DRYDEN LOSING JOBS, FUNDS BUSH'S SPENDING PLAN CALLS FOR REDUCTIONS.Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE Edwards Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 301,000 acres (121,805 hectares), S Calif., NE of Lancaster; est. 1933. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway. - NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. Dryden Flight Research Center The Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC), located inside Edwards Air Force Base, is an aeronautical research center operated by NASA. On March 26, 1976 it was named in honor of the late Hugh L. will see its budget cut and its work force reduced in 2006, but the center's director said Tuesday he feels confident additional work can be brought in. Under the president's proposed 2006 budget, Dryden will see its civil service work force reduced from 568 people to 527. Dryden Director Kevin Petersen said he believe the reductions will be achieved through voluntarily means, such as early retirements and inter-agency transfers. The center's baseline budget will also be cut from $160 million to $130 million over the next two years. ``The other side of the coin is the opportunity to compete for more funding is there,'' Petersen said Tuesday in a briefing for reporters. ``We will seek more partnerships outside of NASA to expand our business base.'' Dryden has brought in $15 million to $20 million in work from business outside of NASA this year. Petersen said he expects that will grow. ``We have an opportunity for a bright future,'' Petersen said. The overall agency budget proposed for 2006 is $16.4 billion, up 2.4 percent from this year. The proposed budget is about $500 million less than originally envisioned last year when President Bush announced plans for NASA to return to the moon. While the overall budget is up from last year, aeronautics aeronautics: see aerodynamics; airplane; aviation. research, which represents about 75 percent of Dryden's work, is projected to decline after 2006. The proposed budget includes $852 million for aeronautics research in 2006, but the number will drop to $718 million by 2010. Research centers, such as Dryden, will be given a baseline budget, on top of which the centers will be able to compete for $10 billion over the next five years for additional research work. Petersen is hopeful Dryden will attract some work from the president's new space initiative. One possible area of work is with flight demonstrations planned for 2008 for potential candidates for the crew exploration vehicle
The Crew Exploration Vehicle (or CEV) was the conceptual component of the Vision for Space Exploration that later became known as the Orion spacecraft. , the nation's next manned spacecraft This is a list of manned spacecraft (including space stations) sorted by manufacturer/operator and series in chronological order. Operational spacecraft China National Space Administration
``We are hoping to partner with industry to help them with the flight demos,'' Petersen said. Aeronautics research that could come to Dryden include flight demonstrations of a high-altitude, unmanned aircraft Unmanned Aircraft (UA) is a term used in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) definition of Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). UA refers to the aircraft portion of the system required to operate it, also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. that could stay aloft for two weeks at a time. Dryden has several years of experience working with unmanned aircraft. Another effort is work to reduce aircraft noise. NASA is looking to build and test an experimental aircraft whose shape would soften sonic son·ic adj. Of, relating to, or determined by audible sound. booms. Dryden had assisted with a noise-reduction study using a modified F-5 aircraft. NASA is also interested in developing an all-electric aircraft. Jim Skeen, (661) 267-5743 james.skeen(at)dailynews.com |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion