The Dryden X-Press: Special Edition: X-38: News07/31/01

X-38 airlaunch proves systems

An advanced X-38 prototype International Space Station "lifeboat" floated

The Future:

A series of increasingly complex X-38 test vehicles is validating concepts through flight research that are expected to lead to a spacecraft capable of returning up to seven astronauts to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS).

The Cutting Edge: It's never a routine day at the office

Flight research separates the real from the imagined and remains an essential tool in the development of aircraft and spacecraft. If you have doubts about that claim, just ask the X-38 Team.

Legacy:

Dryden's lifting body research has new life in the X-38 Vehicles. Using the extensive research of the X-24A basic shape, the X-38 Team had a head start on the development of the series of vehicles expected to lead to a Crew Return Vehicle, or CRV.

The Vomit Van

NASA's X-38 engineers at Johnson Space Center, (JSC) Houston, Texas, were sitting around a table discussing how to design a special cockpit for the Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) for the International Space Station (ISS) since neither the CRV nor the X-38 prototypes will have any windows.

Responsible NASA Official: Steve Lighthill
For questions, contact: Jenny Baer-Riedhart
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