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Defining the Future

Ken Iliff, center, Dale Reed, right, and an unidentified man, were part of the center's lifting body aircraft study group.
NASA engineers Alphonso Stewart, left; Ken Iliff, center; and Dale Reed, right; were part of the center's lifting body aircraft study group.

NASA engineers Alphonso Stewart, left; Ken Iliff, center; and Dale Reed, right; were part of the center’s lifting body aircraft study group. All three were pioneers in their respective fields.

Stewart began his NASA career in the Research Division, working on key programs like the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle (LLRV). He transferred to Operations Engineering and eventually to the Battery Shop, where he became the subject matter expert on storage batteries and their charging. At the time, the lifting body aircraft were completely battery powered, and Al Stewart played a key role in all lifting body flights. The lifting body aircraft were the precursors to the Space Shuttles. Iliff was key in formulating, perfecting, and advancing the science and technology of aircraft parameter estimation – how to formulate questions about aircraft performance once the answers are known, or how to determine “why” when the “what happens” is known. Dale Reed was a distinguished NASA aeronautics researcher who pioneered lifting body and remotely piloted research aircraft programs. He conducted research at the then Dryden Flight Research Center for almost 52 years.