AEDC played vital role in space shuttle development

Tests examining one of the major events in any space shuttle flight – separation of the two spend solid-rocket boosters from the manned orbiter and its external fuel tank – were conducted for NASA. After lifting the shuttle off the launching pad, the boosters would fall back into the sea to be recovered and renovated for use on other shuttle missions. In the AEDC tests, high-pressure air was used to simulate the exhaust of the small rocket motors that will push the booster casing away from the orbiter. Separation under a wide variety of flight conditions was examined in the program. Here a pre-test check of the dual support system that controlled the separation process is monitored by Glenn Rainey, a test facility craftsman for ARO, Inc. (AEDC file photo)

AEDC played vital role in space shuttle development

At the time, one matter of interest both to the present and the future space shuttle designers was determining the pressures and temperatures the orbiter and booster would be subjected to through the interaction of their shock waves. A series of tests were conducted to measure temperatures and pressures for comparison with analytical results, After a series of tests using very simple forms to represent a booster paired with an orbiter, data were taken with the hypothetical orbiter-booster combination shown here. The effort was sponsored by the Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory and was conducted for Grumman Aircraft by Arnold Research Organization (ARO), Inc., AEDC' s operating contractor at the time. Checking adjustment of the models is test facility craftsman R. G. Rainey. (AEDC file photo)