captive manned test flight press kit

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NASA NewsNational Aeronautics and

Space Administration

Washington. D C 20546AC 202 755-8370

For Release I M M E D I A T E

PressKitR E L E A S E N O : 7 7 - 1 1 7

Project SPACE SHUTTLE ORBITERC A P T I V E M A N N E D T E S T

F L IG H T S E R I E S

1

Mailed:June 10, 1 9 7 7



C N e wNational Aeronaut ics an dSpace A dministrat ion

Washington D C 20546AC 202 755-8370

David G a r r e t tHeadquar t e r s , Wash ing ton , D . C .

(Phone: 202/755-3090)

F c ~ r elease

I M M E D I A T E

Rober t GordonJohnson Space Ce nt er , H ouston , Tex .(Phone: 713/483-5111)

Ralph B. J ack s o nD ryden F l i g h t R es ea r ch C en t e r , E dw ar ds , C a l i f .(Phone: 805/258-8311)

RELEASE N O: 77-117

SPACE SHUTTLE CAPTIVE MANNED TEST FLIGHT SERIES TO B E G I N

The f i r s t manned t e s t f l i g h t s of t h e S p a c e S h u t t l e

O r b i t e r " E n t e r p r i s e " a r e s c h e d u l e d t o b eg i n a t NASA's Dryden

F l i g h t R es ea rch C en t e r , E dw ar ds , C a l i f . , n o e a r l i e r t h a n

J u n e 1 6 , 1 9 7 7 . Four f l i g h t s a re p la nn ed w i t h t h e O r b i t e r

a t t a c h e d t o b u t n o t released from i t s Boeing 747 c a r r i e r

a i r c r a f t .

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Mailed:

June 10, 1977



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NASA a s t r o n a u t s w i l l be a t t h e c o n t r o l s o f t h e

E n t e r p r i s e d u ri n g t h e s e c a p t i v e f l i g h t s , t h e s econd f l i g h t

phase o f t h e S hu t t l e Approach and Landing T e s t s (ALT)

( N A S A Release 7 7 - 1 6 ) . The th i r d phase o f t h e program, wh ich

c a l l s f o r t h e O r b i t e r t o b e r e l e a s e d f r o m t h e B o e i n g 7 4 7

c a r r i e r a i r c r a f t , w i l l f o l l o w s u c c e s s f u l c o m pl e ti o n o f t h i s

f l i g h t ser ies .

A s t r o n a u t s F r e d W . Haise an d C h a r l e s G . F u l l e r t o n w i l l

be t h e f i r s t O r b i t e r crew f o r t h e f i r s t and t h i r d f l i g h t s

a n d a s t r o n a u t s Joe H. Engle and Richard H. T r u l y are t h e

O r b i t e r crew members f o r f l i g h t s two and f o u r .

The Orb i t e r /747 combina t ion logqed m o r e t h an 1 1 . 5

h ou rs f l i g h t t i m e d ur in g f i v e c ap t i v e i n e r t f l i g h t s i n t h e

i n i t i a l phase o f ALT w hi ch was s u c ce s s f u l l y co n c lu d ed

March 2 , 1977 . The O r b i t e r h a s be en u n d er g oi ng f i n a l v e r i -

f i c a t i o n t e s t i n g a nd s ys te m s c he ck ou t f o r t h e p a s t s eve r a l

months a t Dryden Center .

A l l s u bs y st e ms a b oa r d t h e O r b i t e r w i l l be a c t i v e

d u r in g t h e s e c a p t i v e a c t i v e f l i g h t s d e si gn ed t o v e r i f y

c r e w p r o c e d u r e s a nd s y st e m s o p e r a t i o n s a nd d e t e r m i n e t h e

optimum s e p a r a t i o n p r o f i l e f o r t h e manned f r e e f l i g h t s .

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Th e c a p t i v e a c t i v e f l i g h t s and t h e i r p r i m ar y

o b j e c t i v e s a r e :

F l i g h t 1 -- The 747 c a r r i e r a i r c r a f t ( S C A ) w i l l reach

an a l t i t u d e of 4 , 5 7 2 meters ( 1 5 , 0 0 0 f e e t ) f o r a se r i e s of

f l u t t e r c he ck s, c o n t r o l s t i c k s t ee r i n g ch eck s , d ep lo ym ent

of t h e O r b i t e r s p ee d b r a k e s a nd T a c t i c a l A i r Navigat ion System

(TACAN) r an g e an d b ea r i n g t e s t s a t spee ds wh ich w i l l n o t ex ceed

333 k i l o m e t e r s p e r h o u r (180 k n o t s ) . T h e S C A w i l l fly t w o

t i m e s a r ou n d t h e r a ce t r a ck d u r i n g t h e 49 -m in ute t e s t f l i g h t .

F l i g h t 2 -- The second manned O r b i t e r mated t e s t f l i g h t

w i l l go t o an a l t i t u d e of 7 , 2 2 5 m (23,700 E t . ) and f l y t h r e e

t i m e s around t h e r a c e t r a c k co u r s e ap p r o x i m a t e l y 67 by 2 4 km

( 4 0 by 1 4 m i l e s ) .

o p e r a t i o n a l c h e c ks and s y s te m s o p e r a t i o n s .

f l i g h t , l o w speed 417 km/hr ( 2 2 5 k t s ) and h i g h speed 480

km/hr (260 k t s ) f l u t t e r checks w i l l be performed t o e v a l u a t e

O r b i t e r s t r u c t u r a l dynamic r e s po n s e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . On

t h e s ec on d c i r c u i t a r ou nd t h e r a c e t r a ck , a pushover and

s e p a r a t io n t r a j e c t o r y w i l l be f lo wn a t 480 km/hr ( 2 6 0 k t s )

t o c o l l e c t s e p a r a t i o n pe rf or ma nc e d a t a .

l a t e r speed br ake e v a l u a t i o n w i l l be performed a t an a l t i t u d e

of 6,614 m (21,700 f t . ) . The f l i g h t d u ra t i o n i s ab o u t o n e

hour .

The O r b i t e r c r e w w i l l perform normal

During t h i s

A bout f i v e m i n u te s

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l



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F l i g h t 3 -- T h i s f l i g h t i s ded i c a t e d t o t h e v e r i f i -

c a t i o n of s e p a r a t i o n c o n d i t i o n s and t o l e r a n c e s , a s w e l l as

checks of t h e O r b i t e r ' s a v i o n i c s s ys te m s an d f u r t h e r p ro -

ced u r e s d eve l op m ent . As i n t h e f i r s t f l i g h t , t h e 7 4 7 w i l l

f l y t h r e e t i m e s a ro un d t h e r a c e t r a c k t r a j e c t o r y . On t h e

inbound l e g o f t h e s e cc n d c i r c u i t a p us ho ve r a nd s e p a r a t i o n

t r a j e c t o r y w i l l b e f lo w n a t 500 km/hr ( 2 70 k t s ) t o c o l l e c t

s e p a r a t i o n p er fo rm an ce d a t a . D urin g f i n a l d e s c e n t , t h e

S C A / O r b i t e r m a t e d c o n f i g u r a t i o n w i l l f l y t h r o u g h t h e au t o -

matic l a n di n g s ys te m ( a u to l a n d) t r a j e c t o r y . F l i g h t d u r a t i o n

w i l l be 6 2 minu tes .

F l i g h t 4 -- The f o u r t h f l i g h t , a d r e s s r e h e a r s a l f o r

t h e f r ee f l i g h t s , i s d e d i c a t e d t o f u r t h e r r e f i ne m e n t and

d e m o n s t r a t i o n of s e p a r a t i o n p r o c e d u r e s ( s h o r t of a c t u a l

r e l e a s e ) . T h e f l i g h t i s s ch ed u l ed t o l a s t 55 m i n u t e s .

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M A T E D PROFILE CAP TIV E ACTIVE 1

R A C E T R A C K

! l R C U I T

FLIGHT SEQUENCE

I T E M T I M [ ~ L T I T U O E R A N G E E V E N T

( M i t i ) ( F E E T A G L ) (r4b1)

S C A T A K E O F F

S P E f U B R A k L T E S T

LS S flout 5 P O L W I i Y L t ' t ( k- - ~

0 0 0

6 6 500 15

1 8 B 100 2 1

15 1 2 700 30

:5 12 7 0 0 1 1

- _

__-__-

1 5

12 7 0 0 3 2 . 5

~~

IS SC A B E G I N D E S C E N T2 7 0 0~-

0 0-. ____ - -

N O T E . T H E P E A R t 2 G O ARO l JPl DS TO T H E C A 1 A R A C E T R A C K

ALTITUDE P R O F I L E

14 OOO

12 700

10 Do0

ALTITUDE

iFEET A C L I

5 0 0 0

I

K I T E . ALTITUDES ARE ABOVE GROUND IEVfL ACLI AND ARE

R EF ER EN CE D T O O R B IT E R C R W N D A I M P O I N T O N T H f

R U N W A Y

GROUNDTRACKI

I - - - - - -

I

I

- + t + - t -I

R2

HARPER

k-. L A K E7 q?..

, '.J I

I I.y

10 20 30 40 '0

TIME (MINISAN BEWARDIN01 MOUNTAINS

//

I L



M A T E D PRO F I L E CAPTIVE ACTIVE 2

3

FLIGHT SEQUENCE GROU NDTRAC K

49 18 ms 24 END SEP DATA RU N

R 61 0 0 SCA TOUu(ooYN

RACETRACK I T E M TIM UTIlUuoE WGC EVENT

C I R C U I T (MIN) ( T E E 1 AGL) (NU) I

moo0

0 0 SU TAKLOFF I

-

I70 5 16 I N T E R S E C T I U C E T R N K .FLUTTER C W C K A T 225 KEAS

1 15 OM ) 36 SPEED BRAKE T E S T (225 KEAS)

SCA I E G I M SAT PUSHOVER AND

@ I4

23 705 40 ACCELERATE TO 260 K U S

21 105 26 FLUTTER O(ECK AT 260 KEAS I2 35 21 70 5 16 PERFORW SPEED E W E EVALUATION

21 71s 22 STA R T uIm B A C K

TO 23 705 FT Atl

Ia 23 70 5 32 ST ART SE P MTAI Io RUN AT 260 KEAS

MTE: THERE ME 3 90 Mowos TO TM U 1 RACETRACK.

ALTITUDE PROFILE

ALTlTUDfS A Rf ABOVE GROUND LEVEL IAGLJ A N 0 ARE

RfRRfNCEO TO ORBITER GROUND AIM POINT ON THf

R U N WA Y

p k x q

I

ERRA NEVADA

)UNTA INS

i

'\TACETRACK DETAIL

I

COCKED Off

WE NORTHBY 5'

LANCAS T E R\b\

II

1F-~1500n DOWN

R U N W A Y 171



M AT ED PROFILE CAPTIVE ACTIVE 4

FLIGHT SEQUENCE

ITEM T I ME MTlTUM Iu116E EVENT

0 0 0 0 SCA TAKEOFF

@ 1216 405 10 T ACAl l W NG E L BEARI NG T E S T S

@ 13 16 905 12 I NT ERSECT RACETRACK

( R I N ) ( F E E T AGL) (NU)

~-@ 24 22 7 0 5 2 6 I N - F L IG H T F C S M E C Y S

2 8 23 605 16 REACJi MCT 200 FPH C E I L I N G

36 2 4 7 0 5 29 SCA BEG I N SRT

@ 4 5 2 5 9 0 5 9 . 5 P U S W V E R ( P R A C T I C E S I P )

10 OEPLOV LAwOllrG GEAR W RI : (G a d

ROLLWl AT-1ZS KCAS

ALTITUDE PROFILE

NOTE: ALTITUDES ARE ABO VE G RO UND L EVfL IAGLI

A N D A R E REfERfNCED T O O RBI T ER G RO UND AIMr P O I N T O N WE R U N W A Y

zoo00

'Om, t / \TINE ( M I N I

GROUNDTRACK

SIERRANEVVADA

MOUNTAINS

TEHACHAPl

II ..-



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iDT-DT-ime-vent A1t i u d e

F l i g h t 2

I n t e r s e c t Ra ce tra ck 9,7O5(AGL)** T+6 8:06 11:06

-R a te d T h ru s t & Pushover T+30 8:30 11:30

& A c c e l e r a t e t o 260 KEAS

f o r H i g h S peed F l u t t e r Check

Speedbrake E v a lu a ti o n 21,705 T+35 8: 35 11 :35

Cl im b Back t o 23,700 23,705 T+40.5 8:40.5 11:40

Sep. D at a Run 260 KEAS 23,705 T+4 8 8:48 11:48

End Sep. Run 18,005 T+4 9 8:49 11:49

Touchdown (SCA O r b i t e r ) T+6 1 9 :O l 12:O l

F l i g h t 3

I n e r s e c t Race t rack 9,705

F l i g h t C on tr ol System Check 21,705

Sep. Da ta Run 270 k t s . 23,605

En d Sep. Da ta Run 13,205

Climb back to 17,205 ft.

Pushover f o r Au to land Tes t 17 ,205

End Au to land 2,005

Touch down

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T+06 8:06 11:06

T+22 8:22 11:22

T+ 32 8: 32 11:32

T+33.6 8:33 11:33

T+34 8:34 11:34

T+52 8:52 11:52

T+55 8: 55 11 :5 5

T+6 3 9:03 12:03



CAPT IVE ACT IVE TIMELINE *

Event

( P r e f l i g h t )

Crew I ng r e s

U m b i l i ca l P u l l o u t

Or bi er/SCA Movefrom Mate/Demate

SCA Engine S t a r t

S C A Beg in T a x i

SCA Arr ive Runway

SCA Brake Release & Takeoff

F l i g h t 1

F1 i g h t Con t ro l Sys tem(FCS) Check

F1 u t t e r Check

Speed Brake Test

I n f l i g h t FCS Check

Begin Descent

To uch down

EDT-ime -DTA1 t i u de -

6,500

8,100

12,700

1 2,700

12,700

T- 104 6:16 9: 16

T- 78 6:42 9:42

T-62 6:58 9: 58

T-42 7:18 10:18

T- 32 7:28 10:28

T-12 7:48 10:48

T- 0 8:OO 11:OO

T+06 8:06 11:06

T+O 8 8:08 11:0 8-

T+15 8: 15 11:15

T+ 24 8:24 11 :24

T+40 8:40 11:40

T+49 8:49 11:49

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Even t

F l i g h t 4

T a c t i c a l A i r N a v i g a t i o nRange & B e a r i n g T e s t s

I n f i g h t F1 g h t C on tr olSystem Checks

SCA Beg in Spec ia l Ra tedT h r u s t

Pushover -P rac t i ceS e p a r a t i o n

Touchdown 81 D e p l o y O r b i t e rLand ing Gear

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A1 t i u d e T ime-16,405 T+16

22,705 T+24

24,705 T+36

25,905 T+4 5

T+ 55

PDT-

8: 16

8: 24

8: 36

8:45

8: 55

EDT-

11:16

11:24

11:36

11 :45

11:55

Note

* E v en t s and t i m e s a re p r e l i m i n a r y a nd may change p r i o r t o f l i g h t day.-** Al t i tudes a re above Ground Leve l (AGL) and a re r e fe re n c e d t o O rb i t e r

g round a im po in t on the runway . Add 2,300 f t . t o AGL t o obt a i na l t i tude above Mean Sea Leve l ( M S C ) .

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captive manned test flight press kit

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