Tag: Armstrong Flight Research Center

Precision Pointing Goes the Distance on NASA Experiment

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4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The laser that transmits between NASA’s Psyche spacecraft and Earth-based observatories for the Deep Space Optical Communications experiment successfully reaches its target thanks, in part, to a vibration isolation platform developed by Controlled Dynamics Inc., and supported by several Space Technology Mission Directorate programs. NASA/JPL-Caltech One year ago today, the future of space communications arrived at Earth as a beam of light from a NASA spacecraft nearly 10 million miles away. That’s 40 times farther than our Moon. That’s…

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Ken Iliff: Engineering 40 Years of Success

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10 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Editor’s note: This article was published May 23, 2003, in NASA Armstrong’s X-Press newsletter. NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, was redesignated Armstrong Flight Research Center on March 1, 2014. Ken Iliff was inducted into the National Hall of Fame for Persons with Disabilities in 1987. He died Jan. 4, 2016. Alphonso Stewart, from left, Ken Iliff, and Dale Reed study lifting body aircraft models at NASA’s Armstrong (then Dryden) Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. NASA…

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High-Altitude ER-2 Flights Get Down-to-Earth Data

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3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Francisco Rodriguez (aircraft mechanic) services liquid oxygen or LOX on the ER-2 during the Geological Earth Mapping Experiment (GEMx) research project. Experts like Rodriguez sustain a high standard of safety on airborne science aircraft like the ER-2 and science missions like GEMx. The ER-2 is based out of NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. NASA/Steve Freeman Operating at altitudes above 99% of the Earth’s atmosphere, NASA’s ER-2 aircraft is the agency’s highest-flying airborne science platform. With its…

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NASA Pilots Add Perspective to Research

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4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA pilots Nils Larson and Wayne Ringelberg head for a mission debrief after flying a NASA F/A-18 at Mach 1.38 to create sonic booms as part of the Sonic Booms in Atmospheric Turbulence flight series at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, to study sonic boom signatures with and without the element of atmospheric turbulence. NASA/Lauren Hughes NASA research pilots are experts on how to achieve the right flight-test conditions for experiments and the tools needed for successful…

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NASA Spotlight: Felipe Valdez, an Inspiring Engineer

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3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Felipe Valdez, a NASA engineer at Armstrong Flight Research Center’s Dale Reed Subscale Flight Research Laboratory, stands next to a subscale model of the Hybrid Quadrotor (HQ-90) aircraft. NASA / Charles Genaro Vavuris Felipe Valdez is someone who took advantage of every possible opportunity at NASA, working his way from undergraduate intern to his current job as a flight controls engineer.  Born in the United States but raised in Mexico, Valdez faced significant challenges growing up.   “My mom worked…

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NASA Project Manager Honors Mother’s Impact

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2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA project manager Patricia Ortiz stands in front of the X-1E research aircraft at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. NASA Lee esta historia en Español aquí. Patricia Ortiz is proud to be a first-generation Salvadoran American. Her mother, born and raised in El Salvador, came to the United States for a better opportunity despite not knowing anyone or the English language. As a project manager for Space Projects and Partnerships at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center…

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Una gerente de proyectos de la NASA rinde homenaje a la influencia de su madre

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2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) La gerente de proyectos de la NASA Patricia Ortiz se muestra delante del avión de investigación X-1E en el Centro de Investigación de Vuelo Armstrong de la NASA en Edwards, California. NASA Read this story in English here. Patricia Ortiz está orgullosa de ser una salvadoreña americana de primera generación. Su madre, nacida y criada en El Salvador, vino a Estados Unidos por una oportunidad mejor sin conocer a nadie ni el idioma inglés. En su función de gerente…

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NASA Develops Pod to Help Autonomous Aircraft Operators 

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The NASA Airborne Instrumentation for Real-world Video of Urban Environments (AIRVUE) sensor pod is attached to the base of a NASA helicopter at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida in April 2024 before a flight to test the pod’s cameras and sensors. The AIRVUE pod will be used to collect data for autonomous aircraft like air taxis, drones, or other Advanced Air Mobility aircraft. NASA/Isaac Watson For self-flying aircraft to take to the skies, they need to learn about their environments to avoid hazards. NASA aeronautics researchers recently…

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Beyond the Textbook: DC-8 Aircraft Inspires Students in Retirement

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3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Idaho State University class of 2025 poses with their new hands-on learning tool, the DC-8 aircraft, after it was retired from NASA in May 2024 and arrived in Pocatello, Idaho. The university will use the aircraft to provide a hands-on learning experience for students in the university’s aircraft maintenance technology program. Idaho State University In May 2024, Idaho State University’s class of 2025 received a new learning tool from NASA. The DC-8 aircraft served the world’s scientific community for…

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Southern California Student Wins NASA Scholarship

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Brad Flick, center director at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, presents a 2024 NASA College Scholarship Award to Sabrina Redifer. From left to right are Sabrina Redifer’s parents Matthew and Saynne Redifer, Flick, Sabrina Redifer, and her sister Samantha Redifer. NASA/Steve Freeman Sabrina Redifer, a 2024 graduate of Quartz Hill High School in Lancaster, California, won a NASA College Scholarship Award. Redifer plans to major this fall in molecular, cellular, and developmental biology at the University of California, Los Angeles. She earned a 4.0 grade-point average –…

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