#ANPOD UVC STERILIZER SERIES#
A series of test flights has been conducted to validate this test bed configuration. A test article can be placed on the flat plate the pod can contain supporting systems. Mizukami, Masashi Jones, Daniel Weinstock, Vladimir D.Ī flat plate and faired pod have been mounted on a NASA SR- 71A aircraft for use as a supersonic flight experiment test bed. A joint flight program was developed between the JPL and NASA's Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, in 1994) inįlow-Field Survey in the Test Region of the SR- 71 Aircraft Test Bed Configuration The flight program was also designed to test the stability of the aircraft as a test bed for UV observation. The SR- 71 is capable of flying above 90 percent of the Earth's atmosphere. As a result, the South West Research Institute (SWRI) in Texas developed the hypothesis of using a high-flying aircraft such as the SR- 71 to conduct UV observations. Satellite study of ultraviolet radiation is very expensive. UV radiation is also valuable to study from an astronomical perspective.
#ANPOD UVC STERILIZER SKIN#
Study of UV radiation is important because it is known to cause skin cancer with prolonged exposure. Observation of ultraviolet radiation is not possible from the Earth's surface because the atmosphere's ozone layer absorbs UV rays. The SR- 71 was proposed as a test bed for the experiment because it is capable of flying at altitudes above 80,000 feet for an extended length of time. In March 1993, an upward-looking ultraviolet (UV) video camera placed in the SR- 71's nosebay studied a variety of celestial objects in the ultraviolet light spectrum. One early research project flown on one of Dryden's SR- 71s consisted of a proposal for a series of flights using the SR- 71 as a science camera platform for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of the California Institute of Technology, which operates under contract to NASA in much the way that NASA centers do. Two SR- 71 aircraft have been used by NASA as test beds for high-speed and high-altitude aeronautical research. The science portion of the flight is a project of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. Mounted in the nose of the SR- 71 was an ultraviolet video camera aimed skyward to capture images of stars, asteroids and comets. NASA's SR- 71 streaks into the twilight on a night/science flight from the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. Guidelines for designing SR- 71 test bed experiments are also provided. Information is presented based on flight data that describes the SR- 71 test bed aerodynamics, stability and control, structural and thermal loads, the canoe internal environment, and reflection plane flow quality. A brief description of the SR- 71 aircraft is given, including details of the structural modifications to the fuselage, modifications to the J58 engines to provide increased thrust, and the addition of a research instrumentation system. Total experiment weights, including the canoe and reflection plane, as heavy as 14,500 lb can be mounted on the aircraft and flight- tested to speeds as fast as Mach 3.2 and altitudes as high as 80,000 ft.
This test bed hardware is composed of a fairing structure called the "canoe" and a large "reflection plane" flat plate for mounting experiments. The test bed hardware mounted on the SR- 71 upper fuselage is described. The SR- 71 test bed aircraft is shown to be a unique platform to flight- test large experiments to supersonic Mach numbers.
The SR- 71 Test Bed Aircraft: A Facility for High-Speed Flight ResearchĬorda, Stephen Moes, Timothy R.