"Marsplane" glider completes successful test flight
Posted: Wed, Aug 15, 2001, 10:59 AM ET (1459 GMT)
A glider that is a prototype of a future Mars aircraft made a successful test flight last week in Oregon, NASA officials announced this week. The glider, named "Orville" after one of the Wright Brothers, was dropped August 9 from a balloon at an altitude of 31,400 meters, where the air pressure is similar to that on Mars. After initially dropping a few thousand meters, Orville leveled off and glided to a smooth landing at the Tillamook, Oregon airport. The glider was designed to be similar to proposals for aircraft that would fly over the Martian terrain, taking very high-resolution images and looking for evidence of water. Future versions of the aircraft under development will feature folding wings so it can fit into a small space in a spacecraft, and later a propeller propulsion system.
A glider that is a prototype of a future Mars aircraft made a successful test flight last week in Oregon, NASA officials announced this week. The glider, named "Orville" after one of the Wright Brothers, was dropped August 9 from a balloon at an altitude of 31,400 meters, where the air pressure is similar to that on Mars. After initially dropping a few thousand meters, Orville leveled off and glided to a smooth landing at the Tillamook, Oregon airport. The glider was designed to be similar to proposals for aircraft that would fly over the Martian terrain, taking very high-resolution images and looking for evidence of water. Future versions of the aircraft under development will feature folding wings so it can fit into a small space in a spacecraft, and later a propeller propulsion system.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Tuesday, September 22
Galileo achieves first civil authenticated position fix under spoofing conditions
GPS World — 6:37 am ET (1037 GMT) Will Russia have its own Starlink?
Deutsche Welle — 6:37 am ET (1037 GMT) There’s a Space Weapon Circling the Planet. Here's What We Know.
National Geographic — 6:35 am ET (1035 GMT) Gov. Mike DeWine assembles team to make Ohio’s case for U.S. Space Academy
Cleveland Plain Dealer — 6:33 am ET (1033 GMT) Moreno Leads Ohio’s Push to Bring Space Force Academy to Ohio
US Senate — 6:33 am ET (1033 GMT) |
