For Release: Feb. 13, 1996
Release No. 96-004
NASA Langley Story Opportunities - February
Pilots Test "Synthetic Vision"
With Windowless Landings. NASA has flight-tested a "synthetic
vision" concept that promises to help make supersonic flight
practical and affordable for the average air traveler close to the
turn of the century. The test in which pilots conducted windowless
landings - were flown on a NASA 737 research aircraft over a
three-month period ending in January. The flights were part of the
agency's High-Speed Research Program to develop technologies for an
aircraft would carry 300 passengers at speeds up to 1,400 mph. The
idea is to eliminate forward windows, making way for large-format
displays filled with high-resolution images and computer graphics.
Interviews, photos and b-roll video are available.
Public Affairs contact: Keith Henry (757) 864-6120
Jet Engines: A Source Of Air Pollution? Every day,
thousands of jet aircraft fly through the Earth's atmosphere.
Scientists, however, are still uncertain how much pollution these
jets put into the atmosphere. As part of NASA's Atmospheric Effects
of Aviation Project
(AEAP) , researchers at NASA's Langley Research Center
are measuring emissions from the engines of two NASA research jets
- a Boeing 737 and a Boeing 757. Interviews, photos and b-roll
video are available.
Public Affairs Contact: Catherine E. Watson (757) 864-6122
Microelectronics For 'Faster, Better, Cheaper' Science
Missions: Dr. Carl A. Kukkonen, director of the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory's Center for Space Microelectronics Technology, will
present an overview of JPL's research and development programs in
microelectronics and microinstruments and describe their
application in the space and earth sciences. The colloquium will
take place at 2 p.m. Feb. 23 at the NASA Langley H.J.E. Reid
Conference Center, Hampton, Va. Microsensors, microinstruments and
advanced microelectronics are key technologies for the faster,
better, cheaper science missions envisioned by NASA for the 21st
century. Interviews available.
Public Affairs Contact: Catherine E. Watson (757) 864-6122
Growing Better Semiconductors In Space: NASA Langley
researchers, in conjunction with students at Longwood College,
Farmville, Va., will fly an experiment aboard the Space Shuttle
Columbia (STS-75) to determine the effects of three different Space
Shuttle orientations on the growth of lead tin telluride crystals.
The quality of electronic and electro-optical devices made from
this material are strongly influenced by the uniformity of the
final product. The STS-75 experiment will attempt to establish and
maintain this uniformity during crystal growth in the microgravity
environment of space. Large, uniform crystals of lead tin telluride
cannot be grown on Earth. Phone interviews are available.
Public Affairs Contact: Catherine E. Watson (757) 864-6122
NASA Langley Research Reports On World Wide Web: More
than 600 technical reports covering the last ten years of NASA
Langley research are available on-line via the World Wide Web.
NASA Langley Technical Reports Server.
NASA Langley Contact: Mary K. McCaskill (757) 864-2504
text-only version of this release | 
