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NASA Meatball  Shaped Sonic Boom Demonstration (SSBD) Photo Collection banner
 
 Shaped Sonic Boom Demonstration (SSBD)

Northrop Grumman Corp.'s modified F-5E Shaped Sonic Boom Demonstration (SSBD) aircraft flies off the wing of NASA's F-15B Research testbed aircraft.

 
Photo Number: EC03-0229-6
Photo Date: August 25, 2003
 
Formats: 495x480 JPEG Image (100 KBytes)
1056x1024 JPEG Image (530 KBytes)
2474x2400 JPEG Image (3280 KBytes)
 
Photo
Description:
In a role-reversal, Northrop Grumman Corp.'s modified F-5E Shaped Sonic Boom Demonstration (SSBD) aircraft flies off the wing of NASA's F-15B Research testbed aircraft. The F-15B, from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, flew in the supersonic shockwave of the F-5E as part of the SSBD project. Following the two aircraft is an unmodified U.S. Navy F-5E used for baseline sonic boom measurements.
 
Project
Description:

NASA's F-15B research testbed jet from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center flew in the supersonic shockwave of a Northrop-Grumman Corp. - modified U.S. Navy F-5E jet in support of the Shaped Sonic Boom Demonstration (SSBD) project, which is part of the DARPA's Quiet Supersonic Platform (QSP) program.

On August 27, 2003, the F-5 SSBD aircraft demonstrated a method to reduce the intensity of sonic booms.The project is an effort to lessen sonic booms.

During the recent demonstration, the F-15B flew behind the modified F-5E sonic boom demonstrator aircraft in order to measure the aircraft's sonic boom characteristics.

Flying behind and below the F-5E, and using its specially-instrumented nose boom, the F-15B recorded many shockwave patterns from the F-5E at various distances and orientations from the aircraft.

 
NASA Photo by: Carla Thomas
 
Keywords: F-15B, F-15, F-5, F-5E, Shaped Sonic Boom Demonstration project, SSBD, Navy, DARPA, Quiet Supersonic Platform, QSP, Northrop-Grumman Corp
 


Last Modified: September 19, 2003
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