This propulsion wind tunnel (PWT) at Arnold AFB was the first large-scale facility for testing jet and rocket engines in simulated high-speed flight conditions. It has a unique combination of transonic (1955) and supersonic (1960) wind tunnels using a common 236,000 horsepower drive, the world's largest when built. It can achieve air speeds up to Mach 4.75 at altitudes up to 150,000 feet in its 16-foot square, removable test sections. Design engineers were Lief J. Sverdrup, John R. Parcel, Brice Smith, and Walter Cook, of Sverdrup and Parcel, St.
Aerospace
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Image Credit: Public Domain (US Air Force)Image Caption: The world's first large-scale testing facility for jet and rocket engines in simulated high-speed flight conditionsEra_date_from: 1955
1989
Bradley Intl. AirportWindsor LocksState: CTZip: 06096Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-a-l/air-and-space-transportation/-149-hydromatic-propeller-%28ca--1938%29, http://files.asme.org/ASMEORG/Communities/History/Landmarks/5572.pdfCreator: Hamilton Standard
Rapid development of aircraft design in the 1930s required many related innovations, including propeller design. The hydromatic propeller by Hamilton Standard marked a significant advance over the counterweight-type, controllable pitch propeller. The first test flight of the prototype took place in 1938: the public demonstration was made by a United Air Lines DC-3 over New York City on April 6, 1938. It played a distinguished role in allied combat aircraft in World War II.
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Image Credit: Courtesy ASMEImage Caption: An early example of propeller innovations, including variable-pitch control and feathering capability.Era_date_from: 1938
1990
Vandenberg Air Force Base was the nation’s first space and ballistic missile operational and training base. Beginning with its first launch, a Thor Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) on December 16, 1958, it has been the launch site of many of America’s military satellites and polar-orbiting satellites.
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Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/DVIDSHUB (CC BY 2.0)Image Caption: Delta IV Launch at Vandenberg Air Force BaseEra_date_from: 1942
2009
Established between 1967, the Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station, along with the Tidbinbilla and Orroral Valley sites, supported NASA’s Deep Space Network, Manned Space Flight Network, and Spacecraft Tracking and Data Acquisition Network. The stations played a key role in supporting the Apollo 11 moon landing, with the Honeysuckle Creek facility providing the first historic pictures of man walking on the moon on July 20, 1969 (July 21st in Australia), as well as providing voice and telemetry contact with the lunar module.
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Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/wxwhyz (CC BY 2.0)Image Caption: Honeysuckle Creek Tracking StationEra_date_from: 1967
2010
Established 1965 the Orroral Valley Station, as well as the Honeysuckle Creek (1967) and Tidbinbilla (1965) sites supported NASA’s Deep Space Network, Manned Space Flight Network, and Spacecraft Tracking and Data Acquisition Network. The stations played a key role in supporting the Apollo 11 moon landing, with the Honeysuckle Creek facility providing the first historic pictures of man walking on the moon on July 20, 1969 (July 21st in Australia), as well as providing voice and telemetry contact with the lunar module.
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Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Percita (CC BY-SA 2.0)Image Caption: Orroral Valley Tracking StationEra_date_from: 1965
2010
Established 1965 the Tidbinbilla Tracking Station, as well as the Honeysuckle Creek (1967-1981) and Orroral Valley (1965-1985) sites, supported NASA’s Deep Space Network, Manned Space Flight Network, and Spacecraft Tracking and Data Acquisition Network. The stations played a key role in supporting the Apollo 11 moon landing, with the Honeysuckle Creek facility providing the first historic pictures of man walking on the moon on July 20, 1969 (July 21st in Australia), as well as providing voice and telemetry contact with the lunar module.
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Image Credit: Original Image: Public Domain (NASA)Image Caption: Tidbinbilla Tracking StationEra_date_from: 1965
2010
From 1956 to 1993, the GE Re-entry Systems facility was home to thousands of engineers and technicians who solved the problem of vehicles successfully reentering the Earth’s atmosphere. As described by aerospace pioneer Theodore Von Karman, “ Reentry… is perhaps the most difficult problem one can imagine.” Whether it was the first operational reentry vehicle for the Atlas ICBM, the recovery of the first man-made object from orbit, or the first probe to enter Jupiter’s atmosphere, some of the most significant milestones in aerospace were accomplished by those working in this facility.
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Image Credit: Public Domain (Author's Choice)Image Caption: GE Re-entry SystemsEra_date_from: 1956
2007
Innovations
