For Release: Jan. 25, 1996
Catherine E. Watson
(804) 864-6122
Release No. 96-001
Hampton: The Eagle Has Landed - Simulating The Apollo Moon
Landings
Retired NASA research pilot Lee Person Jr. will discuss the
various space simulators that were developed at NASA Langley in the
1960s to prepare astronauts for maneuvering in space and on the
moon. These simulators include the Langley Lunar Landing Research
Facility, which was used to simulate the lunar lander's last
150-foot descent to the surface of the moon. "Earthbound 'Flying'
Simulators for Weightless Rendezvous and Lunar Landings" will be
presented at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 30, in the H.J.E. Reid Conference
Center, 14 Langley Blvd., Hampton, Va. This presentation was
originally scheduled for November 1995.
Person tested a variety of lunar-landing vehicle prototypes at
the NASA Langley Lunar Landing Research Facility. Person will
discuss the challenges in development of these simulators as well
as in development of the rendezvous and docking simulator in NASA
Langley's Flight Hangar. According to Person, his talk is on the
"small steps to aid our knights in shining armor on their journey
to the moon...and some dragons we encountered along the way."
Person is a graduate of the Naval Test Pilot School, a member of
the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and a recent recipient of
the NASA Exceptional Service Medal. Person's 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
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.
The colloquium begins at 2 p.m., with a media briefing at 1:15
p.m. in the Wythe Room of the H.J.E. Reid Conference Center, 14
Langley Blvd., Hampton, Va. Media who wish to attend the briefing
should contact Catherine Watson at (804) 864-6122.
NOTE: A listing of NASA Langley's contributions to the Apollo program are
available in a fact sheet.
text-only version of this release | 
