Skip Top nav bar link group topnav end piece go to business section go to education section go to history section go to gallery section go to news section go to organizations section go to research section go to search engine go to site index topnav end piece
NASA Meatball NASA Dryden Spacewedge banner
Spacewedge #1 in Flight Spacewedge #1 in Flight

Photo Number: EC92-04271-4
Photo Date: 1992

Formats: 515x480 JPEG Image (64 KBytes)
1099x1024 JPEG Image (323 KBytes)
3000x2793 JPEG Image (2,872 KBytes)

Photo
Description:
A Spacewedge subscale model, built to help develop potential autonomous recovery systems for spacecraft as well as methods for delivering large Army cargo loads to precision landings, maneuvers through the air under its steerable parafoil during 1992 flight testing.

Project
Description:
From October 1991 to December 1996, NASA Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility (after 1994, the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California) conducted a research program know as the Spacecraft Autoland Project. This Project was designed to determine the feasibility of the autonomous recovery of a spacecraft using a ram-air parafoil system for the final stages of flight, including a precision landing.

The Johnson Space Center and the U.S. Army participated in various phases of the program. The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory developed the software for Wedge 3 under contract to the Army. Four generic spacecraft (each called a Spacewedge or simply a Wedge) were built; the last one was built to test the feasibility of a parafoil for delivering Army cargoes.

Technology developed during this program has applications for future spacecraft recovery systems, such as the X-38 Crew Return Vehicle demonstrator. The Spacewedge program demonstrated precision flare and landing into the wind at a predetermined location. The program showed that a flexible, deployable system using autonomous navigation and landing was a viable and practical way to recover spacecraft.

NASA researchers conducted flight tests of the Spacewedge at three sites near Dryden, a hillside near Tehachapi, the Rogers Dry Lakebed at Edwards Air Force Base, and the California City Airport Drop Zone. During the first phase of testing 36 flights were made. Phase II consisted of 45 flights using a smaller parafoil. A third Phase of 34 flights was conducted primarily by the Army and resulted in the development of an Army guidance system for precision offset cargo delivery. The wedge used during the Army phase was not called a Spacewedge but simply a Wedge.

The Spacewedge was a flattened biconical airframe joined to a ram-air parafoil with a custom harness. In the manual control mode, the vehicle was flown using a radio uplink. In its autonomous mode, it was controlled using a small computer that received input from onboard sensors. Selected sensor data was recorded onto several onboard data loggers. Two Spacewedge shapes were used for four airframes representing generic hypersonic vehicle configurations. Spacewedge vehicles were 48 inches long, 30 inches wide, and 21 inches high. Their basic weight was 120 pounds, although different configurations weighed from 127 to 184 pounds.

Potential uses for Spacewedge-based technology include deployable, precision, autonomous landing systems, such as the one deployed by the X-38 crew return vehicle; planetary probes; booster recovery systems; autonomous gliding parachute systems on military aircraft ejection seats; offset delivery of military cargoes; and delivery of humanitarian aid to hard-to-reach locations.

Dryden employees involved with the Spacewedge program included R. Dale Reed, who originated the concept of conducting a subscale flight test at Dryden and participated in the actual testing. Alexander Sim managed the flight project and participated in its documentation. James Murray served as the principal Dryden investigator and as the lead for all systems integration for Phases I and II (the Spacewedge phases).


Keywords: Spacewedge; NASA Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility; Dryden Flight Research Center; Johnson Space Center; U.S. Army; Edwards Air Force Base; Charles Stark Draper Laboratory; R. Dale Reed; Alexander Sim; James Murray


Last Modified: February 6, 2002
Responsible NASA Official: Marty Curry
Curator: PAO Webmasters

NASA Website Privacy Statement