Tuesday, January 30, 1996 at 2:00 p.m. in the H.J.E. Reid Auditorium (rescheduled from November 14, 1995 because of the furlough).
Mr. Person will use slides, videos, and memories to introduce some of the earthbound "flying" space simulators which were developed in the 1960's for studying vehicle dynamics and as training aids to prepare the original seven astronauts for maneuvering in space and on the moon. With the space program getting into high gear in the early 1960's, Person, as well as other Langley flight-research pilots, participated in prototype lunar-landing research vehicle flight tests conducted at the Langley Lunar Landing Research Facility to evaluate the last 150-foot descent to the surface of the moon. He will discuss the challenges in development of these simulators as well as in development of the rendezvous and docking simulator in Langley's Flight Hangar.
Mr. Person also will discuss his experiences with one-person vehicles such as "Icarus" and Pogo. Envisioned by Langley engineer Don Hewes, "Icarus" was a backpack with peroxide thrusters, intended to be a locomotive method for lunar-surface travel. The Rocketbelt/Pogo, a vehicle also designed for lunar travel, was developed by Bell Aerosystems. Person says his talk is on "small steps to aid our knights-in-shining-armor on their journey to the moon--and some dragons we encountered along the way."
Lee H. Person, Jr. recently retired from his position as a research pilot for the NASA Langley Research Center. His flying career began with Naval Aviation training in 1954 and, except for a short break to obtain an Mechanical Engineering degree from NC State in 1961, he has been flying ever since. After joining Langley in 1962, his research flying centered around aircraft handling qualities and advanced cockpit controls and displays. His flight experience includes nearly 10,000 hours in over 100 types of fixed-wing, rotary-wing and V/STOL aircraft. For the past 20 years he has functioned as Lead Pilot for NASA's Advanced Transport Operating Systems (ATOPS) Program, spending most of his time in the aft research flight deck of NASA Langley's highly modified Boeing 737-100 aircraft. Mr. Person is a graduate of the Naval Test Pilot School, a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and the SAE S-7 Committee, a recipient of the IR-100 Award for the Takeoff Performance Monitoring System (TOPMS), and a recent recipient of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal.