Computers Take Flight A History Of Nasas Pioneering Digital Fly By Wire Project

Download or read book Computers Take Flight: A History of NASA's Pioneering Digital Fly-By-Wire Project written by James E. Tomayko and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Computers Take Flight: a History of NASA's Pioneering Digital Fly-By-Wire Project written by James E. Tomayko and published by Createspace Independent Pub. This book was released on 2012-10-30 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One hundred years after the Wright brothers' first powered flight, airplane designers are unshackled from the constraints that they lived with for the first seven decades of flight because of the emergence of digital fly-by-wire (DFBW) technology. New designers seek incredible maneuverability, survivability, efficiency, or special performance through configurations which rely on a DFBW system for stability and controllability. DFBW systems have contributed to major advances in human spaceflight, advanced fighters and bombers, and safe, modern civil transportation. The story of digital fly-by-wire is a story of people, of successes, and of overcoming enormous obstacles and problems. The fundamental concept is relatively simple, but the realization of the concept in hardware and software safe enough for human use confronted the NASA-industry team with enormous challenges. But the team was victorious, and Dr. Tomayko tells the story extremely well. Today, digital fly-by-wire systems are integral to the operation of a great many aircraft. These systems provide numerous advantages over older mechanical arrangements. By replacing cables, linkages, push rods, pull rods, pulleys, and the like with electronic systems, digital fly-by-wire reduces weight, volume, the number of failure modes, friction, and maintenance. It also enables designers to develop and pilots to fly radical new configurations that would be impossible without the digital technology. Digital fly-by-wire aircraft can exhibit more precise and better maneuver control, greater combat survivability, and, for commercial airliners, a smoother ride. The F-8 Digital Fly-By-Wire Project made two significant contributions to the new technology: (1) a solid design base of techniques that work and those that do not, and (2) credible evidence of good flying qualities and the ability of such a system to tolerate real faults and to continue operation without degradation. The narrative of this study captures the intensity of the program in successfully resolving the numerous design challenges and management problems that were encountered. This, in turn, laid the groundwork for leading, not only the U.S., but to a great extent the entire world's aeronautics community into the new era of digital fly-by-wire flight controls. The book also captures the essence of what NASA is chartered to do—develop and transfer major technologies that will keep the U.S. in a world leadership role as the major supplier of commercial aviation, military, and aerospace vehicles and products. The F-8 project is an example of how advanced technology developed in support of the agency's space program, in this case the Apollo endeavor, can be successfully transferred to also address the agency's aeronautics research and development goals, greatly multiplying payoff on taxpayer investments and resources.

Download or read book Digital Apollo written by David A. Mindell and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2011-09-30 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The incredible story of how human pilots and automated systems worked together to achieve the ultimate achievement in flight—the lunar landings of NASA’s Apollo program As Apollo 11’s Lunar Module descended toward the moon under automatic control, a program alarm in the guidance computer’s software nearly caused a mission abort. Neil Armstrong responded by switching off the automatic mode and taking direct control. He stopped monitoring the computer and began flying the spacecraft, relying on skill to land it and earning praise for a triumph of human over machine. In Digital Apollo, engineer-historian David Mindell takes this famous moment as a starting point for an exploration of the relationship between humans and computers in the Apollo program. In each of the six Apollo landings, the astronaut in command seized control from the computer and landed with his hand on the stick. Mindell recounts the story of astronauts’ desire to control their spacecraft in parallel with the history of the Apollo Guidance Computer. From the early days of aviation through the birth of spaceflight, test pilots and astronauts sought to be more than “spam in a can” despite the automatic controls, digital computers, and software developed by engineers. Digital Apollo examines the design and execution of each of the six Apollo moon landings, drawing on transcripts and data telemetry from the flights, astronaut interviews, and NASA’s extensive archives. Mindell’s exploration of how human pilots and automated systems worked together to achieve the ultimate in flight—a lunar landing—traces and reframes the debate over the future of humans and automation in space. The results have implications for any venture in which human roles seem threatened by automated systems, whether it is the work at our desktops or the future of exploration.

Download or read book William H. Pickering written by Douglas J. Mudgway and published by History Office. This book was released on 2008 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biography of William H. Pickering, 1910-2004 On the first day of February 1958, three men held aloft a model of Explorer 1, America's first Earth satellite, for the press photographers. That image of William Pickering, Wernher von Braun, and James Van Allen became an icon for America's response to the Sputnik challenge. Von Braun and Van Allen were well known, but who was Pickering? From humble beginnings in a remote country town in New Zealand, Pickering came to California in 1928 and quickly established himself as an outstanding student at the then-new California Institute of Technology (Caltech). At Caltech, Pickering worked under the famous physicist Robert Millikan on cosmic-ray experiments, at that time a relatively new field of physics. In 1944, when Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) was developing rocket propulsion systems for the U.S. Army, Pickering joined the work-force as a technical manager. He quickly established himself as an outstanding leader, and 10 years later, Caltech named him Director of JPL. And then, suddenly, the world changed. In October 1957, the Sputnik satellite startled the world with its spectacular demonstration of Soviet supremacy in space. Pickering led an intense JPL effort that joined with the von Braun and Van Allen teams to answer the Soviet challenge. Eighty-three days later, on 31 January 1958, America's first satellite roared into Earth orbit. A few months after that, Pickering's decision to affiliate JPL with the newly formed National Aeronautics and Space Administration set the basis for his subsequent career and the future of NASA's ambitious program for the exploration of the solar system. In the early days of the space program, failure followed failure as Pickering and his JPL team slowly ascended the learning curve. Eventually, however, NASA and JPL resolve paid off. First the Moon, then Venus, and then Mars yielded their scientific mysteries to JPL spacecraft of ever-increasing sophistication. Within its first decade, JPL-built spacecraft sent back the first close-up photographs of the lunar surface, while others journeyed far beyond the Moon to examine Venus and return the first close-up views of the surface of Mars. Later, even more complex space missions made successful soft-landings on the Moon and on Mars. Pickering's sudden death in March 2004 at the age of 93 was widely reported in the U.S. and overseas. As one NASA official eulogized him, His pioneering work formed the foundation upon which the current program for exploring our solar system was built. On this, the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Space Age, it is proper to remind ourselves of the ordinary people who met the extraordinary challenge to make it happen. (most of this is from the left inside flap of the dust jacket) r

Download or read book Flights of Discovery written by Lane E. Wallace and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book NASA's Contributions to Aeronautics written by and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 980 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book NASA's Contributions to Aeronautics: Aerodynamics, structures, propulsion, controls written by and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 980 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two-volume collection of case studies on aspects of NACA-NASA research by noted engineers, airmen, historians, museum curators, journalists, and independent scholars. Explores various aspects of how NACA-NASA research took aeronautics from the subsonic to the hypersonic era.-publisher description.