X-20 Dyna-Soar: "Springboard to Space: The Arnold Center Story" 1965 US Air Force SFP-1167

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PORTRAYS STORY OF THE ARNOLD CENTER WHERE MAN SEEKS TO UNDERSTAND AND TO RESOLVE PROBLEMS OF SPACE FLIGHT. PICTURES GIANT NETWORK OF WIND TUNNELS AND HIGH ALTITUDE ROCKET TEST CELLS WHERE MISSILES AND SPACECRAFT ARE SUBJECTED TO CONDITIONS THEY MUST ENDURE IN ACTUAL SPACE FLIGHT. SHOWS HOW DATA COLLECTED FROM SIMULATED FLIGHT CONDITIONS SAVES TIME IN OUR NATION'S AEROSPACE PROGRESS.

Originally a public domain film from the National Archives, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and one-pass brightness-contrast-color correction & mild video noise reduction applied.

The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Engineering_Development_Complex

Wikipedia license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

The Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC), Arnold Engineering Development Center before July 2012, is an Air Force Material Command facility under the control of the Air Force Test Center (AFTC). Headquartered at Arnold Air Force Base, Tennessee... AEDC operates more than 68 test facilities, including, but not limited to, aerodynamic and propulsion wind tunnels, rocket and turbine engine test cells, environmental chambers, arc heaters, ballistic ranges, sled tracks, centrifuges, and other specialized test units.

AEDC conducts developmental testing and evaluation for the Nation through modeling, simulation, ground, and flight testing. Testing will evaluate aircraft, missile, and space systems/subsystems at the flight conditions they will experience during a mission. The complex aims to be the nation's best value ground test and analysis source for aerospace and defense systems...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_X-20_Dyna-Soar

The Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar ("Dynamic Soarer") was a United States Air Force (USAF) program to develop a spaceplane that could be used for a variety of military missions, including aerial reconnaissance, bombing, space rescue, satellite maintenance, and as a space interceptor to sabotage enemy satellites. The program ran from October 24, 1957 to December 10, 1963, cost US$660 million ($5.51 billion in current dollars), and was cancelled just after spacecraft construction had begun.

Other spacecraft under development at the time, such as Mercury or Vostok, were space capsules with ballistic re-entry profiles that ended in a landing under a parachute. Dyna-Soar was more like an aircraft. It could travel to distant targets at the speed of an intercontinental ballistic missile, was designed to glide to Earth like an aircraft under control of a pilot, and could land at an airfield. Dyna-Soar could also reach Earth orbit, like conventional, manned space capsules.

These characteristics made Dyna-Soar a far more advanced concept than other human spaceflight missions of the period. Research into a spaceplane was realized much later in other reusable spacecraft such as the 1981–2011 Space Shuttle and the more recent Boeing X-40 and X-37B spacecraft...

The overall design of the X-20 Dyna-Soar was outlined in March 1960. It had a low-wing delta shape, with winglets for control rather than a more conventional tail. The framework of the craft was to be made from the René 41 super alloy, as were the upper surface panels. The bottom surface was to be made from molybdenum sheets placed over insulated René 41, while the nose-cone was to be made from graphite with zirconia rods.

Due to changing requirements, several versions of the Dyna-Soar were considered, all sharing the same basic shape and layout. A single pilot sat at the front, with an equipment bay situated behind. This bay contained data-collection equipment, weapons, reconnaissance equipment, or a four-person mid-deck in the case of the X-20X shuttle space vehicle. A Martin Marietta Transtage upper stage attached to the aft end of the craft would allow orbital maneuvers and a launch abort capability before being jettisoned before descent into the atmosphere. While falling through the atmosphere an opaque heat shield made from a refractory metal would protect the window at the front of the craft. This heat shield would then be jettisoned after aerobraking so the pilot could see, and safely land...

Unlike the later Space Shuttle, Dyna-Soar did not have wheels on its tricycle undercarriage, as rubber tires would have caught fire during re-entry. Instead Goodyear developed retractable wire-brush skids made of the same René 41 alloy as the airframe...