Armstrong Flight Research Center facts for kids
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 Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center from the air. |
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| Agency overview | |
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| Preceding agencies |
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| Jurisdiction | U.S. federal government |
| Headquarters | Edwards Air Force Base, California, United States |
| Agency executive |
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| Parent agency | NASA |
The NASA Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) is a special place where NASA studies and tests aircraft. It's located inside Edwards Air Force Base in California. This center is NASA's main spot for testing new ideas in aviation.
AFRC uses some of the most advanced airplanes in the world. It's famous for many "firsts" in flight. These include helping the first piloted airplane go faster than the speed of sound (Bell X-1). It also supported the fastest speed ever by a piloted aircraft (North American X-15). Another first was the first airplane to use a fully digital fly-by-wire system (F-8 DFBW).
AFRC also has another site in Palmdale, California, called Building 703. Here, NASA keeps and flies several research aircraft. These include SOFIA, which is a flying telescope. There's also a DC-8 Flying Laboratory and an ER-2 High Altitude Platform. As of 2023, Bradley Flick is the director of the center.
The center started in 1946 as the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics Muroc Flight Test Unit. Over the years, its name changed several times. In 1976, it was named the NASA Ames-Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC). This honored Hugh L. Dryden, an important aerospace engineer, and Joseph Sweetman Ames, a famous physicist. On March 1, 2014, it got its current name, honoring Neil Armstrong. He was a test pilot at the center and the first person to walk on the Moon.
AFRC was also home to the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA). This was a special Boeing 747 airplane. It was designed to carry a Space Shuttle orbiter back to Kennedy Space Center. This happened if a Shuttle landed at Edwards Air Force Base.
The center used to operate a very old B-52 Stratofortress bomber. This B-52B, nicknamed Balls 8, was used to drop test vehicles. It dropped many supersonic test planes, like the X-15. Its last research program involved the hypersonic X-43A. This aircraft was retired in 2004 and is now on display.
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Where is the Armstrong Flight Research Center?
The Armstrong Flight Research Center has always been next to Rogers Dry Lake. Its exact spot has moved a bit over the years. Today, it's on the northwest side of the lake bed. You need special permission to visit both Edwards Air Force Base and NASA AFRC.
Rogers Dry Lake bed is a unique place for flight research. It's very dry and doesn't get much rain. It also has huge, flat, open spaces. This makes it safe for emergency landings. Sometimes, the lake bed can have a runway over 40,000 feet long. It also has a giant compass rose, about 2,000 feet wide. This allows planes to land facing the wind from any direction.
What Projects are Happening Now?
- X-56
- X-57
- X-59 QueSST
- Dream Chaser
- UAS in the NAS
- TGALS
What Historic Projects Happened Here?
Douglas Skyrocket
NASA's earlier version, the NACA, used the Douglas Skyrocket. This plane was a follow-up to the Air Force's Bell X-1. The D-558-II could fly using either rocket or jet power. It did many tests to understand how planes behave at high speeds. It also studied the best wing shapes for supersonic flight. On November 20, 1953, the Douglas Skyrocket became the first plane to fly more than twice the speed of sound. It reached Mach 2.005. Like the X-1, a B-29 Superfortress could launch the D-558-II from the air. But unlike the X-1, the Skyrocket could also takeoff from a runway using special rocket boosters.
Controlled Impact Demonstration
The Controlled Impact Demonstration was a project with the Federal Aviation Administration. Its goal was to test a new jet fuel. This fuel was designed to reduce fire damage if a large airliner crashed. On December 1, 1984, a Boeing 720 airplane was flown by remote control. It crashed into special "wing openers" that tore its wings open. Fuel sprayed everywhere. Even with the new fuel additive, the fire was huge. It took an hour to put out completely.
Even though the fuel additive didn't stop the fire, the research was still useful. The additive did prevent some fuel from burning. This fuel flowed over the plane's body and helped cool it down. Also, dummies with sensors were inside the plane during the crash. They provided important information about how people could survive a plane crash.
Linear Aerospike SR-71 Experiment
LASRE was a NASA experiment with Lockheed Martin. It studied a design for a reusable launch vehicle. This vehicle would use a special type of rocket engine called a linear aerospike engine. The experiment aimed to collect flight data. This data would help Lockheed Martin check their computer tools used to design the craft. LASRE was a small model of a lifting body shape. It had eight small parts of an aerospike engine. This experiment was placed on the back of an SR-71 Blackbird airplane. It worked like a "flying wind tunnel."
The experiment focused on how the engine's exhaust plume would affect the aerodynamics of the vehicle's shape. This was tested at certain altitudes and speeds up to about 340 meters per second (760 miles per hour). The way the air flow interacted with the engine plume could create drag. The goal was to design the vehicle to minimize this interaction.
Lunar Landing Research Vehicle
The Lunar Landing Research Vehicle, or LLRV, was part of the Apollo Project. Its purpose was to build a simulator for landing on the Moon. These LLRVs were sometimes called "Flying Bedsteads" because of their shape. The FRC, now Armstrong Flight Research Center, used them at Edwards Air Force Base. They helped astronauts learn how to fly and land the Apollo Lunar Module in the Moon's airless environment.
Aircraft on Display
- NB-52B Balls 8 NASA 008
- Bell X-1E AF Ser. No. 46-063
- F-104N - NASA 826
- F-8 Supercritical wing - NASA 810
- F-8 Digital Fly-by-wire - NASA 802
- F-15B ACTIVE - NASA 837
- Grumman X-29 - NASA 849
- Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird LASRE - NASA 844
- Northrop HL-10 Lifting Body - NASA 804
- Rockwell HiMAT
Gallery
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The Dryden Flight Research Center's fleet of aircraft in 1997.
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The satellite image of Armstrong Flight Research Center and the Edwards compass rose.
Notable Employees
- Neil Armstrong
- Marta Bohn-Meyer
- Bill Dana
- C. Gordon Fullerton
- David Hedgley
- Bruce Peterson
- R. Dale Reed
- David Scott
- Milt Thompson
- J. Scott Howell
See Also
In Spanish: Centro de Investigaciones de Vuelo Armstrong para niños
- Gromov Flight Research Institute - the Russia counterpart of the Armstrong Flight Research Centre
- List of aerospace flight test centres
