The National Air and Space Museum "Milestones of Flight" gallery exhibits some of the major "firsts" in aviation and space history. These are the machines that made the dream of flight possible. From the first artificial satellite to the Ryan NYP "Spirit of St. Louis", to the Apollo 11 Command Module "Columbia" that carried the first men to walk on the Moon.
Created by ecruzalegui on Sep 24, 2008
Last updated: 03/12/10 at 02:49 AM
Launched from its White Knight mothership, the rocket-powered SpaceShipOne and its pilot ascended just beyond the atmosphere, arced through space (but not into orbit), then glided safely back to Earth. The flight lasted 24 minutes, with 3 minutes of weightlessness.
With SpaceShipOne, private enterprise crossed the threshold into human spaceflight, previously the domain of government programs. The SpaceShipOne team aimed for a simple, robust, and reliable vehicle design that could make affordable space travel and tourism possible.
Records and Awards: SpaceShipOne won the $10 million Ansari X-Prize for repeated flights in a privately developed reusable spacecraft, the Collier Trophy for greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in 2004, and the National Air and Space Museum Trophy for Current Achievement. Its three record-setting flights:
• 100 kilometers (62 miles) altitude*; Mike Melvill, pilot; June 21, 2004.
• 102 kilometers (64 miles) altitude; Mike Melvill, pilot; September 29, 2004.
• 112 kilometers (70 miles) altitude; Brian Binnie, pilot; October 4, 2004.
* The official boundary of space defined by the Fédération Aéronautique International.
Gift of Paul G. Allen, Microsoft co-founder and sole investor in SpaceShipOne
Design Features
• Three-person vehicle for suborbital spaceflight.
• Lightweight composite structure with twin swept wing-tail booms.
• Hybrid ascent rocket, burning both solid and liquid propellants
• Wings that pivot up (feather) for stable, safe reentry.
People
• Investor and philanthropist Paul G. Allen funded the project.
• Aeronautical engineer Burt Rutan, Scaled Composites, designed the vehicle.
• Pilots Mike Melvill and Brian Binnie , Scaled Composites, became the first pilots to earn FAA commercial astronaut wings.
SpaceShipOne, N328KF
Length: 8.5 m (28 ft)
Wingspan: 8.2 m (27 ft)
Height: 2.7 m (8 ft 9 in)
Weight, gross: 2,895 kg (6,380 lb), first space flight
Rocket: SpaceDev SD010 Hybrid Motor
Propellants: Rubber (solid) and nitrous oxide (liquid)
Thrust: 74,730 N (16,800 lb) , first space flight
Velocity: Mach 3
Manufacturer: Scaled Composites, Mojave, Calif. ; rocket motor,
SpaceDev, Poway , Calif.
http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/gal100/ss1.htm
On March 1, 1999, Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones lifted off from the Swiss alpine village of Chateau d’Oex in the Breitling Orbiter 3 balloon. On March 21, 1999—19 days, 21 hours, and 55 minutes later—they landed in the Egyptian desert after traveling 45,755 kilometers (28,431 miles) and completing the first nonstop flight around the world in a balloon.
The success of Breitling Orbiter 3 was built upon two previous attempts: Breitling Orbiter in 1997 and Breitling Orbiter 2 in 1998. Those experiences enabled the Breitling team to develop trustworthy technical systems and a basic strategy in which Piccard and Jones would pilot their balloon up to altitudes of 11,000 meters (36,000 feet) and to where jet stream winds would drive it across the Pacific at up to 176 kilometers (105 miles) per hour.
Support for this exhibit was provided by Breitling SA and Federal Express Corporation.
Design Features:
Construction: The gondola is made of Kevlar and carbon fiber material.
Cabin air: After takeoff the gondola was pressurized with a nitrogen-oxygen mixture to reduce the risk of fire. Enough reserves were carried to repressurize the gondola four times.
Pressurization: Cabin pressure dropped as the balloon climbed. At 10,000 meters (33,000 feet), the cabin pressure equaled the atmospheric pressure at 3,000 meters (10,000 feet).
Temperature: Burners maintained the cabin temperature at 15 °C (59 °F).
Solar panels: Solar panels beneath the gondola recharged the onboard lead batteries that provided electrical power.
Instrumentation: The forward cockpit contains the controls and instruments needed to monitor and operate the aircraft and systems. The crew used satellite-based systems to communicate and navigate.
Accommodations: The central part of the cabin contains a single bunk and storage area. An ingenious pressure-operated toilet is screened off with a curtain at the rear of the craft.
Gondola:
Length: 5.4 m (17 ft 10 in)
Height: 3.1 m (10 ft 3 in)
Weight, empty: 2,000 kg (4,400 lb)
Fuel: Propane
Manufacturer: Cameron Balloons, Bristol, England, 1998
http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/gal100/breitling.htm
The Pershing-II and SS-20 missiles exhibited here are two of more than 2,600 nuclear missiles banned by the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which was signed by the United States and the Soviet Union in December 1987. The INF Treaty is a milestone in the effort to control nuclear arms. It is the first international agreement to eliminate an entire of nuclear weapons--those having a range of 500-5,500 kilometers (300-3,400 miles). The U.S. Pershing-II and the Soviet SS-20 were regarded as the most threatening missiles in this
INF Treaty Compliance:
Missiles and related equipment banned by the INF Treaty were eliminated at designated facilities in the United States, Europe, and the Soviet Union. Elimination was accomplished by explosive or physical demolition, static firing, launching to destruction, or rendering inoperable for the purpose of museum display.
Inspectors from the U.S. On-Site Inspection Agency monitored the elimination of Soviet missiles. Elimination of U.S. missiles was monitored on-site by inspectors from the Soviet Nuclear Risk Reduction Center. The nuclear warheads, fuel, guidance systems, and electronics were removed from the missiles and allowed to be used in weapons not limited by the INF Treaty. Eliminations began in August 1988 and were completed by June 1991.
PERSHING-II
A mobile intermediate-range ballistic missile of the U.S. Army, the Pershing-II was deployed at American bases in West Germany beginning in 1983 and aimed at targets in the western Soviet Union. It carried a single thermonuclear warhead with an explosive force equivalent to 5-50 kilotons (5,000©;50,000 tons) of TNT. The terms of the INF Treaty required that all Pershing-IIs and their support equipment be eliminated. The missile displayed here is a training version, but its dimensions and weight are to those of an operational Pershing-II.
Transferred from the U.S. Army.
Height: 10.6 m (34 ft 10 in)
Diameter (first stage): 1 m (3 ft 4 in)
Weight (missile only): 6,780 kg (14,934 lb)
Propulsion: 2-stage, solid propellant
Range: 650-1,800 km (1,020-1,120mi)
Armament: 1 W85 thermonuclear warhead with a 5-50 kiloton variable yield.
Manufacturer:
Airframe: Martin-Marietta Aerospace, Orlando, Florida
Rocket Motors: Hercules, Inc., Magna, Utah
Deployed: West Germany, beginning 1983
Source: Nuclear Weapons Databook, Vol. I:U.S. Nuclear Forces and Capabilities
SS-20 "SABER"
The SS-20 was a mobile intermediate-range ballistic missile of the U.S.S.R. Strategic Rocket Forces. It carried three independently targeted thermonuclear warheads, each with an explosive force equivalent to 250 kilotons (250,000 tons) of TNT. Beginning in 1976, the SS©;20 was deployed at 48 bases in the Soviet Union, putting it within range of targets in western Europe and Asia. The terms of the INF Treaty required that all SS-20s and their support equipment be eliminated. The missile shown here is a training version, but its dimensions are to those of an operational SS-20.
Transferred from the U.S.S.R.
Height: 16.5 m (54 ft 1 in)
Diameter (first stage): 1.8 m (5 ft 10 in
Weight (missile only): 35,260 kg (77,665 lb)
Propulsion: 2-stage, solid propellant
Range: 4,400 km (2,700 mi)
Armament: 2 independently targeted 250-kiloton warheads
Manufacturer: Votkinsk Machine Building Plant, Votkinsk, U.S.S.R.
Deployed: western and far eastern U.S.S.R., 1976-1988
Source:: Nuclear Weapons Databook, Vol. IV:Soviet Nuclear Weapons
http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/gal100/inf.html
Pioneer 10 was the first spacecraft to fly by Jupiter, the largest planet in the Solar System. It later became the first human-made object to cross the orbit of Pluto, the farthest planet.
Pioneer 10 was launched on March 3, 1972. It entered the asteroid belt on July 15 and emerged unscathed seven months later. Pioneer 10 encountered Jupiter in early December 1973 and sent back the first close-up color pictures of the planet and data about its atmosphere, magnetic fields, and radiation belts. In June 1983, Pioneer 10 reached a distance beyond all the known planets.
The spacecraft displayed here is a reconstructed full-scale replica. It was assembled by TRW in 1977 from space parts provided by JPL, TRW, and Teledyne Energy Systems (Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTG) casings). Some of those spare parts had been used for testing.
Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Design Features:
Length: 2.9 m (9 ft 6 in)
Diameter (dish-antenna): 2.7 m (9 ft)
Weight: 258 kg (568 lb)
Manufacturer: TRW, Inc., for NASA
Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur
http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/gal100/pioneer.html
Two Viking landers were the first spacecraft to conduct prolonged scientific studies on the surface of another planet. Viking 1 began its 10-month journey to Mars on August 20, 1975. Viking 2 followed on September 9. After entering Mars orbit, the spacecraft orbiters conducted photographic surveys of the planet's surface to assist in the search for safe landing sites. Viking 1 landed on July 20, 1976; Viking 2 landed on September 3.
Instruments aboard the spacecraft provided valuable information on the Martian atmosphere and surface. Biological experiments on the Viking landers did not detect signs of life or any of the organic compounds that are abundant on Earth.
The Viking 1 Mars lander continued to transmit photographs and other data periodically from the Martian surface until November 1982, almost 6 1/2 years after its 1976 landing. The Viking 2 lander ceased operating in April 1980.
The object on display is a "proof test article" used on Earth before and during the Viking missions to simulate the behavior of the actual landers on Mars.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration formally transferred ownership of the Viking 1 lander on Mars to the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. That lander is virtually to the "proof test article" displayed in the museum.
On January 7, 1981, NASA Administrator Robert A. Frosch formally renamed the Viking 1 lander on Mars the Thomas A. Mutch Memorial Station. The designation honors NASA's fourth associate administrator for the Office of Space Science and the former leader of the Viking Lander Imaging Science Team. Mutch died on October 7, 1980, while climbing in the Himalayas.
Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Design Features:
Length: 3 m (10 ft)
Height: 2 m (6 ft 6 in)
Width: 3 m (10 ft)
Weight, unfueled: 576kg (1,270 lb)
Manufacturer: Martin Marietta for NASA
Launch Vehicle: Titan III-Centaur
http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/gal100/viking.html
The Museum's Moon rock is one of a collection of rocks returned from the Apollo manned missions to the Moon. Visitors can touch the rock in the Milestones of Flight gallery at the Museum on the National Mall.
http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/gal100/moonrock.html
The Apollo 11 Command Module "Columbia" carried astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, and Michael Collins on their historic voyage to the Moon and back on July 16-24, 1969. This mission culminated in the first human steps on another world.
The Apollo 11 spacecraft had three parts: the Command Module, the Service Module, and the Lunar Module "Eagle". While astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin descended to the Moon in "Eagle", Michael Collins remained alone in "Columbia". For 28 hours he served as a communications link and photographed the lunar surface. After reclaiming Armstrong and Aldrin from the ascent stage of the Lunar Module, "Columbia" was the only part of the spacecraft to return to Earth.
Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Design Features:
The blunt-end design for the Command Module was chosen to build upon experience gained with the similarly shaped Mercury and Gemini spacecraft. The spacecraft reentered the atmosphere with its protective heat shield facing forward. Layers of special "ablative" material on the shield were purposely allowed to burn away during reentry to help dissipate the extremely high temperatures caused by atmospheric friction.
Height: 3.2 m (10 ft 7 in)
Maximum Diameter: 3.9 m (12 ft 10 in)
Weight: 5,900 kg (13,000 lb)
Manufacturer: North American Rockwell for NASA
Launch Vehicle: Saturn V
http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/gal100/apollo11.html
On June 3, 1965, astronaut Edward H. White II became the first American to perform an Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) or "spacewalk." During his 20 minutes outside Gemini IV, White remained connected to the spacecraft's life-support and communications systems by the golden "umbilical cord," and he used a hand-held jet thruster to maneuver in space. His crewmate, James A. McDivitt, remained inside the spacecraft. The first EVA had been performed three months earlier by Soviet cosmonaut Aleksei A. Leonov, who remained outside his spacecraft for about 10 minutes.
Gemini IV was the second of 10 manned Gemini missions, which perfected the techniques of spacecraft rendezvous and docking and demonstrated that astronauts could withstand prolonged weightlessness for the planned Apollo missions to the Moon.
Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Design Features:
Height: 3.4 m (11 ft)
Maximum Diameter: 2.3 m (7 ft 6 in)
Weight: 3,200 kg (7,000 lb)
Manufacturer: McDonnell Aircraft Corp. for NASA
Launch Vehicle: Titan II
http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/gal100/gemini4.html
On December 14, 1962, useful scientific information was radioed to Earth from the vicinity of another planet for the first time. The unmanned Mariner 2 spacecraft, with its six scientific instruments, passed within 34,800 kilometers (21,600 miles) of Venus. Mariner 2 indicated that Venus is very hot and has no measureable magnetic fields or radiation belts. On the way to Venus, Mariner 2's instruments detected and measured the radiation, magnetic fields and dust of interplanetary space.
Contact with Mariner 2 was lost on January 2, 1963; it is now in orbit around the Sun. The spacecraft on display was constructed from test components by engineers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Design Features:
Height: 3.7 m (12 ft)
Width: 5 m (16 ft 6 in)
Weight: 203 kg (447 lb)
Manufacturer: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Launch Vehicle: Atlas-Agena B
http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/gal100/mariner2.html
The Mercury spacecraft in which astronaut John H. Glenn Jr. became the first American to orbit the Earth. On February 20, 1962, Glenn circled the Earth three times. The space flight lasted 4 hours and 55 minutes. "Friendship 7" landed in the Atlantic Ocean.
The first person to travel in space, making one orbit on April 12, 1961, was Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, followed in August by another cosmonaut Gherman S. Titov, who spent 17 orbits in space. Also in 1961, American astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr. and Virgil I. Grissom achieved suborbital flights to altitudes above 160 kilometers (100 miles). Nevertheless, with this flight John Glenn became a national hero, and Americans gained confidence that they could compete successfully in space with the Soviet Union.
Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Design Features:
Height: 2.7 m (9 ft)
Maximum Diameter: 1.9 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight: 1,300 kg (2,900 lb)
Manufacturer: McDonnell Aircraft Corp. for NASA
Launch Vehicle: Atlas-D
http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/gal100/friend7.html
The Mercury spacecraft in which astronaut John H. Glenn Jr. became the first American to orbit the Earth. On February 20, 1962, Glenn circled the Earth three times. The space flight lasted 4 hours and 55 minutes. "Friendship 7" landed in the Atlantic Ocean.
The first person to travel in space, making one orbit on April 12, 1961, was Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, followed in August by another cosmonaut Gherman S. Titov, who spent 17 orbits in space. Also in 1961, American astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr. and Virgil I. Grissom achieved suborbital flights to altitudes above 160 kilometers (100 miles). Nevertheless, with this flight John Glenn became a national hero, and Americans gained confidence that they could compete successfully in space with the Soviet Union.
Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Design Features:
Height: 2.7 m (9 ft)
Maximum Diameter: 1.9 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight: 1,300 kg (2,900 lb)
Manufacturer: McDonnell Aircraft Corp. for NASA
Launch Vehicle: Atlas-D
http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/gal100/friend7.html
The North American X-15, a rocket-powered research aircraft, bridged the gap between manned flight in the atmosphere and space flight. After its initial test flights in 1959, the X-15 became the first winged aircraft to attain hypersonic velocities of Mach 4, 5, and 6 (four to six times the speed of sound) and to operate at altitudes well above 30,500 meters (100,000 feet).
The X-15 was carried to an altitude of 12,000 meters (40,000 feet) under the wing of a Boeing B-52 bomber. During one test, it attained an altitude of over 108 kilometers (67 miles), flying so high that it functioned more as a spacecraft than an airplane. In 1967 it reached Mach 6.72 (7,297 kilometers or 4,534 miles per hour).
The X-15 was designed to explore the problems of flight at very high speeds and altitudes. The X-15 and other research aircraft contribute to the advancement of aerospace technology.
Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Design Features:
The wedge-shaped tail surfaces of the X-15 provided directional stability at speeds where conventionally shaped airfoils would not be effective. The large upper and lower fins and the downward slant of the wings enabled the aircraft to remain stable during steep climbs and at high altitudes. The substructure of the X-15 is titanium with a covering of Inconel X, a nickel alloy capable of withstanding temperatures of 650° (1,200°). The black color of the aircraft helped to dissipate heat, and the gaps along the fuselage closed as the external temperature increased. The small holes near the nose are for attitude control jets, used at very high altitudes where airfoil surfaces no longer provide aerodynamic control.
Wingspan: 6.7 m (22 ft)
Length: 15.5 m (51 ft)
Height: 4 m (13 ft)
Weight, gross: 17,237 kg (38,000 lb)
Engine: Thiokol (Reaction Motors) XLR-99-RM-2 rocket engine rated at 250,000 newtons (57,000 lbs) thrust at sea level
Manufacturer: North American Aviation, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A., 1959
http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/gal100/X-15.html
Explorer 1 became America's first satellite on January 31, 1958. Following the Soviet success with Sputnik and the embarrassing failure in December 1957 of the first American attempt to launch a satellite, the U.S. Army launched a scientific satellite using a rocket that had been developed to test guided missile components.
Explorer 1 carried an instrument package developed by a team at the State University of Iowa under the direction of Professor James A. Van Allen. Data returned by Explorer 1 and Explorer 3 (launched in March 1958) provided evidence that the Earth is surrounded by intense bands of radiation, now called the Van Allen radiation belts. This was the first major scientific discovery of the space age.
Design Features (in comparison to Sputnik 1):
* More than twice the size of a basketball, Sputnik was larger and heavier than Explorer. Only the striped section of Explorer contained the payload; the rear half was a solid-fuel rocket motor.
* Sputnik’s sphere was polished to a high sheen to aid in tracking by telescope. Explorer’s light and dark stripes helped control its temperature.
* Despite Sputnik’s streamlined appearance, it tumbled while in orbit. Explorer spun about its long axis, which extended its four flexible antennas.
* Sputnik contained two radio transmitters, which sent back the “beep-beep-beep” heard round the world. Explorer contained a cosmic ray detector, radio transmitter, and temperature and micrometeoroid sensors.
This satellite was built as a backup-an unit for the original Explorer 1. It could have been launched if the first one had failed. The striped portion contains the instruments, radios, and batteries. It is attached to a single solid-propellant rocket motor, which served as the launch vehicle's fourth stage.
Length: 203 cm (80 in), including rocket motor
Diameter: 15 cm (6 in)
Weight: 13.9 kg (30.7 lb)
Launch Vehicle: Jupiter-C (Juno I)
Transferred from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and NASA
http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/gal100/exp1.html
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union sent into orbit Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite in history. Then a month later, an even larger and heavier satellite, Sputnik 2, carried the dog Laika into orbit.
Sputnik’s launch came as an unnerving surprise to the United States. The space age had dawned and America’s Cold War rival suddenly appeared technologically superior.
The first U.S. effort to launch a satellite failed when its Vanguard rocket exploded during lift-off. Finally on January 31, 1958, a Jupiter-C rocket sent Explorer 1 into orbit. The space race was underway.
Design Features (in comparison to Explorer 1):
* More than twice the size of a basketball, Sputnik was larger and heavier than Explorer. Only the striped section of Explorer contained the payload; the rear half was a solid-fuel rocket motor.
* Sputnik’s sphere was polished to a high sheen to aid in tracking by telescope. Explorer’s light and dark stripes helped control its temperature.
* Despite Sputnik’s streamlined appearance, it tumbled while in orbit. Explorer spun about its long axis, which extended its four flexible antennas.
* Sputnik contained two radio transmitters, which sent back the “beep-beep-beep” heard round the world. Explorer contained a cosmic ray detector, radio transmitter, and temperature and micrometeoroid sensors.
People:
KorolevSergei P. Korolëv headed the design bureau that created the U.S.S.R.’s first intercontinental ballistic missile and Sputnik. He was adamant about making the satellite appear impressive, declaring, “This ball will be exhibited in museums!”
Sputnik 1
Full-size replica
Length: 285 cm (112 in), antennae
Diameter: 58 cm (23 in)
Weight: 83.6 kg (184 lb)
Launch Vehicle: R-7
Lent by the Science in Russia Exhibition of National Achievement
http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/gal100/sputnik.html
On October 14, 1947, the Bell X-1 became the first airplane to fly faster than the speed of sound. Piloted by U.S. Air Force Capt. Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager, the X-1 reached a speed of 1,127 kilometers (700 miles) per hour, Mach 1.06, at an altitude of 13,000 meters (43,000 feet). Yeager named the airplane "Glamorous Glennis" in tribute to his wife.
Air-launched at an altitude of 7,000 meters (23,000 feet) from the bomb bay of a Boeing B-29, the X-1 used its rocket engine to climb to its test altitude. It flew a total of 78 times, and on March 26, 1948, with Yeager at the controls, it attained a speed of 1,540 kilometers (957 miles) per hour, Mach 1.45, at an altitude of 21,900 meters (71,900 feet). This was the highest velocity and altitude reached by a manned airplane up to that time.
Transferred from the U.S. Air Force to the National Air and Space Museum.
Design Features:
Many important structural and aerodynamic advances were first employed in the Bell X-1, including extremely thin yet exceptionally strong wing sections and a horizontal stabilizer that could be adjusted up and down to improve control, especially at transonic (near the speed of sound) speeds. Because of the stabilizer's success, later transonic military aircraft were designed with all moving horizontal stabilizers as standard equipment.
The X-1's fuselage was shaped like a .50 caliber bullet. Even the windscreen was specially flaired to retain the bullet shape. The X-1 carried more than 230 kilograms (500 pounds) of flight test instruments.
Wingspan: 8.5 m (28 ft)
Length: 9.4 m (30 ft 11 in)
Height: 3.3 m (10 ft 10 in)
Weight, gross: 5,557 kg (12,250 lb)
Engine: Reaction Motors, Inc., XLR-11-RM-3 (model A6000C4) 4-chamber rocket engine, rated at 26,500 newtons (6,000 lb) static thrust
Manufacturer: Bell Aircraft Co., Buffalo, N.Y., 1946
http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/gal100/bellX1.html
T his aircraft, the first Bell XP-59A, is the direct ancestor of all American jet aircraft. Built for testing purposes, it proved that turbojet-powered flight was feasible and efficient.
Designed and built by the Bell Aircraft Corporation, the XP-59A was first flown at Muroc Dry Lake, California, on October 1, 1942, by Bell's chief test pilot Robert M. Stanley. The next day Col. Laurence C. Craigie became the first U.S. military pilot to fly a turbojet aircraft. In October 1943, Ann Baumgartener Carl of the Women Airforce Service Pilots flew a YP-59A and became the first American woman to fly a jet airplane.
The XP-59A was powered by the first American jet engine, the General Electric I-A, which was based on the W2B design of British jet pioneer Frank Whittle.
Donated by the U.S. Army Air Forces and Bell Aircraft Corporation
Design Features:
Wingspan: 14.9 m (49 ft)
Length: 12 m (38 ft 10 in)
Height: 3.8 m (12 ft 4 in)
Weight, empty: 3,294 kg (7,320 lb)
Engines: 2 General Electric I-A centrifugal-flow turbojet engines each rated at 5,560 newtons (1,250 lb) static thrust
Manufacturer: Bell Aircraft Corporation, Buffalo, New York
http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/gal100/XP59A.html
On May 21, 1927, Charles A. Lindbergh completed the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight in history, flying his Ryan NYP "Spirit of St. Louis" 5,810 kilometers (3,610 miles) between Roosevelt Field on Long Island, New York, and Paris, France, in 33 hours, 30 minutes. With this flight, Lindbergh won the $25,000 prize offered by New York hotel owner Raymond Orteig to the first aviator to fly an aircraft directly across the Atlantic between New York and Paris. When he landed at Le Bourget Field in Paris, Lindbergh became a world hero who would remain in the public eye for decades.
The aftermath of the flight was the "Lindbergh boom" in aviation: aircraft industry stocks rose in value and interest in flying skyrocketed. Lindbergh's subsequent U.S. tour in the "Spirit of St. Louis" demonstrated the potential of the airplane as a safe, reliable mode of transportation. Following the U.S. tour, Lindbergh took the aircraft on a goodwill flight to Central and South America, where flags of the countries he visited were painted on the cowling.
"Spirit of St. Louis" was named in honor of Lindbergh's supporters in St. Louis, Missouri, who paid for the aircraft. "NYP" is an acronym for "New York-Paris," the object of the flight.
Gift of Charles A. Lindbergh.
Design Features:
The "Spirit of St. Louis" was designed by Donald Hall under the direct supervision of Charles Lindbergh. It is a highly modified version of a conventional Ryan M-2 strut-braced monoplane, powered by a reliable Wright J-5C engine. Because the fuel tanks were located ahead of the cockpit for safety in case of an accident, Lindbergh could not see directly ahead, except by using a periscope on the left side or by turning the airplane and looking out a side window. The two tubes beneath the fuselage are flare dispensers that were installed for Lindbergh's flights to Latin America and the Caribbean.
Wingspan: 14 m (46 ft)
Length: 8 m (27 ft 8 in)
Height: 3 m (9 ft 10 in)
Weight, gross: 2,330 kg (5,135 lb)
Weight, empty: 975 kg (2,150 lb)
Engine: Wright Whirlwind J-5C, 223hp
Manufacturer: Ryan Airlines Co., San Diego, Calif., 1927
http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/gal100/stlouis.html
This is a replica of Robert H. Goddard's first liquid-propellant rocket to achieve flight. The original rocket, launched on March 16, 1926, at Auburn, Massachusetts, was damaged upon impact. The flight reached an altitude of 12 meters (41 feet), lasted 2.5 seconds, and covered a horizontal distance of 56 meters (184 feet).
Goddard experimented with liquid-propellant rockets before anyone else, but details of his work were so poorly known that he had little direct influence on later technological developments. He worked alone and was reluctant to publicize his results. Although there was limited military or commercial interest in rocket technology at the time, the Smithsonian Institution and private philanthropic foundations funded his early research.
Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Design Features:
Goddard recognized that liquid propellants could provide more energy for propulsion than an equal weight of gunpowder or other available solid fuels. In his earliest rockets, he placed the engine at the top of the vehicle and the fuel tanks below. However, he soon found that this "nose drive" arrangement was too unstable, so he placed the motor at the bottom, as in all modern rockets. Almost all of Goddard's liquid-propellant rockets burned liquid oxygen and gasoline.
Length: 3.4 m (11 ft 3 in)
Thrust: 40 newtons (9 lb), estimated
Weight, fueled: 4.7 kg (10.4 LB)
http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/gal100/goddard.htm
On December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the 1903 Wright Flyer became the first powered, heavier-than-air machine to achieve controlled, sustained flight with a pilot aboard. It flew forward without losing speed and landed at a point as high as that from which it started.
With Orville Wright as pilot, the airplane took off from a launching rail and flew for 12 seconds and a distance of 37 meters (120 feet). The airplane was flown three more times that day, with Orville and his brother Wilbur alternating as pilot. The longest flight, with Wilbur at the controls, was 260 meters (852 feet) and lasted 59 seconds.
The Flyer, designed and built by the Wright brothers, was one step in a broad experimental program that began in 1899 with their first kite and concluded in 1905, when they built the first truly practical airplane. The basic problems of mechanical flight, lift, propulsion, and control were solved in the Wright design.
http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/gal100/wright1903.html
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