NASA EYES NAVY MISSILE FOR RESEARCH AIM-54 COULD PROVIDE CHEAP TECHNOLOGY TEST.Byline: JIM Jim Miss Watson’s runaway slave; Huck’s traveling companion. [Am. Lit.: Huckleberry Finn] See : Escape 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. is studying a Navy missile designed to shoot down enemy cruise missiles cruise missile, low-flying, continuously powered offensive missile designed to evade defense systems. Although the German V-1 (1944) was a simple cruise missile, the cruise missile did not realize its potential until the 1970s, when the United States sought to and aircraft for possible use in high-speed aeronautics research. NASA 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. is looking at the possibility of using AIM-54 Phoenix missiles to conduct the agency's legacy of high-speed research. The missiles, retired from Navy service in 2004, could provide a relatively cheap way to test technology in flight conditions at speeds of Mach 3, about 2,100 mph, to Mach 5, about 3,500 mph. ``We have a target of under $5,000 a launch if it were to move into flight test,'' said Thomas Jones Thomas Jones is the name of:
PI scientist - a person with advanced knowledge of one or more sciences for the development of the missiles as research vehicles. ``We are looking at a minimum of two flights per year.'' A Phoenix missile is 13 feet long, 15 inches in diameter with a wingspan of 36 inches. It weighs about 1,000 pounds in its military configuration. The front end of each missile could be emptied out by removing the warhead and radar-tracking systems and by installing a newer, smaller guidance system. ``That leaves a large, internal volume we can install payloads -- about 5.5 cubic feet,'' Jones said. The missiles could be used to test a variety of equipment and technology in flight conditions, including electronic systems, thermal-protection systems and engine-inlet designs. The concept came in the wake of the X-43 program, a seven-year, $230 million effort that resulted in three flights -- one of which was a failure and two that set records and provided a wealth of data for researchers. The last X-43 flight, in 2004, hit speeds of nearly 7,000 mph. Jones said a colleague, Trong T. Bui, came up with the concept of using Phoenix missiles as a way to conduct high-speed research cost-effectively with a quick turnaround time (1) In batch processing, the time it takes to receive finished reports after submission of documents or files for processing. In an online environment, turnaround time is the same as response time. between missions. ``He had an idea that three flights over a number of years was not a high-enough flight rate,'' Jones said. The concept calls for the missile to be taken aloft by Dryden's F-15B research aircraft. The aircraft, flying at speeds of up to Mach 2, about 1,400 mph, would release the missile over the Pacific Ocean. The missile would accelerate to speeds approaching Mach 5, and then, with its fuel exhausted, it would crash into the ocean. ``We're in the design phase,'' Jones said. ``We hope to do some captive carries (where a missile is taken aloft but not released) with the airplane with this big missile hanging off of it.'' A decision on funding flight research is not expected before 2008. james.skeen(at)dailynews (661) 267-5743 |
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