yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) (05/16/89)
Sarah Keegan Headquarters, Washington, D.C. May 15, 1989 Nancy Lovato Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, Calif. RELEASE: 89-74 NASA TO TEST SPACE SHUTTLE LANDING GEAR Extensive tests of Space Shuttle orbiter landing gear assemblies, from normal conditions up to and including failure modes, will be conducted by NASA's Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, Calif., using a CV-990 aircraft. Planning and modifications to the CV-990 begin this year, with flight tests scheduled for 1990. Data from the tests will give engineers information on what to expect should an orbiter experience a flat tire or other anomalies on landing and will provide data to help in developing crew procedures for various landing conditions and situations. "During most of reentry and landing, the Space Shuttle becomes an airplane," says Ames-Dryden Project Manager Robert S. Baron. "By testing on actual landing surfaces, we can provide real-world experience for accurate simulations so that the astronauts will know better what to expect in any situation." The tests are part of a continuing effort by NASA's Johnson Space Center to upgrade and enhance Space Shuttle landing capabilities. Officials at Ames-Dryden also hope to use the CV- 990 as a testbed for future landing systems tests. In addition to assessing and documenting performance of main and nose landing gear assemblies and tire and wheel assemblies, tests will evaluate brake and nose gear steering performance. During the program, tests will be conducted on lakebed and concrete runways at Edwards, on the concrete Kennedy Space Center runways and on lakebed runways at White Sands Space Harbor. The CV-990 will retain its normal gear. The orbiter landing gear will be installed so that it can be lowered hydraulically when the aircraft first contacts the landing surface. The test gear assembly will be mounted on the CV-990's fuselage between the main tires, and a hole will be cut in the fuselage to accommodate raising and lowering the gear. The underside of the fuselage will be armor-plated to protect the aircraft from any possible damage. High-speed video and film cameras, in addition to other instrumentation, will record the tests for thorough analysis. Landing speeds of the CV-990 will duplicate those of the orbiter, approximately 225 miles per hour. Ames-Dryden project pilot for the landing gear tests is C. Gordon Fullerton, a veteran of two Space Shuttle flights. Other organizations involved in these tests are the NASA Langley Research Center's Landing Impact Dynamics Facility, Hampton, Va.; Wright-Patterson Air Force Base's Landing Gear Development Facility, Dayton, Ohio; the B.F. Goodrich Facility, Troy, Ohio; and Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division, Downey, Calif.