Uploads from NASA on The Commons, tagged neilarmstrong

Pilot Neil Armstrong with X-15 #1

nobody@flickr.com (NASA on The Commons) — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 15:24:30 -0700

(1960) NASA test pilot Neil Armstrong is seen here next to the X-15 ship #1 (56-6670) after a research flight. The X-15 was a rocket-powered aircraft 50 feet long with a wingspan of 22 feet. It was a missile- shaped vehicle with an unusual wedge-shaped vertical tail, thin stubby wings, and unique side fairings that extended along the side of the fuselage.

GPN-2000-000125

www.nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/detail/nasaNAS~5~5~22307~...

Gemini-Titan-8 Training - Water Egress

nobody@flickr.com (NASA on The Commons) — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 12:20:53 -0700

NASA on The Commons posted a photo:

(1965) The Gemini-8 Astronauts David B. Scott and Neil A. Armstrong are suited up for water egress training aboard the NASA Motor Vessell Retriever in the Gulf of Mexico. GULF OF MEXICO CN

S66-17253

www.nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/detail/NVA2~84~84~88619~1...

Desert Survival Training

nobody@flickr.com (NASA on The Commons) — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 11:33:43 -0700

NASA on The Commons posted a photo:

(Aug. 13, 1964) Astronaut John Young, Frank Borman and Neil Armstrong with Deke Slayton are shown during desert survival training, Reno, Nevada STEAD AFB, Reno, NV

S64-14507

www.nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/detail/NASAUpdateNUP~7~7~...

Armstrong in NASA Ames' Bell X-14

nobody@flickr.com (NASA on The Commons) — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:41:33 -0700

NASA on The Commons posted a photo:

(February 1964) photograph by NASA photographer Lee Jones.
Neil Armstrong in cockpit of the Ames Bell X-14 airplane at NASA's Ames Research Center.
A-32136-4

Congratulations

nobody@flickr.com (NASA on The Commons) — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:41:33 -0700

NASA on The Commons posted a photo:

(February 1964) photograph by NASA photographer Lee Jones.
Ames Test Pilot Fred Drinkwater congratulating Neil Armstrong on his first lunar hovering in the Ames Bell X-14 airplane at NASA's Ames Research Center.

A-32136-3

Armstrong and Scott with Hatches Open

nobody@flickr.com (NASA on The Commons) — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 17:23:13 -0700

NASA on The Commons posted a photo:

(March 16, 1966) Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and David R. Scott sit with their spacecraft hatches open while awaiting the arrival of the recovery ship, the USS Leonard F. Mason after the successful completion of their Gemini VIII mission. They are assisted by U.S. Navy divers. The overhead view shows the Gemini 8 spacecraft with the yellow flotation collar attached to stabilize the spacecraft in choppy seas. The green marker dye is highly visible from the air and is used as a locating aid.

S66-18602

www.nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/detail/nasaNAS~5~5~23719~...

Pilot Neil Armstrong in the X-15 #1 cockpit

nobody@flickr.com (NASA on The Commons) — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 17:23:13 -0700

NASA on The Commons posted a photo:

(1961) NASA pilot Neil Armstrong is seen here in the cockpit of the X-15 ship #1 (56-6670) after a research flight.

A U.S. Navy pilot in the Korean War who flew 78 combat missions in F9F-2 jet fighters and who was awarded the Air Medal and two Gold Stars, Armstrong graduated from Purdue University in 1955 with a bachelor degree in aeronautical engineering. That same year, he joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics' Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory in Cleveland, Ohio (today, the NASA Glenn Research Center).

In July 1955, Armstrong transferred to the High-Speed Flight Station (HSFS, as Dryden Flight Research Center was then called) as an aeronautical research engineer. Soon thereafter, he became a research pilot. For the first few years at the HSFS, Armstrong worked on a number of projects. He was a pilot on the Navy P2B-1S used to launch the D-558-2 and also flew the F-100A, F-100C, F-101, F-104A, and X-5.

His introduction to rocket flight came on August 15, 1957, with his first flight (of four, total) on the X-1B. He then became one of the first three NASA pilots to fly the X-15, the others being Joe Walker and Jack McKay. (Scott Crossfield, a former NACA pilot, flew the X-15 first but did so as a North American Aviation pilot.)

Project Description:
The X-15 was a rocket-powered aircraft. The original three aircraft were about 50 ft long with a wingspan of 22 ft. The modified #2 aircraft (X-15A-2 was longer.) They were a missile-shaped vehicles with unusual wedge-shaped vertical tails, thin stubby wings, and unique side fairings that extended along the side of the fuselage. The X-15 weighed about 14,000 lb empty and approximately 34,000 lb at launch. The XLR-99 rocket engine, manufactured by Thiokol Chemical Corp., was pilot controlled and was rated at 57,000 lb of thrust, although there are indications that it actually achieved up to 60,000 lb. North American Aviation built three X-15 aircraft for the program.

The X-15 research aircraft was developed to provide in-flight information and data on aerodynamics, structures, flight controls, and the physiological aspects of high-speed, high-altitude flight. A follow-on program used the aircraft as testbeds to carry various scientific experiments beyond the Earth's atmosphere on a repeated basis.

For flight in the dense air of the usable atmosphere, the X-15 used conventional aerodynamic controls such as rudder surfaces on the vertical stabilizers to control yaw and movable horizontal stabilizers to control pitch when moving in synchronization or roll when moved differentially.

For flight in the thin air outside of the appreciable Earth's atmosphere, the X-15 used a reaction control system. Hydrogen peroxide thrust rockets located on the nose of the aircraft provided pitch and yaw control. Those on the wings provided roll control.

Because of the large fuel consumption, the X-15 was air launched from a B-52 aircraft at approximately 45,000 ft and a speed of about 500 mph. Depending on the mission, the rocket engine provided thrust for the first 80 to 120 sec of flight. The remainder of the normal 10 to 11 min. flight was powerless and ended with a 200-mph glide landing.

Generally, one of two types of X-15 flight profiles was used; a high-altitude flight plan that called for the pilot to maintain a steep rate of climb, or a speed profile that called for the pilot to push over and maintain a level altitude.

The X-15 was flown over a period of nearly 10 years -- June 1959 to Oct. 1968 -- and set the world's unofficial speed and altitude records of 4,520 mph (Mach 6.7) and 354,200 ft in a program to investigate all aspects of manned hypersonic flight. Information gained from the highly successful X-15 program contributed to the development of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo manned spaceflight programs, and also the Space Shuttle program.

The X-15s made a total of 199 flights, and were manufactured by North American Aviation.

X-15-1, serial number 56-6670, is now located at the National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC.

North American X-15A-2, serial number 56-6671, is at the United States Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. X-15-3, serial number 56-6672, crashed on 15 November 1967, resulting in the death of Maj. Michael J.

ECN-89

www.nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/detail/nasaNAS~8~8~63304~...

Apollo 11: East Crater Panorama

nobody@flickr.com (NASA on The Commons) — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 17:23:13 -0700

NASA on The Commons posted a photo:

On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin became the first to walk on the Moon. This panorama of their landing site sweeps across the magnificent desolation of the Moon's Sea of Tranquility, with their Lunar Module, the Eagle, in the background at the far left. East Crater, about 30 meters wide and 4 meters deep, is on the right (scroll right), and was so named because it is about 60 meters east of the Lunar Module. Armstrong had piloted the Eagle safely over the crater. Near the end of his stay on the lunar surface Armstrong strayed far enough from the Lunar Module to take the pictures used to construct this wide-angle view, his shadow appearing at the panorama's left edge. The object near the middle foreground is a stereo close-up camera.
Mosaic Assembly: Mike Constantine

www.nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/detail/NVA2~4~4~6419~106945

Apollo 11 Astronauts Swarmed by Thousands In Mexico City Parade.

nobody@flickr.com (NASA on The Commons) — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 10:29:38 -0700

NASA on The Commons posted a photo:

(Sept. 23, 1969) The Apollo 11 astronauts, Neil A. Armstrong, Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., and Michael Collins, wearing sombreros and ponchos, are swarmed by thousands in Mexico City as their motorcade is slowed by the enthusiastic crowd. The GIANTSTEP-APOLLO 11 Presidential Goodwill Tour emphasized the willingness of the United States to share its space knowledge. The tour carried the Apollo 11 astronauts and their wives to 24 countries and 27 cities in 45 days.

70-H-1553

www.nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/detail/nasaNAS~5~5~20345~...

Giants Among Us

nobody@flickr.com (NASA on The Commons) — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 16:09:37 -0700

NASA on The Commons posted a photo:

(July 21, 2009) Apollo 11 astronauts, from left, Michael Collins, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stand during a recognition ceremony at the U.S House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology tribute to the Apollo 11 astronauts at the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, July 21, 2009, in Washington. The committee presented the three Apollo 11 astronauts with a framed copy of House Resolution 607 honoring their achievement, and announced passage of legislation awarding them and John Glenn the Congressional Gold Medal.

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

www.nasa.gov/topics/people/galleries/armstrong_2009.html

Armstrong Awarded Space Medal of Honor

nobody@flickr.com (NASA on The Commons) — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 16:09:37 -0700

NASA on The Commons posted a photo:

(Oct. 1, 1978) Astronaut Neil Armstrong received the first Congressional Space Medal of Honor from President Jimmy Carter, assisted by Captain Robert Peterson. Armstrong, one of six astronauts to be presented the medal during ceremonies held in the Vehicle Assembly Building, was awarded for his performance during the Gemini 8 mission and the Apollo 11 mission when he became the first human to set foot upon the moon.

Image Credit: NASA
GPN-2000-001863

www.nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/detail/nasaNAS~5~5~20796~...

Apollo 11 Welcome

nobody@flickr.com (NASA on The Commons) — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 16:09:37 -0700

NASA on The Commons posted a photo:

New York City welcomes the Apollo 11 crew in a ticker tape parade down Broadway and Park Avenue. Pictured in the lead car, from the right, are astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin. The three astronauts teamed for the first manned lunar landing, on July 20, 1969.

Image Credit: NASA
S70-17434

www.nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/detail/nasaNAS~7~7~34029~...

Mission Accomplished