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1981STS-1, first flight of the Space Shuttle,
a partially reusable space vehicle. First flown aerodynamic
winged vehicle to reenter from space, employing technologies
developed over 30 years.
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1981OngoingER-2 high-altitude aircraft
is used for atmospheric research, observation, and mapping.
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19811990X-29 Flight Research Aircraft
demonstrated forward swept wing technology and provided data
on aeroelastic tailoring, active controls, and canard effects.
First flight was December 14, 1984.
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1984Riblets, or small V-shaped grooves,
were discovered to reduce aerodynamic drag. This technology
has been used on many aircraft and sailing vessels.
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1984National Transonic Facility (NTF) became
operational. It enables experimentation at full-scale flight
Reynolds number by testing in super-cold (cryogenic) environment.
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19851989Mission Adaptive Wing (MAW) was
tested on flight F-111 ATFI. The wing of the F-111 was modified
so that the curvature of the leading and trailing edges could
be varied in flight.
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