NOTE TO EDITORS: X-38 CREW RETURN VEHICLE RESUMES FLIGHT TEST AT NASA DRYDEN February 1, 1999 Release: 99-02 Printer Friendly Version
The NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., is resuming flight tests of the X-38 Crew Return Vehicle prototype on Friday, Feb. 5. The drop of the atmospheric test vehicle, designated vehicle 131, will be open to the media and broadcast live on NASA-TV, beginning at approximately 8:45 a.m. PST.
The X-38 is an innovative new spacecraft design planned for use as a future International Space Station emergency crew return "lifeboat." It will be released from NASA's B-52 at approximately 22,000 feet and will fly freely for about 10 seconds before parafoils are deployed that will guide it to its landing point. This will be the second and final flight for vehicle 131. After Friday's test it will be cut in half and redesigned to look like an 80 percent scale model of the eventual space vehicle.
Once operational, the X-38 may become the first new human spacecraft to travel to and from orbit in more than 20 years. It is being developed at a fraction of the cost of past human space vehicles. The primary purpose of the spacecraft would be as a "lifeboat," but the design also has the potential to be easily modified for other uses, such as a possible joint U.S. and international human spacecraft that could be launched on the French Ariane 5 booster.
Media wishing to cover this event will be able to view the drop test from a control room and participate in a post-test news conference at 10 a.m. Media planning to view the flight test should arrive at the Dryden News Center no later than 7:30 a.m. Media wanting to attend the news conference should arrive no later than 9:30 a.m.
For accreditation and more information, please call Fred Brown at (805) 258-2663 by Wednesday, Feb. 3. NASA-TV is on GE-2, transponder 9C, located at 85 degrees West longitude, with vertical polarization. Frequency will be on 3880 megahertz with audio on 6.8 megahertz.
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