AEROSPACE PERCEPTIONS HAS MOVED!

 This is the legacy site of Aerospace Perceptions, and is no longer updated.

Aerospace Perceptions has a new home with some great new features.

The new website is easily reached via AerospacePerceptions.com 

I hope to see you there!

https://www.aerospaceperceptions.com

AEROSPACE PERCEPTIONS takes wing!

In the winter-spring lull before the 2024 air show season ramps up, Aerospace Perceptions is taking advantage of the downtime for a complete retooling of the website.

As a former IT system architect, I have teamed up with senior developer Travis Finlayson in pursuit of a vastly improved Aerospace Perceptions experience.

Under the covers, the website will reside on a completely different technical foundation, improving performance and reliability.

From a user experience perspective, the website will have a fresh, cleaner interface. It will be a more conducive home to new aerospace content, AP posts of the past, and an all-new gallery feature.

Stay tuned – the Aerospace Perceptions re-launch is just over the horizon! 

Long Time Coming

With Aerospace Perceptions delving into the realms of both aviation and spaceflight, Sierra Space have hit the sweet spot in interest with their Dream Chaser program – a lifting-body spaceplane. But it’s been a long time coming.

How long? It reminds me of when I was writing a book about early aerodynamic programs in motorsports. I went to interview several aerodynamicists at Chrysler’s headquarters who had previously worked at the company’s missile division in Alabama. When I arrived, I had to cool my heels because the wind tunnel was hosting several models that needed to be hidden – vehicles planned for five to ten years in the future.

The initial Dream Chaser concept, with a certain other well-known spaceplane in the background. Image: Sierra Space

When I covered STS-135 in 2011 – the final flight of the Space Shuttle orbiter Atlantis and the conclusion of that entire program – Sierra Nevada Corporation had a presence at Kennedy Space Center’s media operations with an early concept design of their Dream Chaser spaceplane. The spin-off Sierra Space Corporation was formed in 2021, and here we are now, just over a dozen years from the STS-135 mission. Dream Chaser is finally on the horizon of an actual mission.

An operation conception of Tenacity in orbital action. Image: Sierra Space

To get to this point it took tenacity, and that’s exactly the name Sierra Space chose for its first operational spaceplane, following up on engineering test vehicles. Tenacity - officially designated DC-101 Tenacity – was completed in November 2023.

Tenacity nearing completion of the vehicle construction phase. Photo: Sierra Space

Tenacity’s first voyage will be one that is earthbound, from Sierra Space’s Colorado headquarters to Ohio’s Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility. There the vehicle will undergo a series of environmental tests to prove its space-worthiness.

If all goes well, Tenacity will then initiate Dream Chaser space operations later this year as a cargo vehicle, supplying the International Space Station. Launched into orbit via a Vulcan Centaur rocket developed by United Launch Alliance, Tenacity will then return to earth upon completion of the ISS resupply, making use of its unique design to land on a conventional runway.

The planned crew configuration of a Dream Chaser Space System vehicle. The latest designs depict this DC-200 series spacecraft without the front windows seem in earlier conceptions. Image: Sierra Space

The planned near-future flight to the ISS will be the first outing of Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser Cargo System; crewed vehicles are planned to follow under the Dream Chaser Space System program, beginning in 2025.

 

For more on Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser efforts, please visit: 

https://www.sierraspace.com/dream-chaser-spaceplane/

N1SP

Delaware State Police helicopters N1SP and N2SP are a frequent presence in the vicinity of Aerospace Perceptions headquarters in New Castle, Delaware. Within the last week they’ve been seen here completing a medical evacuation two blocks away from AP HQ and providing security and surveillance for the arrival of President Joe Biden at New Castle’s airport last night.

N1SP in the late autumn skies above New Castle, Delaware. Photo: Frank Moriarty / Aerospace Perceptions

This morning, N1SP was the star of the show at the Good Will Fire Company’s annual open house in New Castle, arriving in a cloud of autumn leaves launched back into the sky by the rotors of the descending aircraft.

Thanks to these aviators and all the others across the nation who provide critical services to the population of our diverse country.

Tiger by the Tail

Country music legend Buck Owens had a smash hit in 1964 with the song “I’ve Got a Tiger by the Tail.” That track always sprung to mind when I would see one of the United States Air Force’s most striking aircraft, the KC-135R Stratotanker designated 60-0366, clad in its bright tiger livery.

One of the most distinctive sights in the United States Air Force inventory.

It was just four years before Owens topped the music charts when this Stratotanker first flew, freshly constructed by Boeing Military Airplanes in 1960

Nearly  three decades ago, 60-0366 was assigned to aerial refueling duty with the 108^th Wing at McGuire Air Force base, now a key component of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. Over the years since, one thing remained consistent: home base for this 135 was always New Jersey. Until last week.

A strategic decision has been made which sees the remaining KC-135 workhorse tankers that had been based at McGuire now reassigned to other facilities. But seeing these aircraft go is far more than just a reallocation of military resources. Air crews and maintainers have bonded with these legendary planes, and their departure demanded a ceremony in recognition of their service.

That gathering took place last week in a hangar at McGuire. And just outside, the final KC-135R stood ready to depart for a new home in Maine.

The 108^th Wing’s Fabrication Section rose to the occasion when it came to giving 60-0366 a bold new look.

This particular 135 – tail number 00366 – is one of the most distinctive of USAF aircraft, with its bright orange-and-black tiger livery honoring early aviator Captain Hobey Baker’s Princeton University heritage. Baker, a test pilot in the years immediately following his distinguished service in the first world war, was killed in a crash in 1918. Princeton’s association with tiger graphics carried over onto this KC-135 in Baker’s memory.

Credit where credit is due...

The guests assembled for the ceremony ranged from those on hand to welcome 00366 when it first arrived at McGuire to those who have most recently flown and maintained this aircraft. The walls of the hangar were adorned with memorabilia and artefacts heralding the 108^th Wing and its colorful association with the mascot of Hobey Baker's alma mater.

Flight crews, maintainers, and all associated with 60-0366 were happy to add their names to the roster of those saying farewell.

Following the traditional Presentation of Colors, National Anthem, and invocation, Senior Master Sergeant Donald Woods touched on many of the facts that make up tail 60-0366’s incredible history. This KC-135 was the 408^th Stratotanker to be built, and had flown in service to the USAF for more than four decades before it arrived at McGuire and was placed into the care of the 108^th Wing in October 2007. Involved in numerous global operations since that time, this aircraft has logged over 4500 flight hours.

Woods offered a fitting summary of the KC-135’s career: “To this aircraft I say, job well done!”

Brigadier General Patrick Kenndey – who served as commander of the New Jersey Air National Guard – then took the stage to introduce the final flight crew and maintainers for this auspicious occasion, followed by an additional appreciation for this aircraft and those who have served and do serve in the 108^th Wing.

The final flight team of crew members and maintainers proudly stand ready to power up 60-0366 for the aircraft’s final takeoff from McGuire.

Major General (Ret.) James McIntosh was then introduced as keynote speaker, reflecting on his time as commander at McGuire Air Force Base – a position that only came after more than 100 combat missions as KC-135 navigator during the Vietnam conflict and more than 6,400 flying hours total.

“I was privileged to be a crew member of the crew that brought the first KC-135 into McGuire,” McIntosh noted of the Stratotanker’s debut New Jersey arrival 32 years ago. “It’s my honor to be here today as we say goodbye to this airplane.”

Major General (Ret.) James McIntosh – former commander at McGuire Air Force Base - reflects on the KC-135’s long record of service flying from this facility.

Following a video commemorating the 108^th Wing and the KC-135, members of the 108^th Fabrication Section unveiled a stunning replica of KC-135R 60-0366 that will ensure memories are permanently reflected through this work of art.

The 108^th Wing Fabrication Section said farewell to 60-0366 in their own way, ensuring this aircraft will never be forgotten.

With the indoor ceremony complete, the hundreds of people on hand emerged into bright sunshine and the sound of 00366, fired up and ready to begin its final flight from McGuire. Forming a long, orderly line to the right of the KC-135, the witnesses to this occasion offered final salutes as the huge aircraft began to taxi toward its takeoff. Once airborne, the majestic Stratotanker circled the base and made a final pass at low altitude in farewell.

The 108^th Wing will now begin a transition to the newer Boeing KC-46 Pegasus tanker, even as talk heats up in the aerospace realm over concepts like autonomous aerial refueling. But those are visions for the future; for now, it’s entirely appropriate to focus on all those years of a job well done thanks to the enduring KC-135.

The KC-135R passes by hundreds of personnel offering up their final salutes to the aircraft.

On a last pass down the runways at McGuire, 60-0366 prepares for takeoff.

Wheels up as KC-135R 60-0366 powers into the skies above Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst for a final time.

All photos: Frank Moriarty/Aerospace Perceptions

Click on photos to see larger images.

Taking Out the Trash

Where man goes, waste follows. Call it garbage, trash, refuse, litter, rubbish – or even space junk.

Space junk usually becomes a hot topic only when there is some large object that finally must yield to gravity with its final landing spot largely unknown. Although the likelihood of a water impact is greatest, anxious eyes turn to the skies just in case.

National Geographic illustrated the clear and present danger of space debris with this ESA image in a feature article published in 2019. Image: European Space Agency

In reality, though, such high-profile encounters between worn-out satellites and our home planet are merely the tip of the proverbial iceberg. According to NASA’s Orbital Debris Program Office, located at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, there are upwards of 500,000 marble-sized objects circulating in orbit, joined by millions of objects 1mm or smaller.

In early July The Washington Post wrote about the US Space Force’s quest to establish a military identity and identify what concrete responsibilities this newest branch of the Armed Forces of the United States will have. The article referred to low earth orbit tests of satellite destruction that have already been conducted by Russia and China, as well as speculation that any Chinese action against Taiwan will be predicated on the destruction of numerous satellites to hamper the defense of Taiwan by its own forces and allies.

Of course, any destruction of satellites is an act of creation: the generation of more space junk in low earth orbit.

A Canadian-built robotic manipulation arm on the International Space Station was pierced by an small errant object in 2021. It is not difficult to imagine a more severe outcome from a collision with a larger object. Photo: NASA/Canadian Space Agency

Putting aside the topic of satellite warfare, what to do about the problem that already exists? As might be expected with such a complex issue, opinions vary widely. There have been many proposals and ideas, some translated into proof-of-concept missions like Surrey Space Centre’s RemoveDEBRIS and Japanese company Astroscale’s ELSA-d.

At the moment, one of the most promising efforts taking concrete steps to mitigate the danger of debris in orbit is the ESA (European Space Agency) alliance with the Swiss company ClearSpace SA. They intend to target a VESPA payload adapter, a refrigerator-sized object that has remained in orbit since playing a role in a 2013 ESA Vega mission. Scheduled for 2026, the ClearSpace-1 mission will attempt to rendezvous with VESPA, capture the object, and guide it to a harmless destruction upon reentry to our atmosphere.

The ClearSpace unmanned vehicle is depicted capturing a dormant space object, a small step in the Herculean task of cleaning up Earth orbit. Image: ClearSpace

Ironically – and fully indicative of the urgency of ClearSpace’s mission - just a month ago the VESPA target was itself hit by a small piece space junk, the resulting debris from the collision adding to the amount of trackable objects already in orbit. ClearSpace is analyzing what impact the collision may have on its planned mission to capture and safely deorbit VESPA.

Although ClearSpace remains for now an imposing distance away from being able to reduce the threat of the hundreds of thousands of small objects crowding space, the start of ClearSpace-1 is far better than no action at all.

 

For more information, please visit:

ClearSpace: https://clearspace.today/

NASA Orbital Debris Program Office: https://www.orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/

Scientific Barnstorming

 In 1952, the Douglas Aircraft Company began work on a project that, six years later, had morphed into the DC-8, a four-engine jetliner that helped revolutionize air travel. Taking to the skies for the first time on May 30, 1958, the DC-8 would go on to remain in production for nearly 15 years, with more than 500 of the aircraft constructed.

One specific DC-8-72 was purchased and put into service in 1969 by Alitalia, before Braniff purchased this plane and implemented it as a member of its fleet from 1979 to 1986. At that point, this aircraft was repurposed from passengers to science when NASA took possession of it. The aerospace and sciences agency began outfitting it with entirely new capabilities, turning it into what has been described as “the world’s largest flying laboratory.”

NASA’s DC-8-72 flies low over Trenton Mercer Airport on August 16, 2023, initiating a data collection effort over the Northeast. Photo: Frank Moriarty/Aerospace Perceptions 

 

NASA’s DC-8 is based at the Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, and  is rarely seen on the East Coast. But in recent weeks N817NA has been temporarily based at Ohio’s Wright Patterson Air Force Base, making a number of research flights over eastern cities, scientifically barnstorming at very low altitudes of just over 1000 feet.

 

The project insignia of AEROMMA, featuring the NASA DC-8 winging its way over an urban environment. Image: NOAA

 

It’s all part of a months-long, national project under the auspices of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) called AEROMMA, the acronym far more easily said than the study’s official title: “Atmospheric Emissions and Reactions Observed from Megacities to Marine Areas.” In conjunction with several smaller aircraft in NASA’s fleet, the DC-8 is helping to gather data on pollution sources and levels in the vicinity of major metropolitan areas, including New York City, Chicago, Detroit, and Toronto.  

The interior of N817NA showing the instrumentation installations. Business class redefined! Photo: NASA

One typical AEROMMA flight took place on August 16, when the DC-8 took off in Ohio with a flight plan filed for a Trenton, NJ destination. But rather than landing at Trenton Mercer Airport, NASA used that location as an aerial inception point. Typically, NASA uses the plane for high-altitude research, but on this day its DC-8 descended to a low altitude before embarking on a precise course north from Trenton over the New York area, meticulously repeating past project flights for accurate comparison. When collecting data over water, the DC-8 dropped as low as 500 feet.

N817NA’s days of flying into dramatic skies will be coming to an end in the months to come, the plane having flown for well over five decades. Photo: Frank Moriarty/Aerospace Perceptions 

 

Seeing any DC-8 in the skies of 2023 is an extremely rare sight – only five remain airworthy in the world. And that number will decrease in a matter of months, as NASA plans to retire its DC-8 in favor of a newer Boeing 777 obtained from Japan Airlines in 2020. Work to install laboratory instrumentation into this newer aircraft is ongoing at NASA Langley Research Center in VA. For now, though, N817NA’s research flights continue, and its graceful beauty in the skies calls to mind an earlier era of aviation.

 

For more on NASA’s flagship DC-8 research plane and the agency’s entire fleet visit:

https://airbornescience.nasa.gov/aircraft

https://airbornescience.nasa.gov/tracker/