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X-38 Ship #2 in Free Flight Main Content
NASA Center: Dryden Flight Research Center
Image # : EC99-45080-21
Date : 07/01/1999

Title

X-38 Ship #2 in Free Flight

Full Description

The X-38, a research vehicle built to help develop technology for an emergency Crew Return Vehicle (CRV), descends under its steerable parachute during a July 1999 test flight at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. It was the fourth free flight of the test vehicles in the X-38 program, and the second free flight test of Vehicle 132 or Ship 2. The goal of this flight was to release the vehicle from a higher altitude (31,500 feet) and to fly the vehicle longer (31 seconds) than any previous X-38 vehicle had yet flown. The project team also conducted aerodynamic verification maneuvers and checked improvements made to the drogue parachute. The X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) research project is designed to develop the technology for a prototype emergency crew return vehicle, or lifeboat, for the International Space Station. The project is also intended to develop a crew return vehicle design that could be modified for other uses, such as a joint U.S. and international human spacecraft that could be launched on the French Ariane-5 Booster. The X-38 project is using available technology and off-the- shelf equipment to significantly decrease development costs.

Keywords

X-38 Crew Return Vehicle CRV Crew Rescue Vehicle Boeing B-52 International Space Station ISS Parafoil Dryden

Subject Category

Lifting Bodies, X-Series Aircraft, International Space Station,

Reference Numbers

  • Center: DFRC
  • Center Number: EC99-45080-21
  • GRIN DataBase Number: GPN-2000-000192

Source Information

  • Creator/Photographer: NASA Tony Landis
  • Original Source: DIGITAL

Image Information ( Copyright Notification )

ResolutionFormatWidth
(Pixels)		Height
(Pixels)		Size
(KBytes)
Thumbnail .jpg 121 94 16
Small .jpg 862 666 410
Medium .jpg 2020 1562 2,403
Large .jpg 4040 3124 10,135

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