Lydia
Site Admin
Posted:
Sun Oct 14, 2007 1:54 pm
Joined: 03 Feb 2004
Posts: 597
|
|
|
|
Did you know?
(Information gathered from online NASA archives.)
The term "aeronautics" originated in France derived from the Greek words for "air" and "to sail."
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson directed the formation of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to supervise and direct the scientific study of the problems of flight and also to conduct aeronautical research and experiments. This committee became N.A.S.A. on October 1, 1958, the year following the Soviets launch of Sputnik 1- the world's first artificial satellite.
The United Nations declared October 4-10, 1999 as World Space Week, commemorating the launch of Sputnik in 1957 and the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.
NASA's oldest aircraft is the B-52B. Built in the 1950's, it is an air launch carrier and research aircraft and is also known as the "Stratofortress".
NASA has a research aircraft, the SR-71, also known as the "Blackbird". Secretly designed in the 1950s at Lockheed's Advanced Development Company (commonly known as "Skunk Works"), the SR-71 tests highspeed, high altitude aeronautical research.
A geostationary satellite travels at an altitude of approximately 36,000 kilometers (22,000 miles) above the Earth and at a speed of about 11,000 kph (7,000 mph).
The satellite series Landsat were first launched in 1972 with the purpose of photographing the surface of the Earth from space.
Alan Shepard is the only person to hit a golf ball on the moon. This was during the Apollo 14 mission. He placed the head of an 8 iron on the handle of a lunar sample collection device to hit three golf balls which are still in the Lunar bunker.
The Altus II unmanned robot plane was originally part of the Environmental Research and Sensor Technology (ERAST) Program. It has the ability to circle for 24 hours and send images and data via satellite. The importance of this robotic plane is its ability to map numerous wild fires in a day without risking a pilot's life.
A backup landing site for the Space Shuttle is the Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) in California. It is primarily NASA's center for aeronautical flight research and atmospheric flight operations and a research, development center for advanced aeronautics and related space technologies. It also serves as a testing facility for development and operation of the Orbiters.
The first liquid fuel rocket was launched from Auburn, Massachusetts on March 16, 1926 by Dr. Robert H. Goddard. This launch is considered to be historically as important as the Wright Brothers flight at Kitty Hawk.
Amelia Earhart set three records for women flyers on August 25, 1932: the first non-stop U.S. crossing, the longest distance record, and a coast-to-coast record time.
The sound barrier was broken on October 14, 1947, by Capt. Charles E. Yeager flying a rocket powered Bell X-1.
Explorer 1 was the first artificial satellite launched by the U.S. on January 31, 1958. It carried a cosmic ray detector with the ability to measure radiation environment in Earth orbit.
The X-15 aircraft made a total of 199 flights over a period of nearly 10 years from 1959 to 1968, setting unofficial world speed and altitude records of 4,520 mph (Mach 6.7) and 354,200 feet. Information gathered by this program contributed to the development of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo spacecraft and the Space Shuttle program.
|
|
