P-3 based at the Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia, will allow scientists to learn more about snowstorms and will improve meteorological models and the ability to use satellite data to predict how much snow will fall and where.
For the next year there will be monthly reoccurring videos released to help tell the past 75 years of NASA Armstrong. This month’s theme is Tracking.
Stay updated with NASA Armstrong’s 75th anniversary celebrations:
nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/about/75years/index.html
Follow us @NASAArmstrong on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram.
The majority of archival footage and sound used in this video are in the public domain and can be found in government records, the Internet Archive, or Wikimedia Commons.
For the next year there will be monthly reoccurring videos released to help tell the past 75 years of NASA Armstrong. This month’s theme is Simulators.
Stay updated with NASA Armstrong’s 75th anniversary celebrations:
nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/about/75years/index.html
Follow us @NASAArmstrong on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram.
The majority of archival footage and sound used in this video are in the public domain and can be found in government records, the Internet Archive, or Wikimedia Commons.
Additional Sources Include:
"Test Flights, Beyond the Limits, Episode 3: The New Frontier" (1999), Vision Films, Inc. Lise Romanoff, Stephen Rocha
The Shape of Things to Come" (1984), Northrop Grumman Corporation
To learn more about some of the NASA Armstrong missions featured in this video, take a deep dive into these links:
Advanced Air Mobility: nasa.gov/aam
Armstrong Artemis Contributions: nasa.gov/feature/nasa-armstrong-works-to-support-orion-and-artemis
Armstrong Celebrates 75 Years: nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/about/75years/index.html
Armstrong Research, Technology, and Engineering Report: nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/2021-afrc-rte-report.pdf
Armstrong STEM Engagement: nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/education/index.html
C-20A Science Aircraft: nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/aircraft/C-20A/index.html
Convergent Aeronautics Solutions: nasa.gov/aeroresearch/programs/tacp/cas
DC-8 Science Aircraft: nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/aircraft/DC-8/index.html
ER-2 Science Aircraft: nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/aircraft/ER-2/index.html
Flight Opportunities: nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/index.html
SOFIA: nasa.gov/mission_pages/SOFIA/index.html
X-57 Maxwell: nasa.gov/specials/X57
X-59 Quesst: nasa.gov/specials/X59
The research looks to replace some mechanical release mechanisms with magnetic ones. The experimental release mechanism potentially has fewer parts, requires less maintenance, and is more reliable.
For more footage:
images.nasa.gov/details-AFRC-2022-13881-1-X59EngineInstallVideoFile
For the next year there will be monthly reoccurring videos released to help tell the past 75 years of NASA Armstrong. This month’s theme is Flight Loads.
Stay updated with NASA Armstrong’s 75th anniversary celebrations:
nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/about/75years/index.html
Follow us @NASAArmstrong on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram.
The majority of archival footage and sound used in this video are in the public domain and can be found in government records, the Internet Archive, or Wikimedia Commons.
On its final flight to the California Science Center, Endeavour was escorted by a combination of F/A-18s and an F-15 from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Those aircraft were flown by NASA Armstrong pilots, while center photographers and videographers documented the orbiter’s final journey.
Included on the space shuttle’s flight path were many California landmarks such as the California State Capitol Building, Disneyland, Dodger Stadium, the Getty Center, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Hollywood sign. Also on the route were the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, NASA’s Ames Research Center, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, and the Santa Monica Pier.
For more on the Endeavour anniversary go to:
nasa.gov/feature/on-shuttle-endeavour-s-anniversary-nasa-armstrong-looks-ahead-0
For the next year there will be monthly reoccurring videos released to help tell the past 75 years of NASA Armstrong. This month’s theme is Airborne Science!
Stay updated with NASA Armstrong’s 75th anniversary celebrations:
nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/about/75years/index.html
Follow us @NASAArmstrong on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram.
The majority of archival footage and sound used in this video are in the public domain and can be found in government records, the Internet Archive, or Wikimedia Commons.
Hundreds of high school students competed in the 2022 season challenge, “Rapid React” presented by Boeing. Robots must collect large rubber balls, or “cargo,” and deposit them into the upper and lower bins in the center of the playing field, or “tarmac.” At the end of the game, the robots rush to “hangars” and traverse overhead rungs, like a playground monkey bars.
This year, NASA provided a mobile fabrication shop, specifically used for robotic events. Based at Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, the shop is staffed by a NASA crew who manufactured or repaired parts for teams on the spot. To learn more about the mobile fabrication shop visit:
nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/features/nasa-armstrong-obtains-mobile-fab-shop.html
nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/features/complex-f18-tests.html
For the next year there will be monthly reoccurring videos released to help tell the past 75 years of NASA Armstrong. This month’s theme is Green Technology!
Stay updated with NASA Armstrong’s 75th anniversary celebrations: nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/about/75years/index.html
Follow us @NASAArmstrong on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram.
The majority of archival footage and sound used in this video are in the public domain and can be found in government records, the Internet Archive, or Wikimedia Commons.
Additional Sources Include:
"'Doing More With Much Less" (1994), AeroVironment, Inc.
For the next year there will be monthly reoccurring videos released to help tell the past 75 years of NASA Armstrong. This month’s theme is space flight!
Stay updated with NASA Armstrong’s 75th anniversary celebrations: nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/about/75years/index.html
Follow us @NASAArmstrong on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram.
The majority of archival footage and sound used in this video are in the public domain and can be found in government records, the Internet Archive, or Wikimedia Commons.
Additional Sources Include:
"'Spaceflight'- Episode 1: Thunder in the Skies" (1985), Dupont Corporation, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Public Broadcasting Service
"'Spaceflight'- Episode 4: The Territory Ahead" (1985), Dupont Corporation, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Public Broadcasting Service
"Test Flights, Beyond the Limits, Episode 1: Flights of Discovery" (1999), Vision Films, Inc. Lise Romanoff, Stephen Rocha
"Forward to Excellence: The Legacy of the X-Series" (1983), Northrop Grumman Corporation
NAVAIR retired its previous loads test aircraft and NASA Armstrong staff are assisting to prepare the new aircraft for its role to help safely manage in flight maneuvers and determine how the F/A-18E fleet will perform if proposed upgrades are incorporated.
This video shows the wing loads calibration testing that concluded in March 2022.
For more information: nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/features/complex-f18-tests.html
NAVAIR retired its previous loads test aircraft and NASA Armstrong staff are assisting to prepare the new aircraft for its role to help safely manage in flight maneuvers and determine how the F/A-18E fleet will perform if proposed upgrades are incorporated.
This video shows loads calibration testing on the horizontal tails that concluded in October 2021.
For more information: nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/features/complex-f18-tests.html
For the next year there will be monthly reoccurring videos released to help tell the past 75 years of NASA Armstrong. This month’s theme is autonomy!
Stay updated with NASA Armstrong’s 75th anniversary celebrations: nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/about/75years/index.html
Follow us @NASAArmstrong on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram.
The majority of archival footage and sound used in this video are in the public domain and can be found in government records, the Internet Archive, or Wikimedia Commons.
Additional Sources Include:
"The Shape of Things to Come" (1984), Northrop Grumman Corporation
"X-29: Experiment in the Sky" (1989), Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, Apogee Productions
The DC-8 flew over California’s Inland Empire, Imperial Valley and San Joaquin Valley to conduct research on air pollution with low-level flights beginning on Dec. 6, 2021. Participants flying on board were assisting scientists in the operation of instruments that measure air pollution and greenhouse gases to better understand their sources and how they react in the atmosphere.
SARP is managed by NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley through the National Suborbital Research Center at the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute with funding and support from NASA’s Earth Science Division. NASA’s DC-8 is managed and maintained by NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center.
For more information: nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/features/student-researchers-fly-on-dc8.html
For the next year there will be monthly reoccurring videos released to help tell the past 75 years of NASA Armstrong. This month’s theme is safety!
Stay updated with NASA Armstrong’s 75th anniversary celebrations: nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/about/75years/index.html
Follow us @NASAArmstrong on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram.
The majority of archival footage and sound used in this video are in the public domain and can be found in government records, the Internet Archive, or Wikimedia Commons.
For the next year there will be monthly reoccurring videos released to help tell the past 75 years of NASA Armstrong. This month’s theme is efficiency! Starting in the 1970’s new advancements were made to make flying more economical and faster. Learn about the history of airplane advancement through flight.
Stay updated with NASA Armstrong’s 75th anniversary celebrations: nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/about/75years/index.html
Follow us @NASAArmstrong on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram.
The majority of archival footage and sound used in this video are in the public domain and can be found in government records, the Internet Archive, or Wikimedia Commons.
Additional Sources Include:
"Forward to Excellence: The Legacy of the X-Series" (1983), Northrop Grumman Corporation
"The Shape of Things to Come" (1984), Northrop Grumman Corporation
The X-59 has a unique design that will reduce the loudness of a sonic boom, which occurs when an aircraft flies faster than the speed of sound, to a gentle, quiet sonic “thump”. This design does not include a front windshield, and will instead utilize a forward-facing, multi-camera and display system called the eXternal Vision System (XVS) for the pilot to safely see. The design of the XVS, integrated into this X-59 simulator, is helping pilots prepare to fly the X-plane over select communities starting in 2024, demonstrating quiet supersonic flight to gather data on human responses to the quiet thump in place of the loud sonic boom.
This data could open the door to commercial supersonic flights over land in the near future.
For the next year there will be monthly reoccurring videos released to help tell the past 75 years of NASA Armstrong. This month’s theme is maneuverability ! Learn about the history of airplane advancement through flight.
Stay updated with NASA Armstrong’s 75th anniversary celebrations: nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/about/75years/index.html
Follow us @NASAArmstrong on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram.
The majority of archival footage and sound used in this video are in the public domain and can be found in government records, the Internet Archive, or Wikimedia Commons.
Additional Sources Include:
"Test Flights, Beyond the Limits, Episode 3: The New Frontier" (1999), Vision Films, Inc. Lise Romanoff, Stephen Rocha
"HiMAT: The Future is Now", Rockwell International North American Aircraft Division (now Boeing)
"The Shape of Things to Come" (1984), Northrop Grumman Corporation
"X-29: Experiment in the Sky" (1989), Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, Apogee Productions
For the next year there will be monthly reoccurring videos released to help tell the past 75 years of NASA Armstrong. This month’s theme is control! Learn about the history of airplane advancement through flight.
Stay updated with NASA Armstrong’s 75th anniversary celebrations: nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/about/75years/index.html
Follow us @NASAArmstrong on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram.
The majority of archival footage and sound used in this video are in the public domain and can be found in government records, the Internet Archive, or Wikimedia Commons.
As we celebrate Latin Americans across the agency, we highlight Alana Roche’ and Elena Johnson and learn more about their journey to NASA.
Interviewed by Laura Peterson.
All photos courtesy of Alana Roche & Elena Johnson.
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter: @NASAArmstrong
This technology is called the Expandable Variable Autonomy Architecture, or EVAA, and it could help prevent accidents in retrofit general aviation aircraft and future autonomous aircraft. EVAA is based on an earlier NASA-developed technology that performs a similar function for military aircraft.
For the next year there will be monthly reoccurring videos released to help tell the past 75 years of NASA Armstrong. This month’s theme is speed! Learn about the history of the X-planes; from the X-1 to the upcoming X-59 & more!
Stay updated with NASA Armstrong’s 75th anniversary celebrations: nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/about/75years/index.html
Follow us @NASAArmstrong on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram.
The majority of archival footage and sound used in this video are in the public domain and can be found in government records, the Internet Archive, or Wikimedia Commons.
One clip did request attribution:
"Air Force Special Film Project 416, ‘Power of Decision’, published 1958, uploaded to Internet Archive 2010 by U.S. Air Force Air Photographic and Charting Service, archive.org/details/AirForceSpecialFilmProject416powerOfDecision
As announced in a recent news release, NASA’s goal is to collect vehicle performance and acoustic data for use in modeling and simulation of future airspace concepts. After the data is analyzed, the test results will also help identify gaps in current Federal Aviation Administration regulations and policies to help incorporate Advanced Air Mobility aircraft into the National Airspace System.
nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-begins-air-taxi-flight-testing-with-joby
0:00 Deanne Bell Founder & CEO
1:15 Bob Cabana Associate Administrator
3:57 TechRise Trailer
4:50 Jim Reuter, Associate Administrator for the Space Technology Mission Directorate
8:51 Deanne Bell - What is the TechRise Challenge
14:30 Hear from the Experts
14:35 Niki Werkheiser, Director of Technology Maturation
29:25 Rodney Grubbs, Program Manager, Marshall Space Flight Center
38:45 Alejandro Mundo, NASA CCRI Teacher/Associate Researcher
51:43 Dr. Swati Mohan, Guidance, Navigation, Control Systems Engineering Group Supervisor
1:06:12 Q&A with NASA Experts
1:24:00 STEAM to Space Education Session
1:25:04 Christopher Baker, Program Executive, Flight Opportunities and Small Spacecraft Technology Programs
1:30:30 Tanya Silva, Director of K12 Engagement
1:33:10 Arnold Martin, Assistant Professor of Product Design and Design Consultant
1:42:38 George Pantalos, Professor of Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery, Professor of Bioengineering
1:47:01 Educator Panel
1:48:32 Elizabeth Kennick, President
1:49:48 Steven Collicott, Professor & Flight Opportunities
1:51:30 David Lockett, Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow
1:56:21 NASA Closing Remarks
1:56:38 Kris Brown, Deputy Associate Administrator, Office of STEM Engagement


